Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country by Pam Houston Pam Houston was 31 years old when her first book, a collection of short stories titled Cowboys are My Weakness (1992), was published to some acclaim, earning her a check for $21,000—a lot of money for someone who was living in a tent and … Read more
Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett The Super Bowl may be over and the New England Patriots’ sixth championship win noted in the record books, but there’s plenty about professional football and racism in the United States to make white people ill at ease, and who better than Michael Bennett to spell it … Read more
Vox by Christina Dalcher It’s the near future, and all women and girls across the United States are required to wear word counters that limit them to 100 words per day. For each word beyond 100, the irremovable “bracelets” deliver a series of electric shocks that increase in intensity from painful to completely devastating. What’s … Read more
A Home on the South Fork: An Early History of Acme by Margaret A. Hellyer After reading A Home on the South Fork: An Early History of Acme by Margaret A. Hellyer, it is easy to conjure the wild place this river valley once was: ancient cedar and fir trees growing tall in fertile soil; … Read more
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver With trademark style, Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, Unsheltered, tackles political and social justice issues through the story of two families inhabiting the same house, separated by more than a century, who find themselves terribly at odds with the changing world around them. Willa Knox and her husband Iano are an educated professional couple … Read more
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger Leif Enger’s first book in a decade (So Brave, Young, and Handsome was published in 2008) is a gentle, charming antidote to all that ails us as a society these days. The title character, Virgil Wander, is the unassuming sole proprietor of a rundown independent movie theater in a struggling Minnesota town. … Read more
What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning by Bill Shapiro and Naomi Wax1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-changing List by James MustichHow to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery The leaves have fallen, the hours of daylight grow shorter and … Read more
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater At Whatcom County Library System (WCLS), we believe that the act of reading offers readers a window into other people’s lives, and that reading develops empathy. We host more than a dozen book discussion groups for the public each month at libraries across Whatcom County (see Events at https://www.wcls.org for dates and … Read more
See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt As the days get shorter and chillier and the specter of Halloween looms, creepy thrillers have seasonal reading appeal. In See What I Have Done, Australian novelist Sarah Schmidt presents a deeply disturbing retelling of a classic true crime story that fits the bill. Remember the gruesome rhyme “Lizzie … Read more
The Library Book by Susan Orlean Susan Orlean loves libraries, but she didn’t set out to write a book about them. In fact, the bestselling nonfiction author and staff writer for The New Yorker had decided that she was done writing books entirely. “Working on them felt like a slow-motion wrestling match,” she declares, “and I wasn’t in … Read more