The Bibliophile's Compass

1977  Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance "The Elephant Man" is based on the life of John Merrick, who lived in London during the latter part of the nineteenth century. A horribly deformed young man, who has been a freak attraction in traveling side shows, is found abandoned and helpless and is admitted for observation to Whitechapel, a prestigious London hospital. 1988  Rumors by Neil Simon At a large tastefully appointed Sneden's Landing townhouse the Deputy Mayor of New York has just shot himself. Though only a flesh wound four couples are about to experience a severe attack of Farce. 2011 The Beautiful Indifference by Sarah Hall A collection of short stories by Booker-shortlisted author Sarah Hall. 2020 The Burning God by R. F. Kuang The exciting end to The Poppy War trilogy, R. F. Kuang’s acclaimed, award-winning epic fantasy that combines the history of twentieth-century China with a gripping world of gods and monsters, to devastating, enthralling effect.

2019 The Forester's Daughter by Claire Keegan (Ireland) Claire Keegan’s mesmeric story takes us into the heart of the Wicklow countryside, and of the farming family of Victor Deegan, with his ‘three teenagers, the milking and the mortgage’. 2019 Sudden Traveller by Sarah Hall (UK) Featuring her signature themes of identity, eroticism, and existential quest, the stories in Sarah Hall’s third collection travel far afield in location and ambition—from Turkish forest and coastline to the rain-drenched villages of Cumbria. 2024 Sad Grownups: Short Stories by Amy Stuber For those who've been sad and tried not to be, seventeen stories about the absurdity of searching for joy in a dying world. Winner of the 2025 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection 2025 Ensorcelled  by  Eliot Peper At just 90 pages,  Ensorcelled  is a one-sitting read that will suck you in, make you think, and leave you changed.

2005 Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson (UK) Atlas knows how it feels to carry the weight of the world, but why, he asks himself, does it have to be carried at all? And when you have eternity to ponder this question, the brief reprieve offered by Heracles - the only man strong enough to borrow the burden - can force you to demand an answer from the Gods. 2005 Twilight by  Stephenie Meyer It is the first book in the Twilight series, and introduces seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington. 2021 My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson A young woman descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings driven from her neighborhood by a white militia. A university professor studying racism by conducting a secret social experiment on his own son. A single mother desperate to buy her first home even as the world hurtles toward catastrophe. Each fighting to survive in America. Winner of the Weather...