Day After Night: A Novel
Anita Diamant (Scribner)
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“Four women with four different stories of surviving the European Jewish Holocaust find themselves in an internment camp run by the British military in Palestine as illegals, Jews without papers. Based on the true story of a dramatic rescue in 1945 of more than 200 prisoners at the Atlit internment camp, this extraordinary novel is equal parts history, adventure, and celebration of the profound determination of the human psyche. I loved this book and will recommend it for reading groups.”
— Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books, Saint Louis, MO
September 2009 Indie Next List
Inspired Recommendations from Indie Booksellers
By Charles Todd
William Morrow
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“A Duty to the Dead introduces Bess Crawford, a strong-willed young woman in the nursing corps during WWI. To fulfill a promise made to the charismatic dying soldier she fell in love with, Bess will have to uncover family secrets and a web of deception spanning years. Bess Crawford is a character I look forward to spending more time with.”
— Joni Montover, Paragraphs on Padre Boulevard, South Padre Island, TX
By Gaile Parkin
Delacorte
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“Cake maker Angel Tungaraza lives in a multicultural community in Rwanda, where she finds healing after the losses of her two grown children as she helps others solve their own problems with equal doses of common sense and kindness. Tragedy and humor find balance in this thoroughly enjoyable novel.”
— Sandy Scott, The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT
By Thomas Trofimuk
Doubleday
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“Christopher Columbus, institutionalized in an insane asylum in contemporary Spain, is sedated, isolated, and wishing for his cell phone so he can call the queen to check on his ships. In this back-and-forth between past and present, delusion and reality, the reader is swept into Columbus' world and empathizes with Nurse Consuela, whose friendship with her patient draws her into feelings she struggles to control. I loved the history -- and the mystery -- of Waiting for Columbus.”
— Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA
By Pete Dexter
Grand Central Publishing
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“Pete Dexter's tale of the troubled Warren Spooner and his court-martialed navy officer step-dad, Calmer Ottosson, defies comparison. Dexter's eye for detail, taste for the absurd, and dark and disturbing wit are all unparalleled in contemporary literature. Dexter has always deserved a much larger readership, and Spooner is just the book to bring it to him.”
— Dave Mallmann, Next Chapter Bookshop, Mequon, WI
By Tracy Kidder
Random House
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“Tracy Kidder shines a penetrating, compassionate light on Deo, a Burundian, whose extraordinary resume includes cow herder, medical student, target in the genocidal horror of the mid-1990s, refugee, homeless Manhattan grocery deliverer, Columbia University student, medical student again, and philanthropist. Kidder's portraits of Deo and the amazing people who helped him are appalling, enlightening, and inspiring.”
— Banna Rubinow, The River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY
By Dan Chaon
Ballantine Books
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“Await Your Reply is an unsettling, heartbreaking examination of identity and relationships. Dan Chaon skillfully weaves three separate stories together, and, through well-drawn characters and fascinating subplots, he makes the reader both audience and sleuth, eager for the solution to the mystery, yet reluctant to leave the magic of the prose.”
— Leslie Reiner, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL
By Katarina Mazetti
Penguin
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“This international bestseller is about two quirky, funny, middle-age characters who meet on a bench in a cemetery. Can Benny, a bachelor dairy farmer, have a lasting relationship with a cultured, widowed librarian? With great fodder for book group discussions about relationships, this book is a treasure. I loved it.”
— Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM
By Linwood Barclay
Bantam
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“When Tim's teenage daughter doesn't return home from work, he discovers that the place where she says she's been working doesn't even know her. Thus begins weeks of searching and layers upon layers of intrigue and lies -- which all come to a spine-tingling ending. Barclay, an internationally bestselling author, will soon be a favorite of many here in the U.S. -- guaranteed.”
— Jackie Blem, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO
By Kate Grenville
Atlantic Monthly Press
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“Kate Grenville brings alive the rigors of life in the newly established penal colony in Sydney Harbor and the thrill and excitement of the first exchange of information across two unintelligible languages. The first encounters of two cultures are told from the unique perspective of a gentle mathematician, who begins to empathize with the native tribes, to the lasting detriment of his military and scientific career.”
— Darwin Ellis, Books on the Common, Ridgefield, CT
By Cathy Marie Buchanan
voice
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“Set against the powerful backdrop of Niagara Falls in the years surrounding World War I, The Day the Falls Stood Still tells the story of a privileged young woman whose life comes apart at the seams, the man she loves, and the river that both unites and divides them. Buchanan's debut novel immediately keeps you in its grip until the final page.”
— Jennifer Abbott, Lakewood Ranch Booksellers, Bradenton, FL
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“This terse spy thriller will sweep you through the shadowy halls of post-Soviet Russian history right up to today's rejuvenated petrostate under Vladimir Putin's iron rule. It does so through the eyes of Anna, the youngest female colonel in the KGB, who has been ordered to get close to MI6's key man in Moscow and his mole. The gripping pace will pull you along into blacker and blacker depths of intrigue.”
— Ben Gaunt, Bookshelf At Hooligan Rocks, Truckee, CA
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“The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is a luminous account of love gained and lost, of life's beginning and end, and of finding the joy in each day. Wells' latest is full of characters you will want to spend time with, as well as to recommend to your friends and reading groups.”
— Rita Moran, Apple Valley Books, Winthrop, ME
By Andie Ryan
Lenox Road Publishing LLC
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“Andie Ryan's descriptions of the violence (and the passion) revolving around the meltdown-from-within of a respected securities firm is filled with vividly drawn characters and surprises on every page.”
— Randy Smith, Destinations Booksellers, New Albany, IN
By Judy Shepard
Hudson Street Press
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“More than 10 years after her son's murder in Wyoming, Judy Shepard tells Matthew's story with eloquence. Her memoir is both a moving portrayal of a strong family dealing with the grief of their loss and a powerful testimony for human rights and the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in society.”
— Blake Hardy, Outwrite Bookstore & Coffehouse, Atlanta, GA
By Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor
Viking Adult
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“This account from Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann, of their travels together in Greece and France has something for almost everyone: travel, mother/daughter relationships, growing older, and writing. And for those who just love her prose, this is Sue at her best.”
— Judy Dimock, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ
By Shandi Mitchell
Harper
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“Set in 1938 in the unforgiving northern Canadian prairie, this debut novel is the story of a Ukrainian immigrant and his family, who find another ruthless war to fight. Mitchell weaves a haunting debut story with characters that sit in your soul, poignantly exposing their love and betrayal, strength and frailty. A stellar piece of storytelling that has you from beginning to end.”
— Helen Markus, HearthFire Books of Evergreen, Evergreen, CO
By Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson (trans.)
Europa Editions
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“The perfect foodie book! Monsieur Pierre Arthens, the food critic from The Elegance of the Hedgehog, has been given two days to live and so embarks on a gastric search as he recounts the food -- and people -- that he's devoured in an attempt to find one last, elusive flavor.”
— Mary Cowen, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL
By Nicholson Baker
Simon & Schuster
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“Paul Chowder, an infrequently-published poet, needs to come clean with his life (as well as his office). His girlfriend has left him, he's amassing an incredible credit card debt, and the deadline for an introduction to a poetry anthology he's editing is fast approaching. What ensues is a vivid collection of poetic insight, passages of anguished poets, and hilarious selections of Paul's daily misses and re-misses. The Anthologist is a story readers should not miss.”
— Michael Karpus, Books & Books at Bal Harbour Shops, Bal Harbour, FL
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“Lila Cole's life was formed by her twin brother, Billy, and when he is killed by police, she comes apart at the seams. As Lila sinks into a morass of grief, dark secrets start bubbling to the surface. Complicated, fast-paced, and wonderfully readable, Lisa Tucker's latest novel a page-turner”
— Deon Stonehouse, Sunriver Books, Sunriver, OR
Now in Paperback
Indie Next List Selections Come to Paperback