Category: Book

Swamp Monsters by Matt Dixon

“Delivering juicy details with unrelenting speed and force” (Jonathan Allen), Swamp Monsters is the wild inside story of how Donald Trump made a star of Ron DeSantis and then set out to destroy him—a struggle for supremacy that has turned Florida into the crucible of the new GOP and of America’s future—by “one of the keenest and best-sourced observers of Florida’s political maelstrom” (Rick Wilson).

Ron DeSantis was struggling through Florida’s political wilderness when, in late 2017, Donald Trump extended his hand. Ambitious but charmless, DeSantis was a relatively obscure figure even within his own state’s Republican party, and an unlikely pick for the GOP’s gubernatorial nomination. But when Trump took to Twitter and praised him as “a brilliant young leader” and “a true FIGHTER,” everything changed—for DeSantis, for Florida, and for the country. Today, as Florida governor and a GOP presidential frontrunner, DeSantis sits within striking distance of the Oval Office, and his onetime benefactor has turned into his most formidable opponent. Florida, meanwhile, has mutated from the country’s biggest swing state into the stronghold of the extremist wing of the Republican party—a place where COVID denialism and culture-war antics have been battle-tested, and where the nation’s political future might just be forged.

In Swamp Monsters, veteran Florida journalist and NBC News senior national politics reporter Matt Dixon pulls back the curtain on the titanic clash between a one-time kingmaker and a would-be king, showing how the battle between Trump and DeSantis has escalated, how it might end—and what it will mean for the country.

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

“Ingeniously plotted, irresistibly readable, brimming with inside information about the high-stakes art world of theft, forgery, and murder…Also included are brilliantly rendered drawings by the author, who is as accomplished an artist as he is a writer of suspense thrillers.” —Joyce Carol Oates

From the author of the much-praised The Last Mona Lisa comes another thrilling story of masterpieces, masterminds, and mystery.

For years, there have been whispers that, before his death, Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait. Curators and art historians have savored this rumor, hoping it could illuminate some of the troubled artist’s many secrets, but even they have to concede that the missing painting is likely lost forever.

But when Luke Perrone, artist and great-grandson of the man who stole the Mona Lisa, and Alexis Verde, daughter of a notorious art thief, discover what may be the missing portrait, they are drawn into a most epic art puzzles. When only days later the painting disappears again, they are reunited with INTERPOL agent John Washington Smith in a dangerous and deadly search that will not only expose secrets of the artist’s last days but draws them into one of history’s darkest eras.

Beneath the paint and canvas, beneath the beauty and the legend, the artwork has become linked with something evil, something that continues to flourish on the dark web and on the shadiest corridors of the underground art world.

A Hitch in Time by Christopher Hitchens

“An extended spa treatment that stretches tired brains and unkinks the usual habitual responses where Hitchens is concerned.” —James Wolcott in his introduction

An outstanding new collection, A HITCH IN TIME is a must have for Hitchens completists and the perfect starting point for understanding one of the most brilliant essayists of all time.

Anthologized here for the first time, A HITCH IN TIME is a choice selection of Christopher Hitchens’s finest reviews, diary entries and essays – along with a smattering of ferocious letters. Familiar bêtes noires—Kennedy, Nixon, Kissinger, Clinton—rub shoulders with lesser-known preoccupations: P.G. Wodehouse, Princess Margaret and, magisterially, Isaiah Berlin. A HITCH IN TIME is a banquet of entertaining stories ranging from his thoughts on Salman Rushdie to being spanked by Margaret Thatcher in The House of Lords and the night he took his son to the Oscars. The broad scope and high caliber of Hitchens’ essays allows his work to transcend the occasion for which it was written and continues to be essential reading. 

Along with an introduction by James Wolcott, A HITCH IN TIME recaptures the brilliance of Hitchens – barnstorming, cauterizing, and ultimately uncontainable.

Anna by Matthew Black

“A riveting, unsettling crime novel that will keep you turning pages well past your bedtime. Is Anna O a sleeping beauty or a sleeping killer? Matthew Blake’s tension-filled thriller is as elusive and mysterious as sleep itself.”Nita Prose, #1 New York Times author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

Joining the ranks of Gillian Flynn, A. J. Finn, and Alex Michaelides, Matthew Blake delivers the thriller of the year: a dark, twisty, and shocking mystery about a young woman who commits a double murder while sleepwalking, and then never opens her eyes again.

THE WORLD WILL KNOW HER NAME

What if your nightmares weren’t really nightmares at all?

We spend an average of 33 years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we sleep?

Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive—and hasn’t woken up since. Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna’s condition is a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome.”

Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods are the last hope of solving the infamous “Anna O’”case and waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But he must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect—he’s got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes.

Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict knows how to discover it. And they’re both in danger from what they find out.

The Age of the Deer by Erika Howsare

A masterful hybrid of nature writing and cultural studies that investigates our connection with deer—from mythology to biology, from forests to cities, from coexistence to control and extermination—and invites readers to contemplate the paradoxes of how humans interact with and shape the natural world

Deer have been an important part of the world that humans occupy for millennia. They’re one of the only large animals that can thrive in our presence. In the 21st century, our relationship is full of contradictions: We hunt and protect them, we cull them from suburbs while making them an icon of wilderness, we see them both as victims and as pests. But there is no doubt that we have a connection to deer: in mythology and story, in ecosystems biological and digital, in cities and in forests. 

Delving into the historical roots of these tangled attitudes and how they play out in the present, Erika Howsare observes scientists capture and collar fawns, hunters show off their trophies, a museum interpreter teaching American history while tanning a deer hide, an animal-control officer collecting the carcasses of deer killed by sharpshooters, and a woman bottle-raising orphaned fawns in her backyard. As she reports these stories, Howsare’s eye is always on the bigger picture: Why do we look at deer in the ways we do, and what do these animals reveal about human involvement in the natural world? For readers of H is for Hawk and Fox & I, The Age of Deer offers a unique and intimate perspective on a very human relationship.

The Vulnerables – Sigrid Nunez

“I love Sigrid Nunez! I love her mind. If I could I’d have dinner with her every week. It’s such a pleasure to read her books. This is kind of a novel, but you also get to spend time with Sigred – time well spent, plus there’s a parrot!” – Judy Blume, store co-founder

The New York Times–bestselling, National Book Award–winning author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through brings her singular voice to a story about modern life and connection

“I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez’s novels. I find them ideal. They are short, wise, provocative, funny — good and strong company.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“With the intimacy and humor of a great conversation, this novel makes you feel smarter and more alive.” —People Magazine

“An ode to our basic need to connect with other beings, be they human or animal, even in a global crisis that told us to stay apart.” —NPR

Elegy plus comedy is the only way to express how we live in the world today, says a character in Sigrid Nunez’s ninth novel. The Vulnerables offers a meditation on our contemporary era, as a solitary female narrator asks what it means to be alive at this complex moment in history and considers how our present reality affects the way a person looks back on her past.

Humor, to be sure, is a priceless refuge. Equally vital is connection with others, who here include an adrift member of Gen Z and a spirited parrot named Eureka. The Vulnerables reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another’s distress. A search for understanding about some of the most critical matters of our time, Nunez’s new novel is also an inquiry into the nature and purpose of writing itself. 

Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal

The secret to productivity isn’t discipline. It’s joy.

We think that productivity is all about hard work. That the road to success is lined with endless frustration and toil. But what if there’s another way?

Dr Ali Abdaal – the world’s most-followed productivity expert – has uncovered an easier and happier path to success. Drawing on decades of psychological research, he has found that the secret to productivity and success isn’t grind – it’s feeling good. If you can make your work feel good, then productivity takes care of itself.

In this revolutionary book, Ali reveals how the science of feel-good productivity can transform your life. He introduces the three hidden ‘energisers’ that underpin enjoyable productivity, the three ‘blockers’ we must overcome to beat procrastination, and the three ‘sustainers’ that prevent burnout and help us achieve lasting fulfillment. He recounts the inspiring stories of founders, Olympians, and Nobel-winning scientists who embody the principles of Feel-Good Productivity. And he introduces the simple, actionable changes that you can use to achieve more and live better, starting today.

Armed with Ali’s insights, you won’t just accomplish more. You’ll feel happier and more fulfilled along the way.

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

The epic conclusion to the intensely romantic and beautifully written story that started in Divine Rivals.

Two weeks have passed since Iris Winnow returned home bruised and heartbroken from the front, but the war is far from over. Roman is missing, and the city of Oath continues to dwell in a state of disbelief and ignorance. When Iris and Attie are given another chance to report on Dacre’s movements, they both take the opportunity and head westward once more despite the danger, knowing it’s only a matter of time before the conflict reaches a city that’s unprepared and fracturing beneath the chancellor’s reign.

Since waking below in Dacre’s realm, Roman cannot remember his past. But given the reassurance that his memories will return in time, Roman begins to write articles for Dacre, uncertain of his place in the greater scheme of the war. When a strange letter arrives by wardrobe door, Roman is first suspicious, then intrigued. As he strikes up a correspondence with his mysterious pen pal, Roman will soon have to make a decision: to stand with Dacre or betray the god who healed him. And as the days grow darker, inevitably drawing Roman and Iris closer together…the two of them will risk their very hearts and futures to change the tides of the war.

The Home Herbal by Andrew Chevalier

Boost your health and improve your self-care with over 100 herbal medicine recipes to make at home

An herbal medicine-making guide for modern life that starts with you.

Learn how to make over 100 easy herbal remedies at home that will improve both your mental and physical well-being. Organized by everyday needs and ailments rather than by herb, this intuitive, beautifully illustrated guide will help you find the right herbal restorative for you, investigate the root of problems, and better understand your physiology. 

Celebrated herbal practitioner and best-selling author Andrew Chevallier offers a holistic approach to natural medicine. He will teach you not only to treat symptoms, but to identify their causes and explore the mind-body connection, so you can meaningfully apply each simple herbal solution. 

Covering everything from poor sleep, common colds, and menstrual problems to low mood, heart health, and safe dosages, discover how you can make plant remedies an integral part of your self-care routine and master essential medicine-making techniques for maximum efficacy.

This is the indispensable companion to self-healing with herbal remedies.

Self-Care for Latinas by Raquel Reichard

Prioritize your well-being with more than 100 exercises designed specifically to help Latinas revitalize their outlook on life, improve their mental health, eliminate stress, and self-advocate.

Between micro- and macro-aggressions at school, the workplace, and even the grocery store, a constant news cycle highlighting Latine trauma, and a general lack of resources for women of color, it’s tough to be a Latina woman and prioritize your wellness, both physically and mentally.

With Self-Care for Latinas, you’ll find more than 100 exercises to radically choose to put yourself first. Whether you need a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the day, you’re working through feelings of burnout, or you need to process a microaggression, this book is for you.

In a world that works to devalue Latinas, it’s time to make the radical decision to prioritize you: your life, your joy, and your self-care.