Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For August, we’re looking at historical fiction that ranges from interwar England to 1930s New Jersey to 16th century China, a new Nordic Noir series, a cute romance that hinges on DNA, an eerie audiobook about summer in Long Island, and a nonfiction profile of Arkansas libraries that highlights a couple of our sister branches.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Historical Fiction Galore, Nordic Noir, Romance with a DNA Twist, Audiobook Suspense, and Small Arkansas Libraries”Category: Book Review
Violet Jessop’s Titanic Survivor
I usually try to profile new-ish releases when I review books, movies, or TV shows here, but I found this 25-year-old memoir so compelling that I decided to make an exception for it.
Continue reading “Violet Jessop’s Titanic Survivor”Book Buzz: Book Codes, Mysterious Happenings, Haunted Crows, Environmental Disasters, Garden Composts, Awkward Vacations, and Audiobook Romances
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For July, we’re looking at a puzzle-style mystery about books and codes, a gothic mystery set in the Victorian era, a contemporary Canadian literary horror novel, a nonfiction story about an infamous environmental disaster in the 1970s, a guide to composting, and audiobooks about romances.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Book Codes, Mysterious Happenings, Haunted Crows, Environmental Disasters, Garden Composts, Awkward Vacations, and Audiobook Romances”Walk a Mile In My Shoes: July
This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you join our journey. For July, our theme is disability.
Continue reading “Walk a Mile In My Shoes: July”David Grann’s The Wager
In 1740, when British Commodore George Anson finally set sail with his squadron of ships that were charged with disrupting Spanish maritime trade in the Pacific, many of his men were relieved to be at sea after an inauspicious and trouble-ridden start to the expedition. The numerous sick and recalcitrant sailors who’d been press-ganged into service on the ships were less than thrilled, but none of them could have expected the sheer cascade of bad fortune that would befall one ship in particular–the HMS Wager.
Continue reading “David Grann’s The Wager”Book Buzz: Canadian Indigenous Fiction, Pirates, Cairo, Poetry, Investigative Journalism, and Agatha Christie Classics
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For June, we’re looking at a novel about residential school survivors, a new fantasy series that melds history with pirates and magic, a fantastical graphic novel about modern Egypt, an anthology of poems, a new look at a tragic crime, and an audiobook of an old favorite.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Canadian Indigenous Fiction, Pirates, Cairo, Poetry, Investigative Journalism, and Agatha Christie Classics”Book Buzz: Scandinavian Historical Fiction, WWII in Singapore, Murder in Spain, Fantasy Romance, Western Librarians, Antarctica Adventures, and Moonshining Entrepreneurs
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For May, we’re looking at historical fiction that spans everything from the 19th century to WWII, a new mystery series out of Spain, a fun fantasy romance, an ode to librarians out West, a nonfiction chronicle about the Shackleford Expedition, and an audiobook that’s being billed as the Tudors during Prohibition.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Scandinavian Historical Fiction, WWII in Singapore, Murder in Spain, Fantasy Romance, Western Librarians, Antarctica Adventures, and Moonshining Entrepreneurs”Book Buzz: Bookish Romance, Historical Fiction, Magician Secret Societies, Drawing, and Cricuts
Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For April, we’re looking at a bookstore-centered romance, novels about the Civil Rights Movement and Renaissance Italy, a new-ish dark academic fantasy series, and some books that will help take your arts and crafts to the next level.
Continue reading “Book Buzz: Bookish Romance, Historical Fiction, Magician Secret Societies, Drawing, and Cricuts”Walk a Mile in My Shoes: April
This year, our theme is “Walk A Mile In My Shoes.” The idea that you can’t understand someone (and shouldn’t judge them) until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes is a pretty common sentiment. And research has shown that reading fiction is one way to really get such a walk going. So, that’s what we are going to do this year: use fiction (and some nonfiction when we just can’t resist) to take walks in someone’s shoes. We hope you lace up those sneakers and join our journey. For April, our theme is Neurodiversity, and we’re profiling books with characters whose brains work in unique ways. Thanks so much to Julie, Anna, and Kelly for helping me research this post!
Continue reading “Walk a Mile in My Shoes: April”Jeff Guinn’s Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage
Any time Jeff Guinn releases a new book is a special occasion on this blog. I’m a big Guinn fan–thanks so much to Mary-Esther to introducing me to his books a few years ago. In the past, I’ve reviewed or profiled his books that span from Jim Jones to Bonnie and Clyde to the Pershing Expedition. I always know that a Guinn nonfiction book will be thought-provoking, well-written, and well-researched, and I think he particularly shines at historical true crime. He excels at examining the social and historical contexts that his subjects both shaped and were shaped by.
His latest book, about the Branch Davidians, their leader David Koresh, and the infamous standoff that unfolded at Waco thirty years ago this spring, particularly succeeds at this and is a fascinating read. Thanks so much to Julie for purchasing it for the library!
Continue reading “Jeff Guinn’s Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage”
Berryville Book Buzz 