Dorothy's Picks: Home

January Andrews, a romance writer grappling with writer's block, unexpectedly finds herself next-door neighbors with her college rival, Augustus Everett, a literary fiction author. Forced to confront their creative differences and personal demons, they embark on a summer of challenges, revelations, and unexpected romance, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.

After losing his father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins hearing voices emanating from household objects, which intensify as his mother's hoarding worsens. Seeking solace, Benny finds refuge in a quiet library where objects "speak" in whispers. There, he encounters a captivating street artist, a wise homeless philosopher-poet, and a talking Book that guides him on a journey of self-discovery, teaching him to listen to the voices that truly matter.

Földényi explores how Enlightenment ideals have failed to replace the comforting narratives of religion, touching on topics like the metaphysical unity of sculptures and the existential nature of fear. Through beautiful prose marked by empathy, imagination, and a strong sense of justice, Földényi offers profound insights into the human condition and our evolving relationship with spirituality and time.

A young man named Jonathan Safran Foer embarks on a quest to find the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis, armed only with a yellowing photograph. Joined by an elderly man haunted by wartime memories, a lovable dog, and a quirky Ukrainian translator named Alex, Jonathan navigates a surreal journey through a war-torn landscape and delves into the unexpected depths of his family's past. Blending reality with fiction, the novel weaves a fantastical tale of interconnected generations, culminating in a powerful collision of history and imagination.

In 1956, a series of events transpired which brought nationwide attention to High Bridge, NJ. A young man's account of seeing and photographing "flying saucers" alerted the entire east coast to the first UFO. Photographs of the UFOs in flight were developed and eventually found their way into the news media, radio, and television. In this book, Howard Menger recounts the incident at High Bridge as it happened, how we perceived it, how we later tried to evaluate it.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever--and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Roanne Van Voorst presents a thought-provoking exploration of a future without animal consumption, blending ethical clarity with a disquieting vision of a world where meat is a thing of the past. By shifting the focus from the present to a future without animal use, Van Voorst offers a compelling vision of what living in a world without meat could entail. Drawing on existing innovations and movements, the book presents a hopeful and persuasive argument for a massive shift towards a more sustainable and compassionate lifestyle.

On Tyranny uses the darkest moments in twentieth-century history, from Nazism to Communism, to teach twenty lessons on resisting modern-day authoritarianism. In this graphic edition, Nora Krug draws from her highly inventive art style to breathe new life, color, and power into Snyder's riveting historical references, turning a quick-read pocket guide of lessons into a visually striking rumination.

In "Postmodern Pooh," Frederick Crews delivers a hilarious satire that revisits the beloved bear from "The Pooh Perplex" in a modern academic setting. Set at a forum on Pooh during the Modern Language Association's convention, Crews lampoons various literary theories such as deconstruction, postcolonialism, and cultural studies as they dissect the innocent world of Pooh. With sharp wit and clever humor, Crews takes aim at academic fads while playfully exploring how much the iconic teddy bear can endure under the scrutiny of contemporary literary criticism.

Watching the evening news offers constant evidence of atrocity--a daily commonplace in our "society of spectacle." But are viewers inured -or incited--to violence by the daily depiction of cruelty and horror? Is the viewer's perception of reality eroded by the universal availability of imagery intended to shock? Sontag's new book, a startling reappraisal of the intersection of "information", "news," "art," and politics in the contemporary depiction of war and disaster, will be equally essential. It will forever alter our thinking about the uses and meanings of images in our world.

Design expert Jude Stewart explores the multifaceted role of color in our lives, from its practical applications to its deeper cultural and psychological significance. Through engaging anecdotes and astrophysical insights, Stewart invites readers to reconsider their perceptions of color and its impact on how we interpret the world.

"Spiritual Moderns" explores the connection between religion and modern American art, focusing on four prominent artists: Joseph Cornell, Mark Tobey, Agnes Pelton, and Andy Warhol. Through biographical insights and art analysis, the book highlights how these artists' religious beliefs, ranging from Christian Science to Bahá'í Faith, influenced their distinctive contributions to American modernism.

This richly illustrated book explores the huge creative endeavour behind Tolkien's enduring popularity. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images of his manuscripts, drawings, maps and letters, the book traces the creative process behind his most famous literary works - 'The Hobbit', 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Silmarillion' and reproduces personal photographs and private papers, some of which have never been seen before in print.

Originally printed in 1953, War is a Racket was the interventionist speech of the most decorated soldier in American history, a man twice awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, who was to be made the facist American leader in a 1932 coup d'etat. Instead, he exposed the attempt with this impressive, plain-speaking speech, one that has proven to be as popular with both peaceniks and anti-interventionists as it is extremely rare. This new edition offers an introduction contextualising Butler's speech and its importance on both sides of the fence decades after.