For Your Consideration: May 2020 LibraryReads Titles

Download, read, and vote for your favorite May titles for the May 2020 LibraryReads list!

Votes due April 1!

THE BOOK OF V. by Anna Solomon

“Esther, the Old Testament teenager who reluctantly married a Persian king and saved her people, is connected across the ages to two more contemporary women in a sinuous, thoughtful braid of women’s unceasing struggles for liberty and identity… A bold, fertile work lit by powerful images, often consumed by debate, almost old-school in its feminist commitment.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

HOLLYWOOD PARK: A Memoir by Mikel Jollett

“In this arresting debut memoir, Jollett, frontman of the indie band Airborne Toxic Event, writes of escaping a California cult named Synanon–where he lived in the 1970s until age five . . . Jollett also talks about turning pain into music, getting help for abandonment issues, and finding love and starting a family. All this results in a shocking but contemplative memoir about the aftermath of an unhealthy upbringing.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

NETWORK EFFECT: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells

“Wells puts an astonishing amount of technical detail into SecUnit’s narrative, which will please hard sci-fi readers without detracting from the engaging story line. Series fans and anyone who enjoys humor-infused space operas won’t want to miss this.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY by Natalie Jenner

“This is the story of people caring for and about one another in the small village of Chawton, Hampshire, where Jane Austen lived her final years and produced her finest novels . . . Readers who enjoy character-driven novels will want to read this book. Like Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’s THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, it’s a must-purchase for libraries of all sizes.”–Library Journal, starred review

THE CITY OF TEARS by Kate Mosse

“No one does French-set historicals laced with religious upheaval like international best seller Mosse (THE BURNING CHAMBERS), and she’s at it again, sending Minou Joubert to Paris with her family to attend a royal wedding meant to knit together the Catholic Crown and the Huguenot King of Navarre. But an ancient enemy of the family is in town looking for a relic that will change the world (another Mosse touch), and it’s August 1572–which means the St. Bartholomew Day’s Massacre will soon be upon them all.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

HIDEAWAY by Nora Roberts

“In Roberts’s HIDEAWAY, a former child star finally returns to Los Angeles after having been abducted at age ten, hoping to act again while finding both love and vengeance.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

HARD CASH VALLEY by Brian Panowich

“Make room for this splendid genre-bender, a crime novel with emotional resonance and a steady flow of fine writing. Plus staggering plot twists, jaw-dropping revelations, and enough suspense to fill two books… A first-rate thriller, lavishly decked out in high style.”–Booklist, starred review

THE SECRETS OF BONES by Kylie Logan

“Joining the professional women who’ve come to St. Catherine’s girls’ school to tell students about their jobs, administrative assistant Jazz Ramsey puts cadaver dog Gus through his paces by hiding bones on the unused fourth floor. But Gus instead finds the skeleton of an acidulous teacher who failed to return after one winter holiday. Second in a new series, begun with THE SCENT OF MURDER, from the prolific Logan.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

SCANDINAVIAN NOIR: In Pursuit of a Mystery by Wendy Lesser

“And Threepenny Review founder/editor Lesser offers a deep, culturally informed reading of the SCANDINAVIAN NOIR she’s been devouring for years, explaining that she had built her own imaginary Scandinavia in her mind and finally went to see the countries for herself.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert