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Literary Salon meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month to share favorite books, authors, or series. Seven readers shared the following 10 books in May. Please join us at the next Lit Salon on Wednesday, June 14th at 5pm. Come even if you don't have books to share; you'll hear a wide variety of reading suggestions. Check lopezlibrary.org or email Beth for current information. Happy Summer Reading! |
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Anatomy of Autism: A Pocket Guide for Educators, Parents, and Students
by Diego M. Pena
"Trust me, I want to talk to you. My inability to speak is confused for my intelligence." Anatomy of Autism explains the daily experiences of having non-speaking autism from the eyes of a 9-year-old boy. Diego reminds us the real autism experts are autistic themselves.
READER NOTES: Everyone needs to read this!
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My struggle. Book one
by Karl Ove Knausgêard
An autobiographical novel focuses on a young man trying to make sense of his place in the disjointed world that surrounds him.
READER NOTES: Recommended by the reader's memoir writing group as an author who promotes writing whatever you want. Unfortunately, the reader did not like him; he seems self-absorbed and uses little emotion. His children seem to be a necessary chore in the way of his writing. His descriptive writing is good, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere.
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Remarkably bright creatures : a novel
by Shelby Van Pelt
"For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium--and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance 30 years ago"
READER NOTES: A fascinating, beautifully written linear story with wonderful characters. The young man is "an irresponsible grown 2-year old." The octopus steals the show! Reviewed earlier by two or three other Lit Saloners, this is a true gem.
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Independent people : an epic
by Halldâor Laxness
In an epic set in Iceland in the early twentieth century, Gudbjartur Jonsson buys his own croft after eighteen years of service to the local bailiff, and brings his wife and his small flock of sheep there to build a new, independent life for himself.
READER NOTES: Recently made available again. Selected by our reader to learn more about Iceland; intriguing to be swept into a whole different world. The battle of wills between father and teen daughter is well-written and interesting.
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Scorched grace / : A Sister Holiday Mystery
by Margot Douaihy
A chain-smoking, heavily tattooed, queer nun, Sister Holiday, when Saint Sebastian's School becomes the target of a shocking arson spree, launches her own investigation, which turns her against colleagues, students and fellow Sisters as she pieces together the clues to solve this explosive mystery.
READER NOTES: Selected as a cozy crime novel and to try a new author. Well-written characters. Enjoyed.
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A deadly education : a novel
by Naomi Novik
An unwilling dark sorceress destined to rewrite the rules of magic clashes with a popular combat sorcerer while resolving to spare the lives of innocents. By the award-winning author of the Temeraire series.
READER NOTES: First in the Scholomance fantasy trilogy. Selected because liked Spinning Silver by Novik and comparison to Harry Potter. In a school & with magical & non-magical people like Potter, but darker and original in most other ways. The main character, El, is grumpy, but for good reason, and reader liked her. Good writing technique to have the protagonist learning along with the reader. Lots of plot surprises. Students have to fight monsters to graduate; metaphorical for graduation into our own sometimes monstrous world.
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The golden enclaves : a novel
by Naomi Novik
In this epic conclusion to the New York Times best-selling trilogy, the narrator, after miraculously escaping the Scholomance, must turn right around and find a way back in to save everyone from getting killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon.
READER NOTES: Second in the Scholomance trilogy.
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The last graduate : a novel
by Naomi Novik
A budding dark sorceress determined not to use her formidable powers uncovers yet more secrets about the workings of her world in the sequel to A Deadly Education.
READER NOTES: Final book in the Scholomance trilogy.
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Spinning silver
by Naomi Novik
Deciding to collect on the outstanding debts owed her family of moneylenders, a young woman is overheard boasting about being able to turn silver into gold by the creatures who haunt the wood, in this reimagining of the Rumpelstiltskin story.
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The tangled tree : a radical new history of life
by David Quammen
Offers a guide to the evolving current understanding of evolution and human nature that explores the role played by horizontal gene transfer, or the movement of genes across species lines.
READER NOTES: Fascinating; the complexity makes more than one reading (or listening) helpful. The revelations of the complexity of life makes life all the more wondrous. All science disciplines are now involved in the study of evolution. Quammen shows how various scientists, many of whom he interviewed, broke through the complexities with new research techniques. Mind-blowing!
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Lopez Island Library
2225 Fisherman Bay Rd
Lopez Island, Washington 98261
360-468-2265www.lopezlibrary.org |
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