Book of the Week: ‘The Glass Room’
The Glass RoomAnn Cleeves2012, 374 pagesFiction/mystery Irascible Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope rather likes her “hippie” neighbors, especially Joanna. And that’s saying something, as Vera doesn’t often get along with people. Joanna disappears, and her partner asks for Vera’s help in finding her. When Vera does find her, there’s been a murder. A famous book reviewer was knifed in the glass room, or conservatory, at a writer’s...
Book of the Week: ‘The Music Shop’
The Music ShopRachel Joyce2018, 303 pagesAdult fiction The Music Shop is located on a crumbling dead-end street, somewhere in England, in the 1980s. The owner is a large and lonely man named Frank, who will not carry CDs or cassette tapes in his shop – just vinyl. But he is open and caring and knowledgeable about every kind of music that was ever pressed onto vinyl. His gift is the ability to find the exact artist, album and track...
Book of the Week: ‘A Tale of Time City’
A Tale of Time CityDiana Wynne JonesOriginal copyright 1987, our edition 2012, 334 pagesJuvenile Fiction/Fantasy Anxious, worried Vivian Smith is on a train full of children who are escaping the German bombing of London in 1939. Her fears and worries on the train, as bad as they are, are nothing like what actually happens to her, as she is kidnapped off the platform and whisked away to a remarkable place: Time City. Her abductors,...
Book of the Week: ‘Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey’
Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s JourneyStephen Kuusisto2018, 239 pagesNonfiction Stephen Kuusisto grew up in Exeter, N.H. He was legally blind and could only see some colors and shapes. His parents didn’t want him to be pitied, so they told him that he had to “pass” as sighted. They thought his disability would make him a victim. Stephen went to school, read books (pressed up to his nose) and even marched in a Memorial Day parade. As...
Book of the Week: ‘Lost for Words’
The Lost for Words Bookshop Stephanie Butland 2017, 352 pages Fiction Loveday Cardew is not afraid to say what she thinks to people, and she often does just that. She likes books more than people and has the first lines of some of her favorite books as tattoos. She doesn’t let anyone too close, usually. Loveday’s childhood was a happy one at first, but her dad lost his job, and things began to change for the worse. Now Loveday is a...