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 …
Ellie Jacobs takes a walk near her home in the Exmoor countryside one day. While her husband, Clive, is a domineering lout, Ellie tries to create a peaceful life for herself by writing poetry and walking in the woods. On this day, however, Ellie comes across a barn that has been converted into a harpmaker’s …
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 …
