Jesse Aarons is the class misfit. Something of a dreamer, and a talented artist, he just doesn’t fit in with his practical, competitive classmates. But Leslie Burke moves next door at the beginning of their fifth-grade year, and the two eventually become best friends. Leslie shows him that a different life is possible. I’ll just Continue Reading…
Annemarie Johansen is a 10-year-old girl growing up in Denmark during WWII. Soldiers occupy every street corner and everyone does his or her best not to draw attention to themselves. Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen, is a Jew. One night, Annemarie’s family hides Ellen from soldiers who are looking for Jews. How far is the family Continue Reading…
Jan and Antonina Żabiński were the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo when Germany invaded Poland. Between the bombing, Nazi cruelty, and the Nazi desire to keep all of the rare animals for themselves, there quickly wasn’t much of a zoo to keep. But Jan was an ingenious thinker and he came up with various ideas Continue Reading…
This is Neil Gaiman’s poem, “Instructions” bound as a picture book and illustrated by Charles Vess. I love this. I have to admit that when I first came across Gaiman’s poem in Fragile Things, I read it, thought it was pretty cool, and moved on, both in the book and in my head. It wasn’t Continue Reading…
Lewis Buzbee has worked around books his entire life. He worked at the local bookstore through school, and then he worked as a publisher’s rep, and I can’t even remember what else. This slim, satisfying volume is almost a collection of essays about his thoughts on bookstores, books, readers, and publishing. I believe I was Continue Reading…
Mickey Haller is a criminal defense attorney living in LA. His bail bondsman calls him up one day with a “franchise” case. A young man with money to burn has been charged with a whole list of crimes, ranging from something like attempted rape to assault with a deadly weapon. Don’t quote me on that. Continue Reading…
I am not a cook. I mean, I can cook if I have to, but I’d much rather be reading. Some of you have to relate to that. Luckily for me, I married a man who loves to cook. So I’ll sit around and read or talk to him (i.e., distract him) while he’s whipping Continue Reading…
Henry Townsend is a former slave. His old owner took a liking to Henry and so has helped him out in his shoe-making business. Henry eventually makes enough money to build his own small plantation house and to start buying his own slaves. The book begins with Henry’s death and skips around in time to Continue Reading…
Zora Neale Hurston grew up in Eatonville, FL, “the first incorporated all-black township in the United States.” In this fictional account of an incident in her childhood, Eatonville at first seems to be idyllic. Sure, the residents aren’t very well off, but they’re safe and free to be whoever they’d like. After a headless corpse Continue Reading…
Kvothe is an innkeeper in a little out-of-the-way village. Or is he? One day a story-gatherer finds him and guesses that there is more to the innkeeper than meets the eye. He asks Kvothe to share his story. Kvothe agrees, but tells Chronicler that it will take three days to tell the story. This book Continue Reading…
Charlie Asher is your average Beta Male. He owns a second-hand shop in San Francisco and rents out the apartments in the rest of the building to some kooky tenants. He has somehow managed to win the heart of beautiful Rachel and she has just given birth to their daughter Sophie when the book begins. Continue Reading…