Cornejo Villavicencio talks to day laborers, a man seeking sanctuary, as well as some of the Ground Zero cleanup crew made up mostly of immigrants about their declining health after helping a country that doesn’t want to help them. She ties the informative with the personal without being dry or sentimental. (Read this then read …
Because of the big news about the Pacific Northwest Book Awards last week, we missed our usual Thursday Themes analysis of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller List. But we still have something fun to share, even though it’s Monday: Dungeon Crawler Carl by WA author Matt Dinniman topped last week’s paperback fiction bestseller list …
Island Books of Mercer Island, WA, did a list of staff favorites during the holidays for Advent. We got a chortle out of this recommendation: Brad says, “Wait!?!? This is on Brad’s list? Yes, yes, it is. You see, I love ponies, and I especially love cranky ponies. And when cranky ponies set off to …
First, this is exhaustively researched, brilliant, and eloquent, both (in the author’s words) as “a brief history” and “a civics primer.” Second, it will pair nicely with the 2026 celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, helping to inform our interpretations of that document, its historical context, and its continuing relevance. And …
Abandoned by their mother, adult siblings Salim and Sara rarely leave their house, while their father continuously pops in with bizarre advice as their grandmother lies dying. Funny, slightly insane, and completely absurd, The Endless Week by Laura Vazquez and translated by Alex Niemi has a place on my shelf of perfectly weird fiction. Think …
A staff pick from Maris at Country Bookshelf, Bozeman, MT: In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue. In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash …
A mutual friend goes missing and twin sisters Frankie, a young teen on the spectrum, and popular Tess try to solve the mystery. The loyalty of sisters, friendship, and acceptance all come into play in this well-written and engaging book. — Marlene Craig, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d’Alene, ID Discover overlooked gems at The Well-Read …
I loved this book! The author says it best in her acknowledgement. “I wanted to write a book that felt like a warm hug. The Spellshop is special to me because it’s filled with things that bring me joy…. This book is my gift to anyone who wants to escape and sink into a world …
This marvelously funny, scathingly witty novel features a biracial professor, artist’s wife and mother of two. Jane has just finished her 2nd novel, a hefty tome exploring mixed-race reality in America, but her agent’s reaction leads her, instead, to pitching screenplays to a bigwig in Hollywood’s latest venture: a superficial, hackneyed portrayal of, in her …
The gay Pride and Prejudice retelling of our collective dreams, When Darcy Met Lizzy has all the yearning and intelligence of its source material while also adding new life. Reading this felt like falling in love with something familiar for a second time. You can feel Downing’s love for Austen in her reimagining of our …
