September 2021 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. Cloud Cuckoo Land
    by Anthony Doerr
    Scribner
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    Cloud Cuckoo Land
    by Anthony Doerr
    Scribner
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    On the New York Times bestseller list for over 20 weeks * A New York Times Notable Book * A National Book Award Finalist * Named a Best Book of the Year by Fresh Air, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and many more

    “If you’re looking for a superb novel, look no further.” —The Washington Post

    From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, comes the instant New York Times bestseller that is a “wildly inventive, a humane and uplifting book for adults that’s infused with the magic of childhood reading experiences” (The New York Times Book Review).


    Among the most celebrated and beloved novels of recent times, Cloud Cuckoo Land is a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in worlds in peril, who find resilience, hope, and a book.

    In the 15th century, an orphan named Anna lives inside the formidable walls of Constantinople. She learns to read, and in this ancient city, famous for its libraries, she finds what might be the last copy of a centuries-old book, the story of Aethon, who longs to be turned into a bird so that he can fly to a utopian paradise in the sky. Outside the walls is Omeir, a village boy, conscripted with his beloved oxen into the army that will lay siege to the city. His path and Anna’s will cross.

    In the present day, in a library in Idaho, octogenarian Zeno rehearses children in a play adaptation of Aethon’s story, preserved against all odds through centuries. Tucked among the library shelves is a bomb, planted by a troubled, idealistic teenager, Seymour. This is another siege.

    And in a not-so-distant future, on the interstellar ship Argos, Konstance is alone in a vault, copying on scraps of sacking the story of Aethon, told to her by her father.

    Anna, Omeir, Seymour, Zeno, and Konstance are dreamers and outsiders whose lives are gloriously intertwined. Doerr’s dazzling imagination transports us to worlds so dramatic and immersive that we forget, for a time, our own.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. The Man Who Died Twice
    by Richard Osman
    Pamela Dorman Books
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General
    Hardback
    The Man Who Died Twice
    by Richard Osman
    Pamela Dorman Books
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General
    Hardback
    An instant New York Times bestseller!

    The second gripping novel in the New York Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series, soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment

    “It’s taken a mere two books for Richard Osman to vault into the upper leagues of crime writers. . . The Man Who Died Twice. . . dives right into joyous fun."
    —The New York Times Book Review


    Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—the Thursday Murder Club—are still riding high off their recent real-life murder case and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper’s Chase, their posh retirement village.

    But they are out of luck.

    An unexpected visitor—an old pal of Elizabeth’s (or perhaps more than just a pal?)—arrives, desperate for her help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from the wrong men and he’s seriously on the lam.

    Then, as night follows day, the first body is found. But not the last. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can our four friends catch the killer before the killer catches them? And if they find the diamonds, too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus? You should never put anything beyond the Thursday Murder Club.

    Richard Osman is back with everyone’s favorite mystery-solving quartet, and the second installment of the Thursday Murder Club series is just as clever and warm as the first—an unputdownable, laugh-out-loud pleasure of a read.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. The Strangers
    by Katherena Vermette Canada
    Hamish Hamilton
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    The Strangers
    by Katherena Vermette Canada
    Hamish Hamilton
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER
    WINNER OF THE ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR FICTION
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 MANITOBA BOOK AWARDS’ CAROL SHIELDS WINNIPEG BOOK AWARD, MARGARET LAURENCE AWARD FOR FICTION, AND MCNALLY ROBINSON BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD
    LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE
    A GLOBE & MAIL BEST BOOK


    From the bestselling author of The Break comes a staggering intergenerational saga that explores how connected we are, even when we’re no longer together—even when we’re forced apart.

    Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.

    After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she’s hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she’ll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she’s caused (while wondering if she even should). Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on, unlike her own distant mother. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system that pretends to offer success but expects them to fail. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they’ll ever emerge safely on the other side.

    A breathtaking companion to her bestselling debut The Break, Vermette’s The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that—despite everything—refuse to be broken.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. Matrix
    by Lauren Groff
    Riverhead Books
    Sep 07, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    Matrix
    by Lauren Groff
    Riverhead Books
    Sep 07, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

    WINNER OF THE 2022 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE

    FINALIST FOR THE 2021 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

    One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2021


    Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, NPR, The Financial Times, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Vulture, Marie Claire, Vox, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and more!

    “A relentless exhibition of Groff’s freakish talent. In just over 250 pages, she gives us a character study to rival Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell .” – USA Today


    “An electric reimagining . . . feminist, sensual . . . unforgettable.” – O, The Oprah Magazine

    “Thrilling and heartbreaking.” –Time Magazine

    “[A] page-by-page pleasure as we soar with her.” –New York Times

    One of our best American writers, and author of the highly anticipated THE VASTER WILDS, Lauren Groff returns with this exhilarating and groundbreaking novel


    Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease.

    At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters, and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie’s vision be bulwark enough?

    Equally alive to the sacred and the profane, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy in a mesmerizing portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith, and a woman that history moves both through and around. Lauren Groff’s new novel, her first since Fates and Furies, is a defiant and timely exploration of the raw power of female creativity in a corrupted world.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. What Are Friends For?
    by Lizzie O'Hagan
    Headline
    Sep 14, 2021
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Paperback / softback
    What Are Friends For?
    by Lizzie O'Hagan
    Headline
    Sep 14, 2021
    FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
    Paperback / softback

    EVE AND MAX ARE IN LOVE. THEY JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET.

    'If you are a fan of Sophie Kinsella you'll love this . . . I could so see this book being made into a movie' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
    'You can't put it down once you've started it!' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
    'A beautiful and romantic story that literally took my breath away' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    ____________________________________

    Everyone gives their friends advice when it comes to dating, but what happens when it all goes wrong?

    Eve doesn't have time for dating, but having watched her best friend and flatmate have her heart broken one too many times, she reluctantly volunteers to play her Cupid.

    Max is too much of a hopeless romantic to find the algorithms of online dating anything other than clinical, but he lives with his romantically-challenged best friend who desperately needs his advice.

    And after all, what are friends for?

    As Eve and Max become more involved in their best friends' relationship, they quickly realise there is a fine line between instruction and imitation.

    Especially when they find they can't stop thinking about their best friend's date. . .

    SLIDING DOORS meets THE FLATSHARE and ONE DAY IN DECEMBER in this sweeping, romantic comedy for the digital age! Perfect for fans of Josie Silver and Beth O'Leary.

    *Lizzie's new novel HATE AT FIRST SIGHT is available to pre-order NOW!*

    ____________________________________

    Readers LOVE Lizzie O'Hagan!

    'Such a clever book, a beautifully written modern story of 'will they, won't they', but so much more. Highly recommended!'
    HOT BRANDS, COOL PLACES

    'The perfect will they/won't they romance'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    'I adored this book from start to finish!'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    'The perfect mix of love, friendship, drama and humour'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    'If you enjoyed The Flatshare you will enjoy this novel. The perfect holiday read'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    'A little piece of escapism'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    'It made me wish there were more pages!'
    ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. All Day Baking
    by Pippa James
    Hardie Grant
    Sep 07, 2021
    COOKING / Methods / Baking
    Hardback
    All Day Baking
    by Pippa James
    Hardie Grant
    Sep 07, 2021
    COOKING / Methods / Baking
    Hardback
    For every two lovers of sweet baked treats, there is at least another who will take the gruyere gougere or the curry pastie every time, thank you. All Day Baking: Savoury, Not Sweet is a baking cookbook – at last – for them. Its mission is to deliver comforting, inventive and wholegrain-forward ideas for pies, sausage rolls, pasties and myriad other mostly pastry-based recipes, alongside gutsy accompaniments that equip the reader with the tools to transform delicious bakes into nourishing any-time-of-day meals.

    Author Michael James is a Michelin-restaurant chef by training who was drawn early to the art, precision, and satisfaction of baking. In All Day Baking, his second book, he turns his attention to the pasties of his UK childhood, the pies he creates today for his young family, and the quiches, sausage rolls, palmiers and galettes that have earned him a cultish following around the world. As well, he delivers a master class in pastry &ndahs; from puff to rye to vegan and gluten-free &ndahs; gifting readers a foundation knowledge that sets them on a path to their own freewheeling baking adventures.

    The book is structured across the arc of a day but the recipes at their heart are interchangeable – if you fancy beetroot & shallot galette for breakfast or bacon & onion quiche for dinner – that's perfectly ok. And throughout there is a nod to Michael and wife Pippa James' ethos, rooted in sustainability, seasonality and a desire to minimize their waste footprint.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. The Mystery of Right and Wrong
    by Wayne Johnston Canada
    Knopf Canada
    Sep 21, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    The Mystery of Right and Wrong
    by Wayne Johnston Canada
    Knopf Canada
    Sep 21, 2021
    FICTION / Literary
    Hardback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    The Mystery of Right and Wrong is a masterwork from one of the country’s most critically acclaimed and beloved writers that is both compulsively readable and heartstopping in the vital truth it unfolds. In a novel that grapples with sexual abuse, male violence and madness, Wayne Johnston reveals haunting family secrets he’s kept for more than thirty years.


    Wade Jackson, a young man from a Newfoundland outport, wants to be a writer. In the university library in St. John’s, where he goes every day to absorb the great books of the world, he encounters the fascinating, South African-born Rachel van Hout, and soon they are lovers.

    Rachel is the youngest of four van Hout daughters. Her father, Hans, lived in Amsterdam during the Second World War, and says he was in the Dutch resistance. When the war ended, he emigrated to South Africa, where he met his wife, Myra, had his daughters and worked as an accounting professor at the University of Cape Town. Something happened, though, that caused him to uproot his family and move them all, unhappily, to Newfoundland.

    Wade soon discovers that Rachel and her sisters are each in their own way a wounded soul. The oldest, Gloria, has a string of broken marriages behind her. Carmen is addicted to every drug her Afrikaner dealer husband, Fritz, can lay his hands on. Bethany, the most sardonic of the sisters, is fighting a losing battle with anorexia. And then there is Rachel, who reads The Diary of Anne Frank obsessively, and diarizes her days in a secret language of her own invention, writing to the point of breakdown and beyond—an obsession that has deeper and more disturbing roots than Wade could ever have imagined.

    Confronting the central mystery of his character Rachel’s life—and his own—Wayne Johnston has created a tour-de-force that pulls the reader toward a conclusion both inevitable and impossible to foresee. As he writes, “The Mystery of Right and Wrong is a memorialization of the lost, the missing women of the world, and of my world. I see it not as a dark book, but as one that sheds light—a lot of light—on things that, once illuminated, lose their power to distort the truth.”
    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. The Last Graduate
    by Naomi Novik
    Del Rey
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Fantasy / Epic
    Hardback
    The Last Graduate
    by Naomi Novik
    Del Rey
    Sep 28, 2021
    FICTION / Fantasy / Epic
    Hardback
    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The specter of graduation looms large as Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling trilogy continues in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education.

    “The climactic graduation-day battle will bring cheers, tears, and gasps as the second of the Scholomance trilogy closes with a breathtaking cliff-hanger.”—Booklist (starred review)

    HUGO AWARD FINALIST • LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Polygon, Thrillist, She Reads

    In Wisdom, Shelter. That’s the official motto of the Scholomance. I suppose you could even argue that it’s true—only the wisdom is hard to come by, so the shelter’s rather scant.

    Our beloved school does its best to devour all its students—but now that I’ve reached my senior year and have actually won myself a handful of allies, it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving for me. And even if I somehow make it through the endless waves of maleficaria that it keeps throwing at me in between grueling homework assignments, I haven’t any idea how my allies and I are going to make it through the graduation hall alive.

    Unless, of course, I finally accept my foretold destiny of dark sorcery and destruction. That would certainly let me sail straight out of here. The course of wisdom, surely.

    But I’m not giving in—not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this hideous place for good—even if it’s the last thing I do.

    With keen insight and mordant humor, Novik reminds us that sometimes it is not enough to rewrite the rules—sometimes, you need to toss out the entire rulebook.

    The magic of the Scholomance trilogy continues in The Golden Enclaves
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. Celebrate with Kim-Joy
    by Kim-Joy
    Quadrille Publishing
    Nov 09, 2021
    COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Cakes
    Hardback
    Celebrate with Kim-Joy
    by Kim-Joy
    Quadrille Publishing
    Nov 09, 2021
    COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Cakes
    Hardback
    Let Kim-Joy and her signature cuteness brighten your celebrations. From birthday cakes to year-round events, all occasions are covered!

    The 60 sweet recipes are bursting with color, imagination and fun and there's something for everyone, no matter what their baking skills.

    Big occasions include birthdays, Valentine's Day, Halloween, Christmas, weddings; and there are plenty of other celebrations too – Graduation Day, New Year's, new baby, Pride, Thanksgiving, Day of the Dead, Pancake Day and many more.

    Vegan and gluten-free alternatives are provided so that no one needs to miss out!

    This joyful collection of recipes includes all the step-by-step photography, clear instructions and words of positivity you need to learn to bake and decorate just like Kim-Joy.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. Dark Things I Adore
    by Katie Lattari
    Sourcebooks Landmark
    Sep 14, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    Dark Things I Adore
    by Katie Lattari
    Sourcebooks Landmark
    Sep 14, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback

    "[C]areful and sinewy plotting, which reveals in chilling detail who gets to make art, and who gets subsumed in the process."—New York Times Book Review

    A debut thriller for fans of Lucy Foley and Liz Moore, Dark Things I Adore is a stunning Gone Girl-esque tale of atonement that proves that in the grasp of manipulative men, women may momentarily fall. But in the hands of fierce women, men will be brought to their knees.

    Three campfire secrets. Two witnesses. One dead in the trees. And the woman, thirty years later, bent on making the guilty finally pay.

    1988. A group of outcasts gather at a small, prestigious arts camp nestled in the Maine woods. They're the painters: bright, hopeful, teeming with potential. But secrets and dark ambitions rise like smoke from a campfire, and the truths they tell will come back to haunt them in ways more deadly than they dreamed.

    2018. Esteemed art professor Max Durant arrives at his protégé's remote home to view her graduate thesis collection. He knows Audra is beautiful and brilliant. He knows being invited into her private world is a rare gift. But he doesn't know that Audra has engineered every aspect of their weekend together. Every detail, every conversation. Audra has woven the perfect web.

    Only Audra knows what happened that summer in 1988. Max's secret, and the dark things that followed. And even though it won't be easy, Audra knows someone must pay.

    A searing psychological thriller of trauma, dark academia, complicity, and revenge, Dark Things I Adore unravels the realities behind campfire legends—the horrors that happen in the dark, the girls who become cautionary tales, and the guilty who go unpunished. Until now.

    "A smart, nuanced exploration of victims and villains, inspiration and theft, and the intersection of these things, in every artist. Pay attention to Katie Lattari. She's the real deal."—Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

    View this title on BNC CataList

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