Fiction

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Romance In Death

    There’s a recognized trope in romance that people want to, let’s say, celebrate life after a funeral. Or any kind of “near death” experience. That’s not what this post is about. Ahem. The “In Death” series, by J.D. Robb, is a genre bending mash up of romance, surprisingly classic police procedural mystery, and just a… Continue reading

  • Hauntings and Visitations

    Here are a few eerie diversions to creep you out this week!             In Toby Barlow’s Babayaga, an ageless Russian witch, or babyaga, in post-world War II Paris, charms a detective who is mixed up in a CIA plot involving Nazis and, strangely, the babayagas. Barlow weaves folklore, humor and history in an… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Romancing the Ghost

    Tomorrow is Halloween, which makes this the perfect time to talk about the spookier side of romance. Halloween is the perfect time to fall in love with a ghost! Or for your romance to get a little ghostly assistance. Or, sad but oh, so romantic, to get that one last chance to say goodbye, with… Continue reading

  • What to read while you wait for Morrissey’s Autobiography

    I want the one I can’t have, and it’s driving me mad. . . No doubt countless American fans of Morrissey are singing those lyrics to Penguin Books right now. The publisher released the singer’s autobiography last Thursday under its Classics imprint. . . in the UK only. It went straight to number 1 on… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Riding Off Into the Sunset

    There’s just something romantic about the idea of riding off into the sunset, isn’t there? Maybe that’s part of the reason why romances set in the contemporary west are still just as popular as stories of how the west was won (or lost). Or maybe it’s all about the cowboys… Linda Lael Miller is one… Continue reading

  • Mysterious powers and New Mythologies

    Did you miss me? I’ve been reading. Here are some paranormal goodies for cozy autumn nights. Blythewood by Carol Goodman Avaline Hall survives. I was going to say what she survives, but there are so many things: grief, the mystery of her mother’s past, hard work and humiliation and the terrors of the Triangle Factory… Continue reading

  • Catch a Tiger by its Tale

    An absolutely gripping true story that reads like a mystery is John Vaillant’s award-winning science book called The Tiger:  A True Story of Vengeance and Survival.  The story is set in the frigid Maritime Territory of Russia, where an Amur (Siberian) Tiger killed three hunters in 1997.  The reader is transported to the tiger’s natural… Continue reading

  • Slightly Gruesome Historical Fiction

    The Hangman’s Daughter Series I picked up The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch because I liked the cover art and the font used for the title. Yes, sometimes, I judge books by their covers but this time it worked out really well for me. Although the book is great, with an imaginative plot, intriguing characters… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Paranormal New Orleans

    If you’ve ever walked the streets of New Orleans, you recognize that there is something beautiful and decadent and just plain eerie about the place. New Orleans is a city where you can feel the past walk beside you; its history creeps in between the cracks of its sidewalks and seeps along the alleyways of… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: 5 frightfully great books to start your October off right

    The Necromancer’s House by Christopher Buehlman After an irreverent wizard inadvertently kills the wrong man, he finds himself stalked by an unrelenting terror that won’t stop until everything and everyone loves is in ruins. The book starts out like a typical urban fantasy, with humor, myths and quips that wouldn’t be out of place in… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Geeks in Love, or, Talk Nerdy to Me

    We all have an image in our minds when someone mentions the words “geek” or “nerd”. Someone socially awkward, but technically adept, someone who knows a lot about something very obscure, and possibly even science fictional, but is clueless about the social niceties. Usually a hero with a difficult time reaching a happy ever after… Continue reading

  • Fall Book Group Reads: Jen’s Fiction picks

    What is your book group reading this year?  Here are some recent literary novels that are eminently discuss-able. Maya’s Notebook  by Isabel Allende Sent by her grandmother to a remote island off the Chilean coast for her own safety, American-born Maya Vidal logs in her diary the year of recovery from her drug-related criminal and personally destructive… Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Fall for a New Author

    Another summer has ended in Seattle, and soon the rain, early sunsets and colder temperatures will keep many of us indoors. It may sound grim, but it’s perfect weather for discovering new authors! Though they are relatively new, each of the following authors has written several books to date, with more on the way in… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: 5 books every Breaking Bad fan needs to read

    Fiend by Peter Stenson Two meth addicts coming down from a high find the world in the grip of a zombie apocalypse where staying alive is almost as hard as scoring their next hit. Why you should read it: It’s all about supply and demand, whether it be drugs or brains! Continue reading

  • Fall Book Group Reads: Misha’s picks

    Here are some of my favorite reads from 2013 that I think would be fantastic for book group discussion. Continue reading

  • Romantic Wednesdays: Firefighters are HOT!

    They say that everybody loves a man (or a woman) in uniform. Combine that with the heart-stopping heroism of people who put their lives on the line to fight fires and you have the recipe for either heartwarming or incredibly hot romance, and sometimes both at once! The Fireman Who Loved Me by Jennifer Bernard… Continue reading

  • Genre books for teens starring strong females

    “Seeking recommendations of YA fiction, preferably genre. I’m a fan of Tamora Pierce and Jane Yolen. This totally includes science fiction. 🙂 If you have some non YA recommendations I’m open,” began a Facebook post of a friend looking for book suggestions. When asked what it is she likes about those authors, she said, “What I generally… Continue reading

  • Short review: Turtle Diary by Russell Hoban

    Turtle Diary is a brilliant, funny, bittersweet and ultimately redemptive meditation on middle-aged loneliness. Russell Hoban is best known for his children’s books (especially the picture books about Frances the Badger and two of my favorites, The Mouse and His Child and Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas) but he wrote fiction for adults too, and this… Continue reading