Pick of the Week - Page 5 of 16

  "A crowd of whales simmers and swirls, their chorus of whistles and clicks resounding through the sea. In the center a rusty cloud of blood disrupts the jewel-blue ocean. A tail emerges, disappears, reappears; a slack, supple body follows. A baby is born. The granddaughter." Tara Karr Roberts, Wild and Distant Seas, pg. 166…

We often inherit much from our families: traditions, skills, responsibilities.  I assume, though, that neither you nor I have inherited the family tradition of turning into a leopard to fight injustice. Nor have we bargained with floating spirits so our family could eat or to save our parent from eternal suffering.   This is what two…

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…

"Alferez Antonio Sonoro was born with gold in his eyes." So, begins The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James.   Westerns, even ones with sparks of magical realism, are new reading territory for me. Usually, when I think of Westerns, my mind conjures up cattle drives, little houses on prairies and stagecoaches. I do not think of…

While The Kingdom of Sweets begins much like the beloved Nutcracker ballet, Erika Johansen has taken the characters and setting to make this story uniquely her own. Godfather Drosselmeyer’s gifts are soon revealed to be curses endured by Clara and her family - including the fact that the traditional heroine Clara has a twin sister,…

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…

Books about climate disasters are usually not my thing. Floods, blizzards of massive proportions, heat waves, etc. generally do not appeal to me. But...disrupt my food chain? Bring the earth to the brink of global starvation? Now you have got me hooked. I become the living definition of "hangry" if my snacks are taken from…

“So many of the bad things that happen in the world come from people pretending to be something they’re not.” Paul Murray’s thrilling family saga (and 2023 Booker Prize Shortlist contender), The Bee Sting, is told with unvarnished truth and lacerating wit and is not for the faint of heart.  Readers who’ve enjoyed his darkly…

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…

John Scalzi had me at the cover.   Confession: I am an unapologetic “cat lady.”  Do not get me started. I love cats in all shapes and sizes. So, when I spied the cover of Starter Villain, I just knew it was a book for me – a cat in a suit and tie! Oh, be…