Books
Historic Mechanics' Institute looks like a library, feels like a library with so much to offer with its fine collection and provoking programming. This gem is not to be missed. - Peter Wiley, Chairman Emeritus, John Wiley and Sons
Mechanics' Institute Library has over 100,000 circulating materials in its collection and continues to grow. We serve the general reader with a wide, diverse, and eclectic collection covering a vast array of subjects and interests.
See a selection of our collection below and visit our Catalog to explore even more.
Your Best Reads of 2025
We asked library visitors to post their choices for the best books they read in 2025. Here are some of the selections!
On bullshit
By Frankfurt, Harry G., 1929-2023.
Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it, yet we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves--and we lack a conscientious appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory." Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, he argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.
The cat's table
By Ondaatje, Michael, 1943-
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the "cat's table"--As far from the Captain's Table as can be--with a ragtag group of "insignificant" adults and two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean, the boys tumble from one adventure to another, bursting all over the place like freed mercury. But there are other diversions as well: one man talks with them about jazz and women, another opens the door to the world of literature. The narrator's elusive, beautiful cousin Emily becomes his confidante, allowing him to see himself "with a distant eye" for the first time, and to feel the first stirring of desire. Another Cat's Table denizen, the shadowy Miss Lasqueti, is perhaps more than what she seems. And very late every night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner, his crime and his fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever. As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy's adult years, it tells a spellbinding story--by turns poignant and electrifying--about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.
Pale fire
By Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, 1899-1977.
"An ingeniously constructed parody of detective fiction and learned commentary, 'Pale Fire' offers a cornucopia of deceptive pleasures, at the center of which is a 999-line poem written by the literary genius John Shade just before his death. Surrounding the poem is a foreward and commentary by the demented scholar Charles Kinbote, who interweaves adoring literary analysis with the fantastical tale of an assassin from the land of Zembla in pursuit of a deposed king. Brilliantly constructed and wildly inventive, this darkly witty novel of suspense, literary one-upmanship, and political intrigue achieves that rarest of things in literature -- perfect tragicomic balance."
Oliver Twist or, the Parish boy's progress
By Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Tells the story of a poor orphan's adventures in the criminal underworld of mid-nineteenth-century London.
Orbital : a novel
By Harvey, Samantha, 1975- author.
"Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts--from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan--have left their lives behind to travel at warp speed as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live."--
None of this is true : a novel
By Jewell, Lisa, author.
"Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix's children's school. Josie has been listening to Alix's podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Josie's life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can't quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix's life--and into her home. But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family's lives under mortal threat. Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?"--
This one summer
By Tamaki, Mariko, author.
"Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. One of the local teens - just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy - is caught up in something bad ... Something life threatening. It's a summer of secrets, and sorrow, and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. This One Summer is a tremendously exciting new teen graphic novel from two creators with true literary clout. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of childhood - a story of renewal and revelation."--Publisher's web site.
Diet, drugs, and dopamine : the new science of achieving a healthy weight
By Kessler, David A., 1951- author.
"The struggle is universal: we work hard to lose weight, only to find that it slowly creeps back. In America, body weight has become a pain point shrouded in self-recrimination and shame, not to mention bias from the medical community. For many, this battle not only takes a mental toll but also becomes a physical threat: three-quartersof American adults struggle with weight-related health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. We know that diets don't work, and yet we also know that excess weight starves us of years and quality of life. Where do we go from here? In Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine, former FDA Commissioner Dr. David A. Kesslerunpacks the mystery of weight in the most comprehensive work to date on this topic, giving readers the power to dramatically improve their health. Kessler, who has himself struggled with weight, suggests the new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs have provided a breakthrough: they have radically altered our understanding of weight loss. They make lasting change possible, but they also have real disadvantages and must be considered as part of a comprehensive approach together with nutrition, behavior, and physical activity."--Provided by publisher.
The warmth of other suns : the epic story of America's great migration
By Wilkerson, Isabel.
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.
The Master and Margarita
By Bulgakov, Mikhail, 1891-1940, author.
Presents a satirical drama about Satan's visit to Moscow, where he learns that the citizens no longer believe in God. He decides to teach them a lesson by perpetrating a series of horrific tricks. Combines two distinct yet interwoven parts, one set in contemporary Moscow, the other in ancient Jerusalem.
A guardian and a thief
By Majumdar, Megha, author.
In a near-future Kolkata ravaged by floods and decay, Ma is preparing to leave for a new life in America with her young daughter, Mishti, and her aging father, Dadu. Their visas and passports finally secured, they’re just days away from joining Ma’s husband in Michigan-- until Ma’s purse, holding all their precious documents, is stolen. The theft shatters their hopes and alters their lives forever. The story unfolds from two perspectives: Ma’s desperate struggle to recover what’s lost and Boomba’s, the impoverished thief whose act of survival sets tragedy in motion. Through their intertwined fates, Megha Majumdar delivers a powerful and compassionate portrait of love, loss, and endurance amid poverty and corruption in a world on the brink of collapse.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
By Le Carré, John, 1931-2020.
It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.
Against the machine : on the unmaking of humanity
By Kingsnorth, Paul, 1972- author.
"How a force that's hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human. In Against the Machine, novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original--and terrifying--account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With masterful insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying
Top Checkouts of 2025
The most checked out books at Mechanics' Institute Library in 2025.
James : a novel
By Everett, Percival, author.
"From Percival Everett-a recipient of the NBCC Lifetime Achievement Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Booker Prize, and numerous PEN awards-comes James, a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river's banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin...), Jim's agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a "cult literary icon" (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature"--
We solve murders
By Osman, Richard, 1970- author.
"A brand new mystery. An iconic new detective duo. And a thrilling new murder to solve ... Solving murders. It's a family business"--
The lost and the found : a true story of homelessness, found family, and second chances
By Fagan, Kevin (Reporter), author.
"An award-winning journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee who has covered homelessness for decades and spent extensive time on the streets for his reporting, Fagan experienced it himself as a young man and brings a deep understanding to the crisis. He introduces us to Rita and Tyson, telling the deeply moving story of two unhoused people rescued by their families with the help of Fagan's reporting, and their struggle to pull themselves out of homelessness and addiction, ending with both enormous tragedy and triumph. But [this book] is not just a story of individuals experiencing homelessness--it is also a compelling look at the link between homelessness and addiction, and [a] commentary on housing and equality"--
Abundance
By Klein, Ezra, 1984- author.
To trace the history of the twenty-first century so far is to trace a history of unaffordability and shortage. After years of refusing to build sufficient housing, America has a national housing crisis. After years of limiting immigration, we don't have enough workers. Despite decades of being warned about the consequences of climate change, we haven't built anything close to the clean-energy infrastructure we need. Ambitious public projects are finished late and over budget-if they are ever finished at all. The crisis that's clicking into focus now has been building for decades-because we haven't been building enough. Abundance explains that our problems today are not the results of yesteryear's villains. Rather, one generation's solutions have become the next generation's problems. Rules and regulations designed to solve the problems of the 1970s often prevent urban-density and green-energy projects that would help solve the problems of the 2020s. Laws meant to ensure that government considers the consequences of its actions have made it too difficult for government to act consequentially. In the last few decades, our capacity to see problems has sharpened while our ability to solve them has diminished. Progress requires facing up to the institutions in life that are not working as they need to. It means, for liberals, recognizing when the government is failing. It means, for conservatives, recognizing when the government is needed. In a book exploring how we can move from a liberalism that not only protects and preserves but also builds, Klein and Thompson trace the political, economic, and cultural barriers to progress and propose a path toward a politics of abundance. At a time when movements of scarcity are gaining power in country after country, this is an answer that meets the challenges of the moment while grappling honestly with the fury so many rightfully feel.--
Table for two : fictions
By Towles, Amor, author.
"The millions of readers of Amor Towles are in for a treat as he shares some of his shorter fiction: six stories set in New York City and a novella in Los Angeles. The New York stories, most of which are set around the turn of the millennium, take up everything from the death-defying acrobatics of the male ego, to the fateful consequences of brief encounters, and the delicate mechanics of comprise which operate at the heart of modern marriages. In Towles's novel, Rules of Civility, the indomitable Evelyn Ross leaves New York City in September, 1938, with the intention of returning home to Indiana. But as her train pulls into Chicago, where her parents are waiting, she instead extends her ticket to Los Angeles. Told from seven points of view, "Eve in Hollywood" describes how Eve crafts a new future for herself--and others--in the midst of Hollywood's golden age. Throughout the stories, two characters often find themselves sitting across a table for two where the direction of their futures may hinge upon what they say to each other next. Written with his signature wit, humor, and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles's canon of stylish and transporting historical fiction"--
The amateur's mind : turning chess misconceptions into chess mastery
By Silman, Jeremy, author.
The Amateur's Mind takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength. Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armour result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken -- but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate. Seeking a solution to this dilemma, Mr. Silman wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analysed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. He then eradicated those mental traps by offering advice, rules of conduct and strategy, and penetrating psychological insight. This second edition greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition. In particular, the addition of twenty-six tests and their detailed explanations, add more than one hundred pages of instruction-rich material.
Marble Hall murders : a novel
By Horowitz, Anthony, 1955- author.
"Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd's Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children's author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered--by poison. To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother's death inside the book. Desperately, Susan tries to prevent Eliot from putting himself in harm's way--but his behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. Another murder follows . . . and suddenly Susan finds herself to be the number one suspect. Once again, the real and the fictional worlds have become dangerously entangled. And if Susan doesn't solve the mystery of Pünd's Last Case, she could well be its next victim"--
The expert of subtle revisions : a novel
By Menger-Anderson, Kirsten, author.
In Half Moon Bay, California, 2016, a young woman waits for her father's sailboat to arrive at port. They have agreed to meet on this day and time. Yet he never shows. He has told her this event might come. And if it did, she was ready. Go to the library in Berkeley, find a certain book, follow the instructions. But what if the instructions lead to more questions than answers? In 1933, a young man arrives in Vienna to begin a new post as a professor of mathematics at the university. There he finds himself part of the Engelhardt Circle, a group of intellectuals that have recently been targeted by a growing, anti-academic mob. The circle includes the preeminent minds of their time and a cast of characters desperate to get invited into their midst, many of whom will stop at nothing to get there. As fascism rises, and polarization increases, moderate voices are drowned out. There are whispers of a machine, a music box, which can transport someone through time. But no one can confirm if it's a rumor or true. And the only people who know firsthand are not talking. --
The emperor of gladness : a novel
By Vuong, Ocean, 1988- author.
"A year in the life of a wayward young man in New England who, by chance, becomes the caretaker for an eighty-two-year-old widow living with dementia, powering a story of friendship, loss, and how much we're willing to risk to claim one of life's most treasured mercies: a second chance"--
Intermezzo : a novel
By Rooney, Sally, author.
"An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney"--
Breath : the new science of a lost art
By Nestor, James, author.
"No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how resilient your genes are, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and wellbeing than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat 25,000 times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Science journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong with our breathing and how to fix it. Why are we the only animals with chronically crooked teeth? Why didn't our ancestors snore? Nestor seeks out answers in muddy digs of ancient burial sites, s
Staff Picks
Books, music, and movie recommendations from Mechanics' staff
Catch and kill : lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators
By Farrow, Ronan, 1987- author.
Elizabeth's pick
Add a zero : the step-by-step guide to financial freedom and getting to your first million
By Han, Rose.
Bobbie's pick
Rethinking rescue : Dog Lady and the story of America's forgotten people and pets
By Mithers, Carol Lynn, author.
Bobbie's pick
New Fiction
See more new fiction in our catalog
The best American short stories, 2025 : selected from U.S. and Canadian magazines
"A collection of the year's best American short stories, selected by celebrated bestselling author Celeste Ng, author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere, and series editor Nicole A. Lamy. 'Short stories can act like little tuning forks, helping us to clarify our own values,' writes guest editor Celeste Ng. 'In a time when our values are being tested daily, it's hard to think of anything more important.' The twenty pieces in The Best American Short Stories 2025 upend expectations and test the foundation of our beliefs. From a bereaved medical actress obsessed with a student in her rotation to a mysterious sickness that ignites a lethal running mania in its victims, and from the grounds of a wild animal estate to a celebrity look-alike mother for hire, these stories transport readers to the impossible edges of our world and vivify characters who reflect the spectrum of human experience. The pieces in this collection helped series editor Nicole A. Lamy 'make more sense of the world than real life was able to provide.' Within the wild and varied universes that grow from the constraints of the story form, ordinary life seems beguiled and enchanted spaces hold unshakable truths. Bold, urgent, and ultimately hopeful, The Best American Short Stories 2025, through reflections and refractions, offers readers new ways of seeing the world."--
Vigil : a novel
By Saunders, George, 1958- author.
"Not for the first time, Jill 'Doll' Blaine finds herself hurtling toward earth, reconstituting as she falls, right down to her favorite black pumps. She plummets towards her newest charge, yet another soul she must usher into the afterlife, and lands headfirst in the circular drive of his ornate mansion. She has performed this sacred duty 343 times since her own death. Her charges, as a rule, have been greatly comforted in their final moments. But this one, she soon discovers, isn't like the others. The powerful K.J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold, epic life, and the world is better for it. Isn't it?"--
Departure(s) : a novel
By Barnes, Julian, author.
"Shortly after our narrator, a writer named Julian, begins this compact book by discussing the workings of involuntary memory, he interrupts himself with a bulletin to the reader: "There will be a story--or a story within the story--but not just yet." Of course, whether Departure(s) is mostly fiction or not, there is a lot of its author in it, including Barnes's reckoning with the blood disorder he has been living with since he was diagnosed in 2020, his long preoccupation with dying and grief, and his mordant sense of the indignities and lost opportunities we're prey to in love. The story he promises to deliver is a love story, that of two friends he met at university in the 1960s, that time of touted but rarely experienced sexual freedom. Julian played matchmaker to Stephen (tall, gangling, uncertain) and Jean (tart and attractive); as the third wheel he was deeply invested in the success of their love and insulted when they broke up. Time is swift, and forty years later, he tries again, watching as their rekindled affair produces joys, betrayals, and disappointments of a different order. "Life and memory can be so . . . quixotic, don't you find?" Barnes uses both his novelistic memory and his (real?) personal diary entries to examine not just the quixotic relationship of Jean and Stephen but his writer's eye upon it, and how his efforts in their behalf add up in the end. Having promised them he'd never write about them, he breaks the promise to fulfill one, amply, to his readers, in this delightful and poignant novelist's game that only Julian Barnes knows how to play"--
Call me Ishmaelle
By Guo, Xiaolu, 1973- author.
"1843. Ishmaelle is born in a small village on the stormy Kent coast where she grows up swimming with dolphins. After her parents and infant sister die, her brother, Joseph, leaves to find work as a sailor. Abandoned and desperate for a life at sea, Ishmaelle disguises herself as a cabin boy and travels to New York. Nearly twenty years later, as the American Civil War breaks out, Ishmaelle boards the Nimrod, a whaling ship led by the obsessive Captain Seneca, a Black free man of heroic stature who is haunted by a tragic past. Here, she finds protectors amidst the bloody male violence of whaling and discovers a mysterious bond between herself and the white whale who claimed Seneca's leg. Built on the bones of Melville's classic, Call Me Ishmaelle is a dynamic new tale, imbued with a diverse, swashbuckling crew--from a Polynesian harpooner to a Taoist Monk-and a powerful exploration of human nature, gender, and the nature of home"-- Provided by publisher.
Murder in Constantinople
By Goldin, A. E., author.
A gripping, immersive historical murder mystery in which a wayward boy from London's East End is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer on the eve of the Crimean War London, 1854. Twenty-one-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure. Then the discovery of an enigmatic letter and a photograph of a beautiful woman offer an escapade more dangerous than anything he'd imagined. Suddenly Ben is thrown into a mystery that takes him all the way to Constantinople, the jewel of an empire and the centre of a world on the brink of war. His only clue is three words: 'The White Death'. Now he must find what links a string of grisly murders, following a trail through kingmaking and conspiracy, poison and high politics, bloodshed and betrayal. In a city of deadly secrets, no one is safe - and one wrong step could cost Ben his life.
Solenoid
By Cărtărescu, Mircea, author.
Based on Cartarescu's own experience as a teacher, Solenoid submerges us in the mundane details of a diarist's life and spirals into an existential account of history, philosophy and mathematics. Grounded in the reality of communist Romania, it grapples with frightening health care, the absurdities of the education system and the struggles of family life, while investigating other universes and forking paths. In a surreal journey like no other, we visit a tuberculosis preventorium, an anti-death protest movement, a society of dream investigators and a minuscule world of dust mites living on a microscope slide. Combining fiction with autobiography and history, Solenoid searches for escape routes through the alternate dimensions of life and art, as various monstrous realities erupt within the present. --back cover.
The viper
By Meltzer, Brad author aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n96091726
"Andrew Fechmeier is a master at hiding. He'd better be--he's spent decades concealing a secret that could get him killed. So when he's diagnosed with a terminal disease, he heads for the local funeral home carrying the blue suit he eventually wants to be buried in. But what no one knows is that Fechmeier secretly tucked something inside, turning the suit into a final, untraceable hiding spot. It's a perfect plan. Until Fetch is brutally murdered by a mysterious killer who will stop at nothing to find the priceless object hidden in the suit. Wasting no time, the cunning but unconventional police officer Roddy LaPointe opens an investigation into Fetch's murder, recruiting help from his friend, the brilliant 'Zig' Zigarowski. But it doesn't take long for Zig to discover the real reason Roddy cares so much about this case: Fetch's death is tied to Roddy's mother, who was murdered decades earlier. As the relentless killer closes in, Roddy's twin sister--the enigmatic and volatile Nola Brown--starts investigating for herself, uncovering a sinister plot that reveals their mother's dark history, the true identity of her killer, and the shocking secret behind her death"-- Provided by publisher.
Automatic noodle
By Newitz, Annalee, 1969- author.
"A cozy near-future novella about a crew of leftover robots opening their very own noodle shop, from acclaimed sci-fi author Annalee Newitz. You don't have to eat food to know the way to a city's heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food-the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around-for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war. But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they'll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other-and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn't built for them"-- Provided by publisher.
Nash falls
By Baldacci, David, author.
"Walter Nash is a sensitive, intelligent and kindhearted man. He has a wife and a daughter and a very high-level position at Sybaritic Investments, where his innate skills and dogged tenacity have carried him to the top of the pyramid in his business career. Despite never going on grand adventures, and always working too many hours, he has a happy and upscale life with his family. However, following his estranged Vietnam-veteran father's funeral, Nash is unexpectedly approached by the FBI in the middle of the night. They have an important request: become their inside man to expose an enterprise that is laundering large sums of money through Sybaritic. At the top of this illegal operation is Victoria Steers, an international criminal mastermind that the FBI has been trying to bring down for years. Nash has little choice but to accept the FBI's demands and try to bring Steers and her partners to justice. But when Steers discovers that Nash is working with the FBI, she turns the tables on him in a way he never could have contemplated. And that forces Nash to take the ultimate step both to survive and to take his revenge: He must become the exact opposite of who he has always been. And even that may not be enough"--
No one would do what the Lamberts have done : a novel
By Hannah, Sophie, 1971- author.
When a family is confronted with a serious accusation involving their dog, they are forced to make an extreme decision that upends their lives. As events escalate, the Lamberts leave behind their home and community, entering an uncertain and dangerous situation. This novel explores them
New Non-fiction
Injustice : how politics and fear vanquished America's Justice Department
By Leonnig, Carol, author.
"Throughout his first administration, Donald Trump did more than any other president to politicize the nation's top law enforcement agency, pressuring appointees to shield him, to target his enemies, and even to help him cling to power after his 2020 election defeat. The Department, pressed into a defensive crouch, has never fully recovered. Injustice exposes not only the Trump administration's efforts to undermine the Department at every turn but also how delays in investigating Trump's effort to overturn the will of voters under Attorney General Merrick Garland helped prevent the country from holding Trump accountable and enabled his return to power. Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis take readers inside as prosecutors convulsed over Trump's disdain for the rule of law, and FBI agents, the department's storied investigators, at times retreated in fear. They take you to the rooms where Special Counsel Jack Smith's team set off on an all-but-impossible race to investigate Trump for absconding with classified documents and waging an assault on democracy--and inside his prosecution's heroic and fateful choices that ultimately backfired. With a plethora of sources deeply embedded in the ranks of three presidencies, Leonnig and Davis reveal the daily war secretly waged for the soul of the department, how it has been shredded by propaganda and partisanship, and how--if the United States hopes to live on with its same form of government--Trump's war with the Justice Department will mark a turning point from which it will be hard to recover" -- Dust jacket.
The uncool : a memoir
By Crowe, Cameron, 1957- author.
"The long-awaited memoir by Cameron Crowe--one of America's most iconic journalists and filmmakers--revealing his formative years in rock and roll and bringing to life stories that shaped a generation, in the bestselling tradition of Patti Smith's Just Kids with a dash of Moss Hart's Act One. The Uncool is a ... dispatch from a lost world, the real-life events that became Almost Famous, and a coming-of-age journey filled with characters you won't soon forget"--
Luigi : the making and the meaning
By Richardson, John H. (John Hammond), 1954- author.
This work examines public reactions to the shooting of a healthcare executive by Luigi Mangione and explores the social, economic, and cultural factors that shaped widespread online commentary surrounding the event. Drawing on decades of research, the author analyzes themes of alienation, distrust of institutions, and anti-corporate sentiment, situating the incident within broader historical movements. The book considers how individuals and groups have expressed dissent, the influence of previous extremist figures, and the role of digital platforms in shaping responses to acts of violence.
Treasures of the Mexican table : classic recipes, local secrets
By Jinich, Pati, author.
"The 'buoyant and brainy Mexican cooking authority' (New York Times) and star of the three-time James Beard Award-winning PBS series Pati's Mexican Table brings together more than 150 iconic dishes that define the country's cuisine. Although many of us can rattle off our favorite authentic Mexican dishes, we might be hard pressed to name more than ten. Which is preposterous, given that Mexico has a rich culinary history stretching back thousands of years. For her newest book, Pati Jinich brings home the signature recipes that home cooks, market vendors, and chefs have shared with her as she crisscrossed her native country for the past decade. From Baja lobster tacos to Oaxacan-style grilled flank steak, these recipes represent the culinary diversity of the nation that has, depending on how you count them, as many as thirty-two different cuisines. Each recipe is a classic. Each one comes with a story told in Pati's warm, relatable style. And each has been tested in Pati's American kitchen to ensure it is the best of its kind"--
Black ivy : a revolt in style
By Jules, Jason, author.
From the most avant-garde jazz musicians, visual artists and poets to architects, philosophers and writers, Black Ivy: A Revolt in Style charts a period in American history when Black men across the country adopted the clothing of a privileged elite and made it their own. It shows how a generation of men took the classic Ivy Look and made it cool, edgy and unpredictable in ways that continue to influence today's modern menswear. Here you will see some famous, infamous and not so famous figures in Black culture such as Amiri Baraka, Charles White, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., James Baldwin, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sidney Poitier, and how they reinvented Ivy and Prep fashion--the dominant looks of the time. The real stars of the book--the Oxford cloth button-down shirt, the hand-stitched loafer, the soft shoulder three-button jacket and the perennial repp tie--are all here. What Black Ivy explores is how these clothes are reframed and redefined by a stylish group of men from outside the mainstream, challenging the status quo, struggling for racial equality and civil rights.
Economica : a global history of women, wealth, and power
By Bateman, Victoria N. (Victoria Naomi), 1979- author.
"How many female entrepreneurs, economic revolutionaries, merchants, and industrialists can you name? You would be forgiven for thinking that, until very recently, there were none at all. But what about Phryne, the richest woman in ancient Athens, who offered to pay to rebuild the walls of Thebes after the city was razed by Alexander the Great? Or what about Priscilla Wakefield, the writer who set up the first English bank for women and children? And, just as important, what about the everyday women who, paid only a pittance, labored for the profit of others? From the most successful women of their day to those who struggled to make ends meet, Economica takes you on a journey that begins in the Stone Age and ends in the twenty-first century, spanning the world's historic centers of prosperity: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Peru, the Indus Valley, the Roman Empire, the Islamic Empire, China, Europe, and the United States. By shining a light on the women whose contributions to the economy have been hidden for far too long, Economica is more than a history of women-it is a more accurate economic history of us all"-- Provided by publisher.
Dead and alive : essays
By Smith, Zadie, author.
"A profound and unparalleled literary voice, Zadie Smith returns with a resounding collection of essays In this eagerly awaited new collection, Zadie Smith brings her unique skills as an essayist to bear on a range of subjects that have captured her attention in recent years. She takes an exhilaratingly close look at artists Toyin Ojih Odutola, Kara Walker and Celia Paul. She invites us along to the movies, to see and to think about Tár, and to New York to reflect on the spontaneous moments that connect us. She takes us on a walk down Kilburn High Road in her beloved North-West London and welcomes us to mourn with her the passing of writers Joan Didion, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth and Toni Morrison. She considers changes of government on both sides of the Atlantic - and the meaning of 'the commons' in all our lives"--
The land trap : a new history of the world's oldest asset
By Bird, Mike, author.
"How the world's oldest asset secretly shapes our modern economy In The Land Trap, Mike Bird-The Economist's Wall Street editor-pulls back the curtain on how this ancient asset exerts outsized influence over the modern world. With masterful insight into global finance, Bird reveals how land has quietly become the linchpin of the world's banking system, affecting everything from soaring housing prices to geopolitical tensions. From the speculative land grabs of colonial America to China's modern-day real estate crisis, Bird shows how fortunes are built-or destroyed-all on the bedrock of land. As governments wrestle with inequality, climate crises threaten entire regions, and land becomes ever scarcer, The Land Trap offers a bold new framework for understanding the driving force behind today's most pressing challenges. Eye-opening and timely, Bird's analysis unveils how land remains the ultimate currency of power-and the key to economic survival in an increasingly fragile world. This is the book for anyone who wants to see beyond markets and money to the hidden game being played on a foundation as old as civilization itself. Timely, provocative, and essential, The Land Trap will change how you see the ground beneath your feet"-- Provided by publisher.
The Romans : A 2,000-year history
By Watts, Edward J., 1975- author.
"When we think of 'ancient Romans' today, many picture the toga-clad figures of Cicero and Caesar presiding over a republic, and then an empire, before seeing their world collapse at the hands of barbarians in the fifth century AD. The Romans does away with this narrow vision by offering the first comprehensive account of ancient Rome over the course of two millennia. Prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts recounts the full sweep of Rome's epic past: the Punic Wars, the fall of the republic, the coming of Christianity, Alaric's sack of Rome, the rise of Islam, the Battle of Manzikert, and the onslaught of the Crusaders who would bring about the empire's end. Watts shows that the source of Rome's enduring strength was the diverse range of people who all called themselves Romans. This is the Rome of Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, and Constantine, but also Charlemagne, Justinian, and Manuel Comnenus--and countless other men and women who together made it the most resilient state the world has ever seen. An expansive, eye-opening portrait, The Romans is the definitive history of Rome and its citizens."--from the inside front flap.
Paul Hollywood's British baking
By Hollywood, Paul, author.
The charm and variety of baking in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland is reflected in the names of the recipes. Ready to try your hand at wiggs and fairings, or petticoat tails? You'll discover that the baking of the British Isles is surprisingly diverse for a relatively small area, and Hollywood introduces you to the similarities and the differences from region to region.
How to make the best coffee at home
By Hoffmann, James, author.
The author demonstrates everything you need to know to make consistently excellent coffee at home, including: what equipment is worth buying, and what isn't; how to grind coffee; the basics of brewing for all major equipment (cafetiere, aeropress, stovetop etc); understanding coffee drinks, from the cortado to latte and the perfect espresso. -- adapted from Amazon.com.
The great contradiction : the tragic side of the American founding
By Ellis, Joseph J., author.
"A major new history from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning F
Unmasking AI : my mission to protect what is human in a world of machines
By Buolamwini, Joy, author.
Enshittification : why everything suddenly got worse and what to do about it
By Doctorow, Cory, author.
Something between us : the everyday walls of American life, and how to take them down
By Pandian, Anand, author. aut
Inside the mind of Bobby Fischer : revisiting his writings and annotations
By Donaldson, John, International Master, author.
The age of extraction : how tech platforms conquered the economy and threaten our future prosperity
By Wu, Tim, author.
Nobody's girl : a memoir of surviving abuse and fighting for justice
By Giuffre, Virginia Roberts, author.
Country Life's book of dogs : from countryside to hearthside, at home with our four-legged friends
By Stamp, Agnes, author.
If anyone builds it, everyone dies : why superhuman AI would kill us all
By Yudkowsky, Eliezer 1979- author.
Why fascists fear teachers : public education and the future of democracy
By Weingarten, Randi, author.