…And speaking of hardheadedness and fisticuffs, one of our favorite books from last year is out in paperback now. It’s Dan Stroud’s gloriously gritty Titanshade, and yes, that is a ’80s cop show cover slapped on a noir fantasy novel because dear readers, that is exactly what this is. It’s “NYPD Blue” meets, uh, something that …
When your stand-up comedy routines fail to entertain and your career is on the fritz, there’s nothing left but to join a gang of vigilante thieves and steal the luck from winners. When Theo Potiris gets sick and tired of the family grocery business and he can’t get a laugh out of anyone, his life …
A classic of European literature unavailable in English for decades, Three Summers is perfectly timeless and perfectly seasonal. Set in the countryside of prewar Greece, it traces the doings and developing identities of a trio of sisters growing into adulthood, each of whom finds a different way to balance her desires for love and freedom. …
Malu finds herself caught between a Mexican mother who wants her to be the perfect señorita and a music-loving father who helped foster her love of all things punk. After their divorce, Malu and her mother move to Chicago from Florida, where Malu has to start a new school and find her place, ultimately discovering …
This engaging biographical novel brings the larger-than-life character of Josephine Baker to the forefront of the reader’s imagination. Although the singer/dancer/activist wrote memoirs of her own, restrictions of the era and a Hollywood agenda prevented them from being honest. This book reveals what the others did not, including her early years of poverty and abuse …
In the ’60s four young siblings visit a psychic who tells each of them the day they will die. Would you live your life differently if you knew the date of your death? Would you want to know? Free will or fate? These and other questions are surrounded by beautiful writing that keeps you turning …
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 …
Elsie, newly widowed and pregnant, moves from London to her husband’s country estate expecting to live in quiet comfort during the period of her confinement. Instead, she finds the house in disarray, the servants resentful, and the company of her husband’s young cousin, Sarah, less than satisfactory. Yet, when strange and dangerous events occur, Elsie …
This is a perfect book to read this winter. Ivey alternates between the journal entries of Colonel Allen Forrester while he explores uncharted territory in Alaska and the diary of his pregnant wife Sophie, who is stuck at the military barracks until he returns. I was enthralled with the vivid descriptions of the Alaskan landscape, …
I enjoyed the combination of sci fi, historical fiction, and literary exploration. I was dropped into 1815 and saw it through the eyes of two researchers from the future who love Jane Austen’s work. They’ve been sent to find and bring back the completed manuscript of “The Watsons” because only part of it has made …
