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October 2018 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. Half Spent Was the Night
    by Ami McKay Canada
    9780735275669
    Knopf Canada
    Oct 16, 2018
    FICTION / Historical / General
    Hardback
    Half Spent Was the Night
    by Ami McKay Canada
    9780735275669
    Knopf Canada
    Oct 16, 2018
    FICTION / Historical / General
    Hardback
    Beloved author Ami McKay is back, bringing us a magical follow-up in the tradition of Victorian winter tales to her mesmerizing bestseller, The Witches of New York.

    During the nights between Christmas and New Year's, the witches of New York—Adelaide Thom, Eleanor St. Clair and the youngest, Beatrice Dunn—gather before the fire to tell ghost stories and perform traditional Yuletide divinations. (Did you know that roasting chestnuts was once used to foretell one's fate?)

    As the witches roast chestnuts and melt lead to see their fate, a series of odd messengers land on their doorstep bearing invitations for a New Year's Eve masquerade hosted by a woman they've never met. Gossip, dreams and portents follow, leading the witches to question the woman's motives. Is she as benevolent as she seems or is she laying a trap? And so, as Gilded-Age New York prepares to ring in the new year, the witches don their finery and head for the ball, on the hunt for answers that might well be the end of them.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. Trickster Drift
    by Eden Robinson Canada
    9780735273436
    Knopf Canada
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    Trickster Drift
    by Eden Robinson Canada
    9780735273436
    Knopf Canada
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    Following the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted Son of a Trickster comes Trickster Drift, the second book in Eden Robinson's captivating Trickster trilogy.

    In an effort to keep all forms of magic at bay, Jared, 17, has quit drugs and drinking. But his troubles are not over: now he's being stalked by David, his mom's ex--a preppy, khaki-wearing psycho with a proclivity for rib-breaking. And his mother, Maggie, a living, breathing badass as well as a witch, can't protect him like she used to because he's moved away from Kitimat to Vancouver for school.
    Even though he's got a year of sobriety under his belt (no thanks to his enabling, ever-partying mom), Jared also struggles with the temptation of drinking. And he's got to get his grades up, find a job that doesn't involve weed cookies, and somehow live peacefully with his Aunt Mave, who has been estranged from the family ever since she tried to "rescue" him as a baby from his mother. An indigenous activist and writer, Mave smothers him with pet names and hugs, but she is blind to the real dangers that lurk around them--the spirits and supernatural activity that fill her apartment.
    As the son of a Trickster, Jared is a magnet for magic, whether he hates it or not--he sees ghosts, he sees the monster moving underneath his Aunt Georgina's skin, he sees the creature that comes out of his bedroom wall and creepily wants to suck his toes. He also still hears the Trickster in his head, and other voices too. When the David situation becomes a crisis, Jared can't ignore his true nature any longer.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. A Spark of Light
    by Jodi Picoult
    9780345813411
    Random House Canada
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    A Spark of Light
    by Jodi Picoult
    9780345813411
    Random House Canada
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    The lives of ordinary people become intertwined when a gunman takes hostages at a women's clinic in the #1 New York Times bestselling author's latest.

    At Mississippi's sole remaining women's reproductive services clinic, a gunman bursts in and takes its patients and staff hostage. The stories that brought these individuals to the clinic vary, from a woman awaiting cancer screening results to a protestor hoping to catch the clinic in a scandal that could be used in a pro-life campaign. Then there is the police hostage negotiator, whose daughter is also trapped inside the facility, and the gunman himself, who has a vendetta to carry out. Meanwhile, across the state, a seventeen-year-old woman lands in the hospital after an attempt to self-terminate her pregnancy and is subsequently charged by the pro-life DA for the murder of her unborn child. They, too, are connected to the events unfolding in the clinic.
    As the book moves backward in time, each chapter set one hour earlier than the last, we learn how all these people and their stories are unwittingly connected--and that none of these characters' reasons for being where they are at this fateful place and time are exactly what it appears at first glance.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. The Deal of a Lifetime and Other Stories
    by Fredrik Backman
    9781982103323
    Simon & Schuster
    Nov 13, 2018
    FICTION / Short Stories
    Hardback
    The Deal of a Lifetime and Other Stories
    by Fredrik Backman
    9781982103323
    Simon & Schuster
    Nov 13, 2018
    FICTION / Short Stories
    Hardback
    From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Beartown comes a collection of three deeply moving stories about facing life’s greatest struggles.

    Beloved author Fredrik Backman is back with a mesmerizing array of stories about discovering and treasuring what is truly important in life.

    The Deal of a Lifetime is a profound and moving novella set on Christmas Eve. It tells the story of the intertwining destinies of a man who has built a global business empire but lost his family in the process and a courageous little girl fighting for her life, and it asks the question: if you had the chance to change your legacy, would you take it?

    In the touching novella And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, an elderly man sits on a bench with his son and grandson, reminiscing and telling jokes. As he recalls his most precious memories and faces his regrets, the man discovers there is one last thing he must do: help his family learn to say goodbye without fear.

    Finally, “Sebastian and the Troll” is Fredrik Backman’s newest work—an eloquent short story about a young boy struggling with depression and how he finds the courage to discover the person he might become.

    With his signature humor, compassion, and charm, Backman reminds us that life is a gift, and what matters most is how we share that gift with those we love.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. The Witch Elm
    by Tana French
    9780735224629
    Viking
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    The Witch Elm
    by Tana French
    9780735224629
    Viking
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    Named a New York Times Notable Book of 2018 and a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, The New York Times Book Review, Amazon, The Boston Globe, LitHub, Vulture, Slate, Elle, Vox, and Electric Literature

    “Tana French’s best and most intricately nuanced novel yet.” —The New York Times

    An “extraordinary” (Stephen King) and “mesmerizing” (LA Times) new standalone novel from the master of crime and suspense and author of the forthcoming novel The Searcher.

    From the writer who “inspires cultic devotion in readers” (The New Yorker) and has been called “incandescent” by Stephen King, “absolutely mesmerizing” by Gillian Flynn, and “unputdownable” (People) comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out.

    Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life—he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden—and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.

    A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, when we no longer know who we are.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. The Clockmaker's Daughter
    by Kate Morton
    9781451649390
    Atria Books
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    The Clockmaker's Daughter
    by Kate Morton
    9781451649390
    Atria Books
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    “An ambitious, compelling historical mystery with a fabulous cast of characters…Kate Morton at her very best.” —Kristin Hannah

    “An elaborate tapestry…Morton doesn’t disappoint.” —The Washington Post

    "Classic English country-house Goth at its finest." —New York Post

    In the depths of a 19th-century winter, a little girl is abandoned on the streets of Victorian London. She grows up to become in turn a thief, an artist’s muse, and a lover. In the summer of 1862, shortly after her eighteenth birthday, she travels with a group of artists to a beautiful house on a bend of the Upper Thames. Tensions simmer and one hot afternoon a gunshot rings out. A woman is killed, another disappears, and the truth of what happened slips through the cracks of time. It is not until over a century later, when another young woman is drawn to Birchwood Manor, that its secrets are finally revealed.

    Told by multiple voices across time, this is an intricately layered, richly atmospheric novel about art and passion, forgiveness and loss, that shows us that sometimes the way forward is through the past.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. Moon of the Crusted Snow
    by Waubgeshig Rice Canada
    9781770414006
    ECW Press
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Paperback / softback
    Moon of the Crusted Snow
    by Waubgeshig Rice Canada
    9781770414006
    ECW Press
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Literary
    Paperback / softback

    2023 Canada Reads Longlist Selection

    National Bestseller

    Winner of the 2019 OLA Forest of Reading Evergreen Award

    Shortlisted for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award

    Shortlisted for the 2019/20 First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award

    2020 Burlington Library Selection; 2020 Hamilton Reads One Book One Community Selection; 2020 Region of Waterloo One Book One Community Selection; 2019 Ontario Library Association Ontario Together We Read Program Selection; 2019 Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads; 2019 Amnesty International Book Club Pick

    January 2020 Reddit r/bookclub pick of the month

    “This slow-burning thriller is also a powerful story of survival and will leave readers breathless.” — Publishers Weekly

    “Rice seamlessly injects Anishinaabe language into the dialogue and creates a beautiful rendering of the natural world … This title will appeal to fans of literary science-fiction akin to Cormac McCarthy as well as to readers looking for a fresh voice in indigenous fiction.” — Booklist

    A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice

    With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.

    The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.

    Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. An Easy Death
    by Charlaine Harris
    9781481494922
    Gallery / Saga Press
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
    Hardback
    An Easy Death
    by Charlaine Harris
    9781481494922
    Gallery / Saga Press
    Oct 02, 2018
    FICTION / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
    Hardback
    From the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, the inspiration for HBO’s True Blood, comes “a gripping, twisty-turny, thrill ride of a read” (Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author) following a young gunslinging mercenary on deadly mission through the American Southwest.

    In a fractured United States, a new world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted, a young gunslinger named Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards. Lizbeth Rose has a wildly fearsome reputation but these wizards are desperate. Searching the small border towns near Mexico, they’re trying to locate a low-level magic practitioner believed to be a direct descendant of Grigori Rasputin.

    As the trio journey through an altered America—shattered into several countries after the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression—they’re set on by enemies. It’s clear that a powerful force does not want them to succeed in their mission. Lizbeth Rose has never failed a client, but this job may stretch her to her deadly limits.

    “Immersive, involving, suspenseful and intriguing, with a main character you’ll love” (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author), An Easy Death is a fast-paced thriller of the highest order.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. The Proposal
    by Jasmine Guillory
    9780399587689
    Berkley
    Oct 30, 2018
    FICTION / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial
    Paperback / softback
    The Proposal
    by Jasmine Guillory
    9780399587689
    Berkley
    Oct 30, 2018
    FICTION / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial
    Paperback / softback
    THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
    A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick

    “There is so much to relate to and throughout the novel, there is a sharp feminist edge. Loved this one, and you will too.”—New York Times bestselling author Roxane Gay

    The New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date serves up a novel about what happens when a public proposal doesn't turn into a happy ending, thanks to a woman who knows exactly how to make one on her own...

    When someone asks you to spend your life with him, it shouldn't come as a surprise—or happen in front of 45,000 people.

    When freelance writer Nikole Paterson goes to a Dodgers game with her actor boyfriend, his man bun, and his bros, the last thing she expects is a scoreboard proposal. Saying no isn't the hard part—they've only been dating for five months, and he can’t even spell her name correctly. The hard part is having to face a stadium full of disappointed fans...

    At the game with his sister, Carlos Ibarra comes to Nik’s rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. He’s even there for her when the video goes viral and Nik’s social media blows up—in a bad way. Nik knows that in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can't be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him, filled with food, fun, and fantastic sex. But when their glorified hookups start breaking the rules, one of them has to be smart enough to put on the brakes...
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. Tilly and the Crazy Eights
    by Monique Gray Smith Canada
    9781772600759
    Second Story Press
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Indigenous / General
    Paperback / softback
    Tilly and the Crazy Eights
    by Monique Gray Smith Canada
    9781772600759
    Second Story Press
    Oct 09, 2018
    FICTION / Indigenous / General
    Paperback / softback
    When Tilly receives an invitation to help drive eight elders on their ultimate bucket-list road trip, she impulsively says yes. Before she knows it, Tilly has said good-bye to her family and is on an adventure that will transform her in ways she could not predict, just as it will for the elders who soon dub themselves “the Crazy Eights.” The Crazy Eights each choose a stop—somewhere or something they’ve always wanted to experience—on the way to their ultimate goal, the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque. Their plan is to travel to Las Vegas, Sedona, and the Redwood Forests, with each destination the inspiration for secrets and stories to be revealed. The trip proves to be powerful medicine as they laugh, heal, argue, and dream along the way. By the time their bus rolls to a stop in New Mexico, Tilly and the Crazy Eights, with friendships forged and hearts mended, feel ready for anything. But are they?
    View this title on BNC CataList

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