November 2020

Willa Cather's American masterpiece about Ántonia Shimerda, a Bohemian immigrant girl on the Nebraska prairie, told through the nostalgic memories of childhood friend Jim Burden. Luminous prose, elegiac tone, and one of literature's most enduring portraits of pioneer life and immigrant experience.

Iris Johansen's thriller featuring blind music therapist Kendra Michaels, who gained sight as an adult and uses her heightened observational skills to help the FBI track a serial killer. Fast-paced suspense with music world setting, though strained by formula and romance subplot.

The fifth installment of Alexander McCall Smith's beloved No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series finds Mma Ramotswe investigating suitors, solving mysteries, and contemplating life's complexities with wisdom, humor, and her traditional build. Gentle, charming, and surprisingly profound.

Rainbow Rowell's beloved YA novel about two misfit teenagers who fall in love on the school bus in 1986 Omaha. A tender, painful story about first love, abuse, racism, and finding someone who sees you—praised for representation but not without controversy.

One of China's Four Great Classical Novels, this epic historical saga chronicles the fall of the Han Dynasty and the three-way power struggle that followed. A monument of Chinese literature filled with battles, strategies, and legendary heroes—but extremely challenging for modern Western readers.

Herman Wouk's hilarious novel about a New York press agent who buys a Caribbean hotel, only to discover that paradise comes with endless disasters, bureaucratic nightmares, and cultural clashes. A comic masterpiece about the gap between tropical dreams and island reality.

A YA romance told in alternating perspectives about two strangers who meet at a New York City club and spend one transformative night together, bonding over music, ex-drama, and the magic of the city. A love letter to indie music and the possibilities of one perfect night.

Mark Twain's beloved classic about a mischievous boy growing up in a Mississippi River town. Tom Sawyer's adventures—from whitewashing fences to witnessing murder to getting lost in caves—capture the essence of American boyhood and remain timelessly entertaining.