Just for Fun

Us by David Nicholls

Nicholls brings his trademark wit and wisdom to this by turns hilarious and heartbreaking examination of a long-term marriage. Biochemist Douglas Petersen is about to embark on a "grand tour" of Europe with his artistic wife of 25 years, Connie, and his temperamental 17-year-old son, Albie, who is about to leave for college. But on the eve of their departure, his wife tells him that, after the trip, she wants a divorce. A shocked Douglas hatches a scheme to win back his wife and repair his fractious relationship with his son. Traveling from the museums of Paris and Amsterdam to the beaches of Spain, the Petersen family struggle to regain their equilibrium, but Douglas' determination to "have fun," complete with an ironclad itinerary, leads to spectacular fights, hurt feelings, and simmering tensions, all of which are conveyed by Nicholls with both humor and a deep compassion for human frailty. As Douglas looks back in longing on the couple's first heady days of love and courtship, he struggles to maintain his touching optimism for the future of their marriage. This tender novel will further cement Nicholls' reputation as a master of romantic comedy. (Booklist *Starred Review*)

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Actor Graham (Gilmore Girls, Parenthood) turns to a new creative outlet with her breezy first novel set in the demoralizing if funny bustle of New York City's 1995 acting world. Twenty something Franny Banks is destined to act, if she can can actually land a decent audition and an even more decent part. Able to pay her rent since she snagged a coveted comedy-club waitressing job, Franny lives the typical life of a struggling actor as she tries to balance finding a good agent, going to auditions, making a splash in her acting class, and keeping her disliked if much-needed job while fretting over the looming self-imposed deadline of three years to make it on Broadway. Her roommates, good pal Jane and wannabe writer Dan, play her foils as she also deals with family issues and the very enticing James Franklin, from her acting class. A jaunty style and cutesy Filofax entries mark this as light yet enjoyable reading. (Booklist Reviews)

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

Entreated by her ex-husband to help with two orphans recently placed in his custody, closure-seeking Andie discovers the task to be much harder than anticipated in light of the orphans' delinquent antics, a haunting and Andie's rekindled feelings. (Publisher Summary)

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

One Plus One equals one fine novel. With its ensemble cast of skillfully crafted characters—from single-mom Jess Thomas to tortured goth teen Nicky and gifted sister Tanzie to Ed Nicholls, technology millionaire—each person's story flows on its own, yet they all meld together into an uncommonly good story about family, trust, and love. Moyes gets things rolling as this hysterically mismatched mélange—along with Norman, a slobbering 80-pound dog of "indeterminate" breed—embarks on a road trip from the English shore to Aberdeen, Scotland, so that Tanzie can compete in a maths "Olympiad." Her ability to enroll in a prestigious school rides on whether she can win the competition's cash prize. She's certainly earned the best education; her family just can't afford it. In a riotous twist and momentary lapse of good sense, Ed volunteers his "top-of-the-range" Audi, complete with his services as driver. There are high jinks galore as perhaps one-too-many gastrointestinal problems arise, but, in all, the trip, with what Ed perceives as its terrifying "boundarylessness," delivers on its promise, just not in the way anyone anticipated. (Booklist *Starred Review*)

LibraryReads: Librarians Announce Their Favorites

Want to know which books librarian's across the country love? As shown in the November issue of Library Journal, listed below are the top ten. Click here to view the article.

Us by David Nicholls

While on a month-long European vacation, a mild-mannered scientist (with a hidden sense of humor) tries to repair his marriage and his relationship with his teenage son. By the best-selling author of One Day. (Publisher Summary)

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean

Duncan West, fascinated by Lady Georgiana, is determined to reveal all of her dark secrets, most notably, her secret identity as Chase, the founder of London's worst gaming hell. (Publisher Summary)

Lives in Ruin by Marilyn Johnson

A look at the lives of contemporary archaeologists as they search for clues to humanity's past. The book also examines the arduous, non-glamorous working conditions that they face as well as what drives them to do this very important, yet often tedious, work. (Publisher Summary)

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Detective Bosch has been assigned a new partner, Lucia Soto, with the hope that she will glean some of his expertise. The team follows difficult leads in a case involving a victim who dies from complications from a bullet wound sustained years earlier. By the best-selling author of The Black Box. (Publisher Summary)

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

The powerful conclusion to the His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith's worst fears are realized when she discovers that, despite her lifelong desire and training to be an assassin, she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress; which will mean being forever shut up in the convent of Saint Mortain. (Publisher Summary)

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The year is 1946, and World War II is over. In Sydney, Australia, four women join hundreds of other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England to face their unknown futures. (Publisher Summary)

The Forgers by Bradford Morrow

When Adam Diehl, reclusive rare-book collector, is found dead in his home, his sister, Meghan, and her lover, Will, a convicted literary forger, begin receiving threatening letters from someone who knows secrets about the death, as well as Will's past. (Publisher Summary)

In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Leslie S. Klinger and Laurie R. King

In the follow-up to the nationally bestselling A Study in Sherlock, Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger present a stunning new volume of original stories. (Publisher Summary)

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron

In this twelfth installment of Stephanie Barron's Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Jane investigates the suspicious death of a Yuletide reveler during Christmas time at the ancestral home of the wealthy Chute family. (Publisher Summary)

Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet

A couple experiences mermaids, kidnappers and mercenaries while honeymooning in the Caribbean. By the Pulitzer Prize-finalist author of Love in Infant Monkeys. (Publisher Summary)

Us by David Nicholls

Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date . . . and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce.

Narrated from Douglas’s endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who’s always felt like a stranger. 

"Nicholls . . . has created in Douglas a man who has always known where he was and where he was going and who now is suddenly adrift emotionally as well as physically. And all the guidebooks and online tours won't be enough to right his course. Are you thinking this is a predictable tale of family dynamics? Think again; this is Nicholls, after all. For those who loved One Day, the author's latest is another heart-grabber about discovering what makes us happy and learning to let go." (Library Journal Reviews)

This highly anticipated new novel has received many positive reviews and is already on the long list for the Man Booker Prize. Place your hold for Us today.