Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (Tor), picked by Robin, our social media manager
When I picked it up, I thought Starling House by Alix E. Harrow would be a haunted house story, but it’s really more a haunted people story.
“The house calls someone new—someone lost or lonely, someone whose home was stolen or sold or who never had a home in the first place. It calls them, and they come, and they are never homeless again.
All it costs is blood.”
For Opal having a place to belong is worth the price, and as each iteration of the story of Starling House gets told and secrets come to light, Opal finds she has more resources and allies than she knew.
Starling House is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it also strongly invokes classic gothic tales like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It is an atmospheric, layered story that will please readers of Harrow’s other books, and fans of fairy tale retellings like T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone. The most fun you can have reading about someone cleaning a house!
We said goodbye to Bookseller Riona recently, but she’s not going far. She’s joining the team at the Key West Library and planning to start a Masters in Library and Information Science through distance learning at the University of South Florida. For old time’s sake, we asked Riona a few questions and she offered up a few book recommendations.
Q: What will you take away about your time at the bookstore?
A: I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Books & Books, and have especially enjoyed branching out into other genres. I have read fantasy and literary fiction, but have branched out into science, history, and romance. The bookstore’s lifeblood is its booksellers and volunteers, who always have a great recommendation and kind word ready! I will take away the vibrant passion everyone has for connecting readers to the right book at the right moment.
Q: What are you looking forward to at the library?
A: At the library, I’m looking forward to continuing to connect readers to new books and authors. I am also excited to help the community engage with all the resources and programs accessible through the library, such as clubs and online options, such as Libby for ebooks and audiobooks.
Q: What was your favorite book of 2023 or what are you reading now?
A: This is a tough one! I have devoured a slew of great books this year. I just finished listening to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty and am about to finish Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. Both are audiobooks through Libro.FM with dynamic narrators and fantastic stories. I’m eagerly awaiting Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff, the sequel to Empire of the Vampire (which was incredibly engrossing). I am also on the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame bandwagon; such fast-paced and fun books! I have a lot of friends expecting new babies this year, and have loved gifting Jory John’s Nothing’s Wrong! picture book. It’s a blast to read and the illustrations are whimsical!
Wellness by Nathan Hill tops store co-founder Judy Blume’s list this year. She wrote, “Wellness is compelling and quirky and yes, funny, because this is Nathan Hill writing, but it sometimes broke my heart. It goes deep but never tries too hard, never shouts look at me!” Read her full review.
She also recommends, Absolution by National Book Award winner Alice McDermott.
Bookseller Leslie loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. She writes, “This book was a surprise because I almost didn’t pick it up since it was ‘about gaming’ a topic that I’m not all together interested in. To me, it’s not really about gaming, but people, and relationships. I was so invested in the characters, and really cared about all of them.”
Store manager Emily loved Go As a River by Shelley Read, a debut novel inspired by the destruction of a town in the 1960s.
You know we’re giving you the good stuff with our featured staff picks. This month’s pickThe MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut, also tops co-found George Cooper’s year-end list. “Don’t be fooled by the title, or its listing as fiction. This is a brilliant biography of the greatest genius of the 20th century, John von Neumann, inventor of Game Theory and the modern digital computer,” George writes.
Social Media Manager Robin writes of Camille Dungy’s Soil, “This is a smart, beautiful, wide-ranging book that will draw you in and change how you look at the world around you.”
Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery, and illustrated by Matt Patterson is Bookseller Gina’s favorite book of the year. “Did you know that turtles lived with the dinosaurs?” asks Gina. “Ever watched Jurassic Park? The sound of a Velociraptors “bark” in the movie is actually the sound of giant tortoises mating! With another amazing tale of rescue, release (sometimes) & the humans behind the scenes, Sy Montgomery will captivate your heart, mind, and make you think about driving safer with this great book.”
Bookseller Sara brings two books to your attention:
Lighter by Yung Pueblo. She writes, “I was on a self development path when I came across the author Yung Pueblo and this book was everything I was looking for. Lighter is a book that will bring you towards a deeper understanding of yourself.”
And Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. “This was a book that I couldn’t put down. It was witty, empowering and demonstrated Elizabeth’s determination to challenge societal norms of being a woman in the 1960s in her unconventional way. As a chemist, she navigated her new career path as a host in a television show by staying true to herself – cooking using scientific reasoning with trial and error to make the perfect dishes for dinner at six.”
Share with us on social media what your favorite books of the year were, and stay tuned for more excellent reading in 2024.
Banned Books Week is an opportunity to think about the importance of access to a wide range of ideas and representation in books across many sectors of society, including schools and public libraries. It is also an opportunity to read great books that you might not have otherwise picked up.
Here are some recommendations from the store staff of books that have been on various banned and challenged lists.
Robin loved Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. “The art for this book is beautiful, and wonderfully complements the story of an imaginative little boy getting to do something he loves.”
Riona recommends The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, which features a rash deal with the devil that unfolds in surprising and moving ways.
Lori says The Color Purple by Alice Walker will have you rooting for Celie, Shug, Sofia and Nettie, rejoicing in their triumphs.
Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee (Ballantine Books), picked by bookseller, Riona Jean
Do you want to fight climate change, battle a dragon, reminisce about lost friends, fight the patriarchy, and more!? Try this new Arthurian Legend on for size.
Bookseller Riona Jean picked Perilous Times as the August featured staff pick because it mixed her favorite genres, fantasy and dystopias.
“It remixes the Arthurian Legend in a new and dynamic way,” she writes.
“Mariam is an ecowarrior with FETA, fighting to save the planet from extreme climate change and rising sea levels. Kay is one of King Arthur’s knights, bound to a resurrection tree by Merlin, called to action whenever Britain is in trouble. With great swaths of the UK under water and major cities falling into ruin, Mariam and Kay stumble their way through trying to do the right thing. Watch out for Lancelot, corporate greed, and a nefarious plot to resurrect Arthur getting in the way!”
“Witty, insightful, and poignant, Perilous Times perfectly marries fantastical legend and dystopian new world order.”
Ed note: Riona read Perilous Times on her Kobo Clara 2E, it’s waterproof, made with recycled plastic, and we have them at the bookstore!
Whether it’s fake dating and food, or a thorny, political take on ‘will they or won’t they’ or a wicked hot mythical retelling, there’s something for every Romance reader.
Here are a few books we’ve been enjoying or are looking forward to this summer.
Pre-order Meg Cabot’s witchy new Rom-Com, Enchanted to Meet You, which is getting great early reviews. You can get a signed copy from us, just note you want it signed when placing your order.
Lori enjoyed Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess, an opposites attract story, that deals with office politics, politics, race, and more. “Slow burn but the attraction and the obstacles are real and well portrayed,” Lori writes.
6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe is one of Robin’s favorite books of the year. She loved these tenacious, determined, stubborn young people, and if you’ve ever been a fan fiction reader, she thinks you will too.
Gina is devouring Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series, and Wicked Beauty doesn’t disappoint.
Both Chef’s Choice by TJ Alexander and Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee re charming and sweet, and might inspire you to spend some time in the kitchen with someone you love.
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai is a second-chance/caper mashup, that will take you for a thrilling ride, while Ms. Demeanor by Elinor Lipman makes house arrest sexy.
White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link (Random House), picked by Social Media Manager Robin
“With White Cat, Black Dog, Kelly Link puts her sui generis magic to work on the older magic of fairy tales, forging something revelatory. These stories delight and terrify us, and seem to say, Yes, this is the way the world works—haven’t you been paying attention?I am now. What a glorious and bewitching gift this book is.
— Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson
Clare is better at this than I am. I just want to stand around the store and hand White Cat, Black Dog to people. Kelly Link’s newest collection of fairy tale-inspired short stories defies easy description, but is a joy to read.
It’s hard to explain, I say, but it’s really good. It’s smart, funny, creepy, and sneaky. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. It’s excellent – and different – and, after you read it, you might find yourself even more afraid of business travel.
Link takes a nugget of a fairy tale, even if you don’t know the story, you’ll recognize the elements – three princes sent on three quests, the dangers of debts owed to the fae. She takes something from the original tale, and weaves something new and unexpected, meaningful and unexplained.
These are the kind of stories that stick with you. Sometimes enchanting, sometimes scary, always thought-provoking. Highly recommended.
Get out your headphones, THE FAREWELL TOUR will make you want to crank up the music. But first, we are delighted to introduce you to author Stephanie Clifford, who took time out of her busy book launch to chat with us. (Read Assistant Manager Allison’s review of THE FAREWELL TOUR.)
Stephanie Clifford, photo credit: Sarah Bode-Clark Photography
Q: How big a music fan were you before writing THE FAREWELL TOUR? What was the first album you bought with your own money?
A: I’ve always adored music, from opera to musicals to rock, and play piano and guitar. But I didn’t fall in love with country until high school—I grew up in Seattle, and worked one summer in Arkansas doing trail maintenance in a national forest there, where the only radio station we could get was country. Suddenly, I was hooked, and returned to Seattle at the height of the grunge era to listen to, like, Tammy Wynette—no one in Seattle understood what on earth I was doing.
First album—for some reason it wasn’t an album I first bought, but a cassette-tape single: Prince (cool), “Arms of Orion” (not very cool).
Q: What was the idea that sparked this novel?
A: Before I began writing this book, I happened to be on a literature-of-the-American-West kick, so Grapes of Wrath and Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry. The landscapes they wrote about were arid and harsh, and I didn’t recognize them. I felt like there was this missing piece of the “Western” genre, that the Northwest, this place I had grown up in—and which, by the way, takes up a rather large geographical chunk of the West!—was completely ignored. So I began playing with the idea of writing a Western—not a shootout-and-saloons story, but one that considers the myth of the West, and how the landscape shapes its characters—that was set in the historical Northwest.
As I read more and more, I also came to feel that even for writers who were women or were sympathetic to women, like Wallace Stegner or Willa Cather, in the era I was writing about—the book starts in the 1920s—the women in these books literally didn’t get to leave their houses. They were stuck inside, cooking, cleaning, and sewing. And I thought of the fierce Northwest women I knew, who would basically skin a deer in the morning and then put on lipstick and go shopping at I. Magnin’s downtown in the afternoon, and I thought, just try keeping a Northwest woman inside her house; good luck.
That became the genesis for Lil, the main character. I wanted to get across the grit and battle scars that so many Northwest women of that era had, and also the desire to survive, and give her a life where she has to be out in the world—in this case, via singing country music—and see what happens.
Q: What was interesting to you about this particular time in history, women’s history or music history?
A: First of all, it’s just this incredibly rich time to imagine and research—Lil’s born on the cusp of the Depression, gets her start as a singer in WWII-era Tacoma, lands in Nashville in its golden era—all a gold mine for a writer. I also wanted her to have to navigate her career and art in a time that wasn’t very open to working women generally, and certainly not in the country music. She’s going to have to make real concessions in order to succeed, which is always interesting to write about.
Q: What were your top 3 songs of 2022? What would be your picks for saddest song? Happiest?
A: Because I was so deep into research for 2022, my Spotify most-played for the year looks like it’s out of 1962! Tammy Wynette, “Apartment No. 9” – Tammy makes everything sound heartbreaking; Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Didn’t It Rain” – an incredible, pioneering guitar player; “He Is Fine,” Secret Sisters, a fabulous duo. Happiest – I love a musical number for a pick-me-up (my first book, Everybody Rise, has tons of musical references, and the title is from a Sondheim song) – so maybe a classic like “Seventy-Six Trombones.” Saddest, there’s a scene in the book where the characters are discussing the saddest country song, and I think Lil gets it right when she suggests Emmylou Harris’s “Boulder to Birmingham,” written after Harris’s musical partner, Gram Parsons, overdosed and died. Just try not to cry when you hear Emmylou sing that one.
Q: What are you reading and recommending these days?
A: I just (accidentally) read back-to-back two wonderful, thoughtful books on women during times of civil war/domestic terrorism in the ’70s: V.V. Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night, set in the Tamil region of Sri Lanka during the civil war there; and Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses, set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The books made perfect companions and almost talked to each other.
It’s 1980, and Lillian Waters is hitting the road for the very last time.
Jaded from her years in the music business, perpetually hungover, and diagnosed with career-ending vocal problems, Lillian cobbles together a nationwide farewell tour featuring some old hands from her early days playing honky-tonk bars in Washington State and Nashville, plus a few new ones. She yearns to feel the rush of making live music one more time and bask in the glow of a packed house before she makes the last, and most important, stop on the tour: the farm she left behind at age ten and the sister she is finally ready to confront about an agonizing betrayal in their childhood.
As the novel crisscrosses eras, moving between Lillian’s youth—the Depression, the Second World War, the rise of Nashville—and her middle-aged life in 1980, we see her striving to build a career in the male-dominated world of country music, including the hard choices she makes as she tries to redefine music, love, aging, and womanhood on her own terms.
Allison enjoyed both the book and audiobook versions of this novel. She writes, “Stephanie Clifford fills out the singular story of one woman’s hard rise to country music stardom with the history of country music and the evolution of American culture. Water Lil is a character you won’t soon forget.”
“This well researched novel is also a love letter to country music and the west. If you’ve spent time with either, this novel will be hell bent on tugging at your heartstrings.”
Allison’s playlist for the book includes Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (the song “Bo Weavil Blues” is central to the novel).
Black history and the contemporary Black experience encompass an incredible range of emotions, lives and circumstances. Come explore Black rage, and Black joy, Black curiosity and Black hope. Read about what makes our experiences universal, what we share as Black communities and cultures, and what makes us unique.
Here are the books featured in this graphic, but we have many more in store. Stop by or follow us on social media for recommendations during Black History Month and throughout the year.
