The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon It’s winter 1789 in Hallowell, Maine. Midwife Martha Ballard is summoned to the town’s tavern to attend a patient. When she arrives, Martha is surprised to learn she’s been asked to examine a body found frozen in the icy Kennebec River earlier that morning. The dead man is Joshua Burgess, … Read more
Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay Love & Saffron is a heartfelt epistolatory novel of long-distance friendship. Through beautifully crafted letter exchanges, Kim Fay develops a story of historical fiction in compelling and delightful ways, spanning an evolving 1960s America. The story begins when aspiring writer Joan sends a letter … Read more
Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains by Alexa Hagerty In this unique memoir, anthropologist Alexa Hagerty brings us behind the scenes of her time working with globally renowned forensic anthropology teams in Guatemala and Argentina. Together, they exhume and identify bodies from the mass graves left behind by dictatorial violence. Decades later, families … Read more
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar Why are so many places expensive, unsafe, and unwalkable? In Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, journalist Henry Grabar argues that in most American towns, the answer is parking. In chapters that read like podcast episodes (think 99% Invisible or Planet Money), this book digs into the … Read more
Hula by Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes Now that winter has finally arrived in Whatcom County, readers might enjoy a literary escape to warmer climes, and “Hula: a Novel” by Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes is the ticket. Set primarily in Hilo, Hawai’i, “Hula” conjures the glittering ocean, the sizzling sun and misty rain, and the fragrant and colorful hibiscus, … Read more
The Ways of Water by Teresa H. Janssen “Life, like a river, can take some sharp twists and turns. People can shift as much as a water’s course. There are reasons I broke my promises. I want them to be known.” Thus begins the coming-of-age story of Josie Belle Gore, daughter of a Louisiana train engineer … Read more
How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America by Priya Fielding-Singh “How the Other Half Eats” takes an in-depth look at the American family’s complicated relationship with food. Through extensive field research conducted at dinner tables across America, interviewing families spanning the range of socio-economic backgrounds, Priya Fielding-Singh paints a … Read more
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki High school best friends Zee and Dani have always dreamed of visiting New York City together. In Roaming, they reunite in Manhattan for spring break after their freshman year at separate colleges. Tagging along is Fiona, a glamorous new friend from Dani’s dorm who would rather see the “real” New York … Read more
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater It began with a meme. A single image that an Albany High junior saw as edgy, intended to court his friends’ dark sense of humor. Soon that meme was a private Instagram account. The content grew … Read more
“Working Boats: An Inside Look at Ten Amazing Watercraft” by Tom Crestodina For many of us, the working vessels that ply local waters and the people who work aboard are a bit of a mystery. We board ferries. We watch sturdy tugs push heavy barges. And we may eat the catch the mariners bring to … Read more