“The truth depends on who it is that’s telling the story.” Kate Morton, “The Clockmakers Daughter” Reading Kate Morton’s intricately plotted new novel The Clockmakers Daughter, is like pulling apart a Russian nesting doll until the last tiny doll is found in the center. At the center of this book is Birchwood Manor and…
I first encountered author Naomi Novik’s work with her delightful Temeraire series that featured talking dragons during the Napoleonic Wars. When the series ended, I read her standalone, Uprooted, an imaginative Grimm-like fairytale for adults that won the prestigious Nebula Award. Her newest book, Spinning Silver, continues along those lines and takes inspiration from the…
I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that I am not an avid fly fisherman nor do I spend my spare time tying salmon flies for fun. However, if you were to take a peek at my browser history, you might suspect otherwise. Some of my recent Internet searches have included “Greater Bird of…
Mary Shelley aficionado Emily Stensloff joins us on the podcast to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein's publication. We talk about Shelley's life, her feminist/anarchist upbringing, the differences between Frankenstein the novel and the idea of Frankenstein in popular culture, and why this 1818 book is Emily's all-time favorite. Check out Frankenstein from the library…
I picked up Libby Page’s The Lido expecting a fast, cheerful read. The breezily illustrated cover suggested that I’d probably like it just fine, but forget about it after a few days. Delightfully, I was wrong. Yes, it’s a fast read. Yes, it’s cheerful (mostly). Yes, I had to look up how to pronounce lido.…
As a Nigerian-American girl and voracious reader growing up in Homewood Flossmoor and Hinsdale, Illinois, Tomi Adeyemi rarely encountered powerful characters who looked like her. Nevertheless, this 24 year-old recent Harvard graduate has burst onto the scene this year with a NY Times best-selling book set in the mythical West African kingdom of Orisha which…
Anne Tyler is one of my go-to authors whose books I rarely miss. I know I will always enjoy her novels; they are as comforting to me as wearing a cozy sweater on a chilly evening. My first Anne Tyler books were two of her early works: Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and The Accidental…
When PBS introduced the Great American Read during a kickoff in May, its list of America’s 100 best-loved novels stirred some debate among us readers. Why did some titles make the cut while others were omitted? PBS explained on its website that it used a public opinion polling company, YouGov, to survey Americans to name…
In Locally Sourced we ask local business owners to talk about an influential or special book they’ve read. Chris Hamel is one of the owners of the new ice cream and Hawaiian shaved ice shop in Libertyville - My Flavor It! Place. Chris stopped by the library to talk about a favorite book with a…
Few things give me greater joy than hearing my kids discussing a book they’ve enjoyed, particularly if I catch them discussing said book with each other. Not only do these conversations give me hope that they might someday treat their siblings like actual civilized human beings on a regular basis, but I firmly believe that…
