Spring is here (according to the calendar, anyway), and with it a fresh selection of books and DVDs. Keep a lookout on library shelves for:

Inside the O'Briens, by Lisa Genova: The disease-of-the-week writer (Still Alice, Left Neglected) gives eager readers another terrifying neurodegenerative disorder to obsess about: Huntington's. But she accomplishes this in a most absorbing way, by telling the tale of a 44-year-old police officer who begins suddenly experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, involuntary movements, and other symptoms you'll probably swear you yourself have suffered. In between scouring for more self-diagnostic information on WebMD, settle in and enjoy Genova's latest read.

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro: The Romans have long since departed and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But, at least, the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. Axl and Beatrice, a couple of elderly Britons, decide that now is the time, finally, for them to set off across this troubled land of mist and rain to find the son they have not seen for years, the son they can scarcely remember. The can't foresee that they will be joined on their journey by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and a knight - each of them, like Axl and Beatrice, lost in some way to his own past, but drawn inexorably toward the comfort, and the burden, of the fullness of a life's memories.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, by Erik Larson: "In his gripping new examination of the last days of what was then the fastest cruise ship in the world, Larson brings the past stingingly alive...He draws upon telegrams, war logs, love letters, and survivor depositions to provide the intriguing details, things I didn't know I wanted to know...Thrilling, dramatic and powerful."
- NPR

Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral, by Mary Doria Russell: On the afternoon of Oct. 26, 1881, Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers faced off against the Clantons and the McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona. It should have been a simple misdemeanor arrest. Thirty seconds and 30 bullets later, three officers were wounded and three citizens lay dead in the dirt.

Wyatt Earp was the last man standing, the only one unscathed. The lies began before the smoke cleared, but the gunfight at the O.K. Corral would soon become central to American beliefs about the Old West.

 

DVD hits available now and coming soon include:

• Birdman
• Interstellar
• Foxcatcher
• The Imitation Game

Other exciting releases are expected to arrive later in the season, including a new novel (for grownups!) by Judy Blume! Stay tuned!