Krijn

Krijn

Having travelled to many places places, Krijn enjoys reading fiction and nonfiction stories that take you to different settings, near and far. If you can’t always travel everywhere, at least you can always read about anywhere.

 

 


 

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Wandering Stars: A novel By Tommy Orange Cover Image
$29.00
ISBN: 9780593318256
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Knopf - February 27th, 2024

This is a beautifully written multi-generational story that starts before and ends after his debut novel “There, There”. It’s about the fallout of tragic events, hardship, addictions and recovery, religion, and about connecting and belonging and keeping family together. It begins with an 1864 massacre, but most of the story is set in contemporary Oakland. No need to read “There, There” first, but both are wonderful books.


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A Wild and Heavenly Place By Robin Oliveira Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593543856
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: G.P. Putnam's Sons - February 13th, 2024

A great love story that starts in the squalor as well as the upper echelons in Glasgow towards the end of the 19th century. It then finds its way to gritty and dirty Seattle and its surroundings with its new shipyards, wood mills, and coal mines. A new town is taking shape in the beautiful Pacific Northwest while true love is being pursued. A very enjoyable book!


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The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination By Stuart A. Reid Cover Image
$35.00
ISBN: 9781524748814
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Knopf - October 17th, 2023

Excellent read! This book addresses the Congo becoming independent after the disastrous Belgian colonial rule, the rise of charismatic Patrice Lumumba and his election as Prime Minister, the US government and CIA involvement because they don’t trust him during this Cold War era, and the largest peacekeeping mission in the history of the young United Nations, and all these entities not willing to give up on colonialism.  Not a spy novel, but it reads like one. A page-turner.


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A History of Burning By Janika Oza Cover Image
$29.00
ISBN: 9781538724248
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Grand Central Publishing - May 2nd, 2023

Sweeping, epic novel spanning 4 generations, moving from India to Kenya and Uganda, and then to Canada and England. An intimate story of family, traditions, and sacrifice, and the continuous search for a place to call home. A moving and haunting story, beautifully written. I think it's the best book i read in '23.


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The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I By Douglas Brunt Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781982169909
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Atria Books - September 19th, 2023

Diesel truly believed his invention could make the world a better place. Instead it had a great impact on politics leading up to WWI. This well-written biography provides a fascinating overview of his impact on political developments leading up to the Great War, and also how his invention impacted the businesses of John D. Rockefeller, Adolphus Busch, Alfred Nobel, and many others. A riveting story.


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The River We Remember: A Novel By William Kent Krueger Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781982179212
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Atria Books - September 5th, 2023

A spellbinding md-century, mid-western saga: characters damaged by wars, a murder, racial prejudice, tragic histories and secrets - all woven together in a masterful story. Loved it from beginning to end!


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Crook Manifesto: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
$29.00
ISBN: 9780385545150
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Doubleday - July 18th, 2023

This is the very entertaining 2nd book in Whitehead's Harlem Trilogy that started with Harlem Shuffle. It’s New York in the 70’s: more and more garbage in the streets, increasing crime and continuing graft. Carney has a thriving furniture business and strives to be a family man. But he can’t stay away from crime, with his crooked partner Pepper battling for him. It’s a dark story giving a great insight of New York life, funny at moments, and all through enjoyable to read.


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Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West By Finn Murphy Cover Image
$27.95
ISBN: 9781324006107
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - June 13th, 2023

After starting several enterprises, including long-haul trucking and writing the bestseller The Long Haul, Finn Murphy ends up in Boulder, CO, where he tries his luck making a killing in hemp. In Rocky Mountain High he narrates his experiences and (mis)adventures. It is a great, insightful, and rollicking story that I enjoyed reading as much as I did The Long Haul.


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Joy Ride: A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina By Kristen Jokinen, Cheryl Strayed (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Kristen Jokinen, Cheryl Strayed (Introduction by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9780998825755
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Hawthorne Books - May 2nd, 2023

Lovely story of Kristin and Vill Jokinen's epic biking adventure from the top of Alaska to the tip of Argentina. Never been on a bike trip before, they dealt with relentless rain, numerous flat tires, dog attacks, endless climbs, and heat, but also spectacular scenery and incredible kindness everywhere along their route. This is an uplifting and inspiring story of love of the outdoors, love of adventure, and love of each other and other people.


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The Partisan By Patrick Worrall Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781454950769
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Union Square & Co. - April 25th, 2023

A thrilling cold war story with multiple characters on both sides of the Iron Curtain, with flashbacks to the grim WW2 partisan fights in Lithuania. The at-first complex story spans several decades, but the various parts steadily come together towards the end in this engaging spy thriller.


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Pineapple Street: A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel) By Jenny Jackson Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780593490693
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Pamela Dorman Books - March 7th, 2023

A delightful book about life among the upper-upper class in New York city, and about the three women that are part of this old-money family, and their tribulations: Darley, oldest daughter, sacrifices herself by marrying an outsider; Sasha, middle-class daughter-in-law struggles to fit in and be accepted; youngest sibling Georgiana falls in love but maybe shouldn’t have and tries to figure out her life and what to do with her wealth. A lighthearted and entertaining story sprinkled with humor.


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Grand Hotel Europa: A Novel By Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Michele Hutchison (Translated by) Cover Image
$24.00
ISBN: 9781250872845
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Picador - June 13th, 2023

After a passionate affair, the narrator arrives at a grand hotel that is past its glory, where he stays to transform his failed love story into a novel. He makes his acquaintance with a cast of characters and with them he philosophizes about various subjects, from refugees and immigration policies, politics, culture, good and bad tourists/tourism, to the future of Europe as one big museum. It was delightful to be taken along in this narrative, which is at times hilarious, extravagant, ribald and never dull.


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The Final Case: A novel By David Guterson Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525563112
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Vintage - November 29th, 2022

An absorbing novel about family relationships and living a purposeful life. A family of white fundamentalist Christians adopts a girl, Abebe, from Ethiopia. The parents try to get her to fit in and conform to their strict lifestyle. They are charged with murder after she dies from hypothermia right outside their house. For Royal, a Seattle criminal attorney, defending the wife will be his last case in a long career. His son, a writer and the novel’s narrator, drives his father to and from the trial. Telling the dramatic story, he juxtaposes kinship and family love and dynamics. A compelling novel that makes you think about living a purposeful life.


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Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing By Peter Robison Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593082515
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Anchor - October 11th, 2022

Gripping and very accurate account of all that went wrong at Boeing - once a globally admired company. The cultural change following the Boeing / McDonnell Douglas merger is well described. Stock price and executive pay tied to it became all important, and cutting cost was all that mattered. This led to various debacles, including the 737 MAX crashes. This is a well-researched and written, chilling account, but also a sad story. A must-read for all that were proud of this once great company (including myself, for most of the 35 years I worked there).


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Harlem Shuffle: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525567271
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Anchor - August 9th, 2022

This is a very entertaining novel to read. It provides a wonderful description of life in Harlem in the 60s, with the protagonist peripherally or directly involved in heists, swindles, graft and kickbacks (“Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…”), but also touching on the pervasive racism. I really enjoyed reading this.


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Facing the Mountain: An Inspiring Story of Japanese American Patriots in World War II By Daniel James Brown Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780525557425
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Penguin Books - May 10th, 2022

A superbly written, epic story about real Japanese-Americans during WW II: the families that remained on the Hawaiian islands as well as the west coast families that were forced to move to concentration camps; their sons that served heroically in Europe fighting the Germans; as well as the ones that stood up as resisters defending their rights as citizens. This is a great book that was almost impossible to put down.


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Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty By Patrick Radden Keefe Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781984899019
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Anchor - October 18th, 2022

Engrossing tale of the Sackler family’s greed and their ruthless marketing of opioid painkillers, causing the opioid crisis. Keefe chronicles the birth of the dynasty and how it morphed into a family empire that shamelessly made billion of dollars while hiding in the background, all the while demanding recognition through philanthropy.  It is well researched and well written and reads like a real-life thriller.


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How to Kidnap the Rich: A Novel By Rahul Raina Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780063028784
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Harper Perennial - June 1st, 2021

A rollicking urban caper in which poor Ramesh Kumar takes and aces a test for a son of the rich, catapulting the latter to stardom. They both make a lot of money, get kidnapped, and kidnap others when turning the tables. It provides satirical view on the inequalities in contemporary Indian society. Hugely entertaining. You'll enjoy this.


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Basil's War: A WWII Spy Thriller By Stephen Hunter Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781613163092
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Mysterious Press - May 31st, 2022

Basil St. Florian is a swashbuckling secret agent who’d rather stay in bed with his lover than go on a mission. Nevertheless, because he’s so masterful in his trade, he’s chosen for a secret mission into France to retrieve information that will help decipher the German secret codes and win the war. A very British tale with their typical humor, with action, and with a great plot. A very entertaining spy thriller.


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Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad By Michela Wrong Cover Image
$32.00
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9781610398428
Published: PublicAffairs - March 30th, 2021

The best nonfiction book I read in quite a while. Michela Wrong’s ‘Do Not Disturb’ is a powerful, sweeping review of Rwanda’s recent history and rise of the current regime of the once admired Paul Kagame. She uses the murder of Kagame’s former friend and co-leader Patrick Karegeya as background when telling the events that gave birth to the related rebel movements in Uganda and later in Rwanda, the return of displaced people to Rwanda, the Tutsi genocide (and Kagame’s probable role in starting it), the killings of Hutu’s, and the current ruthless persecution of anybody who does not agree with Kagame. The ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign was left on the door of the room where Karegeya was murdered, but it is a metaphor for the legitimacy of the current minority regime. Wrong’s book is gripping and eloquent, and I had a hard time putting it down until I finished it.


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The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu: A Novel By Tom Lin Cover Image
By Tom Lin
$16.99
ISBN: 9780316542142
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Back Bay Books - June 21st, 2022

Ming Tsu is a ruthless Chinese American outlaw seeking revenge after enduring mistreatment, exploitation and racism. He travels with a prophet on his journey to kill the men who destroyed him and to find the wife he was taken away from. They hook up with a group of magic show characters on the way. There are grisly scenes, but also great descriptions of the desolate landscapes they're passing through. This is a well-written, captivating and thrilling western.


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The Committed By Viet Thanh Nguyen Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780802157072
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Grove Press - March 29th, 2022

This is a literary masterpiece - the long-awaited follow-up to The Sympathizer. First off, don’t worry if you haven’t read The Sympathizer ((I haven't, yet). This book is great read on its own. The protagonist/narrator arrives as a refugee in Paris and gets involved in its criminal underworld in this gangster thriller that is interlaced with his discourses on colonialism, communism, and the American/Vietnam war and their ghosts, and occasional humor. Viet Thanh Nguyen is a fantastic author, and this story is spellbinding.


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The Last Taxi Driver By Lee Durkee Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781951142681
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Tin House Books - April 6th, 2021

In this darkly comic story, Lou Bishoff chronicles a day of driving around an eccentric slew of characters in and around a college town in Mississippi in a beat up taxi. His live is disrupted and changing as his girlfriend is moving out, and Uber is moving in and an antagonistic dispatcher is reappearing. Still showing compassion to long time destitute customers, he has to decide how much he can take. This was very enjoyable to read.


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Apeirogon: A Novel By Colum McCann Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9780812981933
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - February 2nd, 2021

 

Apeirogon - a shape with a countably infinite number of sides. In this extraordinary hybrid novel McCann craftfully weaves together the stories of an Israeli father and a Palestinian father, joined in grief after they both have lost a daughter in the enduring conflict. He shapes their loss into a breathtaking narrative, splendidly interspersed with incidental details. It is moving and almost impossible to put down.


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The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz By Erik Larson Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9780385348737
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Crown - February 15th, 2022

Fantastic account of Churchill’s first year as PM, leading the Battle of Britain. In captivating detail Larson describes his quirks, his charisma, his emotions, his leadership, and his great oratory skills. Combined into this are the narratives of the family members and friends and staff that surround him, as well as his enemies. A terrific, spellbinding historical WWII novel.


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Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History By Peter Houlahan Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781640093881
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Counterpoint - June 2nd, 2020

Gripping account of a bank robbery that went wrong. A group of friends amassed an arsenal of military-grade weapons to prepare themselves for armageddon. They tried to rob a bank, but all went wrong and a violent pursuit followed. This is part action thriller and part courtroom drama. It raises issues such as religious extremism, PTSD, and militarization of police forces that are still relevant today. An outstanding, suspenseful written story.


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A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel By Isabel Allende, Nick Caistor (Translated by), Amanda Hopkinson (Translated by) Cover Image
By Isabel Allende, Nick Caistor (Translated by), Amanda Hopkinson (Translated by)
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593157497
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Ballantine Books - April 6th, 2021

Sweeping, epic story that follows Victor Dalmay and his wife Roser over a span of more than 50 years, starting during the Spanish civil war. They escape and end up in one of the refugee concentration camps in southern France. From there they are able to move to Chile, with the help of the great poet Pable Neruda, where later on they witness the overthrow of Salvador Allende (Isabele's godfather and cousin of her father) by Pinochet. They again need to leave their home, this time moving to Venezuela, at that time the most properous South American nation. Eventually they are able to move back to the country they consider their homeland. A historical, absorbing tale.


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American Dirt (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel By Jeanine Cummins Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250209788
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Holt Paperbacks - February 1st, 2022

Lydia runs a bookstore and has a son, Luca, and journalist husband who writes about the drug cartels. He and the rest of their family are murdered, and Lydia and Luca flee from the cartel’s Jefe and downfallen Acapulco and join the migrants who sacrifice everything for a glimmer of hope in El Norte. They travel on La Bestia. This is a great story, full of misery and drama, but also humanity. A fantastic book for our times.


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The Nickel Boys: A Novel By Colson Whitehead Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780345804341
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Anchor - June 30th, 2020

A young man who treasures MLK's words has big plans, but lives in the Jim Crow south. Elwood, and Turner, and many other boys, end up in a hellish reform school, where they intend to survive. Based on a true story, The Nickel Boys is heartbraking. The writing is phenomenal - plain but powerful. It stays with you for a long time.


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Ventoux By Bert Wagendorp, Paul Vincent (Translator) Cover Image
By Bert Wagendorp, Paul Vincent (Translator)
$16.99
ISBN: 9781642860177
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: World Editions - May 19th, 2019

 

Great story about old and renewed friendships, and observations about life and growing up. Cycling is a central theme, including two climbs up Mont Ventoux ,famous from the Tour de France, in their youth and later as they get together again. A feel-good, pleasant summer read.


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Always Another Country By Sisonke Msimang Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781642860009
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: World Editions - September 4th, 2018

I love this book! As her father was an exiled ANC member, she grew up in various African countries, and Canada and the USA, where she studied. Always pursuing her black African roots. After the end of Apartheid she returns "home". This is a beautitul, elegantly written, and at times moving story about belonging.


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The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero By Michael Kranish Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9781501192609
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Scribner - June 29th, 2021

Fascinating story about Major Taylor, the first Black person to become a world champion in sports. Biking was then the most popular sport in America. The extraordinary Taylor was a heroic athlete who broke racial barriers, battling Jim Crow laws and attitudes, even those of his colleagues. Inspiring and riveting.


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The Last Thing You Surrender: A Novel of World War II By Leonard Pitts Jr Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781572842458
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Agate Bolden - February 5th, 2019

Beautiful, epic tale of World War II and race relations, following 3 characters. The war in the Pacific, Japanese prison camp, black tank battalion in Europe, and work at a shipyard in Mobile Alabama, are part of the story lines, set against a backdrop of race relations. This is a wonderful historical novel.


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Solitary: A Biography (National Book Award Finalist; Pulitzer Prize Finalist) By Albert Woodfox Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780802148308
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Grove Press - December 3rd, 2019

Extremely powerful saga! "Fox" grew up in an environment that led to petty crime, just to survive. While locked up he's convicted of murder, but is innocent, and spends 40 years in solitary confinement. This is a story about institutionalized racism and inhumane conditions, but also about hope, and his unbreakable spirit and remaining sane, about friendship and inspiring and helping others. A superb memoir!


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Only Killers and Thieves: A Novel By Paul Howarth Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062690982
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: Harper Perennial - December 4th, 2018

I just loved this - couldn't put it down. Epic, gorgeous tale of two brothers dealing with family tragedy, justice, revenge, aborigines and bloodshed, and guilt. Set in the 1800's at the edge of the Australian Outback, where life and the environment are harsh, but so beautifully described. Great Read!


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Slice Harvester: A Memoir in Pizza By Colin Atrophy Hagendorf Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9781476790541
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Simon & Schuster - November 8th, 2016

20-something Colin - punkrocker and zine publisher - decides to eat a 'slice of regular' at every Manhattan pizza place. He visits over 400 places, falls in love, gets sober, and gets attention all over the world. Included are some of the reviews - and they are funny. This is about his life, but leaves you craving for a great slice.


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The Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West By John Branch Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780393356991
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - June 4th, 2019

Beautiful story of the American west, set against the backdrop of the glorious Utah landscape. Fascinating portrait of the Wright family - several generations raised cattle, and they are arguably the most successful rodeo family in US history. Great tribute to rodeo culture and the US west. This story is certain to please you.


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The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road By Finn Murphy Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9780393355871
Availability: Available to order - Usually arrives at our store in 1-5 days
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - June 5th, 2018

He dropped out of college and has been driving a long haul truck for over 30 years, and wrote this great book about it. Could not put it down. He brings to life a seemingly mundane job in this rollicking story. Very entertaining!


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The Dinner By Herman Koch Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780385346856
Availability: Available - On our shelves now
Published: Hogarth - October 29th, 2013

Great thought provoking book about people and an event set in a country where people are considered to be so tolerant. But are  they? How far would you go to protect your family? Hard to put down till the very end.

 


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King of Spies: The Dark Reign of an American Spymaster By Blaine Harden Cover Image
$17.00
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780143128861
Published: Penguin Books - October 2nd, 2018

Captivating story about the most powerful US spy during the Korean war era. He set up his own spy network in Norht Korea, and was also very close to the South Korean president. A thrilling, true tale and account of the Korean war.