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 …
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, …
