Market Selects for June 14th

On the second Tuesday of each month, library staff set up shop at the FRESHFARM Penn Quarter Market to sign up new library customers, check out and return materials, and dish about upcoming events and everything the library has to offer.

Farmers market season is upon us and just as local farmers labor their fields with tender, loving, care, I have harvested some seasonally appropriate titles for your reading pleasure. Whether you're looking for new releases and bestsellers* or beach read standbys, here's a sample of our June Penn Quarter Market Selects are sure to satisfy your appetite.
 

New Releases and Bestsellers

Me Before You  Despite her lack of nursing experience, former waitress Louisa Clark lands a job as daytime caretaker for recently paralyzed quadriplegic businessman Will Traynor. Will's wealthy family prays that this cheerful young woman can dispel Will's depression and determination to end his own life. (Library Journal)

The Sleep Revolution  Prompted by a frightening personal experience with exhaustion, Huffington Post founder Huffington synthesizes a vast array of sleep research and provides tips on maximizing sleep time in an increasingly deprived global culture. (Publisher's Weekly)

The Sympathizer  Adept in the merciless art of interrogation, the nameless spy who narrates Nguyen's dark novel knows how to pry answers from the unwilling. Unexpectedly, however, this Vietnamese communist sympathizer finds himself being tortured by the very revolutionary zealots he has helped make victorious in Saigon. (Booklist)

Grit: the Power of Passion and Perserverance  What makes high achievers successful, MacArthur Fellow Duckworth writes, is grit-a "combination of passion and perseverance"-coupled to their raw talent. Talent is important, she acknowledges, but talent multiplied by grit is what builds skill, and skill multiplied by grit equals achievement. (Publisher's Weekly)

Luckiest Girl Alive  Ani FaNelli is the stereotypical New York woman: skinny, fashionable, and downright bitchy...Throughout her adult life Ani has crafted a new persona for herself, manipulating her appearance, personality, and even her name in order to climb the social ladder to reach an idealized notion of success and stability. (Library Journal)

A Man Called Ove  A curmudgeon hides a terrible personal loss beneath a cranky and short-tempered exterior while clashing with new neighbors, a boisterous family whose chattiness and habits lead to unexpected friendship. (Booklist)

*Pro Tip: If you find yourself on a lengthy hold's list for a new release, skip the line and pick up a copy at the market!

 

Beach Reads

The Assistants  If the characters from HBO's Girls were capable of larceny and blackmail, they could be the main characters of Perri's sharp first novel. (Publisher's Weekly)

I Take You  Enjoying a dream job, close friendships, a loving family, and a gorgeous fiance, Lily Wilder evaluates her history of partying and dating lots of men to consider whether getting married is the right choice for her. (Library Journal)

The Vacationers  Straub's second novel is perfect vacation reading, combining a warm-weather locale with complicated family drama. (Library Journal)

Blood Meridian  The violent, somberly horrifying tale of a dispossessed young man and the band of bloodthirsty mercenaries he joins up with in mid-nineteenth century Mexico.  (Booklist)

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe  When the fakir--a professional con artist--arrives in Paris, he has just one goal: to get to Ikea... But his plan goes horribly awry when he hides inside a wardrobe at the iconic Swedish retailer. (Publisher's Weekly)

Sookie Stackhouse Series  Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life.  (Booklist)

Questions? Email Kimberly White at kimberly.white@dc.gov.