by Alix E. Harrow I love birds. If you see someone chatting to the chickadees, hummingbirds and finches outside of the library, chances are it’s me. One of my favourite birds? The common starling. So naturally, as I skimmed the spines on the library shelf, a book called Starling House jumped out at me. As […]
by David Grann David Grann’s The Wager is exhilarating as both scholarship and narrative. From the outset, we hear the perspectives and aspirations of each of the major players in turn, as each prepares to board the ship. These threads conjoin as the fleet departs from England, only to fully unravel later in the dangerous […]
by Nina Simon Nina Simon’s debut novel, Mother Daughter Murder Night, has murder, suspects, twists, and family drama. Three strong women, Lana Rubicon, grandmother, Beth, her daughter, and mother to teenaged Jack are forced to spend time together; something they haven’t done since Beth abruptly left home as a teenager years before. Lana, undergoing cancer […]
by Naomi Hirahara Set in the heated days of early 1944 Aki Ito, her two parents and sister Rose are living in Manzanar Internment Camp in California through the forced relocation of all people of Japanese ancestry living in the United States. Deeply unhappy with life in the camp the Itos jump at the opportunity […]
by Jessica Johns I know one of the cardinal rules of book selection is never to judge a book by its cover. You would think that as a librarian, I would be the first to enforce that rule. Sometimes, though, rules are meant to be broken, and sometimes it works out in exactly one’s favour. […]
by Ron Howard and Clint Howard Ron Howard is possibly the most well-adjusted child star of all time. As a very young child he starred on the hit 60s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show as Opie. As a young adult he was Richie Cunnigham on the 70s megahit Happy Days. Into his adulthood he became […]
by Suzette Mayr It’s 1929. We ride the rails cross-country with R.T. Baxter, a young, gay, black man, who – despite his dislike of trains – has been a sleeping car porter for eight years, trying to save enough money to pay for dentistry school. As wealthy passengers took “the fastest train across the continent!” in comfort and luxury, their needs, wants, and impossible whims were […]
by Louise Candlish Lowland Way is a nice quiet street in South London where the houses are gorgeous, the gardens are tidy, and the neighbours are all great friends – aren’t they? This perfect suburb is disrupted when “Those People,” Darren and Jodie, move into #1. Darren and Jodie start by filling the garden with […]
by TJ Klune When one thinks of books falling under the “warm and fuzzy” category, it likely invokes cozy thoughts – images of animals, fireplaces, steaming cups of tea. Chances are, ghosts are not included. Somehow, though, stories exist that, though focused on the dead, still bring warmth to their readers. TJ Klune has masterfully […]
by Hana Videen English. That’s what I’m writing in right now. These words you’re reading, they all make sense as English. You could probably read these words to Shakespeare and even though the spelling is a bit different and some of the definitions have shifted slightly he’d still understand most of it just fine. When […]