From the #1 bestselling authors Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny comes a novel of unsurpassed thrills and incomparable insider expertise—State of Terror

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER ELIZABETH STROUT EXPLORES THE MYSTERIES OF MARRIAGE AND THE SECRETS WE KEEP

I would like to say a few things about my first husband, William.

Lucy Barton is a writer, but her ex-husband, William, remains a hard man to read. William, she confesses, has always been a mystery to me. Another mystery is why the two have remained connected after all these years. They just are.

So Lucy is both surprised and not surprised when William asks her to join him on a trip to investigate a recently uncovered family secret—one of those secrets that rearrange everything we think we know about the people closest to us. What happens next is nothing less than another example of what Hilary Mantel has called Elizabeth Strout’s “perfect attunement to the human condition.” There are fears and insecurities, simple joys and acts of tenderness, and revelations about affairs and other spouses, parents and their children. On every page of this exquisite novel we learn more about the quiet forces that hold us together—even after we’ve grown apart.

At the heart of this story is the indomitable voice of Lucy Barton, who offers a profound, lasting reflection on the very nature of existence. “This is the way of life,” Lucy says: “the many things we do not know until it is too late.”

AVAILABLE NOW

The Lincoln Highway: A Novel By Amor Towles

Spanning just 10 days in 1954, Towles's 3rd novel, told from multiple points of view, is sure to be a hit. When 18-year-old Emmett is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served 15 months, his intention is to pick up his 8-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start new lives. Unbeknownst to Emmett, two inmates from the work farm have hidden in the trunk of the warden’s car. They have a different plan, one that will force Emmett and Billy to head first in the opposite direction - to New York City. Another masterful novel that will keep even the hardest to please readers turning the pages.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF LIBRARY BOOK

On Animals By Susan Orlean

“How we interact with animals has preoccupied philosophers, poets, and naturalists for ages,” writes Susan Orlean. Since the age of six, when Orlean wrote and illustrated a book called Herbert the Near-Sighted Pigeon, she’s been drawn to stories about how we live with animals, and how they abide by us. Now, in On Animals, she examines animal-human relationships through the compelling tales she has written over the course of her celebrated career.

These stories consider a range of creatures—the household pets we dote on, the animals we raise to end up as meat on our plates, the creatures who could eat us for dinner, the various tamed and untamed animals we share our planet with who are central to human life. In her own backyard, Orlean discovers the delights of keeping chickens. In a different backyard, in New Jersey, she meets a woman who has twenty-three pet tigers—something none of her neighbors knew about until one of the tigers escapes. In Iceland, the world’s most famous whale resists the efforts to set him free; in Morocco, the world’s hardest-working donkeys find respite at a special clinic. We meet a show dog and a lost dog and a pigeon who knows exactly how to get home.

Equal parts delightful and profound, enriched by Orlean’s stylish prose and precise research, these stories celebrate the meaningful cross-species connections that grace our collective existence.

THIS IS BOOK NUMBER 3 IN THE DUMPTY SERIES

A Confederacy of Dumptys: Portraits of American Scoundrels in Verse By John Lithgow

Following the success of New York Times bestsellers Dumpty and Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown, award-winning actor, author, and illustrator John Lithgow presents the third book in his runaway hit series. A Confederacy of Dumptys takes us through a history of twenty-five "American Scoundrels" in this all-new collection of Lithgow's satirical poems and illustrations.

While the Trump Era was rife with corruption and abuse of power, it was nothing new. Through Lithgow's cutting humor, you will read about a rogues' gallery of villains that came before Donald J. Trump, powerful men and women who were corrupt, venal, criminal, adulterous, racist, or just plain disgusting. With dark and lyrical stories from across American history, you will learn about long-forgotten figures and bad actors of today, including the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, the perpetrator of 19th century women's pyramid schemes, and participants in both the Watergate scandal and the Capitol insurrection. Trump and Nixon show up, of course, but also Leona Helmsley, Boss Tweed, Typhoid Mary, Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz, and many more. Skipping through time, and delivered with classic Lithgow wit and style, A Confederacy of Dumptys is an exuberant reminder of how not to repeat history.

TASTE THE WORLD!

Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer's Guide (Atlas Obscura) By Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras, Atlas Obscura

It’s truly a feast of wonder: Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia’s “Threads of God” pasta? Egypt’s 2000-year-old egg ovens? But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food’s central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on history–trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture–picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel–scale China’s sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house. Festivals–feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand’s Monkey Buffet Festival. And hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder.

HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO SPARE?

The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: Favorite Recipes from BreadIn5 By Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., Zoë François, Andrew Zimmern (Foreword by)

With nearly one million copies of their books in print, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François have proven that people want to bake their own bread, so long as they can do it easily and quickly. But with five very different “Bread in Five” books to choose from, bakers have been asking: “Which one should I get if I want a little of everything: the best of European and American classics, whole-grain recipes, pizza and flatbread, gluten-free, sourdough, and loaves enriched with eggs and butter?”

With The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Jeff and Zoë have chosen their absolute favorite 80 recipes from all five of their books, bringing them together into a single volume that is the only bread book a baker needs. In addition to old favorites, the book pulls in a few new tricks, tips, and techniques that Jeff and Zoë have learned along the way. With this revolutionary stored-dough technique—along with color and instructional black-and-white photographs—readers can have stunning, delicious bread on day one. The Best of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day will make everyone a baker—with only five minutes a day of active preparation time.

The 2021 Best American Series is here!

“Raising Ollie: How My Nonbinary Art-Nerd Kid Changed (Nearly) Everything I Know”

Tom Rademacher

Add a copy of “Raising Ollie" to your cart and your ticket is free

Monday, October 18th, 2021 |6:00pm CST

"A 21st Century Plague: Poetry from a Pandemic" Edited By Elayne Clift

and John Krumberger

Add a copy of "21st Century Plague" to your cart and your ticket is free

Sarah Stonich presents: "Reeling: A Novel"

Add a copy of "Reeling: A Novel" to your cart and your ticket is free

"Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo"

Presented by Dan Hill and Howard Moskowitz

Add a copy of "Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo" to your cart and your ticket is free

From pain to purpose: Two moms turn unfathomable tragedy into hope with Nancy T. Espuche & Linda Morrison

Add a copy of Dear Heroin: A Memoir of Goodbyes or KardBoard Housed: My Life-Altering Journey Through Lucas' Addiction to your cart and your ticket is free

Go to NextChapterBooksellers.com/event for a full schedule of author visits, signings, and readings.

Next Chapter Book Club discusses Red Pill, by Hari Kunzru -Sunday, October 31, 2021 - 4:00pm to 5:00pm

After receiving a prestigious writing fellowship in Germany, the narrator of Red Pill arrives in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee and struggles to accomplish anything at all. Instead of working on the book he has proposed to write, he takes long walks and binge-watches Blue Lives, a violent cop show that becomes weirdly compelling in its bleak, Darwinian view of life. He soon begins to wonder if his writing has any value at all.

Wannsee is full of ghosts: Across the lake, the narrator can see the villa where the Nazis planned the Final Solution, and in his walks he passes the grave of the Romantic writer Heinrich von Kleist, who killed himself after deciding that "no happiness was possible here on earth." At a party, he meets the charismatic Anton, creator of Blue Lives, and the narrator begins to believe that the two of them are engaged in a cosmic battle. Anton is "red-pilling" his viewers--turning them toward an ugly, alt-rightish worldview, he thinks, as he starts to wonder if he is losing his mind.

Outside the Margins: A Speculative Fiction Book Club discusses The Lost Book of Adana Moreau, by Michael Zapata

-Tuesday, November 2, 2021 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm

In 1929 in New Orleans, a Dominican immigrant named Adana Moreau writes a science fiction novel. The novel earns rave reviews, and Adana begins a sequel. Then she falls gravely ill. Just before she dies, she destroys the only copy of the manuscript.

Decades later in Chicago, Saul Drower is cleaning out his dead grandfather's home when he discovers a mysterious manuscript written by none other than Adana Moreau. With the help of his friend Javier, Saul tracks down an address for Adana's son in New Orleans, but as Hurricane Katrina strikes, they must head to the storm-ravaged city for answers. What results is a brilliantly layered masterpiece--an ode to home, storytelling and the possibility of parallel worlds.

1. Come in the store and browse. Talk to a bookseller or peruse the shelves, as you prefer. We love when you wear a mask.