Griffith, the author of bestselling fantasy novel Hild, gives us a compulsive psychological thriller and an important contribution to disability literature in her new novel. In the course of a week, Mara’s wife leaves her and she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. To keep herself from spiraling, Mara launches herself to the front lines of …
Autumn has finally arrived here in the Northwest corner, sneaking up on us perhaps because so much of October was dressed up in summer-like weather, but it’s still the perfect time to look back at some favorite reads from the summer just passed. Lining them all up, it seems that although I didn’t actually get …
Truly, one of the best books I’ve read all year! The writing is beautiful and tender in this coming of age, love story, and mystery novel. This is the first novel by New York Times best-selling non-fiction writer and wildlife scientist Delia Owens (John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing), and the way she describes the natural world …
This was originally posted on Island Books’ tumblr It’s always a pleasure to see the list of finalists for the annual Washington State Book Awards, not least because the judges are some of our favorite people, local booksellers and librarians. We especially wanted to take note of this slate of books, though, since so many of their …
Sometimes when I look back over the past few books I’ve read, I notice a common thread running through them. Might be a particular time period or historical event, a theme whether big or small, or frequently, a locale. And that’s why one corner of The Front Table is currently draped in the green, white …
This is one of my favorite novels of the year–yes, I can already tell. Emezi explores fluidity and a fractured life from the perspective of Ibgo gods and goddesses that control our narrator’s body in turn. I already need to read it again. —Shawn, Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA Akwaeke Emezi has crafted a …
National Book Award-winner Richard Powers (Orfeo) has crafted an epic environmental novel about the Pacific Northwest timber wars in the in the 1990s and the impending destruction of the last of the old-growth forests, whose trees might otherwise help save the earth. In the first half of the book, Powers devotes individual chapters to the lives …
Settle in quickly when you begin this little book, because it’s going to charge out of the gate, whether you’re buckled in or not. It begins with a stumble for its main character, Mara, which soon becomes a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The disease moves fast, but so does Mara, who, decisive in this and …
A poignant, gripping novel about the refugee crisis challenging the globe. Recently retired and suddenly finding himself adrift, Richard becomes captivated by a group of young African refugees being housed by the German government in his quiet Berlin suburb—Who are these men? What do they want? The answers seem simple, yet issues of power, humanitarian …
Throughout my career as a bookseller, one of my favorite duties was selecting the books to be displayed on the bookstore’s Front Table. Usually just inside the front door, a stack on that table was the best way to tell fellow readers “pick this one next.” Now that I’m retired, I no longer have such …
