Behind You is the Sea, by Susan Muaddi Darraj, is billed as a novel, but it reads more like a collection of linked short stories. Whatever it’s called, it combines the best of short and long-form fiction: sensitively drawn portraits of singular characters, set in a world that gives continuity and context to their lives.…
Readers' Advisors Erica and Amy share three recent books that bring their worlds -- a tense near-future, a legendary past, and present-day America - to life in vivid and unexpected ways. Books featured in this episode: Prophet Song by Paul Lynch The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and…
Available February 13, 2024 While Yangsze Choo’s The Fox Wife is definitely historical fiction – set largely in Manchuria in the early 1900s – it also weaves elements of mystery and folklore into an evocative, compelling, and wholly original story. In the last days of the Qing Dynasty, Snow is on the hunt for the…
Our One Book, One Community series is off to a fantastic start! Patrons are reading Brendan Slocumb’s The Violin Conspiracy, joining discussions groups, and enjoying a variety of programming related to the story, all leading up to our visit with the author on Sunday, February 25. There are still plenty of programs left to attend, so…
Erica and Marianne are sticking to their reading resolutions by digging into great historical fiction featuring real-life banditos and midwives. Then, Marianne gives us the inside scoop on this year's One Book, One Community series. Titles discussed in this episode: The Bullet Swallower, by Elizabeth Gonzalez James The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon The Violin…
In July 2020, author Ariel Lawhon appeared on the library’s podcast to discuss Code Name Hélène, her novel about WWII socialite-spy Nancy Wake. She mentioned that her next project was based on the diary of a New England midwife from the late 18th century. More than three years later, The Frozen River has finally arrived. The…
If you were to construct a list of story elements that do not entice me, it would include: Pandemic stories (I am ready for some precedented times.) Bird stories (I like my pets with fur.) Autofiction (novels where the author is also a character) So at first glance, The Vulnerables, Sigrid Nunez’s pandemic novel about…
Erica and Amy, our new book club associate, share the titles they've been enjoying lately, from a suspenseful family drama to a sublimely ridiculous charmer (and the best cover of 2023). https://traffic.libsyn.com/cooklib/Bookies_Talk_-_Family_Stories_and_Surprising_Legacies.mp3 Books discussed in this episode: The Leftover Woman, Jean Kwok Night Watch, Jayne Anne Phillips The Dictionary People, Sarah Ogilvie The Wishing Game, Meg…
You would be forgiven for thinking Starling House is just another haunted house story. There’s a falling-down mansion with a tragic backstory, an orphaned heroine, and a tormented heir, all set in a town rife with corruption and secrets. But in Alix E. Harrow’s capable hands, those familiar elements are transformed into a richly textured…
I am not a gambler. Slot machines make me tense. I refuse to fill out basketball brackets. I have bought a lottery ticket precisely once in my life. The one thing I am willing to gamble on is a book, especially if I can even the odds. Case in point: I like old houses and…
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