New Arrivals
-
Bright and Tender Dark
An exquisitely written novel about a murder on a college campus and its aftermath twenty years later.
“Anyone who's ever been obsessed by a crime story will find a facet of themselves in this wise, compelling, and gripping book.” - Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites
Days after the dawn of Y2K, beautiful, charismatic nineteen-year-old Karlie Richards is found brutally murdered in her campus apartment. Two decades later, those who knew Karlie-and those who just knew of her-remain consumed by her death. Among them is her freshman-year roommate, Joy, now middle-aged and mid-divorce, living in the same college town and desperate for a new beginning. When she stumbles upon a twenty-year-old letter from Karlie, Joy becomes convinced the man in prison for her murder was wrongfully convicted. Soon she is diving deep into the dark world of internet conspiracy theorists and amateur sleuth blogs and bouncing off others touched by the long, sensational aftermath of this crime. They include KC, the trans night manager at the building where Karlie was killed; Sheri, the mother of the man serving time; and Jacob Hendrix, the charming professor with whom, Joy knows all too well, Karlie was romantically entangled before her death.
Jumping between 2019 and 1999, Bright and Tender Dark takes us from the era of Reddit threads and online obsession to the evangelism-infused culture of the late '90s to reveal what really happened to Karlie. It is a compulsively readable, prismatic literary debut that brilliantly mines the mythology of murder, the power of urban legend, and the psychological urge to both protect and exploit what you love but cannot have. -
Jackie
In this mesmerizing novel about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, acclaimed author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss and reinvention.
“A brilliant, beautiful book [that] touches the soul.”—Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of The Princess of Las Vegas
The world has divided my life into three:
Life with Jack
Life with Onassis
Life as a woman who goes to work because she wants to.
My life is all of these things, and it is none of these things. They continue to miss what’s right in front of them. I love books. I love the sea. I love horses. Children. Art. Ideas. History. Beauty. Because beauty blows us open to wonder.
Even the beauty that breaks your heart.
Jackie is the story of a woman—deeply private with a nuanced, formidable intellect—who forged a legacy out of grief and shaped history even as she was living it. It is the story of a love affair, a complicated marriage, and the fracturing of identity that comes in the wake of unthinkable violence.
When Jackie meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy in Georgetown, she is twenty-one and dreaming of France. She has won an internship at Vogue. Kennedy, she thinks, is not her kind of adventure: “Too American. Too good-looking. Too boy.” Yet she is drawn to his mind, his humor, his drive. The chemistry between them ignites. During the White House years, the love between two independent people deepens. Then, a motorcade in Dallas: “Three and a half seconds—that’s all it was—a slivered instant between the first shot, which missed the car, and the second, which did not. . . . A hypnotic burst of sunlight off her bracelet as she waved.”
This vivid, exquisitely written novel is at once a captivating work of the imagination and a window into the world of a woman who led many lives: Jackie, Jacks, Jacqueline, Miss Bouvier, Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie O. -
Variation
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing comes a new contemporary romance about the summer a celebrated dancer returns home and unearths years of family secrets and deep regrets with the Coast Guard rescue swimmer she never forgot.
Elite ballerina Allie Rousseau is no stranger to pressure. With her mother's eyes always watching, perfection was expected, no matter the cost. But when an injury jeopardizes all she's sacrificed for, Allie returns to her summer home to heal and recover. But the memories she's tried to forget rush in and threaten to take her under.
As a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hudson Ellis knows that hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. He's always prided himself on being in the right place at the right time, especially when it came to Allie Rousseau...until the night he left for basic. After the biggest regret of his life, the secrets he keeps mean he can never be with the one woman he wants more than his next breath.
When Hudson's niece shows up on Allie's doorstep, desperate to find her birth mother, Allie finds herself in an unimaginable position. Allie and Hudson's past and present might be endlessly complicated. The thread that tied them to each other all those years ago may have unraveled, but the truth could pull them back together, or drive them apart forever.
-
Songlight
Star-crossed lovers, against-all-odds friendship, and a brutally unforgiving world make this first in a trilogy utterly unforgettable.
We're two songs joined. And there's a word for that. A harmony.
Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself--her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.
Elsa's world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn't know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn't really there--her songlight has been drawn to Elsa's frantic grief.
Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they'll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.
From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Adrienne Young.
-
Stranger Things: The Dustin Experiment
Follow Stranger Things fan favorite Dustin Henderson on a journey that takes him beyond Hawkins.
It’s fall 1985, and Dustin Henderson is starting his freshman year at Hawkins High School. After the tragedy at the Starcourt Mall, he’s ready for life to return to normal, but things feel different. Some friends have moved away. Others are still in town but growing distant. Dustin thinks entering a science competition will make everything like it used to be, but will Lucas and Mike join him? Or will he have to rely on a charismatic metalhead named Eddie?
Join Dustin on a road trip filled with inventions, heavy metal, and a new understanding of his place in Hawkins. Sprinkled with references to your favorite Stranger Things characters, this novel chronicles the events between seasons three and four of Netflix’s iconic series. -
Five Nights at Freddy's: The Week Before, an Afk Book (Interactive Novel #1)
Just in time for the 10th anniversary of Five Nights at Freddy's, return to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza in this interactive novel in which you decide what happens!
An instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller! Return to where it all began in this interactive novel set before the very first Five Nights at Freddy's game. You the reader are the Security Guard - and you've got five nights (or is it six?) to survive Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy as they try to wipe you out. With over 25 different possible endings and two difficulty settings, this one-of-a-kind, innovative novel is a uniquely entertaining experience for any Freddy fan.
-
Orris and Timble: The Beginning
From beloved storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes the first book in a warm and funny early-reader trilogy about a misanthropic rat and a naive owl--and the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Orris the rat lives alone in an old barn surrounded by his treasures, until the day his solitude is disrupted by a sudden flutter of wings and a loud screech. A small owl has gotten caught in a trap in the barn. Can Orris "make the good and noble choice" (as the king on his prized sardine can might recommend) and rescue the owl, despite the fact that owls and rats are natural enemies? And if he does, will he be ready for the consequences? With humor and tenderness, two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo brings us this first of three tales celebrating unlikely friendship and the power of sharing stories and doing the right thing--a soon-to-be classic brought to expressive life by the full-color illustrations of Carmen Mok. -
The Kelce Brothers: A Little Golden Book Biography
Dream big with a Little Golden Book biography about Travis and Jason Kelce—star NFL players, brothers, and podcast hosts. Little Golden Book biographies are the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers—as well as fans of all ages!
What's it like playing against your brother in the Super Bowl? Only Travis and Jason Kelce can answer that question! Read all about what these NFL superstar brothers enjoy doing—on and off the football field—in this inspiring Little Golden Book Biography.
Look for more Little Golden Book biographies:
- Tom Brady
- Lionel Messi
- LeBron James
- Dwayne Johnson
-
What the Chicken Knows
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A charming and eye-opening exploration of the special relationship between humans and chickens from Sy Montgomery, “one of our finest chroniclers of the natural world” (The New York Times).
For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery—whose The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist—has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way.
In this short, delightful book, Sy takes us inside the flock and reveals all the things that make chickens such remarkable creatures: only hours after leaving the egg, they are able to walk, run, and peck; relationships are important to them and the average chicken can recognize more than one hundred other chickens; they remember the past and anticipate the future; and they communicate specific information through at least twenty-four distinct calls. Visitors to her home are astonished by all this, but for Sy what’s more astonishing is how little most people know about chickens, especially considering there are about twenty percent more chickens on earth than people.
With a winning combination of personal narrative and science, What the Chicken Knows is exactly the kind of book that has made Sy Montgomery such a beloved and popular author. -
War
Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American Presidency.
War is an intimate and sweeping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in presidential politics and American history.
We see President Joe Biden and his top advisers in tense conversations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. We also see Donald Trump, conducting a shadow presidency and seeking to regain political power.
With unrivaled, inside-the-room reporting, Woodward shows President Biden’s approach to managing the war in Ukraine, the most significant land war in Europe since World War II, and his tortured path to contain the bloody Middle East conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
Woodward reveals the extraordinary complexity and consequence of wartime back-channel diplomacy and decision-making to deter the use of nuclear weapons and a rapid slide into World War III.
The raw cage-fight of politics accelerates as Americans prepare to vote in 2024, starting between President Biden and Trump, and ending with the unexpected elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for president.
War provides an unvarnished examination of the vice president as she tries to embrace the Biden legacy and policies while beginning to chart a path of her own as a presidential candidate.
Woodward’s reporting once again sets the standard for journalism at its most authoritative and illuminating.
Upcoming Events
Exhibit: Farmington Artists Show
An exhibition showcasing the remarkable talents of local Farmington artists, each with their own unique interests and distinct styles as beautifully diverse as the community itself.
Art Exhibit: Kate Emery
Farmington Nostalgia: A celebration of New England's Charm through oil paintings.
Reception: Saturday, December 14, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM in the Hoppin Gallery
Taylor Swift Escape Room
Celebrate Taylor Swift's birthday in style with our Taylor Swift themed escape room!
Disclaimer(s)
If you have special needs to attend this program, please contact the library in advance.Monthly Makers
Monthly Makers is a low stakes arts and crafts program for Adults. You don’t need to be crafty to enjoy this program, it’s about the process NOT the product. Each month we will try different crafts, mediums, and styles, without the pressure of perfection. Join us for this one hour of ADULT arts and crafts time each month at the Barney Library.
This month we'll be making: Mason Jar Luminaries
Taylor Swift Escape Room
Celebrate Taylor Swift's birthday with our Taylor Swift themed escape room!
Plot: Taylor has lost her albums and it is up to you to find them and return them to our (Cardboard) Taylor Swift before your hour is up!