I told my mom I was going to be writing about how much she fostered my own love of reading. She said, “You know, it all started in the library, when I had one of my first jobs as a page.” Back in the sixties, my mom was a teenager in the little desert town …
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello, was a delightful read (and the featured book on the holiday gift guide)! Trey’s family has owned Wonderland, the bookstore in Stoke Newington, for several generations, but this might be the year that ends. Wonderland is in trouble, and Trey will have to lean on his friends—old and new—to …
From the blog of Island Books of Mercer Island, WA: It’s finally (almost) here! Our Golden Jubilee, our 50th Anniversary as a Mercer Island landmark. A place where generations of families have walked through the doors and browsed for hours upon hours, year after year. Shopped for gifts, brought their kids—and then grandkids—to storytime and …
I’m a fan of romance any time of year, but I don’t want to let February go by without highlighting a favorite (or two, stay tuned for next week!). Emma Lord is on my must-read list since I devoured her PNW-set YA You Have a Match, and I was thrilled to see she had a …
I am always up for a novel in letters (84, Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Meet Me at the Museum). I like the challenge of piecing together a picture of each character through the way the letter writers describe the landscape of their lives. This novel has the added …
I have a handful of authors who belong to a select category labeled “I will read anything you write.” I find their prose irresistibly compelling, no matter the subject, no matter if the characters are likable, no matter if (gasp!) the ending is hopeful. Ann Patchett. Emily St. John Mandel. And Maggie O’Farrell. When I read the description …
From the author of The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s newest novel, Good Company, opens with main character, Flora, finding the wedding ring her husband Julian told her he’d lost years ago. Dropped into the middle, a moment in time that will affect the future and shade the past, Sweeney immediately pulled me into the narrative. I …
From Island Books’ blog: A month or so ago two young women came up to the counter, copies of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas in hand, and I asked, “Oh, are you reading the same book?” “Yes,” one of them answered. “We heard this is really good. A book club …
To brighten up your day and give you some inspiration, we share this post from Island Books of Mercer Island, WA. May you find rituals that replenish you. “In the midst of so much daily uncertainty and chaos, I’ve found it grounding to make and keep to these small appointments, like reading one story and …
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 …
