Each week we spotlight one book from the month's IndieNext List (a collection of recommendations by indie booksellers across the country). Ask for a copy of the IndieNext newsletter at our front counter or click to browse them online

You Deserve Nothing

Paperback, Europa Editions

Each week we like to showcase a few of the great books on our shelves. Here are just a few titles we think are special:

Fiction

Children of Paranoia

Trevor Shane 

Hardcover,  

Dutton

Since the age of eighteen, Joseph has been assassinating people on behalf of a cause that he believes in but doesn't fully understand. The War is ageless, hidden in the shadows, governed by a rigid set of rules, and fought by two distinct sides-one good, one evil. The only unknown is which side is which. Soldiers in the War hide in plain sight, their deeds disguised as accidents or random acts of violence amidst an unsuspecting population ignorant of the brutality that is always inches away...

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Lamb  

Bonnie Nadzam  

Paperback, Other Press   

Lamb traces the self-discovery of David Lamb, a narcissistic middle aged man with a tendency toward dishonesty, in the weeks following the disintegration of his marriage and the death of his father. Hoping to regain some faith in his own goodness, he turns his attention to Tommie, an awkward and unpopular eleven-year-old girl. Lamb is convinced that he can help her avoid a destiny of apathy and emptiness, and even comes to believe that his devotion to Tommie is in her best interest. But when Lamb decides to abduct a willing Tommie for a road trip from Chicago to the Rockies, planning to initiate her into the beauty of the mountain wilderness, they are both shaken in ways neither of them expects.  Read more. 

Nonfiction

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Candice Millard 

Hardcover, Doubleday

 James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back. But the shot didn't kill Garfield. The drama of what hap­pened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in tur­moil...  Read more. 

Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship  

Tom Ryan

Hardcover, William Morrow   

Middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan and miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch are an unlikely pair of mountaineers, but after a close friend dies of cancer, the two pay tribute to her by attempting to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire's four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. In a rare test of endurance, Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure of a lifetime that takes them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. Little did they know that their most difficult test would lie ahead, after they returned home... Read more. 

The Orchard: A Memoir

Theresa Weir 

Hardcover, Grand Central

The Orchard is the story of a street-smart city girl who must adapt to a new life on an apple farm after she falls in love with Adrian Curtis, the golden boy of a prominent local family whose lives and orchards seem to be cursed. Married after only three months, young Theresa finds life with Adrian on the farm far more difficult and dangerous than she expected. Rejected by her husband's family as an outsider, she slowly learns for herself about the isolated world of farming, pesticides, environmental destruction, and death, even as she falls more deeply in love with her husband, a man she at first hardly knew and the land that has been in his family for generations. She becomes a reluctant player in their attempt to keep the codling moth from destroying the orchard, but she and Adrian eventually come to know that their efforts will not only fail but will ultimately take an irreparable toll.  Read more.  

For Young Readers 

My Dog Thinks I'm a Genius

Harriet Ziefert    

Hardcover, Blue Apple Books   

 Louie loves watching his young master paint, and when the boy puts his finishing touches on a particularly good self-portrait, Louie barks enthusiastically. One day, when the boy is at school, Louie tries his own paw at painting a still life. Is this purely an accident, or is Louie a "genius," just like his master? Read more.