On the shelves - Jan. 29

The books listed below are now available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The library is open to the public, but patrons can still visit the online catalog at cloviscarverpl.booksys.net/opac/ccpl or call 575-769-7840 to request a specific item for curbside pickup.

“The Brilliance of Stars” by J’nell Ciesielski. Ivy Olwen knows how to survive on the streets. Then destiny thrusts her into the nest of a covert agency of assassins sworn to drive back the world’s darkness, and she acquires a new set of lethal skills. But it’s the hours she spends among the towering bookshelves in the library and stargazing on the roof with Agent Jack Vale that make her heart fly. Jack knew plenty of hardship before the agency refined his rough edges. But he didn’t know the feeling of home until Ivy entered his world. When the pair is sent on a seemingly simple mission to take down Russia’s newest and most dangerous arms dealer, they discover that no amount of training could have prepared them for a manhunt that takes them across the frozen tundra, to the Crimean Peninsula, and along the Trans-Siberian Railway only to discover that there is evil in the world they will never understand.

“All the Broken Places” by John Boyne. Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps. Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father; one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence.

“Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous” by Various Authors. From werewolves and vampires to demons and aliens, the monster is one of the most recognizable figures in horror. But what makes something, or someone, monstrous? Award-winning and up-and-coming authors attempt to answer this question. These all-new stories range from traditional to modern, from mainstream to literary, from familiar monsters to the unknown and unimaginable. This chilling collection has something to please―and terrify―everyone, so lock your doors, hide under your covers, and try not to scream.

“Saving Nature One Yard at a Time” by David Deardorff & Kathryn Wadsworth. The book raises awareness of endangered species that readers can help by undertaking projects unique to their bioregion. “Saving Nature One Yard at a Time” is an inspirational and practical compendium that will give readers the knowledge and tools they need to take an active role in nurturing the world around us, no matter where we live.

“Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark” by Cecelia Watson. In “Semicolon,” Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the nineteenth century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime victim. Through her rollicking biography of the semicolon, Watson writes a guide to grammar that explains why we don’t need guides at all, and refocuses our attention on the deepest, most primary value of language: true communication.

“Snacks For Dinner: Small Bites, Full Plates, Can’t Lose” by Lukas Volger. We’ve all been there. Pressed for time, patience, or the will to cook yet another meal, we turn to eating snacks for dinner. While these “meals” are often thrown together, there is no denying that grazing on smaller bites is less stressful and often more pleasurable than planning and preparing a traditional meal. In Snacks for Dinner, Volger transforms carefree noshing into nourishing meals.

— Summaries provided library staff