Displaying 8 books

Exit Strategy

2018

by Martha Wells

Murderbot wasn't programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right? Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who's going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it's caught?

Normal People

2018

by Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a novel that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the inescapable challenges of family and friendships.

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

The Casual Vacancy

2018

by J.K. Rowling

A big novel about a small town... When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town's council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking, and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling's first novel for adults.

Rogue Protocol

2018

by Martha Wells

SciFi's favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is. And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.

Rogue Protocol is the third in the Murderbot Diaries series, starring a human-like android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a charming and moving novel set in the aftermath of World War II. In January 1946, London is in the process of reconstruction, and writer Juliet Ashton is on a quest for her next literary project. Unexpectedly, she receives a letter from a man she has never met, Dawsey Adams from Guernsey, who found her name in a book by Charles Lamb.

Through their exchange of letters, Juliet becomes captivated by the idiosyncratic world of Dawsey and his friends. They are members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club that was inadvertently formed as a clever ruse during the German occupation of the island. The society comprises a delightful mix of characters, including pig farmers and phrenologists, all united by their love of literature.

As Juliet learns more about the islanders and the impact that the occupation has had on their lives, she is irresistibly drawn to visit Guernsey. What she discovers on the island will forever alter the course of her life. Told with genuine affection and humor, this epistolary novel celebrates the power of books and the profound connections that can emerge from the most unexpected circumstances.

Thick as Thieves

Deep within the palace of the Mede emperor, Kamet minds his master's business and his own. As a slave, his fate is tied to his master's. If his master's fortunes improve, so will Kamet's. However, a whispered warning of poison and murder destroys all of his carefully laid plans.

When Kamet flees for his life, he leaves behind everything—his past, his identity, his meticulously crafted defenses—and finds himself woefully unprepared for the journey that lies ahead. Pursued across diverse terrains, Kamet is determined to regain control of his future and protect himself at any cost. Along the way, friendships—new and long-forgotten—beckon, lethal enemies circle, secrets accumulate, and the fragile hopes of the little kingdoms of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis hang in the balance.

Artificial Condition

2018

by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition continues the journey of Murderbot, a self-aware security unit that has dubbed itself "Murderbot" after a dark past involving human fatalities. With only fragmented memories of the incident, Murderbot's desire for knowledge leads it to pair up with a Research Transport vessel named ART, whose full name is best left unspoken.

Together, they travel to the mining facility where Murderbot's journey into rogue autonomy began. The secrets uncovered during this voyage will irrevocably alter Murderbot's perception of itself and the universe it navigates.

The Murderbot Diaries series is a captivating exploration of artificial intelligence and self-discovery, set against the backdrop of a future where space exploration and corporate interests collide.

Kim

2018

by Rudyard Kipling

Kim is Rudyard Kipling's story of an orphan born in colonial India, torn between love for his native India and the demands of Imperial loyalty to his Irish-English heritage, and to the British Secret Service. The novel unfolds against the backdrop of The Great Game, the political conflict between Russia and Britain in Central Asia. Set after the Second Afghan War which ended in 1881, but before the Third, the story is probably set in the period 1893 to 1898.

At the novel's heart are two men - a boy who grows into early manhood and an old ascetic priest, the lama. They embark on a quest that faces them both; Kim, born in India, is nevertheless white, a sahib. While he aspires to play the Great Game of Imperialism, he is also spiritually bound to the lama, and his aim is to reconcile these opposing strands of his identity. As Kim moves chameleon-like through the two cultures, the lama searches for redemption from the Wheel of Life.

Kim captures the opulence of India's exotic landscape, overlaid by the uneasy presence of the British Raj, presenting a vivid picture of India, its teeming populations, religions, superstitions, and the life of the bazaars and the road. Long recognized as Kipling's finest work, Kim was a key factor in his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907.

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