CHASING THE THRILL BY DANIEL BARBARISI

 When Forrest Fenn was given a fatal cancer diagnosis, he came up with a bold plan: He would hide a chest full of jewels and gold in the wilderness, and publish a poem that would serve as a map leading to the treasure's secret location. 

THE MEASURE BY NIKKI ERLICK

 It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is an ambitious, invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

THE LITTLE LIAR BY MITCH ALBON

 

When the Nazis invade Salonika, Greece, eleven-year-old Nico Crispi is offered a chance to save his family. He is instructed to convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading towards the east, where they are promised jobs and safety. He dutifully goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that the people he loved would never return.

In The Little Liar, Nico's story is interweaved with other individuals impacted by the occupation: his brother Sebastian, their schoolmate Fanni and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, the consequences of what they endured come to light.

Exploring honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to redeem us.

POOR THINGS BY ALASDAIR GRAY

 

One of Alasdair Gray's most brilliant creations, Poor Things is a postmodern revision of Frankenstein that replaces the traditional monster with Bella Baxter - a beautiful young erotomaniac brought back to life with the brain of an infant. Godwin Baxter's scientific ambition to create the perfect companion is realized when he finds the drowned body of Bella, but his dream is thwarted by Dr. Archibald McCandless's jealous love for Baxter's creation.

SONNY BY S.J. PEDDIE

 

Newsday reporter S.J. Peddie interviewed Franzese in prison—and uncovered a lifetime of shocking secrets from the legend himself: Through it all, Franzese refused to break the Mafia's code of silence. Authorities believe he may have murdered, or ordered the murders of, forty to fifty people.

SISTER JEAN WAKE UP WITH PURPOSE!

 

Known to millions as simply "Sister Jean," the Loyola Chicago matriarch gives readers a remarkable memoir filled with history, wonder, and common-sense wisdom for this century and beyond."I've seen so many changes in the last 102 years, but the important things remain the same."Part memoir, part philosophy text, and part spiritual guide, Sister Jean's wit, wisdom, and common sense seems to appeal to the broadest possible audience--religious and non-religious, old and young, male and female, sports fan and non-sports fan. Along with her collaborator Seth Davis, an award-winning writer, broadcaster and New York Times best-selling author, the book captures not just Sister Jean's words but also her spirit, as well as her sharp sense of humor. The reader feels just as the students at Loyola do when they knock on her office door, plop down in a chair, and ask if she would have time to chat, an activity that she still does daily at the age of 102.The driving force inside Wake Up with Purpose! i s the narrative of Sister Jean's fascinating life. She dips into her prodigious memory bank and draws the reader in as she retraces her path from a young girl growing up in the Bay Area of California (where her father kept a pet monkey and family ark beached on the shore and where she walked with her mother across the Golden Gate Bridge on the day it opened) to her studies to become a Sister at the BVM Mother House in Iowa to her long tenure as an elementary school teacher in Chicago and Los Angeles to her decades on university faculty at Mundelein College and Loyola University to, finally, her unexpected turn as a centenarian celebrity with multiple bobblehead dolls crafted in her image. Alongside those detailed recollections, Sister Jean lays out the life lessons she gleaned and expounds on broad, universal themes that tie everything together, providing priceless wisdom from a woman who's become a national treasure.

Audio CD

THE STORYTELLER BY JODI PICCOULT

 

The story follows Sage Singer, a baker who works alone in a bakery on the night shift to avoid people in the day. An unlikely friendship forms between Sage and a 95-year-old man named Josef Weber, who reveals he was once a Nazi SS guard at a concentration camp.Nov 7, 2017