The History of Living Forever by Jake Wolff Precocious, brilliant Conrad Aybinder just spent summer vacation working with his favorite teacher to develop a winning science fair competition entry for the coming school year. In classic summer-love-story fashion, the teacher is also Conrad’s first love. And then, contrary to the title of Jake Wolff’s debut … Read more
The Way Home: Tales from a Life without Technology by Mark Boyle Mark Boyle is no stranger to remaking himself. In the fall of 2008, he embarked on an experiment in living without money, documenting the experience with the publication of The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living (2010) and a follow-up guide, The … Read more
Paddling With Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey by Irene Skyriver Some people throw themselves a dance party for their 40th birthday. Irene Skyriver chose to celebrate hers with a solo kayaking trip from Ketchikan to her home on Lopez Island. Years later, she recounted her momentous journey in Paddling With Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey. … Read more
The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian Just in time for hammock season comes local author Laura Kalpakian’s latest novel (her 16th), The Great Pretenders. Set in Hollywood in the 1950s, it’s got the right blend of glitz and pop culture so you can while away a sun-filled Saturday, allowing yourself to recuperate after your recreational … Read more
Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan There are times when you happen upon a book and are completely blown away by its scope, craft and story. Eka Kurniawan’s Beauty is a Wound is just such a novel—sweeping, epic, with a vast but unforgettable cast of characters. It’s reminiscent of One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s … Read more
A Fire Story by Brian Fies A recent report by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center and the National Interagency Fire Center calling for this year’s wildfire potential to be “above normal” in the Pacific Northwest may have Whatcom County residents already thinking about the threat of local fires and another summer of smoke-filled air. But … Read more
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran There’s something really fun and escapist about hard-boiled detective novels, and Sara Gran’s first Claire DeWitt mystery, Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, delivers in spades. There’s a self-destructive protagonist who may or may not be a reliable narrator. It’s set in … Read more
Golden Child by Claire Adam You might expect a celebrity like Sarah Jessica Parker to have her own fragrances (she does) or line of shoes (she has that too). But it might be surprising to learn that the award-winning actress is a prolific reader whose passion for books led to a collaboration with Crown Publishing … Read more
Fox 8 by George Saunders Back in 1995, there was a fabulous movie about a little pig who learns to herd sheep; maybe you remember it? My husband and I referred to Babe as the “best talking pig movie of the year” because there were actually two talking pig movies released that year—Gordy was the … Read more
It can be challenging to find your next great read, but the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) has stacked the deck in your favor. To celebrate our 75th anniversary and our love of sharing stories, we’ve created a full deck of reading recommendations, one for each week of 2019. These recommendations are selected from many … Read more