I would never have picked up this book had a friend not recommended it to me. I thought it might be self-congratulatory or preachy. But Melissa Gates is neither of those things. Quite the opposite: she is humble and refreshingly honest about how hard it can be to make change in the world. This book…
The holidays are fast approaching, and with them, mile-long to-do lists and jam-packed calendars. Amid all that hustle and bustle, it’s important to take time to recover — and what better restorative than a holiday-themed book? This year, I’ve discovered the delight that is British holiday fiction. Similar to Hallmark movies, these stories are full…
This book is the first in Ann Cleeves's new Three Rivers series. Mystery fans know Cleeves from the Vera Stanhope and Shetland books and TV series, and it was exciting to discover her brand-new character, Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. He's an unassuming, introverted sort who's pulled into a murder case on the day of his…
“A boy at the beginning of a story has no way of knowing that the story has begun.” The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern When we first meet our protagonist Zach, he’s on winter break in his last year of grad school. He’s wandering around the library looking for a good book to read and…
When I think of Time Wars, I immediately think of Doctor Who - the only survivor of the war between Gallifrey and the Daleks, not to mention a long-running and beloved BBC series. But Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone’s THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR has an entirely different take on what a…
Ann Patchett’s compelling new family saga, The Dutch House, is one of my favorite books of the year. Danny Conroy narrates this contemporary fairytale, set over five decades. He tells his beloved older sister Maeve’s story, with the requisite absent mother, the clueless father, and a wicked stepmother. Strong-willed Maeve is the heart and soul…
Since it's Halloween this week but I'm too chicken to read horror books, I figured I would cheat and review a not-so-scary book that has "ghosts" in the title! Tuesday Mooney is a "prospect researcher" for a large hospital in Boston -- that's fundraising-speak for someone who pulls together information on wealthy potential donors. At…
Cook Library's own horror aficionados Lindsay and Mark deliver the thrills and chills with some horror book recommendations just in time for Halloween. IN THIS EPISODE The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson Blood Sugar by Daniel Kraus The Shining by Stephen King Full Throttle by Joe Hill Through the Woods by Emily Carroll |…
Near the end of Olive, Again, the eponymous character concludes: “I do not have a clue who I have been. Truthfully, I do not understand a thing.” But the reader of Elizabeth Strout’s two books about Olive Kitteridge understands a lot about Olive and, if they’re like me, have come to love this tough old…
In Miracle Creek, a small town in Virginia, the immigrant Yoo family has started a new business: Miracle Submarine, a center for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT. Touted as a treatment for a variety of medical conditions, their HBOT chamber (basically a big pressurized oxygen tank) has drawn clients with cerebral palsy, autism, and infertility.…
