Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom, 274 pages

 On bookshelves around the world, surrounded by ordinary books bound in paper and leather, rest other volumes of a distinctly strange and grisly sort: those bound in human skin. Would you know one if you held it in your hand?

In Dark Archives, Megan Rosenbloom seeks out the historic and scientific truths behind anthropodermic bibliopegy--the practice of binding books in this most intimate covering. Dozens of such books live on in the world's most famous libraries and museums. Dark Archives exhumes their origins and brings to life the doctors, murderers, innocents, and indigents whose lives are sewn together in this disquieting collection. Along the way, Rosenbloom tells the story of how her team of scientists, curators, and librarians test rumored anthropodermic books, untangling the myths around their creation and reckoning with the ethics of their custodianship.

A librarian and journalist, Rosenbloom is a member of The Order of the Good Death and a cofounder of their Death Salon, a community that encourages conversations, scholarship, and art about mortality and mourning. In Dark Archives--captivating and macabre in all the right ways--she has crafted a narrative that is equal parts detective work, academic intrigue, history, and medical curiosity: a book as rare and thrilling as its subject.

Arabian Nights Volume 1: The Marvel and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights adapted by Jack Zipes, 590 pages

 Bawdy and exotic, Arabian Nights, features the wily, seductive Scheherazade, who saves her own life by telling tales of magical transformations, genies and wishes, flying carpets and fantastical journeys, terror and passion to entertain and appease the brutal King Shahryar. First introduced into the West in 1704, the stories of The Thousand and One Nights are most familiar to American readers in sanitized children's versions. This modern edition, based on Richard F. Burton's unexpurgated translation, restores the lushness of the original Arabic. Here are the famous adventures of Sinbad, "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp." Here too are less familiar stories, such as "Prince Behram and the Princess Al-Datma," a delightful early version of The Taming of the Shrew, and "The Wily Dalilah and her Daughter Zaynab," a hilarious tale about two crafty women who put an entire city of men in their place. Intricate and imaginative, these stories-within-stories told over a thousand and one nights continue to captivate readers as they have for centuries.

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, 1011 pages

 In this sequel to the phenomenal New York Times bestseller The Fires of Heaven, we plunge again into Robert Jordan's extraordinarily rich, totally unforgettable world:

On the slopes of Shayol Ghul, the Myrddraal swords are forged, and the sky is not the sky of this world ...

In Salidar the White Tower in exile prepares an embassy to Caemlyn, where Rand Al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, holds the throne -- and where an unexpected visitor may change the world ...

In Emond's Field, Perrin Goldeneyes, Lord of the Two Rivers, feels the pull of ta'veren to ta'veren and prepares to march ...

Morgase of Caemlyn finds a most unexpected, and quite unwelcome, ally ...

And south lies Illian, where Sammael holds sway ...

The Arabian Nights edited by Kate Douglas Wiggans & Nora A. Smith, 339 pages

 This elegant edition of 10 classic tales of The Arabian Nights features a powerful introduction by Mark Helprin, offering new insight into the "thousand mercurial forms" and "inexact nature" of these Eastern tales. Helprin probes for fresh understanding of our culture's deep engagement with these fantastical imaginings which, after being passed along orally for thousands of years, evolved into what we have come to know as The Arabian Nights. Accompanied by 12 full-color Maxfield Parrish illustrations from the 1909 edition, the wondrous narrative that began in what is now the Middle East and spread outward to encompass the globe is here reborn in an edition expertly translated by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith. The stories here include Aladdin which tells of an aimless street urchin who is seduced by the wiles of a magician and finds himself trapped in a cave filled with sumptuous jewels, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in which a poor man discovers the secret lair of a band of looters, and The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water the story of two princes and a princess who are stolen from their parents at birth and raised by a kindly gardener.

The Hearse You Came In On by Tim Cockey, 308 pages

 What self-respecting undertaker would allow himself to get involved in a murder investigation, a series of dirty videos, a case of political blackmail, and police corruption, as well as one of the worst amateur theater productions in recent memory? None, unless your name happens to be Hitchcock Sewell, the most charming suspense hero to come along in years. And who knew an undertaker could look so good? In this fast-paced and enormously entertaining mystery, Hitch has gotten himself into more trouble than any self-respecting undertaker should.

Wolf With Benefits by Shelly Laurenston, 421 pages

 Ricky Lee has no plans of getting serious about anyone, but he will protect Toni Jean-Louis Parker. Not just because he’s been hired to do so, but because it’s the right thing to do. And if that means traveling around the country with one complicated She-jackal, dealing with chocolate-eating wild dogs, instigating trouble between his brothers, and having the most amazing sex he’s ever had…well, who said his job didn’t have perks?

Toni doesn’t know how she keeps getting herself into these situations. But even she has to admit there’s something about Ricky Lee Reed that she finds kind of interesting…and downright sexy. Now they just have to survive long enough to figure out if what they have is worth fighting for…

Peaches & Daddy: A Story of the Roaring Twenties, the Birth of Tabloid Media, and the Courtship That Captured the Heart and Imagination of the American Public by MIchael M. Greenburg, 352 pages

 Thirty-seven days later, amid blaring headlines announcing the event and with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in close pursuit, they were married. Within ten months they would begin a courtroom drama that would blow their impassioned saga into a national scandal. Their 1920s romance sent riptides across the moral landscape of America for years to come. Peaches and Daddy vividly recounts the amazing and improbable romance, marriage, and ultimate legal battle for separation of this publicity-craving Manhattan couple in America’s “Era of Wonderful Nonsense.” Their story is one of dysfunction and remarkable excess; yet at the time, the lurid details of their brief courtship and marriage captured the imagination of the American public like no other story of its day. The affair propelled them into the headlines for a magical moment in time; their legacy is one of an enduring contribution to the sometimes almost mad history of the country.

The Arabian Nights: The Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor and Other Stories, 347 pages

 Having invited his brother, Schahzeman, to pay a royal visit, Schahriar finds his fraternal guest sadly out of humour. The cause of Schahzeman's ailment is his wife's infidelity, which he has remedied by smiting her and her lover. His mood improves when he discovers that Schahriar is being similarly duped, that faithless spouses are commonplace; but explaining his miraculous recovery leads his brother to take drastic action regarding the occupants of the royal bed.

To ensure his consorts' chastity, Schahriar has each new bride executed on the morning after the nuptials. Eventually, the stock of eligible females is depleted, leaving Wazir - the supplir of fresh maidenhood - in despair. Wazir's daughter, Scheherazade, volunteers herself for the task, armed with nothing but the countless tales she has collected over many years. The stories, always left tantalizingly unfinished at dawn, ensure her safety and that of all the virgins of the kingdom.
The Arabian Nights tales, including the adventures of Sindbad and Aladdin, are full of wonder and exotic charm, transporting readers to distant lands that have become part of our imaginative landscape.

Artic Dreams by Barry Lopez, 464 pages

 Winner of the National Book Award and a best-seller upon publication in 1986, Arctic Dreams is now acknowledged as a classic, a book that re-defined the genre of nature writing. In prose of transparent beauty, Lopez celebrates the Arctic landscape and the animals and people that live there. He recounts massive migrations by land, sea and air, the epic voyages of explorers, distant mountain that is actually a looming mirage. But he also looks deep into our dreams and the strange fascination that the Arctic exerts over our imaginations. Why do we find such a hostile, elemental environment so beautiful, so full of magic, so rich in ideas about how we should live our lives?

Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher, 340 pages

 Magic-less witch Violet Maxwell wants nothing to do with alpha wolf shifter Lincoln Thorne—the man who broke her fragile, teenage heart. But when the two of them are forced by arcane Supernatural Laws to find mates, Violet and Lincoln agree to fake-date their way to a fake-mating in order to conjure themselves some time.

The joke’s on them. When old feelings make a reappearance—along with Violet’s magic—they both realize there’s nothing fake about their feelings. But there are old secrets and looming threats that could snatch away their happily ever after, again. One thing’s for sure: magic doesn’t make dating and love any easier.

In Not the Witch You Wed, April Asher brings all the hilarity and sweet, sexy moments you love in a romantic-comedy—plus a fun dose of magic—to this spell-binding new series about being sexy, single, and supernatural in New York City.

The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak, 403 pages

 A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution.

During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries.

Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors.

This is also the story of the King’s daughter by Veronique—Marie-Louise. Well-provided for in a comfortable home, Marie-Louise has never known her mother, let alone her father. Capable and intelligent, she discovers a passion for healing and science, and becomes an accredited midwife, one of the few reputable careers for women like her. But eventually Veronique comes back into her daughter’s life, bringing with her the secret of Marie-Louise’s birth. But the new King—Louis XVI—is teetering on his throne and it’s a volatile time in France…and those with royal relatives must mind their step very carefully.

Ramses The Damned: The Reign of Osiris by Anne Rice & Christopher Rice, 349 pages

 A pharaoh made immortal by a mysterious and powerful elixir, Ramses the Great became counselor and lover to some of Egypt's greatest and most powerful rulers before he was awakened from centuries of slumber to the mystifying and dazzling world of Edwardian England. Having vanquished foes both human and supernatural, he's found love with the beautiful heiress Julie Stratford, daughter of Lawrence Stratford, the slain archeologist who discovered his tomb. Now, with the outbreak of a world war looming, Ramses and those immortals brought forth from the mists of history by his resurrection will face their greatest test yet.

Russian assassins bearing weapons of immense power have assembled under one command: all those who loved Lawrence Stratford must die. From the glowing jewels at their necks comes an incredible supernatural force: the power to bring statues to life. As Ramses and his allies, including the immortal queens Cleopatra and Bektaten, gather together to battle these threats, Ramses reveals that the great weapon may have roots in an ancient Egyptian ritual designed to render pharaohs humble before Osiris, the god of the underworld. The resulting journey will take them across storm-tossed seas and into the forests of northern Russia, where they will confront a terrifying collision of tortured political ambitions and religious fervor held in thrall to a Godlike power. But the true answers they seek will lie beyond the border between life and death, within realms that defy the imagination of even an immortal such as Ramses the Great.

Ramses The Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra by Anne Rice & Christopher Rice, 400 pages

 Ramses the Great, former pharaoh of Egypt, is reawakened by the elixir of life in Edwardian England. Now immortal with his bride-to-be, he is swept up in a fierce and deadly battle of wills and psyches against the once-great Queen Cleopatra. Ramses has reawakened Cleopatra with the same perilous elixir whose unworldly force brings the dead back to life. But as these ancient rulers defy one another in their quest to understand the powers of the strange elixir, they are haunted by a mysterious presence even older and more powerful than they, a figure drawn forth from the mists of history who possesses spectacular magical potions and tonics eight millennia old. This is a figure who ruled over an ancient kingdom stretching from the once-fertile earth of the Sahara to the far corners of the world, a queen with a supreme knowledge of the deepest origins of the elixir of life. She may be the only one who can make known to Ramses and Cleopatra the key to their immortality--and the secrets of the miraculous, unknowable, endless expanse of the universe.

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy, 292 pages

 After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America's favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn't expect? That she may just find inspiration-and love-in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn't fit, maybe it's time to design your own.

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary, 209 pages

 Ramona Quimby can't wait to start fourth grade. With a new baby sister to brag about, new calluses to show off, and a new best friend to get to know, everything's going to be great!

Or is it? When Ramona's spelling is atrocious, her teacher, Mrs. Meacham, is firm about her needing to improve. Then a scary incident at a friend's house leaves Ramona feeling at fault. Who knew growing up could be filled with such complicated situations?

Newbery Medal winning author Beverly Cleary's final book in the Ramona series has all of the warmth, realism, and humor of its predecessors.

Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death by Amita Murray, 295 pages

 Arya Winters is your typical cozy heroine. She lives in a cottage in a small English village, and bakes for a living--well, she specializes in macabre dessrts. She has the standard nosy neighbors, who she avoids ruthlessly due to her social anxiety. And, oh, she also has a mild case of Tourette's. When her neighbor Tobias Yards turns up dead, no one seems to connect it to Arya's Auntie Meera's recent death, so takes matters into her own hands. All she has to do to uncover the truth is to get over her aversion to Other People. Besides that, it's just a matter of getting beyond some yellow tape, dodging her former BFF Tallulah from secondary school, and getting into her new neighbor, writer Branwell Beam's, pants--he seems strangely reluctant. What Arya doesn't realize is that the murderer is dangerous, preying on lonely people who've experienced trauma, and that she might have to do all she can not to become the next victim.

The Serpent on the Crown by Elizabeth Peters, 350 pages

 A priceless relic has been delivered to the Emerson home overlooking the Nile. But more than history surrounds this golden likeness of a forgotten king, for it is said early death will befall anyone who possesses it..

The woman who implores the renowned family of archaeologists and adventurers to accept the cursed statue insists the ill-gotten treasure has already killed her husband. Further, she warns, unless it is returned to the tomb from which it was stolen, more will surely die. With the world finally at peace—and with Egypt's ancient mysteries opened to them once more—Amelia Peabody and her loved ones are plunged into a storm of secrets, treachery, and murder by a widow's strange story and even stranger request. Each step toward the truth reveals a new peril, suggesting this curse is no mere superstition. And the next victim of the small golden king could be any member of the close-knit clan—perhaps even Amelia herself.

The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren, 321 pages

 Welcome to New York’s legendary hotel for women.

Liberated from home and hearth by World War I, politically enfranchised and ready to work, women arrived to take their place in the dazzling new skyscrapers of Manhattan. But they did not want to stay in uncomfortable boarding houses. They wanted what men already had—exclusive residential hotels with maid service, workout rooms, and private dining.

Built in 1927, at the height of the Roaring Twenties, the Barbizon Hotel was designed as a luxurious safe haven for the “Modern Woman” hoping for a career in the arts. Over time, it became the place to stay for any ambitious young woman hoping for fame and fortune. Sylvia Plath fictionalized her time there in The Bell Jar, and, over the years, it’s almost 700 tiny rooms with matching floral curtains and bedspreads housed, among many others, Titanic survivor Molly Brown; actresses Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli, Ali MacGraw, Jaclyn Smith; and writers Joan Didion, Gael Greene, Diane Johnson, Meg Wolitzer. Mademoiselle magazine boarded its summer interns there, as did Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School its students and the Ford Modeling Agency its young models. Before the hotel’s residents were household names, they were young women arriving at the Barbizon with a suitcase and a dream.

Not everyone who passed through the Barbizon’s doors was destined for success—for some, it was a story of dashed hopes—but until 1981, when men were finally let in, the Barbizon offered its residents a room of their own and a life without family obligations. It gave women a chance to remake themselves however they pleased; it was the hotel that set them free. No place had existed like it before or has since.

Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary, 191 pages

 Life can move pretty fast—especially when you're in the third grade, your teenage sister's moods drive you crazy, and your mom has a suspicious secret she just won't share. Plus, Mr. Quimby's new job offer could have the entire family relocating. It's a lot to handle for Ramona. But whatever trial comes her way, Ramona can count on one thing for sure—she'll always be Ramona…forever!

Advanced Mythology by Jody Lynn Nye, 395 pages

 In Applied Mythology we learned how Keith Doyle met and befriended the Little People living in the sub-basement of his college's library. If you have been following Keith's adventures, then you know he has always wanted to learn what other types of creatures share this world we live on. In Advanced Mythology, by Jody Lynn Nye, he will get his chance to do so, if he can make it through a few small matters: Diane's hints about making their relationship more permanent, something that is bothering the Little People and their refusal to discuss it with him, and the choice to continue his education or drop out and take the job of his dreams.

Jerktastic Park by Darby Conley, 256 pages

 The Get Fuzzy gang is back! Bucky the arrogant cat, Satchel the clueless pooch, and Rob the exasperated human make up one crazy and hilariously entertaining household.

 Collecting the cartoons from The Birth of Canis and The Fuzzy Bunch, this treasury is a rollicking read full of Bucky's signature bullying of Satchel and Rob's inability to keep the peace.

Survival of the Filthiest by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 Survival of the Filthiest takes Bucky the cat and Satchel the pooch back to their animal origins, not that they’ve ever strayed too far from their nonpedigrees. Constantly testing the patience of their “amateur treat boy” Rob, Bucky and Satchel pull off daily antics in the Get Fuzzy household that are routinely smelly, messy, and, yes, even filthy. 

In Survival of the Filthiest, Bucky decides to secede from the United States and declare the state of Buckyvania in his closet, complete with visitor permissions and postcards. When the state of Buckyvania has a food shortage, he is forced to launch a successful special ops raiding party. Not to be deterred when Buckyvania falls, Bucky begins a government takeover plan with Mac Manc McManx slated as the new president. Meanwhile, Satchel, convinced there are ghosts in the house, hires the Atlantic Research of Supernatural Entities Group to ghostbust. When their study is a bust, Mystic Misty, a feline cable access psychic, steps in to uncover the spirits. All this amid Bucky making batteries out of monkeys and Satchel eating all but the head of Rob’s Star Wars collectible equate to another sidesplitting look into the crazy world of Get Fuzzy.

Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food by Felipe Ferandez-Armesto, 258 pages

 In Near a Thousand Tables, acclaimed food historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto tells the fascinating story of food as cultural as well as culinary history -- a window on the history of mankind.

In this "appetizingly provocative" (Los Angeles Times) book, he guides readers through the eight great revolutions in the world history of food: the origins of cooking, which set humankind on a course apart from other species; the ritualization of eating, which brought magic and meaning into people's relationship with what they ate; the inception of herding and the invention of agriculture, perhaps the two greatest revolutions of all; the rise of inequality, which led to the development of haute cuisine; the long-range trade in food which, practically alone, broke down cultural barriers; the ecological exchanges, which revolutionized the global distribution of plants and livestock; and, finally, the industrialization and globalization of mass-produced food.
From prehistoric snail "herding" to Roman banquets to Big Macs to genetically modified tomatoes, Near a Thousand Tables is a full-course meal of extraordinary narrative, brilliant insight, and fascinating explorations that will satisfy the hungriest of readers.

The Stolen Slippers by Melissa De La Cruz, 319 pages

 Tossed back into the not-so-familiar fairy-tale world of Never After, Filomena Jefferson-Cho and her friends set off on another adventure . . . this time in search of Cinderella’s glass slipper. Or rather, glass slippers.

It turns out the classic story of Cinderella is full of lies—starting with how Cinderella herself is far from the innocent heroine everyone thinks she is. She is manipulative and cunning—willing to do anything to be the princess of Eastphalia. The real heroines of her story are her “wicked” stepsisters, Hortense and Beatrice, who aren’t actually wicked at all!

With the help of the dashing Jack Stalker, adorable Alastair, and glamorous Gretel, Filomena must track down the slippers, which may be the key to a certain mysterious prophecy . . . And when Filomena and Beatrice get tossed into the Beast’s dungeon, all hope seems to be lost. Will the conniving Cinderella shatter everyone’s hopes for a true un-twisted ending? Or will Filomena and her friends secure the happily ever after Cinderella’s stepsisters deserve?

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene, 179 pages

 What secret life-giving power does the exquisite ivory elephant charm contain? Can the trinket really protect its wearer from all harm?

Nancy Drew finds out when the owner of the Bengleton Wild-Animal Show asks her to investigate one of the performers who may be involved in some mysterious illegal scheme.

The girl detective's assignment becomes complicated when the elephant trainer's young assistant, Rishi, seeks refuge at the Drew home from his cruel foster father, Rai.

While following clues to help the boy find his real father, Nancy learns about an eerie abandoned house. She is harassed by its strange owner, Anita Allison, and the fiendish Rai.

How Nancy uses the ivory charm, reunites a maharaja with his son, and brings the evildoers to justice will mystify readers from beginning to end.

Death of a Peer by Ngaio Marsh, 303 pages

 Murder becomes a family affair...

The Lampreys were a charming, eccentric happy-go-lucky family, teetering on the edge of financial ruin. Until the gruesome murder of their uncle-and unpleasant Marquis, who met his untimely death while leaving the Lamprey flat-left them with a fortune. Now it's up to Inspector Roderick Alleyn to sift through the alibis to discover which Lamprey hides a ruthless killer behind an amiable facade...

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute, 242 pages

 Nevil Shute's most beloved novel, a tale of love and war, follows its enterprising heroine from the Malayan jungle during World War II to the rugged Australian outback.

Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman living in Malaya, is captured by the invading Japanese and forced on a brutal seven-month death march with dozens of other women and children. A few years after the war, Jean is back in England, the nightmare behind her. However, an unexpected inheritance inspires her to return to Malaya to give something back to the villagers who saved her life. Jean's travels leads her to a desolate Australian outpost called Willstown, where she finds a challenge that will draw on all the resourcefulness and spirit that carried her through her war-time ordeals.

Masters of the Nonsenseverse by Darby Conley, 128 pages

 At the center of this warm and fuzzy romp is Rob Wilco, a single, mild-mannered ad executive and guardian of Bucky and Satchel, anthropomorphic scamps that still live by their animal instincts. Bucky is a temperamental cat who clearly wears the pants in this eccentric household. Satchel is a gentle pooch with a sensitive soul who tries to remain neutral, but frequently ends up on the receiving end of Bucky's mischief. Together, they create a hilarious tableau of animal versus human nature.