It’s a commonplace (at least with me) to say that sometimes the best way to describe reality is to distort, enhance, or otherwise defamiliarize it through fantasy and speculation. Helen Phillips seems to agree with me, at least to judge by her intense, somewhat surrealistic fiction. The Need, a thriller about the anxieties of parenthood …
We know you’re never at a loss for what to read next, but just in case you want some summer reading inspiration, look at the wonderful titles by Washington authors and illustrators selected by bookseller and librarian judges. The 2019 Washington State Book Awards (WSBA) are for outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2018, …
Of course the book with the word “conversations” in the title offers both compelling dialogue and characters that don’t know how to talk to each other. Rooney’s made something modern and cool of that oldest narrative plot– the extramarital affair. Usually I can’t stand such stories but this one hooked me and the ending made …
“1904. On the banks of the Zambezi River, a few miles from the majestic Victoria Falls, there is a colonial settlement called The Old Drift. In a smoky room at the hotel across the river, an Old Drifter named Percy M. Clark, foggy with fever, makes a mistake that entangles the fates of an Italian …
The Country Bookseller in Bozeman, MT was very excited to welcome Pete Fromm back to the Country Bookshelf on June 11th for his new novel, A Job You Mostly Won’t Know How to Do. Bookseller Wendy Blake loved it: Marnie and Taz have it all– they love, laugh and work together, sneak off to swim …
To all my fans, friends, and family. You’ve been amazing supporters of Enzo and his story for more than a decade and I want you to know how much I appreciate you all. I also want you to be among the first to see the trailer for the movie adaptation of The Art of Racing in …
For whatever reason (having nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that publishing is dominated by intellectually aspirant professionals who live in Manhattan and Brooklyn), the New York novel is a fixture of every publishing season. Some people can’t get enough of them, some find them insufferable, and never the twain shall meet. Until now. …
Originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers April 5, 2019 Among explorers, hunters and fishermen, Alaska was long known perceived as a man’s world. Women have often had to fight for the chance to love this harsh, beautiful land and prove they can handle its challenges. Sophie Forrester, military wife and aspiring photographer, is initially …
Author Phaedra Patrick is expert at the feel-good, heartwarming, “coming of age” novels for the 50ish set of late bloomers. Her colorful characters are relatable and quirky. In her latest book, we meet Martha, who is suffocating from her need to be needed, until a kind-hearted bookshop owner finds a book he thinks she will …
Kittens in vending machines, hippos rising out of dark water, broom handles made of gold: in his first novel, King of Joy, Seattle writer Richard Chiem blends comforting absurdity with the most profound reaches of grief. The result is a strange, unsettling harmony that is typical of his writing. Drawing from themes also present in …
