For John Urschel, what began as an insatiable appetite for puzzles as a child developed into mastery of mathematics. By the time he was thirteen, Urschel was auditing a college-level calculus course. But when he joined his high school football team, a new interest began to eclipse the thrill he felt in the classroom. Football challenged Urschel in an entirely different way, and he became addicted to the physical contact of the sport.

After he accepted a scholarship to play at Penn State, his love of math was rekindled. Against the odds, Urschel found a way to manage his double life as a scholar and an athlete. While he was an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, he simultaneously pursued his PhD in mathematics at MIT.

Weaving together two separate narratives, Urschel relives for us the most pivotal moments of his bifurcated life. He explains why, after Penn State was sanctioned for the acts of former coach Jerry Sandusky, he declined offers from prestigious universities and refused to abandon his team. He describes his parents' different influences and their profound effect on him, and he opens up about the correlation between football and CTE and the risks he took for the game he loves. Equally at home discussing Georg Cantor's work on infinities and Bill Belichick's playbook, Urschel reveals how each challenge--whether on the field or in the classroom--has brought him closer to understanding the two different halves of his own life, and how reason and emotion, the mind and the body, are always working together.

Urschel's biography offers a unique look at a unique life. Click here to reserve Mind and Matter in hardcover, or download our Libby ap to have the ebook or audiobook delivered to your tablet, phone, or other digital reading device.

When Leslie Morgan, bestselling author of Crazy Love and Mommy Wars, divorced after a twenty-year marriage, both her self-esteem and romantic optimism were shattered. She was determined to avoid the cliché of the "lonely, middle-aged divorcée" lamenting her stretch marks and begging her kids to craft her online dating profile. Instead, Leslie celebrated her independence with an audacious plan: she would devote a year to seeking out five lovers in hopes of unearthing the erotic adventures and authentic connections long missing from her life.

Clumsy and clueless at first, she overcame mortifying early missteps, buoyed by friends and blind faith. And so she found men at yoga class, the airport, and high school reunions--all without the torture of dating websites. Along the way she uncovered new truths about sex, aging, men, self-confidence, and what it means to be an older woman today.

Packed with fearless, evocative details, The Naked Truth is a rare, unexpected, and wildly entertaining memoir about a soccer mom who rediscovers the magic of sexual and emotional connection, and the lasting gifts of reveling in your femininity at every age. Reserve your copy of this racy and hilarious new memoir with Fulton County Libraries in hardcover, ebook, or mp3 audiobook download.

From the Pulitzer Finalist and beloved author of the New York Times best sellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, this new collection of short fiction showcases Karen Russell's comedic genius in eight unforgettable stories.

In"Bog Girl", a story about first love, a young man falls in love with a two thousand year old girl that he's extracted from a mass of peat in a Northern European bog. In "The Prospectors," two opportunistic young women fleeing the depression strike out for new territory, and find themselves fighting for their lives. In the hilarious title story, a new mother desperate to ensure her infant's safety strikes a diabolical deal, agreeing to breastfeed the devil in exchange for his protection. The landscape in which these stories unfold is a feral, slippery, purgatorial space, bracketed by the void--yet within it Russell captures the exquisite beauty and tenderness of ordinary life. Orange World is a miracle of storytelling from a true modern master.

Take a break from your regular reading habits and enjoy the short story form by reserving Orange World in hardcover, ebook, or mp3 audiobook download.

From the endlessly inventive imaginations of star Spanish-American chef José Andrés and James Beard award-winning writer Matt Goulding, Vegetables Unleashed is a new cookbook that will transform how we think about--and eat--the vast universe of vegetables.

Andrés is famous for his unstoppable energy--and for his belief that vegetables are far sexier than meat can ever be. Showing us how to creatively transpose the flavors of a global pantry onto the produce aisle, Vegetables Unleashed showcases Andrés's wide-ranging vision and borderless cooking style.

With recipes highlighting everything from the simple wonders of a humble lentil stew to the endless variations on the classic Spanish gazpacho to the curious genius of potatoes baked in fresh compost, Vegetables Unleashed gives us the recipes, tricks, and tips behind the dishes that have made Andrés one of America's most important chefs and that promise to completely change our relationship with the diverse citizens of the vegetable kingdom.

Find new ways to serve veggies by reserving a copy of Vegetables Unleashed in hardcover or ebook today.

Evoking a fascinating region on the other side of the world, this suspenseful and haunting story announces the debut of a gifted writer. 

One August afternoon, on the shoreline of the Kamchatka peninsula at the northeastern edge of Russia, two girls--sisters, eight and eleven--go missing. In the ensuing weeks, then months, the police investigation turns up nothing. Echoes of the disappearance reverberate across a tightly woven community, with the fear and loss felt most deeply among its women.

Taking us through a year in Kamchatka, Disappearing Earth enters with astonishing emotional acuity the worlds of a cast of richly drawn characters, all connected by the crime: a witness, a neighbor, a detective, a mother. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty--densely wooded forests, open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes, and the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska--and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused.

Give a new author a chance to make you a fan, and click here to reserve a copy of Disappearing Earth in hardcover, or ebook.

Mary Miller seizes the mantle of southern literature with this wry tale of middle age and the unexpected turns a life can take. Like her predecessors, Mary Miller brings an essential voice to her generation. Building on her critically acclaimed novel, The Last Days of California, and her biting collection, Always Happy Hour, Miller slyly transports readers to her unapologetic corner of the South--this time, Biloxi, Mississippi, home to sixty-three-year-old Louis McDonald Jr. His wife of thirty-seven years left him, his father has passed--and he has impulsively retired from his job in anticipation of an inheritance check that may not come. In the meantime, he watches reality television, sips beer, and avoids his ex-wife and daughter. One day, he stops at a house advertising free dogs and meets overweight mixed-breed Layla. Unexpectedly, Louis takes her, and, newly invigorated, begins investigating local dog parks and buying extra bologna.

While Biloxi isn't available for sale or as a library book until May 21st, you can win a print galley (a paperback used to promote the book before official release). Just email us within 24 hours of the New Books Newsletter with "Biloxi" in the subject line. Send all entries to Collection.Development@fultoncountyga.gov, and we'll pick a winner at random from messages received between 8:30am Monday, 5/13/19 and 8:30am Tuesday, 5/14/19.

The winner will be notified via email and must be able to pick the book up at an AFPLS branch within one month. Just in case you aren't chosen, why not click here to reserve a copy with Fulton County Libraries? We'll be pleased to offer this title to all our readers on its release date.