Category Archives: adult
1941: The America That Went to War – William M. Christie
This is the story of the end of an era. The last year before America lost its innocence, the year before everything changed. It is told, month by month, with an event that occurred in that month as the theme. … Continue reading
The Doomed City – Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky (Translated by Andrew Bromfield)
In the 1970s the Strugatsky brothers’ science-fiction novels were wildly popular in the USSR. This novel was their favorite, but was so politically risky that it was kept secret and only published in the late 1980s, sixteen years after … Continue reading
Just One Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St. Mary’s Book One – Jodi Taylor
“History is just one damned thing after another” Arnold Toynbee Well, this was fun! The eccentric Brits at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research are very secretly traveling back in time to better understand historical events, but it’s not such … Continue reading
Beyond the Woods: Fairy Tales Retold – edited by Paula Guran
These fairy tales are definitely not for children. They would be shocked to learn the real story of Cinderella, and The Three Bears, and yes, Goldilocks was a little snit. And don’t get me started on the rewrite of “The … Continue reading
Barkskins – Annie Proulx
I hate to use clichés, but there is no other way to put it. This is a sweeping novel, an epic covering two families and three hundred years. It all begins in the 17th century, with Rene Sel and Charles … Continue reading
Fastpitch: The Untold History of Softball and the Women Who Made the Game -Erica Westly
762 wins, 88 losses, 162 no hitters, 45 perfect games, and 7,000 strikeouts – Bertha Tickey was a very special softball player. Most of her records still stand. And she taught Lana Turner to swing a bat for a movie … Continue reading
Amy Snow – Tracy Rees
Amy’s life began on a cold day in January, 1831. If eight-year-old Aurelia had not slipped out when no one was watching it might have ended that day. The sky was a bright blue, the snow deep and white, and … Continue reading
Vinegar Girl – Anne Tyler
Kate seems to always be in trouble at school. Well, she just can’t help telling it like it is, even with four-year- olds. She likes her job and tries really hard, but the words just come out. At home things … Continue reading
Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine: An Isabel Dalhousie Story – Alexander McCall Smith
Sweet, thoughtful Isabel is once again confronted with a moral dilemma. She made a promise to keep a friend’s secret, and then finds that in order to keep that secret, she must betray another friend. If you are a reader … Continue reading
The Sisters – Claire Douglas
Abi sees Lucy everywhere. She forgets for a second that she’s gone and then is devastated again when the memory returns and she knows that she will never see her again. That’s what started it all, for Bea looked so … Continue reading
The First Signs: My Quest to Unlock the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols – Genevieve von Petzinger
Two hundred thousand years ago modern humans appeared in Africa. Language was completely formed about 100,000 years ago, but when did written communication begin? They had our bodies and brains, but when did they become us? As an undergraduate in … Continue reading
Britt-Marie Was Here – Fredrik Backman
Britt-Marie believes in normal life, a life with rules and regulations. For instance, cutlery drawers must be arranged just so: forks, knives, spoons. One needs coasters for cups and glasses. Dinner is at six. Lists are very, very important. Britt-Marie … Continue reading
Everyone Brave is Forgiven – Chris Cleave
Mary North and her best friend Hilda saw the coming war as a great adventure. As soon as war was declared, Mary North signed up. She left finishing school in Lausanne and hurried to London, determined not to miss … Continue reading
Prayers the Devil Answers – Sharyn McCrumb
Moving to town was a hard thing, but the jobs were in town, and Mr. Hoover’s Depression had no end in sight. A regular paycheck seemed like an answer to prayer. And the schools were better. So Ellie and Albert … Continue reading
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts – Joshua Hammer
Timbuktu . . . the name evokes an inaccessible, mysterious place in darkest Africa. But it seems that in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it was quite accessible. Scholars from distant lands flocked to the city to study. It was … Continue reading
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