During times of national crisis, we often look to our leaders for guidance and reassurance. Perhaps that is why, during these uncertain times, I was compelled to read two recently-published books about wartime leaders who, though very different in personality and upbringing, were both cognizant of their responsibility to the people they represented, and extremely…
Why is it that poetry can strike fear into the heart of even the most avid reader? I speak from experience. That fear nearly delayed my college graduation when my adviser discovered that I was still shy of a required 300-level poetry class. I was actually well aware that I was missing the class but,…
I enjoy a good historical fiction novel so, as you can imagine, I've read more than my fair share of books about war or countries that were occupied by foreign powers during times of conflict. And many of those stories, usually the ones that affected me the most profoundly, were told from the viewpoint of…
Has there ever been a more accurate word to describe the period between childhood and adulthood (a.k.a. the teenage years) than “wildhood”? Authors Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers use the apt descriptor as the title of their latest book Wildhood: The Epic Journey from Adolescence to Adulthood in Humans and Other Animals. In it, they…
Author Ted Chiang One of the best experiences, as a reader, is when you discover a new writer with whom you feel a connection. Not necessarily a debut author, but new in the sense that you’ve never previously read anything by him or her. My latest such discovery is Ted Chiang. Science fiction readers are,…
Usually, a fire is red and orange and yellow and black. The fire in the library was colorless. You could look right through it, as if it were a sheet of glass. Where the flame had any color, it was pale blue... 'we thought we were looking at the bowels of hell.'" - From The…
Whenever someone learns that I work in a library, this question inevitably follows: what's your favorite book? It's like Sophie's Choice, impossible to answer. So when it came time for me to review a recently published memoir, I couldn't pick just one. Following are a few of my favorites from this year. Written by four…
I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that I am not an avid fly fisherman nor do I spend my spare time tying salmon flies for fun. However, if you were to take a peek at my browser history, you might suspect otherwise. Some of my recent Internet searches have included “Greater Bird of…
One of the perks of being a librarian is working with people who have a passion for books. If I hear my coworkers mentioning the same title over and over again, it’s definitely worth taking notice. One of the buzziest mysteries of last year was Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders. (Read Andrea's review). Even though I…
While many of us can probably recall a heart-stopping moment when we narrowly averted a serious injury or even death - seventeen times? That is about sixteen more close calls than any one person should have to endure. And yet, that is how many times Irish novelist Maggie O'Farrell has dodged the bullet. Best known…
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