Author: George Saunders Type: Fiction, novel Published: 2017 I read it: April 2018 When I knew that a new Saunders story was coming, I should have known what was coming. I should have known that he would pierce to the center of pain with the self-assigned task to crawl back up from it to grasp…
Author: Philip Pullman Type: Fiction, novel Part of series: His Dark Materials (#1) Published: 1995 I read it: March 2018 (re-read) How is it that everything in The Golden Compass just feels so perfectly in place? The story ticks like clockwork. Or compasswork. It’s probably the fact that Philip Pullman has raw storytelling skill. I’ve…
Author: Madeleine L’Engle Type: Fiction, novel Part of series: Time Quintet (#2) Published: 1973 I read it: March 2018 A Wind in the Door has stepped up to fit the bill of what I wanted from a sequel to A Wrinkle in Time: it tells its own story, with almost no reference to the events…
Author: Colin Meloy Artist: Carson Ellis Type: Fiction, novel Part of series: The Wildwood Chronicles (#3) Published: 2014 I read it: March 2018 You have to hand it to Mr. Meloy, he knows how to move a tale along at a good clip. I’d waited longer than I intended to finish the third part of…
Author: Jeff VanderMeer Type: Fiction, novella Full title: The Strange Bird: A Borne Story Published: 2018 I read it: March 2018 Each turn in the story, like a bird dipping across a gray sky before storms, turns around the question: who is the Strange Bird? She is a she, but is she known by more?…
Author: Lois Lowry Type: Fiction, novel Published: 1993 I read it: February 2018 (re-read) What’s remarkable about the giver, at least to today’s reader, is how it starts with such a slow burn. Sure, the opening line mentions the protagonist, Jonas, being frightened. He is recalling a plane flying overhead and the unknown reasons for…
Author: Roald Dahl Artist: Quentin Blake Type: Fiction, novel Published: 1988 I read it: February 2018 Man, Roald Dahl really hates adults. Or at least, he hates the fact that incompetent, buffoonish, and downright mean ones exist. And he really hates that they are allowed to have any interaction with children whatsoever. The titular character…
Author: Madeleine L’Engle Type: Fiction, novel Part of series: Time Quintet (#1) Published: 1962 I read it: January 2018 (re-read) At the mall in my hometown when I was a kid (back when malls hardly ever displayed an empty storefront), there was a Waldenbooks. This small spot was the first proper bookstore I knew, and…
Author: Eugene Lim Type: Fiction, novel Published: 2017 I read it: February 2018 Sometimes you have to take a chance while browsing at the library, and the title, cover, and slim length of this book made it worth a shot. Was it worth it overall though? Lim’s novel starts out with two Asian-American boys bonding…
Author: J.R.R Tolkien Type: Fiction, novel Published: 1998 (posthumous) I read it: February 2018 A decade or so before The Hobbit was published, J.R.R. Tolkien took his family on a seaside vacation. There one of his sons lost a small toy dog and was devastated. To pass the time and give consolation, the great storyteller…
