New Reads – Straight to Your Inbox

New Reads – Straight to Your Inbox

Looking for the newest library titles in your preferred genres or by your favorite authors? Get lists of titles added to the Allegheny County Library collections straight to your inbox with Select Reads!

Sign up for receive free monthly email notifications so you never miss another great pick. Choose from a variety of topics like Fiction, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, Graphic Novels, Home & Garden, Large Print, Romance, Teen, Age groups (4-8 & 9-12) and so many more.

Wth Select Reads, you can be up-to-date with the latest titles and authors that are available in the library catalog.

Find this resource on the county’s eLibrary page at elibrary.einetwork.net.

Winter Holiday Mysteries

Winter Holiday Mysteries

‘Tis the season for some cozy wintry mysteries. Here a sampling of new ones you can check out at the library!


Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

‘Tis the season for sleuthing in Donna Andrews’ cheery new addition to the New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow series.


Murder Most Royal by S.J. Bennett

Evidence that an aristocrat has gone missing–and was possibly murdered–near Sandringham House sets Queen Elizabeth II on the path to discover unsavory family secrets and much more in this new installment of the series the New York Times Book Review calls “sheer entertainment.”


The Twelve Books of Christmas by Kate Carlisle

The first ever Christmas mystery in the beloved New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series! San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright and her hunky security-expert husband, Derek Stone, face a locked-room murder mystery during the holidays in Scotland.


Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah

The world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot–legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile–puts his little grey cells to work solving a baffling Christmas mystery.


‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas by David Rosenfelt

In National Bestseller David Rosenfelt’s ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas , all through the Carpenter house, five dogs are stirring, and not even Andy can get out of working this latest case at his door.


The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson pens a spectacularly spine-chilling novella in which an American art student in London is invited to join a classmate for the holidays at Starvewood Hall, her family’s Cotswold manor house. But behind the holly and pine boughs, secrets are about to unravel, revealing this seemingly charming English village’s grim history.


Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger

Coupling a picturesque, cozy setting with a deeply unsettling suspenseful plot, Christmas Presents is a chilling seasonal novella that can be enjoyed all year long.

Page to Screen

Page to Screen

There are a ton of books that have been recently turned into films or TV series. Check out the titles & where you can watch them below!


Now Showing

Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) stars in and executive produces the series adaptation of Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling historical fiction novel about a chemist who becomes the unwitting star of a popular cooking show in early 1960s California.

Where to watch: New episodes of Lessons in Chemistry stream weekly on Apple TV+.

 

 

Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI
by David Grann

Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history

Where to watch: In Theaters Now

 

 

Pain Hustlers: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Startup
by Evan Hughes

Chris Evans (Captain America) and Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) lead the film adaptation of journalist Evan Hughes’ true crime book about controversial pharmaceutical company Insys Therapeutics.

Where to watch: Catch Pain Hustlers on Netflix.

 

 

Fellow Travelers
by Thomas Mallon

Matt Bomer (The Boys in the Band) and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) star as a pair of lovers navigating a decades-long romance in mid-20th century Washington, D.C. in the miniseries adaptation of Thomas Mellon’s political thriller.

Where to watch: Catch new episodes of Fellow Travelers weekly on Showtime.

 

 

 

The Fall of the House of Usher: And Other Stories That Inspired the Netflix Series
by Edgar Allan Poe

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan is back with another miniseries adaptation of classic horror tales — this time, Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 titular short story and other works.

Where to watch: The Fall of the House of Usher is streaming on Netflix.

 

 

 

Black Cake
by Charmaine Wilkerson

An ensemble cast stars in the series adaptation of Charmaine Wilkerson’s bestselling saga about a Caribbean American family caught up in a murder mystery. Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films co-produced the series.

Where to watch: Black Cake is streaming on Hulu.

 

 

 


Coming Soon

The Marsh King’s Daughter
by Karen Dionne

Daisy Ridley stars as a woman confronting her troubled past after her father escapes from prison in the thriller film adaptation of Karen Dionne’s international bestseller.

Where to watch: The Marsh King’s Daughter hits theaters on November 3rd.

 

 

 

Elvis and Me
by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley

Academy Award-winning director Sofia Coppola helms Priscilla, the film adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s memoir chronicling her tumultuous marriage to Elvis Presley.

Where to watch: Priscilla hits theaters on November 3rd.

 

 

 

 

The Complete The Killer
by Matz; illustrated by Luc Jacamon

Michael Fassbender stars as titular assassin The Killer in David Fincher’s film adaptation of the French neo-noir graphic novel series.

Where to watch: Following a limited theatrical release, The Killer premieres on Netflix on November 10th.

 

 

 

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
by Ibram X. Kendi

The documentary adaptation of Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning history features appearances from Brittney Cooper, Angela Davis, Imani Perry, and more.

Where to watch: Premieres in theaters on November 10th.

 

 

 

 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence returns to direct the film adaptation of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the prequel to Suzanne Collins’ dystopian Hunger Games trilogy starring a teenage Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem.

Where to watch: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premieres in theaters on November 17th.

Women in Translation Month

Looking for a new perspective? Try one of these translated titles written by women this month. #WITMonth

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yōko Tawada

Welcome to the not-too-distant future: Japan, having vanished from the face of the earth, is now remembered as “the land of sushi.” Hiruko, its former citizen and a climate refugee herself, has a job teaching immigrant children in Denmark with her invented language Panska (Pan-Scandinavian): “homemade language. no country to stay in. three countries I experienced. insufficient space in brain. so made new language. homemade language.” As she searches for anyone who can still speak her mother tongue, Hiruko soon makes new friends.


The Fawn by Magda Szabó

From the author of The Door and Abigail and for fans of Elena Ferrante and Clarice Lispector, a newly translated novel about a theater star who is forced to reckon with her painful and tragic past. In The Door, in Iza’s Ballad, and in Abigail, Magda Szabó describes the complex relationships between women of different ages and backgrounds with an astute and unsparing eye. Eszter, the narrator and protagonist of The Fawn, may well be Szabó’s most fascinating creation.


Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector

Near to the Wild Heart, published in Rio de Janeiro in 1943, introduced Brazil to what one writer called “Hurricane Clarice”: a twenty-three-year-old girl who wrote her first book in a tiny rented room and then baptized it with a title taken from Joyce: “He was alone, unheeded, near to the wild heart of life.”


Flights by Olga Tokarczuk

From the incomparably original Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk, Flights interweaves reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body, broaching life, death, motion, and migration. Chopin’s heart is carried back to Warsaw in secret by his adoring sister. A woman must return to her native Poland in order to poison her terminally ill high school sweetheart, and a young man slowly descends into madness when his wife and child mysteriously vanish during a vacation and just as suddenly reappear.


All our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg

This powerful novel is set against the background of Italy from 1939 to 1944, from the anxious months before the country entered the war, through the war years, to the allied victory with its trailing wake of anxiety, disappointment, and grief. In the foreground are the members of two families. One is rich, the other is not. In All Our Yesterdays, as in all of Ms. Ginzburg’s novels, terrible things happen–suicide, murder, air raids, and bombings. But seemingly less overwhelming events, like a family quarrel, adultery, or a deception, are given equal space, as if to say that, to a victim, adultery and air raids can be equally maiming. All Our Yesterdays gives a sharp portrait of a society hungry for change, but betrayed by war.


Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Cespedes

Valeria Cossati never suspected how unhappy she had become with the shabby gentility of her bourgeois life–until she begins to jot down her thoughts and feelings in a little black book she keeps hidden in a closet. This new secret activity leads her to scrutinize herself and her life more closely, and she soon realizes that her individuality is being stifled by her devotion and sense of duty toward her husband, daughter, and son. As the conflicts between parents and children, husband and wife, and friends and lovers intensify, what goes on behind the Cossatis’ facade of middle-class respectability gradually comes to light, tearing the family’s fragile fabric apart.


 

If You are Waiting for the Fourth Wing…

If You are Waiting for the Fourth Wing…

Try out some of these other fantasy titles while you wait for a copy of Fourth Wing.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

 


The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.


King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

In order to end a years-long war between vampires and mortals, Isolde must wed vampire king Adrian Aleksandr Vasiliev. But surviving the vampire court doesn’t prove to be nearly as difficult as resisting the intense attraction between her and Adrian.

St. Clair (When Stars Come Out) breathes new life into an old trope as a princess and a vampire king wed to end a years long war in this outstanding series opener. – Publisher’s Weekly


A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn, Claire Legrand, makes her stunning adult debut with A Crown of Ivy and Glass, a lush, sweeping, steamy fantasy romance series starter that’s perfect for fans of Bridgerton and A Court of Thorns and Roses.


by Jennifer Armentrout

Captivating and action-packed, From Blood and Ash is a sexy, addictive, and unexpected fantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Laura Thalassa.

 


One Dark Window by Rachel Gilig

For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom–but the monster in her head isn’t the only threat lurking.

 


A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin — one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin and his world, forever.


A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

The story of a school for the magically gifted when failure means certain death–until one girl begins to unlock its many secrets.

 

New Books – 1928 Edition

For decades the Sewickley Herald featured columns with information about new books the library had added to the collection.  This article from January 1928, less than five years after our current building opened, features seven books added to the collection. So what ever happened to these books? Does the library still have any of them? Can you still get them today?

We start with China Today Through Chinese Eyes. A New York Times review from the time mentions an article that delves into the Literary Revolution in China, a movement of books beginning to be published in the popular Chinese language away from the traditional Chinese.  The book is no longer part of Sewickley’s collection.  In fact, it can’t be found at any library in Allegheny County.  The closest place to find a printed copy of the book today would be Carlow University’s library in Pittsburgh:  https://www.worldcat.org/title/874929035.

My Lady of the India Pudah by Elizabeth Cooper  can no longer be checked out at the Sewickley Public Library.  However, if you get a public library card in Cleveland you can place a hold on this book today.  Of course, they will have the retrieve it from their offsite storage first!  Who has time for that?  If you really want to read about the Hindu princess Natara you can read it for free on Google Books right now.

Care and Feeding of Children by  L.E. Holt is a republication of Holt’s original 1894 publication.  Luther Emmett Holt was the head physian at New York’s Babies Hospital and this book was later “selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it,” according to a 2015 republication.  This book can’t be found at Sewickley or in our system either, but you can find another book by L.E. Holt called Food, Health and Growth from 1922 if you want to venture into Oakland and check out the Carnegie Library’s closed reference collection.

George Washington by Rupert Hughes is a two volume set on our first US president.  The first volume is subtitled The Human Being & The Hero, 1732-1762, the second volume is The Savior of the States 1777-1781. One would think that a library is sure to hold onto a biography of our first president, right? Sadly, no libraries have held onto this one either! You can access the full text for free thanks to archive.org and Trent University.  Don’t worry you can still find close to 20 George Washington biographies at SPL.

The Meadows by J.C. Van Dyke explores the natural beauty of the Raritan Valley in…New Jersey.  John Charles Van Dyke was an art historian, critic, and nature writer who was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Although no libraries around kept this 95 year old book there has been at least one positive Good Reads review from a fellow New Jersian.

At last we come to Best Plays of 1926-1927.  The book surely featured the play Show Boat, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein (pre-Richard Rodgers).  Although we can’t see a scanned, digital version of the book to confirm Show Boat’s inclusion we can request the book with a library card.  That’s right, this is the one book from 1928 that remains at a library in Allegheny County.  You can request the book from the Wilkinsburg Public Library and pretend it’s predepression (1928) Sewickley once again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literal Beach Reads

Literal Beach Reads

These books will literally whisk you away to the beach!

Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket : After tragedy strikes, Hollis Shaw gathers four friends from different stages in her life to spend an unforgettable weekend on Nantucket.

 


Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

Emma Rosenblum’s Bad Summer People is a whip-smart, propulsive debut about infidelity, backstabbing, and murderous intrigue, set against an exclusive summer haven on Fire Island.

 


The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton

New York heiress Catherine Dohan seemingly has it all. There’s only one problem. It’s a lie. As soon as the Morro Castle leaves port, Catherine’s past returns with a vengeance and threatens her life. Joining forces with a charismatic jewel thief, Catherine must discover who wants her dead – and why.


The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises–especially to ourselves–by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.

 


Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay

When a woman who’d rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay’s new rom-com.

 

Quick Read Classics

Are you thinking of tackling a classic book this summer?  Not quite ready for War and Peace or Middlemarch?  How about a short classic?  Check out one of those well-known books you’ve always meant to read!  And all are under 200 pages!

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

This best-selling sensation when first published in 1934, is still one of the best, most important, and most interesting crime novels in the canon.

 

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression — and a gateway into the work of  Steinbeck.

 

 

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris, this groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is “a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction.”

 

 

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

The novel that first made Willa Cather famous–a powerfully mythic tale of the American frontier told through the life of one extraordinary woman.

 

 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

Holly Golightly knows that nothing bad can ever happen to you at Tiffany’s. In this seductive, wistful masterpiece, Capote created a woman whose name has entered the American idiom and whose style is a part of the literary landscape–her poignancy, wit, and naïveté continue to charm.

 

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The most widely read book in modern African literature tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a fearless Igbo warrior in Nigeria.

 

 

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

One of the most important and enduring works of the twentieth century.  A southern love story told with wit and pathos — perhaps one of the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the cannon of African-American literature.

 

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.

 

Page 1The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

The girls of Spark’s novel live in the May of Teck Club in London, disturbed but not destroyed by WWII—both the Club, that is, and the girls.

Upcoming Spring Mysteries & Thrillers

APRIL

City of Dreams by Don Winslow – April 18

Following the epic, ambitious, instant New York Times bestseller City on Fire, “The Godfather for our generation” (Adrian McKinty), comes the dramatic second novel in an epic crime trilogy from Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cartel trilogy (The Power of the Dog, The Cartel and The Border).


Where are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark – April 18

The legacy of the “Queen of Suspense” continues with the highly anticipated follow-up to Mary Higgins Clark’s iconic novel Where Are The Children? , featuring the children of Nancy Harmon, facing peril once again as adults.


The Tip Line by Vanessa Cuti – April 18

Eager to get married, thirty-year-old Virginia Carey lands a job as an operator at a police tip line, where she thinks finding a husband will be easy. There’s Charlie Ford, a surprisingly sweet homicide detective, and charming police chief Declan “Deck” Brady. But just as Virginia’s plans begin to fall into place and she can almost picture a ring on her finger, she answers a call from Verona-a mysterious woman who provides a tip about four bodies on a remote local beach.


Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane – April 25

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River–an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.


The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh – April 25

From Edgar Award-finalist Adam Sternbergh, an electrifying domestic suspense novel for fans of The Perfect Marriage and Rock Paper Scissors , about a couple who are forced to the ultimate extremes to save their marriage–and themselves.


MAY

The 23rd Midnight by James Patterson – May 1

The latest in this “successful and suspenseful” ( Entertainment Weekly ) series: an attention-seeking copycat is recreating murders by a famous killer from the Women’s Murder Club’s past–with devastating new twists.

 


The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis – May 23

A dream girls trip to a luxurious French chateau devolves into a deadly nightmare of secrets and murder in this stylish, twisty thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

 


Beware the Woman by Megan Abbot – May 30

By the “master of thinly veiled secrets often kept by women who rage underneath their delicate exteriors” (Kirkus Reviews), Beware the Woman is Megan Abbott at the height of her game.

 


Drowning by T. J. Newman – May 30

Flight attendant turned New York Times bestselling author T. J. Newman–whose first book Falling was an instant #1 national bestseller and the biggest thriller debut of 2021–returns for her second book, an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a commercial jetliner that crashes into the ocean, and sinks to the bottom with passengers trapped inside, and the extraordinary rescue operation to save them.


Killing Moon by Joe Nesbo – May 30

This killer will get inside your head. * Brilliant rogue police investigator Harry Hole is back, this time as an outsider assembling his own team to help find a serial killer who is murdering young women in Oslo in the next novel in the New York Times best-selling series.

 

 

Novels Set in Western PA

Novels Set in Western PA

Pittsburgh Novels interactive map example

Example of the interactive map feature

We are excited to announce that the Penn State University Libraries’ Open Publishing program has launched “The Pittsburgh Novel: Western Pennsylvania in Fiction and Drama, 1792–2022.” This online annotated bibliography compiled by Peter Oresick and Jake Oresick includes all known fiction with a significant geographical setting in any of Pennsylvania’s 26 westernmost counties published between 1792 and 2022 – more than 1,500 works.

The searchable bibliography organizes content using keywords, genres and place settings and includes abstracts and notes for each entry. Places are nested in each entry by county, municipality, neighborhood, sub-neighborhood and landmark. A unique feature of the bibliography is the interactive map. Clicking on a region in the map provides a list of titles associated with that region or zone with links to that title in the bibliography.

The bibliography includes national bestsellers, award-winning films and screenplays of popular motion pictures, children’s and young adult works, scripts of plays and television series, and obscure and self-published titles.

Read more about this project here:  Penn State University Libraries launches online bibliography of western Pa. fiction (PSU News – January 31, 2023)

Search the database here.