Staff Picks: Again and Again by Jonathan Evison

 

Again and Again by Jonathan Evison

Eugene “Geno” Miles recalls past lives in vivid detail and claims to be 106 years old. The caregivers at his eldercare facility remain skeptical of both accounts, but Geno doesn't mind being left alone. 

With a little persuading, curmudgeonly Geno warms to his new nursing assistant, Angel, and reveals captivating tales of his life as a pickpocket in Medieval Spain, pursued by guards and rescued by a mysterious woman he longs to meet again in his next lifetime. Geno also describes his fascinating experiences as Oscar Wilde’s housecat, traveling with the Lewis and Clark expedition, and being an Incan princess and a beloved history professor. 

Staff Picks: The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

 

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

In her latest novel, National Book Award winning author Sigrid Nunez hones in on one writer's experience living in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full of internal dialog, unanswered questions, and candid opinions, The Vulnerables is a difficult book to describe. It may best be read as reflections from your best friend on some of the unusual circumstances, inconveniences, and adjustments of recent years.   

Feeling socially isolated, Nunez’s unnamed narrator reluctantly agrees to care for a pet parrot whose pregnant owner is stranded on the West Coast, unable to fly home in the Spring of 2020, when her twenty-something bird sitter abandons his perch. But after the writer lends her own apartment to a doctor treating COVID patients, she finds herself stuck sharing her temporary living space with the original bird sitter who returns, having worn out his welcome at his parents' home. Though longing for human companionship, the housemates are so mismatched that they quietly adjust their schedules to limit interactions while they both vie for the limited attention of Eureka the parrot.

Staff Picks: Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch

 

Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch

A case of mistaken poodle identity leads to shenanigans in this sweet, low-stakes romance. Our heroine, Elizabeth, has a beloved but wildly misbehaved poodle named Galahad. When Galahad gets entangled with Lancelot, the Duke of Woriton’s poodle, the dogs are accidentally mixed up. When the wrong poodle is dognapped, Elizabeth and the duke must work together to solve the dognapping case and restore order to their lives. Or will this adventure be the first of many together?