Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For March, we’re looking at a searing fictional examination of addiction and grief, a new suspense novel, a new series about magic school shenanigans, and an audiobook history of how Allied forces defeated the German navy during WWII.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Neuroscience Researchers, Strange Train Encounters, Magical Boarding Schools (No–Not That One), and Naval Military History”Category: fantasy (books)
Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Fantasy
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. In July, we were
scheduled to be in New Zealand (as a nod to the Lord of the Rings series) but then came a
quarantine (more about that later–poor Penelope). All of this to show that escape is more
important than ever in our COVID-filled world, so let’s talk about some newer fantasy novels instead! 🙂
Continue reading “Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Fantasy”
Discussion Post: Favorite Fantasy
For the summer program theme of “Imagine We’re Not in Berryville Anymore,” we’ve been celebrating all manner of speculative fiction, including myths and fantasy. Of course, one of the most appealing things about fantasy is the means of escape it provides to another world–and the sheer amount of imagination that fantasy writers use in creating their worlds.
Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Mythology/Fairy Tales
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. In June, we’re in London, but that’s mainly just a Harry Potter tie-in, so in honor of the Imagine Your Story summer reading theme, I’ll be highlighting books that evoke or engage with myths and fairy tales from around the world.
Continue reading “Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Mythology/Fairy Tales”
Book Buzz: Bad Days, Orc Princesses, and Cold Cases
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. Usually, I profile a sample of various random new books, but this time around, I noticed 3 books that are all the first in a series, and the summer is as good a time as any to try a new series. Starting a new one might be a wiser move than what I’m doing–rereading an old favorite (George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire . . . because I like to suffer. 😉 )
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Bad Days, Orc Princesses, and Cold Cases”
Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Russia
Note: I’d been debuting these posts at the beginning of each month, but things got off schedule with the pandemic, so I am slipping this one in at the end of the month. Obviously, real travel right now is not a good idea, but it’s all the better reason to travel anywhere through a good book. 🙂
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. We’re in Russia for April.
Continue reading “Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Russia”
Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona
Sir Ballister Blackheart is the resident villain. And like all resident villains, he has a backstory that totally explains how he went from a promising knight in training to a mad scientist. And like all resident villains, he often finds his brilliant plans foiled by the resident hero, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin.
That is, until the mysterious Nimona shows up. Nimona is a shapeshifter and an agent of chaos who dramatically increases Blackheart’s effectiveness while also ramping up the destruction factor. As Nimona and Blackheart tag-team to defeat his archnemesis, the shadowy Institution that runs everything, it soon becomes clear that they might not be the most villainous characters in the land after all. . . .
Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Japan
Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. We’re in Japan for March.
Japan, with its fascinating culture and stunning landscapes, is a favorite destination in fiction for readers and writers alike–and for good reason! We’ve got a wide-ranging collection of books (and movies) set in Japan, many of them from Japanese authors/creators. It’s a little something for everyone.
Continue reading “Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Japan”
Jasper Fforde’s The Last Dragonslayer
Dreams of bigger, better worlds don’t have to be so great that you can’t have a little bit of fun. Enter Jasper Fforde’s The Last Dragonslayer.
Jennifer Strange has her hands full overseeing a talent management company for magicians. Even when the fifteen-year-old orphan isn’t fulfilling her apprenticeship in magical management by booking wizards for plumbing jobs and magic carpet riders for food delivery, as well as soothing ruffled egos, there’s also the whole issue of magical energy becoming weaker. Strange herself doesn’t have much power, but even her once skillful clients are feeling the effects. What happens if magic runs out? How are they going to keep a roof over their heads? Where did her boss disappear to months ago when he didn’t come back home? And on top of that, there are rumors that the Last Dragonslayer is supposed to kill the last dragon in a few days. Complications ensue.
Erica Swyler’s The Book of Speculation
Simon Watson receives an odd gift from a stranger in the mail one day–an old book that records the travels and business of an 18th century circus. The accompanying note suggests that he might like it because it has a distant family connection. Beyond that, Simon is a man who likes old books–he is a reference librarian in his hometown on Long Island. However, rather than the book merely being a piece of the past, Simon finds some troubling revelations about his family as he researches the topic further.
Berryville Book Buzz 