Books & More

The renaissance of Gwen Hathaway : a novel / Ashley Schumacher. New York : Wednesday Books, 2023. Content Warnings:  Grief, Fatphobia, Death of Parent. I adored this book. It is… The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway

“A door in the dark” Reintgen, Scott. New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2023]. Content Warnings:  Major Character Death, Murder, Torture, Fantasy Drug Use, Grief, Death of a Parent,… A Door in the Dark

“Silver Alert,” Lee Smith. Chapel Hill, North Carolina : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2023. Content Warning: dementia, cancer, child trafficking and death. I love Lee Smith’s writing – it… Silver Alert

“Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries,” by Heather Fawcett. Copyright 2023, Del Rey (317 pages, $28.00). Content Warning: Blood, Kidnapping. One of my new favorite genres when it comes to what… Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

Children of the state : survival and hope in the juvenile justice system. Hobbs, Jeff; New York : Scribner, [2023]. Jeff Hobbs uses the stories of several children and adults… Children of the State: survival and hope in the juvenile justice system

The Silmarillion. Tolkien, J. R. R. ; edited by Christopher Tolkien. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1977. As a huge Lord of the Rings fan (I even have a Gandalf tattoo… Silmarillion

Miss Benson’s beetle. Joyce, Rachel. New York : Dial Press, [2020]. Content Warnings: Miscarriage, Suicide, Stalking, Death of a Parent, Aftermath of War Set in 1950, Miss Benson’s Beetle is… Miss Benson’s Beetle

Romantic comedy : a novel. Sittenfeld, Curtis. New York : Random House, [2023] Romantic Comedy is the perfect, well, romantic comedy! Sally Milz is a writer for an infamous late… Romantic Comedy

Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams’s photographs reveal about the Japanese American incarceration by Elizabeth Partridge, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2022.… Seen and Unseen

 “Blue Marlin” by Lee Smith.  Durham, NC:  Blair-Carolina Wren Press, 2020, 123 pages, $15.95 This slight novella by North Carolina author Lee Smith is a little pocket gem that can… Blue Marlin

“Dead Wake:  The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” by Erik Larson.  New York:  Crown Publishers, 2015.   (430 pages) “Dead Wake” is the story of the massive Cunard ocean liner RMS… Dead Wake

Katie the Catsitter By Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue. New York : Random House Children’s Books, 2021. First in a series “Some heroes have capes…Katie has cats!” 217 of… Katie the Catsitter

“Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard,” by Tom Felton. Copyright 2022, Grand Central Publishing (288 pages, $28.00). Content Warning: Alcoholism, Addiction, Mental Illness. In… Beyond the Wand

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare. New York : Berkley, [2022] I am a huge mystery fan, and my favorites are those that fall between cozy and hard boiled, and… Miss Aldridge Regrets

“What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions” by Randall Munroe; Dey Street Books (320 pages, $24). Would humanity survive if the Earth suddenly stopped spinning on its axis?… What If?

Bring an extra dose of fun to reading with your kids with these picture books! Your child will think you are the most hilarious person ever. As a bonus, the… Five Silly Picture Books

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell. New York : Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022]. Reader, I Murdered Him continues the story of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.… Reader, I Murdered Him

Liberation Day by George Saunders. New York: Random House, 2022. 233 pages. A mother seeks revenge on the stranger who hurt her son. A grandfather writes a letter to his… Liberation Day

Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell. New York : Tor, 2022. Romantic fantasy novels provided a gateway back into reading for many adults during the pandemic.  Can romantic science fiction novels persuade… Ocean’s Echo

“Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love” by Dani Shapiro. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2019, 250 pages, $24.95, Kindle $12. Dani Shapiro is a middle-aged professional writer with… Inheritance

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn. New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2022]. The middle book(s) in a series always feel a bit like a letdown. You know you’re not going… Bloodmarked

“We Deserve Monuments” by Jas Hammonds. New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2022, 384 pages. Content warning: grief, cancer, death, homophobia and racism “We Deserve Monuments” is an incredible story… We Deserve Monuments

“The Last White Rose:  A Novel of Elizabeth of York” by Alison Weir.  New York:  Ballantine Books, 2022, 526 pages Fifteenth century England was dominated by the War of the… The Last White Rose:  A Novel of Elizabeth of York

When looking for family read-a-louds with the best illustrations to captivate the imaginations, we often first think of fiction.  That does not mean, however, that they are not just as… Non-Fiction Picture Books

“Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear. Avery, 2018. (320 pages, $27). James Clear is… Atomic Habits