Best of adult 2019

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  1. The Starless Sea
    by Erin Morgenstern
    Doubleday Canada
    Nov 05, 2019
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    The Starless Sea
    by Erin Morgenstern
    Doubleday Canada
    Nov 05, 2019
    FICTION / Women
    Hardback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2019 BY TIME * E! News * The Guardian * NPR * Real Simple * Good Housekeeping * BookPage * Bustle


    From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.


    Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
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  2. The Testaments
    by Margaret Atwood Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Sep 10, 2019
    FICTION / Dystopian
    Hardback
    The Testaments
    by Margaret Atwood Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Sep 10, 2019
    FICTION / Dystopian
    Hardback
    WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE
    LONGLISTED FOR THE SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE
    INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

    Margaret Atwood's dystopian masterpiece, The Handmaid's Tale, has become a modern classic—and now she brings the iconic story to a dramatic conclusion in this riveting sequel.


    More than fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within. At this crucial moment, the lives of three radically different women converge, with potentially explosive results.

    Two have grown up as part of the first generation to come of age in the new order. The testimonies of these two young women are joined by a third voice: a woman who wields power through the ruthless accumulation and deployment of secrets.

    As Atwood unfolds The Testaments, she opens up the innermost workings of Gilead as each woman is forced to come to terms with who she is, and how far she will go for what she believes.

    "The literary event of the year." —The Guardian

    "The international literary event of the season." —Globe and Mail

    "It’s terrifying and exhilarating." —Judges of the Booker Prize 2019
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  3. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
    by Abbi Waxman
    Berkley
    Jul 09, 2019
    FICTION / Women
    Paperback / softback
    The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
    by Abbi Waxman
    Berkley
    Jul 09, 2019
    FICTION / Women
    Paperback / softback
    Instant USA Today bestseller!

    “Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin

    “Meet our bookish millennial heroine—a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, if you will… Waxman’s wit and wry humor stand out. She is funny and imaginative, and “Bookish” lands a step above run-of-the-mill romantic comedy fare.”—The Washington Post

    “Abbi Waxman offers up a quirky, eccentric romance that will charm any bookworm…. For anyone who’s ever wondered if their greatest romance might come between the pages of books they read, Waxman offers a heartwarming tribute to that possibility.”--Entertainment Weekly

    The author of Other People’s Houses and The Garden of Small Beginnings delivers a quirky and charming novel chronicling the life of confirmed introvert Nina Hill as she does her best to fly under everyone's radar.


    Meet Nina Hill: A young woman supremely confident in her own...shell.

    The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book.

    When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They're all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She'll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It's a disaster! And as if that wasn't enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn't he realize what a terrible idea that is?

    Nina considers her options.
    1. Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.)
    2. Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).
    3. Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

    It's time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn't convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It's going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page.
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  4. The Silent Patient
    by Alex Michaelides
    Celadon Books
    Feb 05, 2019
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    The Silent Patient
    by Alex Michaelides
    Celadon Books
    Feb 05, 2019
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback

    **THE INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**

    "An unforgettable—and Hollywood-bound—new thriller... A mix of Hitchcockian suspense, Agatha Christie plotting, and Greek tragedy."
    Entertainment Weekly

    The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

    Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

    Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

    Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him....

    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. Big Sky
    by Kate Atkinson
    Bond Street Books
    Jun 25, 2019
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    Big Sky
    by Kate Atkinson
    Bond Street Books
    Jun 25, 2019
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    INSTANT INTERNATIONAL AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    Iconoclastic detective Jackson Brodie returns in a triumphant new novel about secrets, sex, and lies


    Jackson Brodie has relocated to a quiet seaside village in North Yorkshire, in the occasional company of his recalcitrant teenage son and an ageing Labrador, both at the discretion of his ex-partner Julia. It’s picturesque, but there’s something darker lurking behind the scenes

    Jackson's current job, gathering proof of an unfaithful husband for a suspicious wife, seems straightforward, but a chance encounter with a desperate man on a crumbling cliff leads him across a sinister network—and back into the path of someone from his past.

    Old secrets and new lies intersect in this breathtaking new novel, both sharply funny and achingly sad, by one of the most dazzling and surprising writers at work today.
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  6. Albatross
    by Terry Fallis Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Aug 13, 2019
    FICTION / Coming of Age
    Paperback / softback
    Albatross
    by Terry Fallis Canada
    McClelland & Stewart
    Aug 13, 2019
    FICTION / Coming of Age
    Paperback / softback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    From two-time Leacock Medal winner Terry Fallis comes a funny and smart new novel about destiny—and what it means to forge your own path.


    Adam Coryell is your average high-school student—well, except for that obsession with fountain pens—when his life changes forever. Based on a study by a quirky Swedish professor that claims that every human being, regardless of athletic inclination, has a body that is suited to excel in at least one sport, it turns out that Adam is good—very good, in fact—at golf. Even though he'd never even picked up a golf club. Almost instantly, and with his coach, hard-nosed Bobbie Davenport by his side, Adam and his new-found talent skyrocket to a prodigy-level stardom that includes tournament titles, sponsorship deals, throngs of fans following his every move, and fodder for tabloids. But here's the catch: Adam doesn't really like golf. And as the life he once knew slips away—including the love of his life, the dream of being a writer, and everyday normalcy—he can't help but wonder if all this success and fame is worth it . . . or if it's enough for him. Heartwarming and funny, sweeping and entertaining, Terry Fallis's new book takes readers on a journey of self-discovery.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. City of Girls
    by Elizabeth Gilbert
    Riverhead Books
    Jun 04, 2019
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    City of Girls
    by Elizabeth Gilbert
    Riverhead Books
    Jun 04, 2019
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

    From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, a delicious novel of glamour, sex, and adventure, about a young woman discovering that you don't have to be a good girl to be a good person.

    "A spellbinding novel about love, freedom, and finding your own happiness." - PopSugar

    "Intimate and richly sensual, razzle-dazzle with a hint of danger." -USA Today

    "Pairs well with a cocktail...or two." -TheSkimm


    "Life is both fleeting and dangerous, and there is no point in denying yourself pleasure, or being anything other than what you are."

    Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world during the 1940s. Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.

    In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves - and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest.

    Now eighty-nine years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life - and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. "At some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time," she muses. "After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is." Written with a powerful wisdom about human desire and connection, City of Girls is a love story like no other.
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  8. A Better Man
    by Louise Penny Canada
    Minotaur Books
    Aug 27, 2019
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Traditional
    Hardback
    A Better Man
    by Louise Penny Canada
    Minotaur Books
    Aug 27, 2019
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Traditional
    Hardback

    “‘A Better Man,' with its mix of meteorological suspense, psychological insight and criminal pursuit, is arguably the best book yet in an outstanding, original oeuvre.” —Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal

    "Enchanting... one of his most ennobling missions." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review


    Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny.

    It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter.

    As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father.

    Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel…, he resumes the search.

    As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made.

    In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question.

    What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?

    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. The Water Dancer
    by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    One World
    Sep 24, 2019
    FICTION / African American & Black / Historical
    Hardback
    The Water Dancer
    by Ta-Nehisi Coates
    One World
    Sep 24, 2019
    FICTION / African American & Black / Historical
    Hardback
    #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom.

    “This potent book about America’s most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.”—San Francisco Chronicle

    IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, directed by Nia DaCosta, and produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films

    NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • The Washington PostChicago TribuneVanity FairEsquire Good Housekeeping PasteTown & Country • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews Library Journal


    Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known.

    So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures.

    This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children—the violent and capricious separation of families—and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of today’s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen.

    Praise for The Water Dancer

    “Ta-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me. So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectations—and then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . What’s most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.”Rolling Stone
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  10. The Bride Test
    by Helen Hoang
    Berkley
    May 07, 2019
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Paperback / softback
    The Bride Test
    by Helen Hoang
    Berkley
    May 07, 2019
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Paperback / softback
    From the USA Today bestselling author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart...

    Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he's defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

    As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can't turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go as planned. Esme's lessons in love seem to be working...but only on herself. She's hopelessly smitten with a man who's convinced he can never return her affection.

    With Esme's time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he's been wrong all along. And there's more than one way to love.
    View this title on BNC CataList

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