Jane Eyre meets Shirley Jackson (think: We Have Always Lived in the Castle) in this Victorian horror-comedy. In the movie in my mind, Tim Burton is the director. Upon arriving at Ensor House, the new governess informs the reader with casual cruelty that, “It is early fall, the cold is beginning to descend, and in three months …
I have been a fan for a long time of Dorothy Parker, and this biography gives us a sympathetic yet very real depiction of who she was, with her flaws and her strengths. As much as I admired Parker as a poet, little did I know of her role in Hollywood, such as her writing …
Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. We featured Max and the Wild Things recently, but today, in honor of Women’s History Month, we’re …
A sweeping historical mystery with three timelines spanning from World War II to the present. Under the Same Stars paints a portrait of love, resistance, and learning how to stand up for what you believe in. I was left filled with both sadness for the pain of the past and hope for what the future …
Romney, as the subtitle notes, is a rare book collector, and one of the things such folk do is ask pointed questions and do follow-up research. In Romney’s case, it was a line written in a non-fiction book about the history of the novel, which stated that the formative period of Jane Austen’s life was “was one of the …
Koh approaches her historical novel with an unwavering interest in the human heart & the way politics, war, & things of such scale affect the realms of intimacy and interpersonal relationships. Koh uses language with the utmost elegance, her prose is poetic & confident with imagistic, memorable metaphors. Her characters feel flesh & bone; yearning …
Bodie Kane has returned to her New Hampshire boarding school campus to teach a podcast class 20+ years after her graduation. In a compulsively readable story, she poses questions pertaining to the murder of her classmate and former roommate. Her flashbacks, speculations, and current timeline are all equally engaging. –Mary, Secret Garden Books, Seattle, WA …
This book is a joy to hold and behold. Just what the Universe has ordered up for these trying times, and Margaret Renkl has delivered. 52 transcendent meditations on the natural world. Brief yet beautiful with illustrations to accompany done by her brother. Over and over Margaret reminds us that even though “The world is …
Kristin always writes with such imagery that you truly feel like you are there, experiencing in real-time the story she is bringing to life. This one tore my heart out so many times, but also brought some unknown history to life. Heartbreaking, eye-opening and one not to miss. –Madison, Saltwater Bookshop, Kingston, WA This novel …
Simone’s life becomes suddenly unfamiliar when her husband commits to joining an elite unit of the Army. What follows is a vivid portrait of life as a military spouse, rendered with empathy, clarity, and complexity. Simone admirably holds space for the violence and moral quandary inherent to military life. The biggest impression I took from …
