Armchair Traveler’s Reading List: France

A selection of these and other titles on France can be found on display just beyond the New Book Room. Fiction: Murder in the Marais (An Aimee Leduc Investigation) by Cara Black “Private investigator Aimée Leduc must decrypt a digitized photo from the 1940s. But when Aimée visits the historic Jewish quarter of Paris to…

Fall Reading: A Few of My Favorite Mysteries

Quieter Than Sleep by Joanne Dobson “Karen Pelletier abandoned her life in New York for a professorship at Massachusetts’s elite Enfield College. But she quickly learns that New England is not the peaceful enclave she had imagined–and that not even the privileged world of academia is immune to murder….Professor Karen Pelletier’s prime literary passion is…

Rachel Reviews: Broken Monsters – Lauren Beukes

Where Station Eleven cornered speculative fiction with a flu virus turned pandemic, Broken Monsters turned its spotlight on a probable schizophrenic serial killer roaming around the city of Detroit in real time.

And, yes, both hooked me with narratives, and kept me reading past bedtime, and fed me answers just as quickly as they kept me asking questions…

Lowell in Letters | Reading Intersections

Fall down the rabbit hole with us! In our Reading Intersections series, we’ll give you a place to start and where to go next, piling titles on until you’re neck-deep in books, graphic novels and movies on a similar theme. | Perhaps the title is a bit misleading, perhaps you thought this was going to be about the city, but no…No, this is going to be about the poet Robert Lowell and the many, many letters he wrote during his lifetime.

Jen Reviews: The Ingredients of Love – Nicolas Barreau

Reviewed by Jen “A charming restaurant A book and its mysterious author A little secret A romantic meeting Paris and all its magic . . . Cyrano de Bergerac meets Chocolat and Amélie in this intelligent, charming, and entertaining publishing sensation from Europe. While in the midst of a breakup-induced depression, Aurélie Bredin, a beautiful…

This Week in the Literary World

A couple of book to movie items: Scott Pilgrim goes from comic to live action [via the Los Angeles Times] “Eat, Pray, Adapt: Making a book into a film” [via CNN] And in other bookish news: Lost items found in returned books decorate the Burlington Public Library. [via Boston.com] “The Top 10 Most Expensive Rare…

Linger – Maggie Stiefvater

After the events of Shiver, you would think that Grace and Sam would be on the road to a happy life together. Alas, that is not the case in this beautiful and eloquent sequel. Although Sam has seemingly found a way around his werewolf “curse” and is now fully human, he still has to come…

This Week in the Literary World

“Here’s a publishing plot twist: One of the book world’s top moneymakers, Janet Evanovich, has switched literary homes.” No worries, there will be more Stephanie Plum in store for readers. [via The Associated Press] MTV shares an opinion on the chosen director for the US film adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, David…

Discord’s Apple – Carrie Vaughn

Comic book writer Evie Walker returns home to spend time with her dying father and discovers that her family home in Colorado is not the only thing which will be left to her. Secreted away behind a basement door is a wondrous and magical storeroom where treasures from just about every myth ever told are…

The Man with a Load of Mischief – Martha Grimes

Martha Grimes’ mystery series has one thing I can’t resist: A charming, fallible detective. There are many other words that describe Chief Inspector Detective Richard Jury – personable, smart, unassuming – but those terms barely does him justice. Grimes excels at characterization; the inhabitants of the little villages Jury visits are fully realized, quirky, and…

Rumor Has It ~ Jill Mansell

Publisher’s Summary: “Newly single Tilly Cole impulsively moves to a small town, only to find she’s arrived in a hotbed of gossip, intrigue, and rampant rivalry for the most desirable man—Jack Lucas, whose reputation is beyond bad. Tilly has no intention of becoming another notch on his bedpost. But she finds the thoughtful, caring guy…

Stephen King’s Summer Reading Picks

Entertainment Weekly got the goods on the six titles Stephen King thinks you should be reading this summer. Among them: Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and William Boyd’s Ordinary Thunderstorms. For the complete list, click here. Of Boyd’s novel, King states: “Great suspense stuff here, told with flair, compassion, and a high sense of humor. Readers…

Dating a real Character

Over on Publisher’s Weekly’s blog, Shelf Talker, Elizabeth Bluemle is talking fictional characters she’d let her daughter date. And she’s asking you the same. So how about it? Which fictional guys would you be happy to see your daughter date? And on the flipside, which ones wouldn’t you want within ten feet of her? From…

NPR’s “Thrilled To Death”

In their new series (“Thrilled to Death,”) NPR has asked thriller novelists to talk about beloved books. Kicking off the series is Scott Turow who chose Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory. Of the book, Turow states: The novel captivated me completely. It was a thriller — but also a novel of ideas. Greene’s…

Look Inside the ‘Furious Love’ of Burton and Taylor

HarperCollins, the publisher of an upcoming biography that focuses on the love story that played out between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, has a neat feature that allows you to look inside the book, sample the writing, the story. They’re offering up that look inside for Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage…

This Week in the Literary World

Oprah is offering up “7 Books to Watch for in June 2010” – titles include: Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad and Julie Orringer’s The Invisible Bridge. [Source: Oprah.com] There’s no reason to go through Lost withdrawal once the show is off the air. Pick up one of the many books featured on…

This Week in the Literary World

Entertainment Weekly puts Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse series) through her paces with a book quiz. I’m particularly happy (and very much in agreement with) her choice for “What fictional character would you most like to marry?” [Source: EW] Similarly, Kansas City (.com) asked author Dave Barry 20 questions. His answers include: Barry…

A Witch in Time – Madelyn Alt

Fans of Alt’s Bewitching Mystery series will  no doubt tell you that, despite the transparent mystery, this sixth installment is well worth reading for its relationship-centric plot. What that means? More Marcus! And that’s always a good thing. So, this time around, Maggie gets an urgent call from her composed but worried mother; Maggie’s sister…

This Week in the Literary World

This week’s news comes from BookPage, a fantastic – and free! – publication for book lovers that the library now has available for patrons. (If you’d like a copy, check out the Reader’s Area, which is directly behind the magazines.) In the current issue you’ll find: An interview with Emily Giffin, whose new book, Heart…

Local Connection

If you like books that take place close to home, we’ll give you a heads-up on titles you may want to check out with Read This’ new Local Connection feature. This time we’ve found one for all of you horror/police procedural fans: Alexandra Sokoloff’s June release, Book of Shadows, features two Boston homicide detectives and…

This Week in the Literary World

The West Virginia Book Faire wants fair goers to take a bite out of their favorite books. “The whole idea behind the festival is to get people reading,” said Weiss, who is overseeing the edible book competition. “Using food to represent a book or other piece of literature offers a great opportunity to do something…

Anticipated Fiction

The number of books I stumble across that I want to read far over reaches the amount of actual reading time I have. Still, the titles and authors of promising-looking novels always get jotted down. Here are a few forthcoming books that I’m looking forward to: Clicking on the book’s cover will take you to…

Maggie O’Farrell on Her New Novel

Lexie Sinclair cannot stay. Enclosed within her parents’ genteel country lawn, she yearns for more. She makes her way to the city, and meets a magazine editor, Innes, a man unlike any she has ever imagined. He introduces her to the thrilling world of bohemian postwar London, and she learns to be a reporter, to…

True Blood’s Comic Turn

HBO and IDW Publishing are thrilled to announce an exclusive partnership to produce a multiple, all-new comic book series based on the network’s hit show True Blood. Premiering at San Diego Comic-Con in July, this sexy, visually striking comic series will add new and unique layers of supernatural drama to the wildly original Emmy®- and…

In for a Penny – Rose Lerner

One thing a disreputable rake does not expect to return home to after a night of carousing with like-minded friends is news of his father’s death in a duel. That, Lord Nevinstoke learns, is like a slap to the face; the debts and resulting destitution left in his father’s wake, on the other hand, are…

Shadow Tag ~ Louise Erdrich

Louise Erdrich’s latest offering, Shadow Tag, is about a marriage in painful disarray. It’s about a stalled academic and a self-absorbed artist. It’s about a family that is tearing itself apart from the inside out. Not exactly cheerful company on a dark, rainy day or, for that matter, during an afternoon filled with sun soaked…

Favorite Literary Couples

With Valetine’s Day fast approaching, we asked our staff which literary couple was their favorite. The staff’s favorite couple, by majority, was Lady Julia Gray and Nicholas Brisbane from Deanna Raybourn’s excellent mystery series. This couple knows how to match wits with the very best of them! (Series: Silent in the Grave, Silent in the…

A Bride in the Bargain ~ Deeanne Gist

In 1860s Seattle, lumberjack Joe Denton struggles to hold onto the land he was awarded as part of a Land Donation Grant. Without a wife, the burgeoning city’s law officials threaten to sell off the acreage Joe is desperate to hold onto. The answer to Joe’s prayers arrives in the enviable form of Anna Ivey,…

2010 Edgar Nominees

The Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees for the 2010 Edgar Awards. A sample of the categories/nominees: Best Novel Nominees The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (Random House – Alfred A. Knopf) The Odds by Kathleen George (Minotaur Books) The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books) Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of…

Sample Elizabeth Kostova’s The Swan Thieves

Elizabeth Kostova, known for her debut novel The Historian, is back with The Swan Thieves (released today.) Summary: Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient,…

Author Visit: Kristin Cashore

December 16th at 7:00 p.m. Kristin Cashore, the NY Times best-selling author of Graceling and Fire, will be visiting the library on Wednesday, December 16th. Borders Books will be selling copies of both after the event if you would like to have the author sign one (or both.) This event is free and open to…

Holiday Grind – Cleo Coyle

In the eighth installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery series, Clare Cosi, manager of the Village Blend in Greenwich, NY, has her hands full trying to get her team of baristas to join in on the holiday spirit. When Clare finds Alfred Glockner, a traveling Santa and frequent customer at the blend, shot dead in an…

Heart’s Blood ~ Juliet Marillier

Fleeing her home in Market Cross, Caitrin believes she has found sanctuary in the town of Whistling Tor. When villagers warn her of ghostly spectres that haunt the surrounding forest, Caitrin dismisses the stories as idle gossip. Haunted or not, she knows that she cannot return to her home, subject once again to greedy predators…

The Better Part of Darkness – Kelly Gay

Charlie Madigan is a single mom raising her daughter in post-Revelation Atlanta. She’s also an Integration Task Force agent for the Atlanta police, a position she takes seriously and, along with her partner, Hank, it’s a job she does well. When a new addictive substance, a drug known as ash, hits her streets, Charlie’s job…

New Blood ~ Gail Dayton

“In 1636, the last blood sorceress was burned at the stake. More than two hundred years later, her blood servant Jax has found her successor. Amanusa at first turns down the opportunity to learn what she perceives as an evil art. But she craves justice, and innocent blood cries out for justice. When Amanusa looses…

This Fall in Publishing

published an interesting article on Fall publishing. They’re very excited about some of the titles – some mainstream, some not – that will be released between August and December. Click here to read the full article. Oh, and make sure you have a pen and paper handy so that you can add to your to-be-read…

Read This! from Random House

We may not have been able to attend BEA this year, but we were able to get the goods on several forthcoming releases from Random House. Erica McDonald highlighted books from multiple genres, including these: Crying Tree – Naseem Rakha (July) Dramatic, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting, The Crying Tree is an unforgettable story of love…

Cast in Courtlight ~ Michelle Sagara

In Elantra, a job well done is rewarded with a more dangerous task. So after defeating a dark evil, Kaylin Neya goes before the Barrani High Court, where a misspoken word brings sure death. Kaylin’s never been known for her grace or manners, but the High Lord’s heir is suspiciously ill, and Kaylin’s healing magic…

Read This! from Macmillan

Talia Ross Sherer grabbed our attention during a presentation on new books headed our way this summer/fall from Macmillan. Here are a few we thought you might want to keep your eye out for… The Devil’s Queen – Jeanne Kalogridis (July) Catherine de Medici is one of the most maligned monarchs in history: blamed for…

Cast in Shadow ~ Michelle Sagara

Seven years ago Kaylin fled the crime-riddled streets of Nightshade, knowing that something was after her. Children were being murdered — and all had the same odd markings that mysteriously appeared on her own skin . . . Since then, she’s learned to read, she’s learned to fight and she’s become one of the vaunted…

Read This! from HarperCollins

The administrators of Read This! were thrilled to sit in on a presentation given by Virginia Stanley from HarperCollins. We found out about a ton of fantastic books that will be coming out this Fall. Here is a small sample… Under This Unbroken Sky – Shandi Mitchell (September) Spring 1938. After nearly two years in…

An Indecent Proposition ~ Emma Wildes

It’s the talk of the town. London’s two most notorious rakes have placed a very public wager on which of them is the greatest lover. But what woman of beauty, intelligence, and discernment would consent to judge such a contest? Lady Carolyn Wynn is the last woman anyone would expect to step forward. But if…

Patron Recommendation

More than a century ago, a school was constructed in Fort Worth, Texas, for the purpose of housing and educating the orphans of Texas Freemasons. It was a humble project that for years existed quietly on a hillside east of town. Life at the Masonic Home was about to change, though, with the arrival of…

Caliber: First Canon of Justice, Volume 1

Sam Sarkar and Garrie Gastonny have taken the Arthurian legend and set it down in the American Northwest. Guided by a shaman named Whitefeather, young Arthur Pendergon takes possession of a gun that will help him tame a lawless land. You’ll encounter a lot of familiar Arthurian territory within the pages of Caliber, but the…

The Shadow Queen ~ Anne Bishop

Dena Nehele is a land decimated by its past. Once it was ruled by corrupt Queens who were wiped out when the land was cleansed of tainted Blood. Now, only one hundred Warlord Princes stand-without a leader and without hope. Theran Grayhaven is the last of his line, desperate to find the key that reveals…

The Hugo Awards

Nominations are in for the 2009 Hugo Awards. Here’s what the “Best Novel” category looks like: Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK) Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK) Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

Silent on the Moor ~ Deanna Raybourn

Despite his admonitions to stay away, Lady Julia arrives in Yorkshire to find Brisbane as remote and maddeningly attractive as ever. Cloistered together, they share the moldering house with the proud but impoverished remnants of an ancient family—the sort that keeps their bloodline pure and their secrets close. Lady Allenby and her daughters, dependent upon…

The Swan Maiden ~ Jules Watson

She was born with a blessing and a curse: that she would grow into a woman of extraordinary beauty—and bring ruin to the kingdom of Ulster and its ruler, the wily Conor. Ignoring the pleadings of his druid to expel the infant, King Conor secrets the girl child with a poor couple in his province,…

Nora Roberts, Innkeeper

Best-selling author Nora Roberts can now add “innkeeper” to her list of pursuits. Inn BoonsBoro is located in Boonsboro, Maryland, and the reason why I’m posting this has to do with the rooms themselves. They’re all modeled after literary couples! So…You can stay in a room inspired by  J.D. Robb’s Roarke and Eve, or you…

Angels’ Blood ~ Nalini Singh

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad. The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other-and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the…

The Way of Shadows ~ Brent Weeks

For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city’s most accomplished artist. For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he’s grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly – and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint. But to…

Grimspace ~ Ann Aguirre

As the carrier of a rare gene, Sirantha Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace-a talent which makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. Then a crash landing kills everyone on board, leaving Jax in a jail cell with no memory of the crash. But her fun’s not over. A group…

Magic Lost, Trouble Found ~ Lisa Shearin

My name is Raine Benares. I’m a seeker. The people who hire me are usually happy when I find things. But some things are better left unfound. I’m a sorceress of moderate powers, from an extended family of smugglers and thieves. With a mix of street smarts and magic spells, I can usually take care…

Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception ~ Maggie Stiefvater

“Sixteen-year-old Deirdre Monaghan is a painfully shy but prodigiously gifted musician. She’s about to find out she’s also a cloverhand—one who can see faeries. Deirdre finds herself infatuated with a mysterious boy who enters her ordinary suburban life, seemingly out of thin air. Trouble is, the enigmatic and gorgeous Luke turns out to be a…

Books To Pine For

A blog I visit daily, The Story Siren, has a really neat feature called “books to pine for.” She gathers together forthcoming titles that have piqued her interest – and usually mine, too. Since I’m such a fan of the feature (and her blog, which is a terrific read for all of us who thoroughly…

What I Saw and How I Lied ~ Judy Blundell

When Evie’s father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly.  But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories.  When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe’s company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in…

The Genre Challenge

Here at Read This! we follow several book blogs. At any given time, the readers behind these blogs are involved in reading challenges, each with a given set of guidelines and timelines. We found one just recently that we thought we’d adapt for our patrons. It’s called the Genre Challenge. Guidelines: Chose one of the…

National Book Award Nominees

For more information on the National Book Awards click here. FICTION Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (Riverhead) Rachel Kushner, Telex from Cuba (Scribner) Peter Matthiessen, Shadow Country (Modern Library) Marilynne Robinson, Home (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Salvatore Scibona, The End (Graywolf Press) Fiction judges: Gail Godwin (chair), Rebecca Goldstein, Elinor Lipman, Reginald McKnight, Jess Walter.…

Cybele’s Secret ~ Juliet Marillier

For Paula, accompanying her merchant father on a trading voyage to Istanbul is a dream come true. They have come to this city of trade on a special mission to purchase a most rare artifact—a gift from the ancient goddess, Cybele, to her followers. It’s the only remnant of a lost, pagan cult. But no…

Lady of Light and Shadows ~ C.L. Wilson

Since her earliest memories, Ellysetta Baristani has feared magic, even as she has been inexorably drawn to all things Fey, especially the poetry and legends of Rain Tairen Soul. Now claimed as Rain’s truemate and no longer able to deny her own magic, Ellysetta is swept into the very center of a struggle filled with…

Storm Born ~ Richelle Mead

Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire in Tuscon, Arizona. She’s called upon to exorcise the occasional shoe or drain pipe. At least, that used to be the main tasks in her job description. When word of her true name gets leaked in Otherworld, however, Eugenie finds herself in the middle of something much bigger:…

More Award News

The World Fantasy Awards nominations are in; the winners will be selected at the World Fantasy Convention which is being held in Canada this Fall. In the category of Best Novel you’ll find: Fangland, John Marks The Gospel of the Knife, Will Shetterly The Servants, Michael Marshall Smith Territory, Emma Bull Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay…

Nightlife ~ Rob Thurman

In New York, there’s a troll under the Brooklyn Bridge, a boggle in Central Park, and a beautiful vampire in a penthouse on the Upper East Side. Of course, most humans are oblivious to this, but Cal Leandros is only half-human. His father’s dark lineage is the stuff of nightmares-and he and his entire otherworldly…

Rowling’s Charitable Potter Prequel

LONDON (Reuters) – An 800-word hand-written story by bestselling author J.K. Rowling, which she describes as a prequel to the Harry Potter boy wizard books, sold for 25,000 pounds ($49,000) at a charity auction on Tuesday. To read the rest of the article, click here.

The Night Huntress Series ~ Jeaniene Frost

Cat Crawford is something of an anomaly: she is both human and vampire. Due to the circumstance of her birth and spurned on by her mother’s rage at the vampire community, Cat becomes a hunter, tracking down vampires and making sure that their next afterlife is of the permanent variety. She excels at her chosen…

Generation Dead ~ Daniel Waters

“All over the country, a strange phenomenon is happening. Some teenagers who die aren’t staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same — they stutter, and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed ‘living impaired’ or ‘differently biotic,’ they are doing their best to fit into a society…

The Mozart Question ~ Michael Morpurgo

“Like any young boy, Paolo becomes obsessed with what he can’t have — in his case, a violin. Hidden away in his parents’ room, it beckons the boy to release the music inside it. The music leads Paolo to a family secret, a story of World War II that changed the course of his parents’…

The Study Series ~ Maria V Snyder

I’ve put off this post for weeks upon weeks now for two reasons: I love Maria V. Snyder’s Study series; we’re talking serious love here. I can never write about books/series I love because I can never adequately express just why it is that I do love them. (Who am I kidding? Sometimes I can’t…

The Nightrunner Series ~ Lynn Flewelling

Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner Series is a wonderful addition to the high fantasy/sword and sorcery genre. Though I came to the books late, I’ve found that it was in actuality an opportune time to meet Seregil and Alec as their adventures will continue this June with the fourth book in the series, Shadows Return, which comes…

House of Cards ~ C.E. Murphy

New York City’s only legal counsel to the fabled Old Races, Margrit Knight, is level headed in all matters extraordinary. But when she’s summoned to negotiate a peace treaty among rival factions, her own mortal world threatens to fall apart. Margrit’s been in hot water before, but reentering the underworld brings a new set of…

Arthur C. Clarke Died at the Age of 90

“Clarke died early Wednesday after suffering from breathing problems, the Associated Press reported. He was 90 years old. He suffered from post-polio syndrome and was confined to a wheelchair toward the end of his life.” {From a FoxNews report.} Clarke was the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Tangled Webs: A Black Jewels Novel ~ Anne Bishop

The invitation is signed “Jaenelle Angelline,” and it summons her family to an entertainment she had specially prepared. Surreal SaDiablo, former courtesan and assassin, arrives first. But when she enters the house, Surreal finds herself trapped in a living nightmare created by the tangled webs of Black Widow witches…and if she uses Craft to defend…

An Interview with Deanna Raybourn

I’ve raved about Deanna Raybourn’s books, Silent in the Grave and Silent in the Sanctuary, and I’ll talk anyone’s ear off who’ll listen about how fantastic her blog is. I simply cannot overstate the fabulousness that is Ms. Raybourn. And so, one day, I thought I’d drop her an email, letting her know these things.…

Biting the Bullet ~ Jennifer Rardin

This is a mission unlike anything my vampire boss, Vayl, and I have ever been on. It’s not our usual take them out and run; it’s an undercover mission that needs the whole gang: a psychic, an interpreter, and a weapons specialist. We’re joining a Special Ops team to nail the Wizard, a major terrorist…