“A Financial Times Book of the Month

Back to Human explains how a more socially connected workforce creates greater fulfillment, productivity, and engagement while preventing burnout and turnover.

The next generation of leaders must create a workplace where teammates feel genuinely connected, engaged, and empowered — without relying on technology. Based on Dan Schawbel’s exclusive research studies — featuring the perspectives of over 2,000 managers and employees across different age groups — Back to Human reveals why virtual communication, though vital and useful, actually contributes to a stronger sense of isolation at work than ever before. How can we change this culture?

Schawbel offers a self-assessment called the “Work Connectivity Index” that measures the strength of team relationships. He also shares exercises, examples, and activities that readers can work on individually or as a team, which will help them increase personal productivity, be more collaborative, and become more fulfilled at work.

Back to Human ultimately helps you decide when and how to use technology to build better connections in your work life. It is a call to action to leaders across the world to make the workplace a better experience for all of us.” -Amazon

To place your name on the waiting list you can log in to your online account, call the library at 756-9806 or e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org

“Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay 

Insightful and searing essays that celebrate the vibrancy and strength of black history and culture in America by critically acclaimed writer Jabari Asim

In We Can’t Breathe, Jabari Asim disrupts what Toni Morrison has exposed as the “Master Narrative” and replaces it with a story of black survival and persistence through art and community in the face of centuries of racism. In eight wide-ranging and penetrating essays, he explores such topics as the twisted legacy of jokes and falsehoods in black life; the importance of black fathers and community; the significance of black writers and stories; and the beauty and pain of the black body. What emerges is a rich portrait of a community and culture that has resisted, survived, and flourished despite centuries of racism, violence, and trauma. These thought-provoking essays present a different side of American history, one that doesn’t depend on a narrative steeped in oppression but rather reveals black voices telling their own stories.” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to place this book on hold.

“The national bestselling author of Breaking Wild delivers a riveting and haunting thriller about a woman who fears that the greatest threat to her survival could be the man she loves…

Marian Engström has found her true calling: working with rescue dogs to help protect endangered wildlife. Her first assignment takes her to northern Alberta, where she falls in love with her mentor, the daring and brilliant Tate. But after a tragic accident, Marian discovers growing and disturbing inconsistencies about Tate’s life, and begins to wonder if the man she loved could have been responsible for the unsolved murders of at least four women.

Desperately hoping to clear Tate’s name as a serial killer, she reaches out to a retired forensic profiler who’s haunted by the open cases. Marian relives her relationship with Tate, but as she circles ever closer to the truth, evil stalks her every move…” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold.

“Everyone travels for different reasons, but whatever those reasons are, one thing is certain: they come back with stories. Each year, the best of those stories are collected in The Best American Travel Writing, curated by one of the top writers in the field, and each year they “open a window onto the strange, seedy, and beautiful world, offering readers glimpses into places that many will never see or experience except through the eyes and words of these writers” (Kirkus). This far-ranging collection of top notch travel writing is, quite simply, the genre’s gold standard.” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold.

“A powerfully moving graphic novel by New York Times bestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels that explores the current plight of undocumented immigrants.

Ebo is alone.His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life—the same journey their sister set out on months ago.

But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. He sets out after Kwame and joins him on the quest to reach Europe. Ebo’s epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his family.”

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or long in to your online account to put this book on hold.

“A novel about heiress Mary Philipse’s relationship with George Washington, based on historical accounts, letters, and personal journals bynine-time New York Emmy award-winning journalist Mary Calvi.

“Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted.” —George Washington

Did unrequited love spark a flame that ignited a cause that became the American Revolution? Never before has this story about George Washington been told. Crafted from hundreds of letters, witness accounts, and journal entries, Dear George, Dear Mary explores George’s relationship with his first love, New York heiress Mary Philipse, the richest belle in Colonial America.

From elegant eighteenth-century society to bloody battlefields, the novel creates breathtaking scenes and riveting characters. Dramatic portraits of the two main characters unveil a Washington on the precipice of greatness, using the very words he spoke and wrote, and his ravishing love, whose outward beauty and refinement disguise a complex inner struggle.

Dear George, Dear Mary reveals why George Washington had such bitter resentment toward the Brits, established nearly two decades before the American Revolution, and it unveils details of a deception long hidden from the world that led Mary Philipse to be named a traitor, condemned to death and left with nothing. While that may sound like the end, ultimately both Mary and George achieve what they always wanted.” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold!

“New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018

A New York Times Notable Book

A ground-breaking and brave inside reckoning with the nexus of prison and profit in America: in one Louisiana prison and over the course of our country’s history.

In 2014, Shane Bauer was hired for $9 an hour to work as an entry-level prison guard at a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana. An award-winning investigative journalist, he used his real name; there was no meaningful background check. Four months later, his employment came to an abrupt end. But he had seen enough, and in short order he wrote an exposé about his experiences that won a National Magazine Award and became the most-read feature in the history of the magazine Mother Jones. Still, there was much more that he needed to say. In American Prison, Bauer weaves a much deeper reckoning with his experiences together with a thoroughly researched history of for-profit prisons in America from their origins in the decades before the Civil War. For, as he soon realized, we can’t understand the cruelty of our current system and its place in the larger story of mass incarceration without understanding where it came from. Private prisons became entrenched in the South as part of a systemic effort to keep the African-American labor force in place in the aftermath of slavery, and the echoes of these shameful origins are with us still.

The private prison system is deliberately unaccountable to public scrutiny. Private prisons are not incentivized to tend to the health of their inmates, or to feed them well, or to attract and retain a highly-trained prison staff. Though Bauer befriends some of his colleagues and sympathizes with their plight, the chronic dysfunction of their lives only adds to the prison’s sense of chaos. To his horror, Bauer finds himself becoming crueler and more aggressive the longer he works in the prison, and he is far from alone.

A blistering indictment of the private prison system, and the powerful forces that drive it, American Prison is a necessary human document about the true face of justice in America.” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold!

“The first new novel in four years from the beloved superstar author of Sarah’s Key, a heartbreaking and uplifting story of family secrets and devastating disaster, set against a Paris backdrop, fraught with revelations, and resolutions.” – Baker & Taylor

“An absorbing tale of family secrets from the author of Sarah’s Key.” – People magazine

“Hypnotic, passionate, ominous and tender—unforgettable.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Those Who Save Us

“Linden Malegarde has come home to Paris from the United States. It has been years since the whole family was all together. Now the Malegarde family is gathering for Paul, Linden’s father’s 70th birthday.

Each member of the Malegarde family is on edge, holding their breath, afraid one wrong move will shatter their delicate harmony. Paul, the quiet patriarch, an internationally-renowned arborist obsessed with his trees and little else, has always had an uneasy relationship with his son. Lauren, his American wife, is determined that the weekend celebration will be a success. Tilia, Linden’s blunt older sister, projects an air of false fulfillment. And Linden himself, the youngest, uncomfortable in his own skin, never quite at home no matter where he lives—an American in France and a Frenchman in the U.S.—still fears that, despite his hard-won success as a celebrated photographer, he will always be a disappointment to his parents.

Their hidden fears and secrets slowly unravel as the City of Light undergoes a stunning natural disaster, and the Seine bursts its banks and floods the city. All members of the family will have to fight to keep their unity against tragic circumstances. In this profound and intense novel of love and redemption, de Rosnay demonstrates all of her writer’s skills both as an incredible storyteller but also as a soul seeker.” -Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold!

“When the world is bringing you down, Gmorning, Gnight! will remind you that you are awesome.”—Booklist

“Good morning. Do NOT get stuck in the comments section of life today. Make, do, create the things. Let others tussle it out. Vamos!

Before he inspired the world with Hamilton and was catapulted to international fame, Lin-Manuel Miranda was inspiring his Twitter followers with words of encouragement at the beginning and end of each day. He wrote these original sayings, aphorisms, and poetry for himself as much as for others. But as Miranda’s audience grew, these messages took on a life on their own. Now Miranda has gathered the best of his daily greetings into a beautiful collection illustrated by acclaimed artist (and fellow Twitter favorite) Jonny Sun. Full of comfort and motivation, Gmorning, Gnight! is a touchstone for anyone who needs a quick lift.” – Baker & Taylor

Call the library, e-mail Justine at jfafara@walpoletownlibrary.org or log in to your online account to put this book on hold!

Have you seen January’s edition of The Walpole Clarion yet? It’ll be in your mailbox soon, but for now you can view it online. Check out the front page to read all about how the library has hit our initial fundraising goal for the renovation and expansion project!

https://thewalpoleclarion.com/

Thank you, Walpole Community, for helping us reach our goal! Many more updates to come as we get ready for construction to begin in May.