Peak Picks Current Titles Book List
New titles from the Peak Picks collection that are currently in rotation. Stop by any branch to see what's available today!
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A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Adult Nonfiction. “The shocking story of how Ku Klux Klan leader David C. Stephenson seized and lost control of the state of Indiana in the 1920s is told in Pulitzer winner Egan's evocative latest. Buoyed by skyrocketing enrollment numbers−by 1925, ‘one in three native-born white males wore the sheets’−Stephenson effectively ran Indiana. Stephenson's power remained unchecked until he kidnapped and raped a Department of Public Instruction employee named Madge Oberholtzer in 1925. Dramatic twists of fate and vivid character sketches distinguish this harrowing look at a forgotten chapter of American history.” PW
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Filmlandia!: A Movie-lover's Guide to the Films and Television of Seattle, Portland, and the Great Northwest
Adult Nonfiction. “The Pacific Northwest has a thriving, rich film culture, and it's finally celebrated in a guide as visually arresting and compelling as the films and television themselves. More than 200 entries feature hilarious and insightful synopses, behind-the-scene facts and trivia, and regional scenic highlights. Sidebars showcase filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Lynn Shelton, the television shows that shaped the public's perception of the region, documentaries, queer cinema, silent films, Vancouver-shot imposters, and more.” Publisher description
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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House of Cotton
Adult Fiction. “Magnolia has just lost her beloved grandmother, Mama Brown, the woman who raised her. Estranged from her drug-addicted mother, quickly running out of money, and trying to cope with loneliness, Magnolia engages in risky behavior. So when an eccentric man named Cotton approaches her with a morbid job opportunity, …she accepts. Magnolia soon moves into Cotton’s home, …and finds herself entangled in increasingly bizarre situations, all while being visited by the ghost of Mama Brown. Brashears has written a lush, pictorial, and often steamy novel with an indelible heroine.” Booklist
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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A Living Remedy: A Memoir
Adult Nonfiction. “Born severely premature in Seattle, Chung was nurtured in a loving home in homogeneous small-town Oregon. By high school, the family ‘no longer lived paycheck to paycheck, as my mother had once told me, but emergency to emergency.’ They managed to provide a comfortable (enough) upbringing until Chung left for college. Illness, exacerbated by an inadequate health-care system, claimed her father at 67. Her mother faced her loss with hope, but she died at 68 while the global pandemic prevented final goodbyes. Chung's prose hones her grief into razor-sharp insights even as her words interrogate, honor, and celebrate the unbreakable bonds of parenthood.” Publisher description
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Makini's Vegan Kitchen: 10th Anniversary Edition of the Plum Cookbook (Inspired Plant-based Recipes From Plum Bistro)
Adult Nonfiction. “Plum Bistro, Seattle’s acclaimed vegan restaurant, is known for its delicious and innovative vegan recipes using local ingredients. This cookbook, now in its tenth year in print stronger than ever, will be completely updated with a refreshed cover design and brand-new title for the anniversary edition paperback release. It features more than 80 of Plum’s flavorful, comforting recipes, including Barbecue Oyster-Mushroom Sliders with Pickled Onions, Tiramisu Pancakes, and much more!” Publisher description.
Format: Book
Availability: On order
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Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America
Adult Nonfiction. “In 2012, Matika Wilbur sold everything in her Seattle apartment and set out on a Kickstarter-funded pursuit to visit, engage, and photograph people from what were then the 562 federally recognized Native American Tribal Nations. The body of work Wilbur created serves to counteract the one-dimensional and archaic stereotypes of Native people in mainstream media and offers justice to the richness, diversity, and lived experiences of Indian Country.” Publisher description
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Romantic Comedy: A Novel
Adult Fiction. “Sittenfield, known for creating complicated women (Eligible; Rodham), does the same with Sally, a quirky, whip-smart writer at a fictionalized Saturday Night Live—esque show called The Night Owls. Working closely with celebrities has made her cynical about fake romance in pop culture. When pop star Noah Brewster guest-hosts, Sally writes a few of his sketches, and sparks seem to fly. Fast-forward to 2020, in the depths of the COVID lockdown; Noah and Sally reconnect, and the sparks start a bonfire.” Library Journal
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Small Mercies: A Novel
Adult Fiction. “In the hot summer of 1974, anti-busing violence and racism erupt in Boston. The same night a young Black man named Auggie Williamson dies in the subway, Mary Pat Fennessey's 17-year-old daughter, Jules, disappears. When she can't get information from the young people with Jules that night, Mary Pat turns to the men who offer protection in the neighborhood, Marty Butler's Irish crew. When she can't get answers as a grieving mother, all of her fear turns to learning the truth. Mary Pat might well burn down the neighborhood to discover what happened to her daughter.” Library Journal
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
Adult Nonfiction. “On a secret mission to liberate Spanish galleons of their gold, the 28-gun HMS Wager was separated from the rest of its squadron rounding Cape Horn in a massive storm. Beset by typhus, scurvy, and navigational problems, the ship struck rocks, stranding its beleaguered crew on a remote island in Chilean Patagonia. In the months that followed, harsh conditions and meager provisions would test storied British naval discipline. Grann vividly narrates a nearly forgotten incident with an eye for each character's personal stakes while also reminding readers of the imperialist context prompting the misadventure.” Booklist
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Confidence: A Novel
Adult Fiction. “At 17, Ezra Green doesn’t have a lot going for him… He’s also on his way to Last Chance Camp, the final stop before juvie. But Ezra’s summer at Last Chance turns life-changing when he meets Orson, brilliant and Adonis-like with a mind for hustling. Together, the two embark upon what promises to be a fruitful career of scam artistry. But when they try to pull off their biggest scam yet—Nulife, a corporation that promises its consumers a lifetime of bliss—things start to spin wildly out of control. Searing and charming… Confidence is a story for anyone who knows that the American Dream is just another pyramid scheme.” Publisher description
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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