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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Not THE holiday season, but it’s as good as the holidays for the book lovers out there—the start of the fall publishing season. Fall sees the release of the heavy hitters of publishers’ catalogs as award season ramps up and booksellers start to build stock—and buzz—for those holiday shoppers. Here’s what to look forward to for next month:
June Hur's debut novel is a police procedural set in 1800 Joseon, Korea. Seol grew up in rural Korea but because of the family's poverty was sent by her sister to serve an indenture for the police bureau in Joseon. As an indentured servant she's to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself as she cleans and runs errands. The monotony of that work is occasionally broken when she's asked to help in crimes involving women. Males in 19th century Korea aren't allowed to touch non-familial women, thus Seol is called upon.
If you liked Legends & Lattes as much as I did, you'll love this book. Filled with mythical creatures like mermaids, merhorses, and magically-sentient plants, and served with cinnamon buns, friendship and a lot of love, it's sure to soothe just like your favorite tea.
Louise and Milo find a stick at their favorite park. They play fetch with Stick over and over again. Milo doesn't understand why Louise loves throwing Stick so much, but he is determined to bring it back each and every time. Then Louise pretends to throw Stick and Milo races off only to discover that he's gone too far astray while searching. He doesn't realize that Stick was never thrown! Not only is Stick "lost" to Milo, but Milo is lost as well.
Every month there are new titles purchased for the Too Good to Miss collections at our libraries. If you're not familiar with TGTM (as we call it here in library-world), it's a special collection of popular books that are truly too good to miss. Some are new and popular titles, others are older titles that might not have had as much media attention as a bestseller or celebrity book club selection but are still great reads that deserve another look.
This quiet picture book by the author of the rollicking Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type prepares young readers for bedtime in a calm and comforting way. Baby sloth and his mama live high up in the tree. They sleep in the light of the moon holding each other tight.
August is pretty much synonymous with vacations as people try to eke out the last of summer fun before school resumes. So it’s no surprise that the publishing industry is a bit similar, with houses holding back for the big Labor Day weekend sales push. But there are still a few notable releases heading to shelves this month for readers who might have some space in the luggage…
My last couple reviews have been books with darker theme and tone, so I thought I should switch it up. Now, if you've seen the book cover and title, Fangs, you may be thinking, how is a book about a vampire (and a werewolf, btw) going to lighten things up? Here's how: throw in a sweet, quirky romance and about as many (sometimes groanworthy) dad-type jokes poking fun at paranormal stereotypes and you have a graphic novel that will have you smiling (for sure) from first to last, and likely giggling often along the way.
With the announcement of J.D. Vance as the Republican candidate for Vice President his book Hillbilly Elegy has made the bestseller lists again. That pushes to the forefront stories of working class Americans.
In his debut novel Nick Medina blends mystery, suspense and a touch of supernatural horror in a story that focuses on the disappearance of indigenous women. At the heart of the story is Anna Horn who is finishing high school and trying to figure out her place on the rez and in her tribe. While grappling with her own struggles, and feeling haunted by a entity of ancient myth, Anna is forced to reckon with a larger battle. Women on the reservation are going missing and no one seems to care. It becomes personal, and more immediate, when two women in Anna's life are lost.
