‘Queen of Faces’ Books with layers are always going to draw me in. This delightfully dark and gritty fantasy explores identity, power, resilience and the madness of survival all packaged in a riveting, magical story. Set in a politically charged world where appearance and perception can be as dangerous as
Read More →‘Honeyeater’ This is not an easy book to read. Just throwing that out there if you’re not the kind of person who likes a challenging read. This is a slow-burn, convoluted, stream of consciousness style story that performs literary acrobatics while it breaks your heart. If you are up for
Read More →‘Hemlock’ Melissa Faliveno’s “Hemlock” is a story about addiction, isolation and a creepy deer. This is a haunting novel that balances psychological tension with an intimate exploration of identity and that indefinable sense of place that roots so many people. Set in a small Wisconsin town, the story follows a
Read More →‘The Book of Kin: On Absence, Love, and Being There’ This is such a book of the moment, for me. It is healing and kind and full of the parts of humanity we rarely see these days, the power of what can be accomplished together. It is a radiant blend
Read More →‘The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life’ I would love to tell you that I’m a lifelong journaler and that I have reams of my thoughts ready to burn at my funeral. Alas, instead I have boxes of journals I’ve started but never could maintain the
Read More →‘King Sorrow’ This is a big book — an epic doorstopper with multiple narrators, a winding timeline, and a torrent of emotion that’s rarely uplifting. In other words, it is not for the faint-hearted. And, yet, if you’re brave enough to crack it open, you will find a mesmerizing tale
Read More →‘Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language’ Every generation gathers its own stew of slang to scandalize their parents and, eventually, grows up to be those scandalized parents. Endless concern and overblown reactions to the evolution of expression is as old as humanity. Just ask the ancient
Read More →‘Lessons in Magic and Disaster’ This may be marketed as a fantasy book, but just like real people, there is far more to this sparkling gem than meets the eye. Defying genres like a teenager defies logic, this book is a witch’s coming-of-age story wrapped in a historical mystery in
Read More →‘Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations’ Archaeology isn’t boring, but it sure can seem that way from the outside (Indiana Jones excepted, of course). Tiny brushes and trowels and patient, years-long digs to unearth the detritus of ancient
Read More →‘Eat the Ones You Love’ Creepy nostalgia with a literary flare and a killer orchid? Sounds like a good time to me. I like unexpected horror, especially the kind with a psychological undercurrent that makes the reader question their own mental habits and awareness in the same way a slasher
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