Island Books of Mercer Island, WA has compiled their list of favorite children’s picture books of the year. Here is a sampling: Agatha May and the Angler Fish written by Nora Morrison and Jessie Ann Foley, illustrated by Mika Song I Don’t Care written by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal Kumo: …
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 …
Now in paperback! Kelleen and I both loved this. When an eccentric and Edgar Allan Poe obsessed billionaire dies, his will is published in the paper, promising an inheritance to anyone who can untangled his clues. The writing is fantastic and the characters are beautifully layered. This would be a perfect October read. –Lori, Island …
This summer a highly anticipated title is the YA debut by the author of the adult title Mem. Morrow sets her story in a contemporary alternative world where portions of the population have various mythical abilities and identities. Inherent in these identities are built in assumptions and prejudices, the most heightened of which are towards “sirens,” …
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 …
Did you know that the good folks at Island Books are having a short story contest for all ages? Please see the details below (from their blog). Share Your Story: A Contest More than one person approached us last week, wondering if it wasn’t time for us to sponsor a short story contest. Yes, we …
“Lindsay Hill’s Sea of Hooks begins with a man named Christopher Westall staring at his mother’s asphyxiated body. Her suicide is only the latest in a long series of traumatic events in Christopher’s life, and it creates an emotional fissure that widens into a vast gulf between life before and after her death. The narrative …
“One night in a small Michigan town in the late 1970s, a young woman named Beth leaves her job as a hotel receptionist and disappears into the snow. When the ice thaws, her remains surface by the side of the road; her unsolved murder becomes another dark moment in the town’s history. Twenty-five years later, …
Here at Island Books, we host a monthly story time that’s usually targeted towards kids three and up. It’s magic to watch the faces of pajama-clad kiddos light up as local storytellers and musicians take over our children’s section. These are the kinds of events that lodge themselves into children’s memories, and a good reason …
One of the occupational hazards of my profession is accumulation. Somehow all too many of the books I’m supposed to be selling to other people wind up coming home with me. Yes, you’re thinking, you know all about that–the to-be-read pile on your nightstand is a veritable leaning tower. Well, my nightstand is a to-be-read …
