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THE DRONE EATS WITH ME

An ordinary Gazan’s chronicle of the struggle to survive during Israel’s 2014 invasion of Gaza

The Drone Eats with Me is an unforgettable rendering of everyday civilian life shattered by the realities of twenty-first-century warfare. Israel’s 2014 invasion of Gaza lasted 51 days, killed 2,145 Palestinians (578 of them children), injured over 11,000 people, and demolished more than 17,000 homes. Atef Abu Saif, a young father and novelist, puts an indelibly human face on these statistics, providing a rare window into the texture of a community and the realities of a conflict that is too often obscured by politics.

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PANCAKES IN PARIS

Craig Carlson was the last person anyone would expect to open an American diner in Paris. He came from humble beginnings in a working-class town in Connecticut, had never worked in a restaurant, and didn’t know anything about starting a brand-new business. But from his first visit to Paris, Craig knew he had found the city of his dreams, although one thing was still missing—the good ol’ American breakfast he loved so much.

Pancakes in Paris is the story of Craig tackling the impossible—from raising the money to fund his dream to tracking down international suppliers for “exotic” American ingredients… and even finding love along the way.

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THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING

In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris—a common woodland snail.

While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own place in the world.

Intrigued by the snail’s molluscan anatomy, cryptic defenses, clear decision making, hydraulic locomotion, and courtship activities,

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THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

A New York Times bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, a National Book Critics Circle Finalist, a Books for a Better Life Award Finalist, and an NAACP Award Finalist

In The Light of the World, Elizabeth Alexander finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband. Reflecting with gratitude on the exquisite beauty of the intimacy they shared, grappling with the resulting void, and finding solace in caring for her two teenage sons, Alexander channels her poetic sensibilities into rich, lucid prose that universalizes a very personal quest for meaning and acceptance in the wake of loss.

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SHADOW WARRIORS OF WORLD WAR II

One of our recommended books for 2017 is Shadow Warriors of World War II by Gordon Thomas

I hate wars and violence, but if they come then I don’t see why we women should just wave a proud good-bye and then knit them balaclavas. —Nancy Wake, SOE agent

“I discovered how easy it was to make highly trained, professionally closemouthed patriots give away their secrets in bed.” —Betty Pack, agent with the British Secret Intelligence Service and the Office of Strategic Services

In a dramatically different tale of espionage and conspiracy in World War II, Shadow Warriors of World War II unveils the history of the courageous women who volunteered to work behind enemy lines.

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IS IT ALL IN YOUR HEAD?

Winner of the 2016 Wellcome Prize, a neurologist’s insightful and compassionate look into the misunderstood world of psychosomatic disorders, told through individual case histories

It’s happened to all of us: our cheeks flush red when we say the wrong thing, or our hearts skip a beat when a certain someone walks by. But few of us realize how much more dramatic and extreme our bodies’ reactions to emotions can be. Many people who see their doctor have medically unexplained symptoms, and in the vast majority of these cases, a psychosomatic cause is suspected. And yet, the diagnosis of a psychosomatic disorder can make a patient feel dismissed as a hypochondriac,

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