How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures
by Sabrina Imbler
[Book]
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If you are a fan of science writing and personal essays, and want to hear from young, queer folx, this book is a must-read. Imbler expertly blends their experiences with sea life and their own identity in these ten braided essays, each exploring a different creature from the deep. From feral goldfish to mother octopuses, these essays explore the complexity and beauty of animals that live in an otherworldly plain, whose inner lives we can only guess at.
Reviewed by KL
Tagged: Essays, LGBTQ, Nature, Non-fiction, Oceans, Science
Sing, Unburied, Sing
by Jesmyn Ward
[Book]
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In a Faulkner-esque, southern gothic narrative, Jesmyn Ward crafts a story of a poor, Black, Mississippi family enduring drug addiction, the horrors of prison, grief and loss, and everyday struggles. The shifting perspectives primarily follow the lives of Jojo, the thirteen-year-old protagonist losing innocence, and his grieving addict mother, Leonie, featuring limited perspectives from his toddler sister, white, incarcerated father, and aging grandparents. We are dropped into the narrative as the family receives news that Jojo’s father, Michael, is to be released from the Mississippi State Penitentiary and the family begins their journey to bring him home; a journey that ostensibly is not linear or without turmoil. Ward evokes themes of Black spirituality and the supernatural–from phantom appearances to natural remedies. As Leonie struggles with motherhood, leaving Jojo to assume a parental role for his younger sister, the family, both together and individually recognize their realities. Throughout their experiences, Ward evinces just how pervasive intergenerational trauma is and how legacies of slavery and history can never truly be relegated to the past.
Reviewed by Maddi
Tagged: Families, Fiction, Literary fiction, Racism
The Hawk’s Way: Encounters With Fierce Beauty
by Sy Montgomery
[Book]
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In this short book, the author, Sy Montgomery, takes the reader through her journey with learning falconry, an ancient practice where humans and hawks join together to hunt. This partnership is unlike any Montgomery (or most of us) has encountered and calls her to question her relationship with the predators who, unable to be anthropomorphized, operate on instinct and care nothing for human companionship. Yet we are held in such thrall by their wildness. A wonderful, reflective piece of nonfiction.
Reviewed by KL
Tagged: Animal behavior, Animals, Essays, Nature, Non-fiction, Science
Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and me
by Bill Hayes
[Book]
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Writer and photographer Bill Hayes has written a moving memoir that is equally a love letter to New York City and an affectionate portrait of his partner, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks. Through vignettes and diary entries we see the city and the people in it as Hayes does and his enthusiasm and affection are infectious. It’s a particular treat to see Sacks through Hayes’s eyes: here he is revealed, yes, as a brilliant scientist and writer and as a quirky genius with eccentric habits, but, more importantly, as the brilliant scientist and quirky genius whom Hayes adores and who adores Hayes in turn. As for the city, Hayes has a remarkable ability to meet, befriend, and like the people around him, and many of the passages that are not about Hayes and Sacks are about Hayes and the folks he meets: shop owners, skateboarders, dancers, artists, many of whom he meets through his photography. The photographs in the book, even when it is not clear how they relate to the text, further enhance the experience of, again, seeing through Hayes’s eyes.
Reviewed by Ben
Tagged: LGBTQ, Memoir, New York City, Non-fiction
The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale
by Stephanie Eding
[Book]
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Thirty-year-old Josie Hale discovers she is pregnant after catching her husband with another woman and moving back in with her parents. Craving the comfort of a corn dog, she emerges from hiding and almost immediately runs into high school buddies Kevin and Ben at the local fair. They haven’t seen each other in a dozen years, yet they get along as though no time has passed. Recognizing that they are all disappointed with the direction of their lives, the three of them decide to move in together and make a pact to collectively improve their lives professionally, financially, and emotionally. Josie finds work as a substitute teacher, Kevin changes career directions at his father’s insurance agency, and Ben returns to school to improve his job prospects. Josie’s high school crush on Ben is not as unrequited as she thought, Kevin’s fear of commitment has turned on him, and Ben’s relationship with his 11-year-old daughter can only improve. Adulting is hard, but second chances with a found family can make it easier to handle. A good fit for readers of romantic women’s fiction and those who enjoy coming-of-age-after-college stories.
Reviewed by Alene
Tagged: Families, Fiction
The Tsarina’s Daughter
by Ellen Alpsten
[Book]
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Alpsten’s follow up to Tsarina (2020) focuses on the life of Elizabeth (Lizenka), daughter of Peter the Great and his second wife Catherine I, from her royal childhood through a tumultuous adolescence and young adulthood. Lizenka is charming, beautiful, and beloved, inspiring envy and loyalty among her relations and the Russian people. Political intrigue abounds, with friends and family moving through the court and royal residences as power shifts and people fall in and out of favor. Originally expected to marry Louis XV, Lizenka’s fortunes fall not long after she encounters the Leshy (a forest spirit) on a walk in the woods. The Leshy tells Lizenka her future, and Lizenka returns to the Leshy’s words over the years as each prediction comes true. In addition to foretelling Lizenka’s difficulties, the Leshy also tells of greatness, which comes to fruition just as the volume ends. Students of Russian history will enjoy the attention to detail (see the author’s note for details) and fans of historical fiction based on real people will devour this rich repast, and be left eager for the next book’s conclusion of this trilogy about the Romanovs.
Reviewed by Alene
Tagged: Historical fiction, Russia, Russian history
Revenge of the Librarians
by Tom Gauld
[Graphic Novel]
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This book will tickle the funny bone of readers and writers alike.
Reviewed by Lisa
Tagged: Comics, Humor, Libraries
Sounds like Titanic
by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman
[Book]
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After a childhood spent driving over the mountains of West Virginia to take violin lessons, Jessica is now officially a music student at Columbia University and on track to achieve her dream of becoming a professional violinist. As her first semester wears on, however, something becomes abundantly, horribly clear: Jessica isn’t good enough to play the violin professionally. Not even close. And the cost of her education is slowly crushing her, forcing her to take any job she can to survive.
So when Jessica is unexpectedly hired to play the violin at craft fairs and art shows by a mysterious man (identified only as The Composer throughout the book), she jumps at the opportunity. The Composer has a large, dedicated fanbase who obsess over his inoffensive, pennywhistle-heavy instrumental music, but Jessica quickly realizes that something is amiss about his live performances: they’re not live at all. As Jessica gets more and more involved in her work with the Composer, eventually touring across America with his group, she has to reckon with her own ideas of success and authenticity—all while pretending to play the violin in front of concert halls full of people.
This quick-moving memoir is a story of coming to terms with one’s own inescapable mediocrity after a lifetime of being called “gifted.” It’s also a funny and brutal look into the experience of someone who kind of, but not really, got to live out a dream—as well as a peek at the strange and mercurial composer whose fame was primarily based on the fact that his music shamelessly mimicked the soundtrack of the 1997 movie Titanic. Fans of quirky, biting, beautifully-written memoirs will love this quick read.
Reviewed by Madison
Tagged: Appalachia, Humor, Memoir, Music, Non-fiction
Elevation
by Stephen King
[Book]
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A quick read by a master of his craft, Elevation by Stephen King has all the best traits of the author in a short, easy to read format–perfect for a rainy afternoon! In typical Stephen King fashion, the story is set in Castle Rock where the day-to-day life of the locals seems just that…day-to-day. Scott Carey is part of those everyday challenges with one exception; he is slowly losing weight without getting any thinner. As his affliction becomes a gift, he faces the fact that he may be leaving Earth soon and wonders what he can and will leave behind. For readers, there are lessons to be learned and allegorical themes to be questioned. Stephen King is at his finest here and this short book leaves a lasting impression.
Reviewed by Elizabeth
Tagged: Fantasy, Fiction, Maine, Science fiction
The Dictionary of Lost Words
by Pip Williams
[Book]
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Words matter. Williams’ romantic novel places several imaginary characters inside the very real creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. The women who were really involved in that enterprise have left little historical record. The novel’s focus is the lost words: the words of women and the poor that are not recorded in history and the lives of women that go unrecorded and disregarded by academia. The protagonist experiences a series of losses, yet the book is overwhelmingly positive in outlook. A strong sense of place takes the reader to England at the turn of the last century and at the beginnings of World War I.
Reviewed by Linda
Tagged: England, Fiction, Historical fiction, Women
Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden
by Diane Ackerman
[Book]
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Ackerman’s award winner (NY Times Notable Books) is an exploration of the pleasures of her Ithaca, New York garden over the course of a year. While many gardeners may be quite jealous, (she clearly has LOTS of paid assistance in maintenance and renovations), her descriptions and historical asides are in her trademark lush, sensory-oriented language.
Reviewed by Linda
Tagged: Gardening, Nature, Non-fiction, Writing
This Tender Land
by William Kent Krueger
[Book]
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The historical and the literary worlds meet in this beautifully written novel, a perfect choice for a book group! The story is rooted in the literary tradition of Huckleberry Finn all while following the path of The Odyssey. The novel takes place during the Great Depression and it revolves around Odie, a 12 year old orphan who runs away from the horrendous boarding school he and his brother have been left in. As Odie and his band of friends make their way towards St. Louis, they encounter a wide array of characters: everyone from a drunken, one eyed farmer who is hiding a family secret, to a faith healer who is able to see the truth behind the lies. The book deals with many hard truths, including the hatred shown to Native Americans throughout American history and the abject poverty of the Hoovervilles that littered the country during the Depression. In the midst of that is a search for meaning, a search for faith, and an understanding that love of friends, family, and home can combat hatred.
Reviewed by Elizabeth
Tagged: Fiction, Historical fiction, Mythology, Orphans
