Dear Reader,
   
There have been so many books in so many genres that have been catching my eye lately that I will need to be sending more newsletters so that each doesn't get so very long!

We've had some rainy days (sorry midwest) and hopefully you've been able to catch up on your to be read pile.

Well I want to add to it. Take a look at just some of the couch-time-worthy books below. Planning travel? We have plenty of options for every place you might want to research.
  
Take care of each other, and stay dry!
        Luan

       What's that address again?    www.laurelbookstore.com
 

                                                              
   
03-11-19
by Lisa See
Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village's all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook's mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger.


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by Charlotte Runcie

Charlotte Runcie has always felt pulled to the sea, lured by its soothing, calming qualities but also enlivened and inspired by its salty wildness. When she loses her beloved grandmother, and becomes pregnant with her first child, she feels its pull even more intensely.
In Salt On Your Tongue, a mixture of memoir, social history, literary criticism, biography and nature writing, Charlotte explores what the sea means to us, and particularly what it has meant to women through the ages.
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by Etaf Rum

"Where I come from, we've learned to silence ourselves. We've been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of-dangerous, the ultimate shame."

This debut novel grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go. I was taken with the women's lives and their struggle to have options and hope within the traditional Arab life that they are told is theirs to uphold.  Luan
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by Andrew G. McCabe
 
In The Threat, Andrew G. McCabe offers a dramatic and candid account of his career, and an impassioned defense of the FBI's agents, and of the institution's integrity and independence in protecting America and upholding our Constitution.
This seems to the be one people have the most faith in. What a world we're living in.

Order
by Meredith May
An extraordinary story of a girl, her grandfather and one of nature's most mysterious and beguiling creatures: the honeybee. May recalls the first time a honeybee crawled on her arm. She was five years old, her parents had recently split and suddenly she found herself in the care of her grandfather, an eccentric beekeeper who made honey in a rusty old military bus in the yard. That first close encounter was at once terrifying and exhilarating for May, and in that moment she discovered that everything she needed to know about life and family was right before her eyes, in the secret world of bees.

This is a thoughtful, beautiful memoir of a child trying to make sense of 'family' and parents, and growing up when those who should have been there really weren't. It's a testament to the will of a child who is loved to overcome what could have been a terrible time. Everyone should have a grandpa like May did- kind, patient, understanding, and someone a kid can count on. Plus there's bees and honey! I loved it.
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by Shobha Rao
now in paperback

"Incandescent...A searing portrait of what feminism looks like in much of the world." -Vogue
"A treat for Ferrante fans, exploring the bonds of friendship and how female ambition beats against the strictures of poverty and patriarchal societies." -The Huffington Post
An electrifying debut novel about the extraordinary bond between two girls driven apart by circumstance but relentless in their search for one another.


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by Helen Oyeyemi
Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children's stories, beloved novelist Helen Oyeyemi invites readers into a delightful tale of a surprising family legacy, in which the inheritance is a recipe. 
Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation.

If surprisingly verbal vegetation doesn't make you order this book, I don't know what will.

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by Yasmin Khan
I've been attracted to Middle Eastern cookbooks lately and this is a beautiful one. I love the essays as well as the recipes.

I know people like me who love to read cookbooks to get a sense of place and culture. This is another wonderful addition to that stack.

Restaurant suggestion: Dyafa in Oakland Order

by Peter Jones
Word lovers- first one for you.
Peter Jones takes the reader on a fascinating journey along the highways and byways of Roman life and culture, telling the amazing stories behind the original Latin meanings and uses of hundreds of our everyday words. Taking in every aspect of the ancient world, including science, religion, military matters, politics and literature, Jones shows just how much the English language owes to the ancient Romans and the role Latin has played in the creation of our vast vocabulary.

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by Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras
Imagine the power you'll have when you can accurately and succinctly tell someone why the term they just used doesn't mean what they think it does.

Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite, moot, redundant, and unique incorrectly every day. Don't be one of them.
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by Tom Angleberger and illustrated by John Hendrix
If you have a transportation fan in the house, age 3 to oh, 6 or so, this is the new book for you. Or them. Most days McToad mows Big Island, but on Thursdays he mows Tiny Island and the way he gets there is a transportation lover's delight!
 

by Alice B. McGinty, Tomoko Suzuki (Illustrator)

Breakfast varies from country to country, but it's how all children begin their day. Explore the meals of twelve countries in this playful approach to the world!

by Deborah Underwood, illustrations by Misa Saburi

A charming picture book about a bear who discovers that to shine in his own story, he just needs to be himself. With sweet humor, charming characters, and a gentle message of self-confidence, this is an ideal story for book (and bear) lovers.
by Atinuke with illustrations by Angela Brooksbank

One morning after breakfast, Baby's big brother is getting ready to take the basket of bananas all the way to Baba's bungalow in the next village. He'll have to go along the bumpy road, past the baobab trees, birds, and butterflies, and all the way over the bridge. But what he doesn't realize is that his very cute, very curious baby sibling has stowed away on his bicycle.
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