fiction

  • Craving mystery

    Since the last book in The Spellman Files series has been written, released and read, I long to discover it again. Since I can’t, I gave myself a quest to find read-a-likes to pacify all those who got hooked on the life of Izzie Spellman and her crazy PI family. In Super in the City by Daphne Uviller, Zephyr… Continue reading

  • Paralyzed by anticipation

    The book is sitting on my bedside table.  Its been there, unopened, for two weeks already. I pick it up every evening. It mesmerizes me. And it paralyzes me. For my entire adult life I’ve been reading Terry Pratchett.  His amazingly inventive sardonic wit has caused me endless embarrassment as I laughed out loud in restaurants, on… Continue reading

  • After The Hunger Games

    I just love a good dystopian nightmare.  I’m not sure what this says about me, but some of my favorite books take place in future worlds shattered by environmental apocalypse or ruled by terrifying and mysterious dictators.  What is it about these books that’s so appealing?  I think it might be the fun of seeing bits of our own present in an… Continue reading

  • A book I’d overlooked

    Walking around the library I have to deliberately ignore the shelves sometimes, shutting out the siren song of all those stories crying out to be read. Some I’ve always meant to read, but many more are perfect strangers to me: little worlds languishing on the lower shelves, waiting to be opened. One especially beguiling title… Continue reading

  • Move Over, Twilight: Try Vampire Academy

    At this point, there are two kinds of readers (and media consumers) out there: those who can’t get enough of vampires and those who can’t stand to hear the word vampire. That being said, like any genre, there are some fantastic books and some that just don’t quite make the cut. I enjoyed the Twilight series even… Continue reading

  • Are You Ready For Summer?

    Summer is here and for some of us that means staying at home, relaxing, and having fun in the sun. But for others, it means taking cross country road trips or taking vacations to exotic locales. And for some, it means finding that special someone for a summer romance. For ideas about “staycations” or taking… Continue reading

  • New Mystery, Suspense and Thrillers, and Horror

    2010 is a great year for mysteries! Several well-known and beloved mystery writers are publishing new series titles: Barbara Cleverly (Joe Sandilands), Frank Tallis (Max Liebermann), Donna Leon (Commissario Guido Brunetti), Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs), Elizabeth George (Thomas Lynley) and Elizabeth Peters (Amelia Peabody), to name a few. If you haven’t yet discovered Alan Gordon’s 13th… Continue reading

  • Book Review: Changes by Jim Butcher

    In Changes, the newest novel by Jim Butcher, wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden learns that he has an eight-year-old daughter who has been kidnapped by some seriously evil vampires.  In the race to save the girl, Harry faces dangerous old enemies and makes some hard decisions that will irrevocably alter his fate — and even change the… Continue reading

  • Bicycle Obsessions

    As a bicycle commuter along the Burke-Gilman trail here in Seattle, I am not that upset when it rains. Hail, ice and snow, of course, are another matter. Rain seems to thin out the casual walkers and riders. And so beginning this Bike to Work Month with several days of rain has not been that… Continue reading

  • Brooklyn Stories: Part Two

    Do you need something to make you smile?  These Brooklyn stories will be sure to succeed. Last Days of Summer  is a charming and funny story about a 12-year-old who strikes up a correspondence with a Giants player in the 1940s. He needs a hero to replace the father who has just left the family. The… Continue reading

  • Desert Island Books

    There seem to be a lot of lists of Desert Island books out there, such as this one here on Nancy Pearl’s Booklust site, or this person’s Flickr album, or this cute cartoon thingy. What bugs me is that no matter how many interesting or worthwhile titles one finds on these lists, almost none of… Continue reading

  • AND I ALONE SURVIVED!

    Do you like to take a walk on the wild side?  Or would you rather read about it when you know everything turns out okay?  Check out this list of daring adventure stories by some who lived to tell the tale. Walking the Gobi: A 1,600-Mile Trek Across a Desert of Hope and Despair by… Continue reading

  • Thrilling Tales for 2010.

    Entering its sixth year, the library’s Thrilling Tales: A Storytime for Grownups continues to thrill and delight. Last year’s season was our most popular yet, and this year we’ve got a great slate of tales, many from yesteryear. Thrilling Tales takes place in the Microsoft Auditorium on level one of the Central library, on alternating Mondays from 12:05 –… Continue reading

  • Books for the Employed, or Un-

    Have you been laid off or fired?  Are you unemployed or underemployed?  Generally in a bluish funk job-wise?  Get over it with help from these books and videos that offer advice that’s both practical and entertaining.  You can do it. Working: A Graphic adaptation  by Harvey Pekar (2009) A loving adaptation of Studs Terkel’s original Working: people… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction for the Rest of Us

    I’ll admit it straight up: I’ve never really liked science fiction.  I’ve never seen a single episode of Star Trek or read a book by Robert Heinlein.  But I’m a librarian, and in order to recommend books to readers of every genre, I have to read outside my comfort zone.  Thanks to a coworker, patrons,… Continue reading

  • Transhumanism in the bleak midwinter

    At this time of year, when the cold, grey sameness of winter softly wraps us in the bitter knowledge of our own mortality, I find myself squarely in the mood for a little transhumanist science fiction.   What is that, you ask? It’s a highly philosophical body of literature dedicated to the rich question of… Continue reading

  • Historical mysteries with an Asian flair

    Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill One of my favorites features a delightfully quirky 70-plus year old Dr. Siri Paiboun, a coroner living in 1970s Laos. A French trained doctor and an ex-freedom fighter who fought to throw off colonialism, he is philosophically resigned as well as amused by the inept bureaucracy that’s become… Continue reading

  • ‘Tis (almost) the season for new books: Urban fantasies for 2010

    My favorite thing about the last part of any year is book anticipation.  Readers of urban fantasy know that the new year brings with it fresh installments in all our favorite series, and usually, these books arrive in stores (and libraries!) within the first  four months of the calendar year.  I have a very full… Continue reading