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DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY

Bard College literature scholar Luzzi posits that Dante was “an intensely experimental writer,” one reason that centuries later James Joyce would take so many cues from him. Dante was experimental, Luzzi continues, first because he did not write his Divine Comedy in Latin—a choice that limited his audience, since all literate Europeans would know Latin […]

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MR. NICE SPY

Andee Paxton is used to things blowing up…literally. She’s a fireworks designer, and while there aren’t many sparks in her love life, her career is literallly on fire. For 26 years, Andee has been under the impression that her father is Oscar-winning actor Keith Huxley-Beck, a fact she regrettably shared with her coworkers, who enjoy […]

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THE CLINIC

Magda Batey, the implant physician at a Pittsburgh fertility clinic, directs the lead embryologist, 36-year-old Emily Daugherty, to meet with and gracefully reject two potential clients; they’re risky prospects that could bring down Batey’s success numbers. Emily is surprised when the couple in question turns out to be her former college boyfriend, Ben Holiday (“The […]

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WHERE THE LIBRARY HIDES

After Inez Olivera was nearly murdered while assisting with her uncle’s archaeological expedition in Egypt, Tío Ricardo is eager to ship her home to safety in Argentina. But Inez burns with the need to stay and make sure that those who committed crimes against her family are held responsible. Unfortunately, the law precludes Inez, as […]

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V. MALAR

It’s almost Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, and this year, 10-year-old Malar is especially excited. Her cousins Priya, 11, and Kamal, 6, are traveling all the way from their home in Seattle to Pori, the coastal Indian village where Malar and her family live. Although Malar is determined to be a “super-host,” her cousins don’t […]

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THE ARTIST’S PALETTE

An art historian and curator, Loske has written several books about her special area of interest, color. In her latest title, she examines 50 painters and their palettes. In many cases, the palettes, which range from polished wood to chunks of cardboard, still exist, and they provide clues about an artist’s method. Most of the […]

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ALL THE BEST DOGS

Displaying sharp insight into how both pets and middle schoolers see the world, the author spins interwoven storylines around regular visitors to a Brooklyn dog run. In this safe social space, friendship crises, beloved companions lost and found, tempests emotional and digestive, and new family arrangements play out in benign ways over the course of […]

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WOODROW WILSON

Historian, lawyer, and former Congressman Cox writes that Wilson was the first Southern Democrat to occupy the White House since Andrew Johnson. Scholars have long considered him a giant among presidents for his progressive reforms and leadership in World War I. They have not ignored his flaws, emphasizing the censorship, suppression of civil rights, and […]

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KILLING SHAKESPEARE

Nathan, Isabel, and Suresh, a motley group of misfits, are trying to go back in time to the year 1613. Nathan, who got caught cheating in English class, wants to make sure Shakespeare’s plays are destroyed in the Globe Theatre fire so no one will ever have to study them. Isabel longs to meet her […]

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PONY CONFIDENTIAL

Twenty-five years after 12-year-old Penelope Marcus rode into the woods with Frank Ross, the owner of High Rise Farms, newly revealed evidence suggests that she bashed him to death. She’s arrested, extradited from California to New York, and uprooted from both Laus, her estranged husband, and Tella, the daughter who struggles with mental health issues. […]