I laughed so hard I cried. Then I went into silent laughter mode. Then I couldn’t breathe. You’ve been warned. –Kelsea A hilarious, quick read that will make you laugh from page one. The blogger Allie Brosh puts her life in the form of a comic It will make you cry with laughter and have …
This heart-breaking novel is storytelling at its best! It follows Rachel, a young Hawaiian girl whose dreams are shattered the day she is taken from her family and sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined settlement for lepers on the island of Moloka’i. Rich in history and characters, this special story will stay with you forever. And now after …
In 1960, Steinbeck felt that he no longer intimately understood the country that he had been writing about for most of his life. Travels with Charley is his travelogue that came from his desire to see the country one last time before he died. It’s a rich perspective on America as only Steinbeck can tell it, as …
This piece was originally published on the Island Books blog. Growing up, I loved getting lost in books: It didn’t matter to me if the book was adventurous, dramatic, suspenseful, or fantastical; as long as it transported me somewhere else, I was happy. I’d be so immersed in my book that I’d barely hear my …
I first read a Josephine Tey book in 1962 and it changed my life. I became a huge fan of British history especially in the period from King Arthur to Richard III. I took a tour of the Tower of London castle/prison in August 1962. It was just before I began my junior year in …
My 20th reading of this existential classic (I read it once a year). A story whose narrator rides waves of sorrow, dread, and sometimes joy. Ultimately empty, but with hope. Exploring and explaining a world that both makes sense to human probing, but denies it at the same time. Favorite quote: “My memories are like …
Having seen the trailer for the upcoming movie with the same title, I learned it was a book first published in 1973. A great yarn filled with spooky and magical elements that many 8-12-year-olds love to read. Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan, comes to live with his uncle Jonathan and discovers a world totally new to …
I couldn’t tell you who won last year’s World Series, because I don’t follow baseball. But this sports book has earned a sterling reputation as a classic that transcends the game. Author/knuckleball pitcher Jim Bouton has the humorist’s eye for telling, pithy detail, and the memoirist’s courage in sharing honest and sometimes unflattering anecdotes about himself …
Dawn is complex, deeply compelling, and endlessly thought-provoking in its meditations on what it means to be human, who gets to be considered human, and what’s at stake in these categorical distinctions. Set in a dystopian future, Dawn’s chilling, unsettling narrative reminds us how the words we use and distinctions we make so urgently matter …
The headline to a review I wrote of this book when it came out in 2004 read, “Caribou Hair Everywhere,” and I can’t think of three words that better describe it. Raised by a father who moved from the Midwest to a sod igloo in remote, northwest Alaska, young Cutuk grows toward an inevitable choice …
