For adult fiction, and a tie for my favorite overall read of 2019 is The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. I’ve already written about it in a previous post, picked it for our birthday sale . . . and tried to sell it to anyone who asks me what the best thing is I’ve read lately. This is …
Ann Patchett’s newest novel gives us two separate portraits: one of a family and one of a house. Danny, the son of a self-made man, and presumptive heir to both his business and the luxurious Dutch House, narrates this story. I found I could never predict where the story was going to go. As soon …
From Shelf Awareness for Readers November 15, 2019: Welcome to the small town of Odsburg, Wash., where mountain lions live in basements, a “strange skinless guy” hangs out in the town square, and a couple is so hungry they eat themselves, literally, out of house and home. Odsburg by Matt Tompkins (Souvenirs: And Other Stories), is narrated …
Sometimes you need a dose of something spooky, and few deliver like Jackson. This book gripped me from the opening line and didn’t let me go until the last. I read it all night, thought about it all day, and then read it some more. Mary Catherine and her sister Constance are hiding a sordid …
A war is waged by two rival time-traveling agents: Red, who comes from a world ruled by technology, and Blue, who comes from a world rooted in organic life. The narrative is told through letters between the women, at first passionately loathsome, then– surprising both– passionately loving. Through visceral, poignant, and intricate wordplay, El-Mohtar and …
More titles were mentioned in the 2020 Pacific Northwest Book Awards preview. Readers have found many treasures from Pacific Northwest authors in the last year! All the Better Part of Me was suggested by Stephanie from Books Around the Corner. The store’s all-female Fiction Addiction book club discussed it and loved it. The book comes …
Not long ago a book sneaked up on me. The paperback of Valerie Trueblood’s Terrarium hit the shelves of Madison Books, which served as a reminder that I’d had the hardcover sitting unread on my nightstand for far too long. I tried one story in the collection, then another, and kept going until the characters began …
UTTERLY MAGICAL! Have you ever looked at a door and wondered what lay beyond? The promise is THERE’S A STORY THERE! Harrow takes it to a new and beautiful level in that there are different WORLDS and TIMES behind her doors and passageways. January Scaller is a rare soul with a legacy and inheritance of …
Combine equal parts Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Judy Blume’s Just as Long as We’re Together. Add a splash of Mary Oliver and you may begin to approach the essence of Elizabeth Ames’ gorgeously written debut novel. On its surface it is a story about the relationship between four college friends; going deeper it’s …
“I wasn’t a princess in a tower. I knew I’d get away one way or another, and I was not waiting for a god to liberate me. That would have been both silly and unlikely.” A Cinderella story awash in bright descriptions and Mayan mythology. Cassiopeia– honest, straightforward, hardworking, and aching to get away from …
