Fiction
The underground railroad : a novel
Colson Whitehead
FICTION Whitehead, Colson
Fiction
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is on the cusp of womanhood—where greater pain awaits. And so when Caesar, a slave who has recently arrived from Virginia, urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. In Colson Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop.
Good morning, midnight : a novel
Lily Brooks-Dalton
FICTION Brooks-Dalton Lily
Fiction
"In a world transformed by an unknown disaster, two outsiders must grapple with love, regret, and survival. Augustine, a brilliant and aging astronomer, refuses to evacuate his remote research post when news of a catastrophe arrives. He and a mysterious child, left behind in the evacuation, are trapped alone in the Arctic Circle, with no one responding to their radio calls. Meanwhile, Mission Specialist Sullivan is on a long return flight from Jupiter. When she and her fellow astronauts discover that Mission Control has fallen silent, and that they must find their way home without help, she wonders if she will ever return to the daughter and the life she left behind. As their stories gradually intertwine, Augustine and Sully each confront uncertain futures and question the regrets and sacrifices that have defined their lives -- until the profound and unexpected conclusion, when a powerful answer is offered." -- Page [4] of cover.
George Clooney directed and starred in the 2020 film version. -Beth
Atonement : a novel
Ian McEwan
FICTION McEwan, Ian
Fiction
In 1935 England, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses an event involving her sister Cecilia and her childhood friend Robbie Turner, and she becomes the victim of her own imagination, which leads her on a lifelong search for truth and absolution.
Joe Wright directed the 2007 film version of Attonement, starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, and Brenda Blethyn. -Beth
Perfume : the story of a murderer
Patrick Süskind
FICTION Suskind, Patrick
Fiction
An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.
Tom Tykwer directed the 2006 film version by the same title, starring Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman. -Beth
The hunt for Red October
Tom Clancy
FICTION Clancy, Tom
Fiction
The Soviets' new ballistic-missile submarine is attempting to defect to the United States, but the Soviet Atlantic fleet has been ordered to find and destroy her at all costs. Can Red October reach the U.S. safely? Gripping military thriller about the chase after a top-secret Russian missilesubmarine.
John McTiernan directed the 1990 film version which starred Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, and Scott Glenn . -Beth
At home in Mitford
Jan Karon
FICTION Karon, Jan
Fiction
The first book in the Mitford Years series by Jan Karon. It’s easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won’t go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that’s sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy in which mysteries and miracles abound.
Became the 2017 Hallmark Television film of the same title, starring Andie MacDowell, Cameron Mathison, and Ken Tremblett. -Beth
The girl with the dragon tattoo
Stieg Larsson
FICTION Larsson, Stieg
Fiction
The disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, gnaws at her octogenarian uncle, Henrik Vanger. He is determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder. He hires crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist, recently at the wrong end of a libel case, to get to the bottom of Harriet's disappearance. Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old, pierced, tattooed genius hacker, possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age--and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness--assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, an astonishing corruption at the highest echelon of Swedish industrialism--and a surprising connection between themselves.--From publisher description.
David Fincher directed the 2011 film version that starred Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, and Christopher Plummer. -Beth
The cider house rules
John Irving
FICTION Irving, John
Fiction
Set in the pre– and post–World War II era, The Cider House Rules is about a young man, Homer Wells, growing up under the guidance of Dr. Wilbur Larch, an obstetrician and abortionist. The story relates his early life at Larch's orphanage in Maine and follows Homer as he eventually leaves the nest and comes of age in the world.
Lasse Hallström directed the 1999 film version starring Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and Michael Caine. -Beth
The notebook
Nicholas Sparks
FICTION Sparks, Nicholas
Fiction
The Notebook is a 1996 novel by Nicholas Sparks. The story centers on the relationship between Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson. Spanning over five decades, their love endures an uncertain beginning, the onset and conclusion of World War II, the death of one child, and Allie’s eventual diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Became the 2004 Nick Cassavetes film of the same title, starring Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, and James Garner. -Beth
A walk to remember
Nicholas Sparks
FICTION Sparks, Nicholas
Fiction
This novel tells the love story of Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan. Set in 1958 in North Carolina, Landon and Jamie both attend Beaufort High but are worlds apart. Jamie is the minister’s daughter, studies hard, and is shy. Landon, on the other hand, is mixed in with the ‘wrong crowd,’ and does not mind living on the edge despite the trouble he might land in. As these two fall unexpectedly in love, they are just as unexpectedly torn apart as tragedy strikes.
Adam Shankman directed the 2002 film starring Mandy Moore and Shane West. -Beth
Added by Beth