With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, many of us are busy making lists. Grocery lists for the big meal, shopping lists for those Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sales, who's been naughty and who's been nice (OK, we didn't write that one)... Here's our list of new books we think are great, just in time for the January LibraryReads nomination deadline of December 1:
RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah
From the author of A LONG WAY GONE comes a “formidable and memorable novel” (Publishers Weekly) about a village trying to reclaim peace after war. “Beah, who broke our hearts with the haunting memoir of his life as a boy soldier, will render readers speechless with the radiance of his storytelling in this novel of grace, forgiveness, and a vision of a tomorrow without conflict." – Library Journal, starred review
THE LAST ENCHANTMENTS by Charles Finch
In this contemporary update of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, William Baker is a recent graduate of Yale who embarks on a life-changing year at Oxford, complete with unexpected friendships and a romance with a beautiful and enigmatic woman. "In prose that glides effortlessly from scene to scene, Finch captures the fleeting time in people’s lives when their every decision, from career to lover, seems freighted with eternal consequence. Highly recommended for all collections." – Library Journal, starred review
THE ORPHAN CHOIR by Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah writes taut, psychological suspense novels and her latest takes domestic horror to a new level. Louise Beeston is haunted by choral music only she can hear. Hoping to find some peace, Louise convinces her husband, Stuart, to buy them a country house in an idyllic, sun-dappled community, but the new home brings her anything but that. Louise starts to suspect that this sinister choir is not only real, but a warning. But of what? “Absolutely haunting, in every sense of the word.” – Booklist
BEFORE I BURN by Gaute Heivoll
Heivoll's novel is inspired by a real-life arson spree that deeply affected him as he grew up in Norway. It's already received two starred reviews–Publishers Weekly called it, "A compulsively readable novel about identity and the increasingly blurred line between art and reality" and Booklist said, "Fans of IN COLD BLOOD and THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY will appreciate the chilling true-crime angle, while Heivoll’s dazzling prose will quickly enchant those unfamiliar with this Scandinavian writer. An absorbing story of compulsion, obsession, and the power of desire."
For more January LibraryReads title suggestions, view our collection on Edelweiss. Happy reading and happy nominating!
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Although our Academic Marketing division created the “Books for the First-Year Experience” for colleges and universities, we strongly believe that the titles featured in this catalog foster the sort of discussion and self-reflection that make library-led, city-wide reading programs so memorable. 
