The Miniaturistby Jessie BurtonExcellent! The lyrical, inviting writing of author Jessie Burton lulls you into the story of Petronella Oortman. The description of Amsterdam in the 1600s is intriguing and so alive you feel you are walking along the cobblestone paths and smelling the tantalizing sugar loaves while keeping one eye out for the ever […]
Annabel by Kathleen WinterSet in the unforgiving landscape of Labrador, Annabel tells the story of a child who is born both male and female. His father, Treadway, immediately decides the baby will be a boy and his name will be Wayne. His parents, with the help of the medical community, raise Wayne as a boy and hide the […]
by Randall Munroe By the writer of the webcomic xkcd, this book follows the same idea: use hard science as humour. Munroe doesn’t dumb it down, either. The concepts are challenging. In this book, he takes reader submitted questions and examines what would happen if: a baseball were thrown at near the speed of light; […]
by Haruki MurakamiI’ve been reading books that are a little more light-hearted so I thought it would be a good time to switch it up a bit. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami is definitely not light-hearted, but it is a fantastic read. Friendships, love, regret, openness, and death are […]
by John ShirleyBased on the video game series BioShock, this novel stands very well alone as a story in its own right. Set in the underwater utopian city of Rapture, BioShock: Rapture tells the story of the founding and Ayn-Rand-type vision of a city where all people are equal, paid each according to their contributions […]
Attachmentsby Rainbow RowellLincoln is hired at the local newspaper to read staff emails flagged as inappropriate. At first it seems to be the perfect job: he works mostly alone, the job is pretty easy, and at times amusing. However, when Lincoln starts to look forward to reading emails between coworkers Beth and Jennifer he starts […]
By Alex Grecian Here is one that I could not put down even though at times my queezy stomach told me I should. I even contemplated calling in sick to work just to read this book. Alex Grecian uses actual historical characters and places to add to the reality of this story. Take a step […]
by Marcus SakeyA conspiracy thriller in a Heroes/X-Men-type setting. Except no one’s flying or teleporting; the “Brilliants” in this story are born with gifts, but they’re much more to do with exceptional pattern-recognition skills – so, reading people’s intentions, honesty or even their movement by their body language, or reading the patterns in the stock […]
The Beesby Laline PaullGet a glimpse into the lives of bees. From the Queen bee to the lowly sanitation bee – Laline Paull has created a rich, complicated and intriguing world. This world feels so real that you’ll probably never look at a bee the same way again!
By Patrick Ness The Crane Wife is not a re-telling of the Japanese folk tale in the usual sense but Ness’s unique and powerful novel makes me want to read folk tales again. I loved this book for many reasons: the lyrical, poetic writing, the fully dimensional characters and the meditation on love and truth. […]