Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For
nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout
this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares.
John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative
reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work
of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining
first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old
South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder
case. Read an
Excerpt.
Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White
Anyone who has read the bestselling Mama Makes Up Her Mind or listened to
Bailey White's inimitable commentaries on NPR knows that she is a storyteller of
immeasurable wit and charm. Now, in her stunningly accomplished first novel, she
introduces us to the peculiar yet lovable people who inhabit a small town in
South Georgia. Meet serious, studious Roger, the peanut pathologist and unlikely
love object of half the town's women. Meet Roger's ex-mother-in-law, Louise, who
teams up with an ardent typographer in an attempt to attract outer-space invaders
with specific combinations of letters and numbers. And meet Della, the bird
artist who captivates Roger with the sensible but enigmatic notes she leaves on
things she throws away at the Dumpster. Heartbreakingly tender, often hilarious,
Quite a Year for Plums is a delectable treat from a writer who has been
called a national treasure. Read an
Excerpt.
The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman
In 1962, Natalie Marx's mother inquires about summer accommodations at an inn in
Vermont, only to receive the following reply: The Inn at Lake Devine is a
family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our
guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles.
For twelve-year-old Natalie, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating,
irresistible challenge--one that sparks a fixation with a small bastion of genteel
anti-Semitism that will shape the course of her adult life. As Natalie tries to
enter the world that has excluded her--and succeeds through the sheerest of
accidents--Elinor Lipman expertly combines tragedy and romance in a humorous novel
of social awakening. Read an excerpt and print our free Reading Group Guide.
Dear Exile by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
Close friends and former college roommates, Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
promised to write when Kate's Peace Corps assignment took her to Africa. Over
the course of a single year, they exchanged an offbeat and moving series of
letters from rural Kenya to New York City and back again. Kate, an idealistic
teacher, meets unexpected realities ranging from poisonous snakes and vengeful
cows to more serious hazards. Hilary, braving the singles scene in Manhattan, confronts her own
realities, from unworthy suitors to job anxiety and first apartment woes. Their
correspondence tells--with humor, warmth, and vivid personal detail--the story of
two young women navigating their twenties in very different ways, and of the very
special friendships we are sometimes lucky enough
to find. Read an excerpt and print our free Reading Group Guide.
Ship of Gold by Gary Kinder
This enthralling true story of maritime tragedy and visionary science begins with
a disaster to rival the sinking of the Titanic. In September 1857, the S.S.Central America, a side-wheel steamer carrying passengers returning from the gold
fields of California, went down during a hurricane off the Carolina coast. More
than 400 men--and 21 tons of gold--were lost. In the 1980s, a maverick engineer
named Tommy Thompson set out to find the wreck and salvage its treasure from the
ocean floor. With knuckle-biting suspense, Gary Kinder reconstructs the terror of the Central
America's last days and goes on to chronicle
Thompson's epic quest for the lost vessel--an endeavor that drew on the latest
strides in oceanography, information theory, and underwater robotics, and that
pitted Thompson against hair-raising weather, bloodthirsty sharks, and
unscrupulous rivals. Read an excerpt.
And check out past celebrations...
Summer Reading
Heading to the beach this summer? Tuck a few of our great summer reads in your bag before you go!
IN PAPERBACK AT LAST:
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt