Winter Reading Challenge: Chill Out & Read!

The body of an aspiring actress is found dumped near a hospital emergency room. She's been drugged and murdered and the motive for the callous crime remains maddeningly out of reach. Until, a prime suspect materializes. Another Hollywood hopeful. Only to be shot dead by a sniper using a weapon that turns out to have been catalogued in a previous murder. And another, before that. It's not long before more bodies begin piling up. What makes the murderous spree baffling is the apparent lack of connection among the victims. Is this the work of a random thrill killer, the toughest of all cases to unravel? But as Alex and Milo dig deeper they're faced with an even knottier scenario: a highly complex killer with deep-seated motivation that will require all of their highly honed skills to decipher.

Orion, a student of the Academy, a school that trains devotees of the god Aarus, is about to have his eighteenth birthday. Trained to be a Chronicler, a historian who travels from town to town documenting important events, he is looking forward to his new life after graduation. There is only one hitch: every student of the Academy who turns eighteen is required to take a turn at attempting to pull a magical sword from an obelisk. Whoever is successful must set out on a perilous quest to find and kill the False One, a mysterious being who attempted to overthrow Aarus a millennia ago. Much to everyone's surprise, and his own dismay, Orion is chosen as the next Quester and is soon sent out on his journey. He meets Cassi, a feisty young blacksmith, who joins him on his quest, and together they must face the killer Shadows who haunt the forest along the way. As they hunt for the False One, with danger around every corner, Orion knows only too well that no peer who set out on this quest before him has ever returned to tell the tale.

Gina Ricci takes on a job as a cigarette girl to earn money for her ailing father, and to prove to herself that she can hold her own at Chicago's most notorious speakeasy, the Third Door. It's a glamorous world of sleek socialites sipping bootlegged cocktails, rowdy ex-servicemen playing poker in a curtained back room, a flirtatious jazz pianist and a brooding photographer-- all overseen by the club's imposing owner, Signora Castallazzo. But Gina's predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, and the photographer, Marty, warns her to be careful. When Marty is brutally murdered, with Gina as the only witness, she's determined to track down his killer. -- adapted from back cover

"Kobe Bryant's legendary career included five NBA championships. James Harden is one of the few players in NBA history whose scoring ability could match Bryant's. Can you decide which player was better?"-- Provided by publisher.

"While Siobhán studies for her Detective Sargent exams, her brother, Eoin, prepares for the grand opening of his new restaurant, The O'Sullivan Six, and concocts a plan to enter Kilbane's Top Garden Contest to boost business. But trouble brews when Eoin hires a mercurial landscape designer known for her killer designs. His new partner's unflattering reputation and questionable practices nearly eclipse her talents--and plunge the prestigious competition into chaos. A lush and intricate winning garden emerges from the controversy, with a spectacular golden statue in the center of the display. But in a devastating twist, the work of art leads to the shocking discovery of a bold and brutal work of murder. Everyone in town has an opinion about who committed the crime and planted the evidence, from easily bribed sponsors to green-with-envy gardeners. And with another golden statue found in Eoin's garden display, rumors about his involvement intensify. As local gossip buzzes and a list of suspects grows, it's up to quick-witted Siobhán and her husband, Macdara, to suss out the guilty culprit's identity... before the competition buries another victim" --

Who doesn't love a good vacation? Soaking up some sun, floating on the waves and arm wrestling an octopus? When mermaids show up in the middle of Gilbert's goblin getaway, their fin-flapping festivities quickly turn rest and relaxation into stress and aggravation. This is clearly proof that mermaids are the worst! Can Gilbert find his beachside bliss or will he be caught in the undertow of these seaside shenanigans?

"An intimate and searching account of the life and legacy of one of America's towering educators, a woman who dared to center the progress of Black women and girls in the larger struggle for political and social liberation When Mary MacLeod Bethune died, many of the tributes in newspapers around the country said the same thing: she should be on the "Mount Rushmore" of Black American achievement. Indeed, Bethune is the only Black American whose statue stands in the rotunda of the U.S. Capital, and yet for most Americans, she remains a marble figure from the dim past. Now, seventy years later, Noliwe Rooks turns Bethune from stone to flesh, showing her to have been a visionary leader with lessons to still teach us as we continue on our journey towards a freer and more just nation. Any serious effort to understand how the Black Civil Rights generation found role models, vision, and inspiration during their midcentury struggle for political power must place Bethune at its heart. Her success was unlikely: the 15th of 17 children and the first born into freedom, Bethune survived brutal poverty and caste subordination to become the first in her family to learn to read and to attend college. She gave that same gift to others when in 1904, at age 29, Bethune welcomed her first class of five girls to the Daytona, Florida school she herself had founded. In short order, the school enrolled hundreds of children and eventually would become the university that bears her name to this day. Bethune saw education as an essential dimension of the larger struggle for freedom, vitally connected to the vote and to economic self-sufficiency. She played a big game, and a long game, enrolling Eleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and many other powerful leaders in her cause. Rooks grew up in Florida, in Bethune's shadow: her grandparents trained to be teachers at Bethune-Cookman University, and her family vacationed at the all-Black beach that Bethune helped found in one of her many entrepreneurial projects for the community. The story of how-in a state with some of the highest lynching rates in the country-Bethune carved out so much space, and how she catapulted from there onto the national stage, is, in Rooks' hands, a moving and astonishing example of the power of a will and a vision that had few equals. Now, when the gains and losses in the long struggle for full Black equality in this country feel particularly near-and centered on the state of Florida-, it is an enormous gift to have this brilliant and lyrical reckoning with Bethune's journey from one of our own great educators and scholars of that same struggle"--

"From popular artist, author, and online art instructor Ana Victoria Calderón, Watercolor Textures for Artists teaches how to paint simple watercolor textures and use them to create beautiful artworks that help cultivate relaxation and mindfulness"--

Blake Laser. Daughter. Sister. Genius. Blake and her family are headed for a vacation out in deep space for some rest, relaxation, and a whole lot of family bonding time. It's uncharted territory, and Blake is excited for the new adventure. But the trip is cut short when the Interplanetary Space Control Center flags them down to warn them of danger. Someone-or something-is draining heat from the sun, threatening to plummet Earth to unlivable temperatures in just under forty-eight hours. The McClain family are the only ones close enough to investigate. They must put their trip on hold to figure out what's going on and, more importantly, stop it. If they don't, the fate of the entire planet hangs in the balance. Luckily, Blake Laser has a few clever gadgets and a few more bright ideas up her sleeve that just might save the day.

The true, harrowing story of the ill-fated 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition and the two men who came to define it. In the summer of 1913, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk departed Canada for the Arctic Ocean. At the helm was Captain Bob Bartlett, ice navigator, and expedition leader, Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Just six weeks after the Karluk departed, giant ice floes closed in around her. As the ship became icebound, Stefansson disembarked with five companions and struck out on what he claimed was a 10-day caribou hunting trip. Most on board would never see him again. Twenty-two men and an Inuit woman with two small daughters now stood on a mile-square ice floe, their ship and their original leader gone. Under Bartlett's leadership they built make-shift shelters, surviving the freezing darkness of Polar night. Captain Bartlett now decided he would take one of the young Inuit hunters and attempt a 1000-mile journey to save the shipwrecked survivors. It was their only hope. This is the story of two men and two distinctively different brands of leadership: one selfless, one self-serving, and how they would forever be bound by one of the most audacious and disastrous expeditions in polar history, considered the last great voyage of The Heroic Age of Discovery.--

"Sebastian Walsh: Evocation Department. Human. The first of his family to pick college over the military. Elethior Tourael: Conjuration Department. Half-elf. Pretentious asshole. The latest legacy Tourael at Lesiara U. Both: Mageus Research Grant finalists. Sebastian refuses to let anyone snatch this away, least of all a snob riding on old money. But what's worse than a nemesis stealing your grant? You could both get it. Under the condition you work together. Sebastian is in hell. Thio's broody. He takes up their shared lab space with his projects... and biceps. He brings treats for Sebastian's familiar... and he is nothing like Sebastian thought. When Sebastian's past with the Touraels forces him to choose his research or Thio, the decision should be simple. But while working with his rival is volatile... falling for his rival might blow up Sebastian's future" --Provided by publisher.

"Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one--in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoor, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams. But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago. On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov--an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts--who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoor. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden--unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in? But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?" --

"After a disastrous accident derails Tempest Raj's career, and life, she heads back to her childhood home in California to comfort herself with her grandfather's Indian home-cooked meals. Though she resists, every day brings her closer to the inevitable: working for her father's company. Secret Staircase Construction specializes in bringing the magic of childhood to all by transforming clients' homes with sliding bookcases, intricate locks, backyard treehouses, and hidden reading nooks. When Tempest visits her dad's latest renovation project, her former stage double is discovered dead inside a wall that's supposedly been sealed for more than a century. Fearing she was the intended victim, it's up to Tempest to solve this seemingly impossible crime. But as she delves further into the mystery, Tempest can't help but wonder if the Raj family curse that's plagued her family for generations--something she used to swear didn't exist--has finally come for her" --

Mia Yoon has a plan for everything, including producing her own dating show starring other people and their crushes. But everything goes off the rails when she has to enlist the help of her own secret crush, Noah Cho, a boy she'd rather hate. Noah can't remember the last time he was in a relationship. And he's perfectly content with that, since just the word feelings makes him uncomfortable. But he can't stop staring at Mia, who keeps glaring at him in class. And when she asks him to be one of the contestants on her dating show, he can't say no. As Noah goes on more and more romantic dates on The Cuffing Game and Mia watches from behind the camera, something feels off. With the showrunner and contestant slowly falling for one another, can the show still go on?

"Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out--the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends. But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah's life seems to do--he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that's exactly what now has her on the outs. But someone who does know K-dramas--so well that he's actually starring in one--is Jacob Kim, Hannah's former best friend, whom she hasn't seen in years. He's desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs...that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them" --

"A clinical psychologist gives us 75 quick, scientifically proven techniques and exercises to manage stress and build resilience. Here's a promise that could not be more timely or needed: You can dial down your stress in just a few minutes, with no ponderous meditations, medications, or martinis required. Written by Dr. Jennifer L. Taitz, a clinical psychologist who specializes in teaching mindfulness-based behavioral skills to manage intense emotions and situations, Stress Resets provides 75 scientifically proven ways to improve how you respond to stress, both in the moment and the long run. There are accessible yet powerful exercises like dipping your face in ice water to quiet your body and mind; adopting a half smile to change your mood from the outside in; singing your irrational negative thoughts to reduce their believability; building a hope kit so you can remind yourself of what's possible in tough moments; and making a pie chart of your life to gain perspective. By incorporating these into your days, you can stop the cycle of obsessing, panicking, and avoiding and instead effectively approach what matters to you most. You'll also find stress buffers designed to build your resilience so you can navigate whatever comes your way. Through personal anecdotes, expert interviews, cutting-edge studies, and practical tips, you'll learn how to manage your emotions instead of the other way around. Stress Resets will not only change how you view your stress but also give you the hope and confidence you need to reset and ultimately change how you feel"--

"There is something special about being close to wide expanses of sea and sky, living with open doors, broad horizons and soft colors--all these things instantly bring a sense of calm and escape. This book is packed with evocative images of beautiful places and spaces that will inspire you to leave real life behind and enjoy rest and relaxation close to nature. The first section, Inspiration, focuses on the key elements of easy waterside style, including colour palettes, fabrics, furniture, accessories, and display. In the second section, Sally explores stunning real-life coastal homes that capture the spirit of living by the water. They include an airy summer retreat in Denmark, a shingled beach house in Nantucket, and even a lighthouse. Living by the Water is not only a glorious treat for the eyes--it will also inspire you to emulate the laid-back, barefoot chic of summery, waterside style all year round, wherever you live"--

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends--or were, as children. Despite drifting apart in adulthood, shared secrets have kept them bonded for better or worse, even as their childhood dreams haven't quite turned out as they'd hoped. Then one day they receive a wholly unexpected--but not entirely unwelcome--invitation from another old friend. Poppy Greer has invited them all to her extravagant bachelorette party: a first-class plane ticket to three days of white sand, cocktails, and relaxation on a luxe private island in the Bahamas. None of them has spoken to Poppy in years. But Poppy's Instagram pics shows that the girl they used to consider the weakest link in their group has definitely made good--and made money. Curiosity gets the better of them. Besides, who can turn down a posh all-expenses-paid vacation on a Caribbean island? The first-class flight and the island's accommodations are just as opulent as expected...even if the scenic island proves more remote than they'd anticipated. Quite remote, in fact, with no cell service, and no other guests. The women quickly discover they've underestimated Poppy, and each other. As their darkest secrets are revealed, the tropical adventure morphs into a terrifying nightmare.