Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #688
by muffy
If you never tire of watching Roman Holiday (1953), Audrey Hepburn’s first American film, then you would not want to miss The Royal Runaway * by Lindsay Emory.
Princess Theodora Isabella Victoria of Drieden has a habit of sneaking out of the palace. After being jilted at the altar and sent into exile by her grandmother the Queen, she is back and ready to assume her royal duties as the next in line for the throne. A steamy kiss in a local bar with the sexy Scotsman Nick Cameron seems like a harmless rebound until she learns his true identity. Before she could walk away, he blackmails her into helping him find his missing brother Christian - Thea’s ex-fiancé.
As the pair digs into Christian’s work as a lawyer, they discover a secret that could destroy the monarchy, and the conspirators will stop at nothing to gain the information. “The progressive princess proves to be as resilient as she is rebellious. Even when her throne is threatened, she insists that “human lives are more important than our culture!” Under her reign, “happily ever after” gets a refreshing update. This imaginative, absorbing, and empowering story is a must-read.” (Kirkus Reviews)
"Fans of Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's The Royal We (2016), Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries series, and Alyssa Cole's A Princess in Theory (2018) will enjoy this breezy read."(Booklist)
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #687
by muffy
Convenience Store Woman * * by Sayaka Murata marks the English-language debut of one of Japan’s most talented contemporary writers. In 2016 she won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, and was named a Woman of the Year by Vogue Japan. The author herself worked at a convenience store in Japan and still finds the time to do the occasional shift.
36 year-old Keiko Furukura has been working at the same Tokyo convenience store for literally half of her life. While colleagues and managers come and go, Keiko remains - finding purpose and satisfaction in the routine. Considered since childhood to be peculiar, her work allows Keiko a sense of normalcy. While family and friends continue to pressure Keiko to seek a “proper job” and to marry, she boldly strikes a deal with the lazy, shifty irascible Shiraha.
“Alienation gets deliciously perverse treatment in Convenience Store Woman . . . the book’s true brilliance lies in Murata’s way of subverting our expectations . . . With bracing good humor . . . Murata celebrate(s) the quiet heroism of women who accept the cost of being themselves.” (NPR “Fresh Air”)
The downloadable eAudiobook (through Overdrive) expertly read by the delightful Nancy Wu, will appeal to fans of Banana Yoshimoto, Han Kang, and brings to mind Amelie, a 2001 French romantic comedy.
* * = 2 starred reviews
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #686
by muffy
Apocalyptic Manhattan. 2 debuts giving voice to 2 reluctant heroines.
Severance * * by Ling Ma is “(s)mart, funny, humane, and superbly well-written.” (Kirkus Reviews, check out the interview with the author)
When a pandemic called Shen Fever sweeps New York, decimating its population and threatening to shut down the city, for unknown reasons, Candace Chen is spared. Unfervered, she agrees to remain at the Manhattan book publisher while others flee. Sequestering herself in the office tower except for her daily walk with her camera, she captures the eerie, abandoned city as the anonymous blogger NY Ghost. On the last day of her contract, Candace commandeers a yellow cab and meets up with a ragtag group of survivors in Pennsylvania, led by the self-appointed leader named Bob who assures them if they make it to the “Facility”(shopping center) near Chicago, they would have all it needs to restart society.
But Candace is carrying a secret that Bob plans to exploit. Imprisoned and isolated, Candace realizes her only option is to escape into the unknown.
“With womb dystopia a hot topic inspired by the renewed popularity of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, an already established audience will be eager to discover this work.” (Library Journal)
Suicide Club : a novel about living * by Rachel Heng. “Fans of modern speculative fiction and readers who love stories that warn us to be careful what we wish for will be enthralled by Heng's highly imaginative debut, which deftly asks, "What does it really mean to be alive?" (Library Journal)
Lea Kirino is a "Lifer," which means that if she does everything right, she has the potential to live forever.
At 100, she has a great job, a pedigreed fiancé, and good habits that would optimize her lifespan. But Lea's perfect life is turned upside down when she spots her estranged father on a crowded sidewalk. A misstep marks the beginning of her downfall as she is drawn into his mysterious world of the Suicide Club, a network of powerful individuals and rebels who reject society's pursuit of immortality. Soon Lea is forced to choose between a sanitized immortal existence and a short, bittersweet time with a man she has never really known, but who is the only family she has left in the world.
* * = 2 starred reviews
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Animal Show-Offs!
by Lucy S
Did you know that there is fish called the sarcastic fringehead? I learned about this strangely-named, huge-mouthed, sharp-toothed fish from Steve Jenkins and Robin Page in their highly informative and entertaining book, Look at Me! How to attract Attention in the Animal World. This wonderful compendium of demonstrative animal behavior contains many examples of times when animals want to stand out rather than stay hidden.
Jim Arnosky also has a new book about animals called Look at Me! Wild Animal Show-Offs. His captivating illustrations are accompanied by personal details of his observations of unique animal performances in the wild.
Melissa Stewart highlights different outstanding characteristics in the animal world in Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs. Her book takes a humorous approach in presenting facts about those sometimes less admired animals; the ones that sleep the most, smell the worst, or take up the least amount of space. Stephanie Laberis’ illustrations add to the humor.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #685
by muffy
Author/television writer Rebecca Serle’s young adult novel Famous In Love (2014) has been adapted into a television series. In her first novel for adults The Dinner List, “(t)hemes of love, loss, and forgiveness weave through (an) intriguing mix of the real and the fanciful.” (Booklist)
Arriving at the restaurant for her 30th birthday dinner with her best friend Jessica, Sabrina Nielsen finds 4 other guests seated at the table - the 5 people, dead or alive, she had picked to have dinner with when challenged by Jessica their junior year at USC. There is Audrey Hepburn, her father’s favorite actress (and Sabrina his favorite of Hepburn’s movies); Robert, her father who deserted the family when she was 5 and never looked back; Conrad, her college professor/mentor who has been a steady influence; and Tobias, her ex-fiance and a talented photographer.
Over the course of the dinner, it becomes clear that there's a reason these six people have been gathered together. “Serle alternates chapters of the dinner party with the story of Sabrina and Tobias’ romance, deftly, slowly revealing how and why they broke up.”(Kirkus Reviews) As midnight approaches and the guests depart, Sabrina observes that “This dinner began as a reminder of all I have lost, but as I watch them now, all I can feel is profoundly grateful.”
For fans who delight in the magical realism of One Day, and the life-changing romance of Me Before You.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #684
by muffy
Entertainment Weekly called Confessions of the Fox * *, Jordy Rosenberg’s debut novel “an ambitious work of metafiction, a sexy queer love story, and a rigorously researched and argued piece of scholarship, all rolled into one.”
Jack Sheppard (1702-24) and Bess Edgeworth were the most notorious thieves, jailbreakers, and lovers of 18th c. London. Yet no one knows the true story - until 2018, when transgender university professor R. Voth happens upon a manuscript, dated 1724 at a library book sale titled “Confessions of the Fox”. P, born a female was sold into servitude to a carpenter at twelve. Shackled in an attic room, P found an aptitude for picking locks. Roaming the streets at night, P met and fell in love with Bess, a sex worker with links to London’s underworld and the queer subculture. Slight in built and nimble with tools, P fulfilled her desire to live as “Jack” and became one of the most wanted in the city’s criminal history. As Dr. Voth obsessively annotates the manuscript, desperate to find the answer, being drawn deeper into Jack and Bess’s tale, it becomes clear that their fates are intertwined, and only a miracle will save them all.
“Even when Rosenberg, a scholar of 18th-century literature and queer/trans theory at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, allows Voth to become pedantic, it’s in the service of this novel’s marvelous ambition: To show how easily marginalized voices are erased from our histories—and that restoring those voices is a disruptive project of devotion….a singular, daring, and thrilling novel: political, sexy, and cunning as a fox.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“Fans of Sarah Waters's Fingersmith will find this a good companion-more political and academic, perhaps, but similarly absorbing in period detail” (Library Journal)
* * = 2 starred reviews
Blog Post
Yes Please - Amy Poehler
by potterbee
Dare I admit I haven’t watched but a couple episodes of Parks and Rec? For no specific reason, I just never spent time with this show although I have enjoyed what I’ve seen. I associated Amy Poehler with Saturday Night Live and, vaguely, the Upright Citizens Brigade, but didn't have any strong fandom feelings.
So, why did I choose her audiobook to join me in my evening walks? A friend said she enjoyed it, simple as that.
This is a fun audiobook! Amy doesn’t just read you the memoir she wrote, but takes advantage of the audio format. I was entertained by the special guest appearances and the included audio clips from shows being referenced. These additions round out the listening experience and pull you away from just plodding through the memories. It’s more of a show than a book and Amy kept me strolling until the end of the chapter (bonus steps!).
You can check out a copy in our audiobook collection or access an MP3 version through Overdrive.
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #683
by muffy
Ghosted * is UK author Rosie Walsh’s American debut.
For the past 19 years, successful (and newly single) non-profit entrepreneur Sarah Mackey returns home to spend the month of June with her parents in an idyllic corner of Gloucester. On a blistering hot day, she met Eddie David, coaxing a lost sheep back to pasture. Their connection was instant. After seven blissful days together, Eddie left on a planned vacation and disappeared, despite promises to call and plans made. Her constant email, texts and Facebook posts went unanswered. Rather than simply considered herself “ghosted”, Sarah became increasingly worried as days and weeks went by. But then she discovers she is right. There is a reason for Eddie's disappearance, and it is the one thing they didn't share with each other: the truth.
Told through a combination of letters, texts, voicemail, “Walsh weaves an intricate story of mystery, deception, grief, and forgiveness that begins slowly and builds steam as the plot twists and turns, and steers clear of predictability.” (Library Journal)
“A romantic, sad, and ultimately hopeful book that’s perfect for fans of Jojo Moyes.” (Kirkus Reviews)
* = Starred review
Blog Post
Fabulous Fiction Firsts #682 - I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. ~ William Ernest Henley
by muffy
Your Second Life Begins When You Realize You Only Have One, Raphaëlle Giordano’s debut, already a bestseller in France, will appeal to fans of The Alchemist and Hector and the Search for Happiness.
A flat tire in a thunderstorm on a secluded road at the outskirt of Paris brought Camille to Claude, a successful routinologist. Until that moment, the 38 year-old wife and mother with a good job, did not realize how unhappy she was. Claude deduces that Camille is suffering from a case of acute routinitis - that she’s dissatisfied, unmotivated, and unhappy even though she has everything she needs. Together, they devise an unconventional course of treatment to transform her life - from simple tasks (spring cleaning) to slightly odder ones (a hot air balloon ride), to ones that challenge her understanding of who she is and who she wants to be.
“Giordano has created a quick and light read...A fast, feel-good story about finding happiness.” (Kirkus Reviews). The author, a Paris-based expert in personal development kindly includes a Dictionary of Terms for those of us still waiting to meet our inner routinologist. Book groups will also find the discussion guide useful.
Blog Post
Loome Party : 20+ Tiny Yarn Projects to Make From Your Stash
by manz
What's hotter than this past summer? Pom-poms. Yes, pom-poms. And tassels. They're a big trend in the craft and fashion world, and this book will get you all set on making the most gorgeous fiber accents to embellish your world! Step 1: Procure a Loome tool of some sort. Step 2: Make some poms!
Loome Party starts out by discussing various types of fiber and which are suitable for different projects. The book includes directions for jewelry, keychains, garland, and more, all including pom-poms and tassels! You can basically add a pom-pom to anything. The instructions and photos are a great guide to crafting up a storm for all ages. I have to warn you though, once you pom, you can't stop. This craft is simple and fun, and is great for someone like me who adores yarn but doesn't knit or crochet.
You don't *need* a Loome to make poms, there are plenty of directions on the internet on how to make a pom-pom maker. But this book focuses on ways to use the Loome tool to make poms and tassels -- it really is handy!