Read Everything!!

  Book Review: “Echoes of the Supernatural” is a comprehensive look at the life and work of acclaimed indigenous artist Robert Davidson. His prestigious career spans over fifty years working in BC's Haida Formline tradition of which he has become a master. “Guud San Glans Robert Davidson is one of the most innovative and influential artists working today in Canada and beyond.” Anthony Kienddl – CEO & Director, Vancouver Art Gallery This is a sumptuous coffee table sized book with information on all aspects of the artist’s journey as well as loads of full color reproductions of his work. Absolutely gorgeous!!   Recommendation: the ‘go to’ book for anyone interested in the work of David Robertson, or BC indigenous art in general.   Mr. Wedel   Author – Gary Wyatt with Robert Davidson Publishing – Scribner, New York/London/Toronto/Sydney/New Delhi, 1972 Genre – Indigenous Art Pages - 269

Book Review: Gorgeous brainiac females, nerdy misfits, absent minded professors, and Asperger geniuses all do their part to fight the war… with their grey cells. In “The Rose Code” New York Times bestselling author, Kate Quinn serves up a riveting WWII drama of code breaking, betrayal, love, and loss. Well researched and highly emotional, this book carries the reader deep into the top-secret, pressure-cooker world of British Military Intelligence where battles are won and lost by sheer force of intellect. I almost really love this book. The characters seem truly alive - their loves and hates, their struggles and triumphs, their weakness, their brilliance. And the plot keeps you turning page after page after page. I found myself actually caring about what was happening. Ms. Quinn really knows what she’s doing. Spectacularly well written. My only objection – just way too sad . Then again, how can a war story be anything but heartbreaking. Recommendation: this is not a stereotypical...

  Book Review: Canadian bestselling author Kelley Armstrong’s new historical fiction/crime/mystery story is one of the latest arrivals to the SSS Library. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect when I cracked it open, but it easily passed my routine twenty-page test (if it doesn’t grab the attention by then, just put it away). Armstrong deftly sweeps the reader up into a strange and suspenseful, time-travelling crime fest with enough twists and turns to keep even a roller coaster fiend satisfied. Let me set the stage. Modern day female-cop, Mallory, gets transported back to Edenborough as it was in 1869 where she inhabits the body of a house maid to an enigmatic undertaker. If that’s not weird enough, she is inexplicably wound up in the hunt for a serial killer with connections to her modern-day life. How did she get there? Can she fit into this strange old world? Will she ever get home? Could she be the killer’s next victim? Implausible, you say. Totally, but its enjoyably exhilaratin...

  The Doorbell Rang (a Nero Wolfe mystery) Book Review:   When I started as librarian here at SSS, one of the first things I did was to search the database for Nero Wolfe books. The results? Zero! No titles!! Not even one!!! What an intolerable situation. A library with none of Rex Stout’s 46 iconic mysteries is like a baseball game with no hotdogs, or a wedding banquet with no wine. Needless to say, I spent a little of my budget on several of these sparky who-dun-its, one of which I highlight here. “The Doorbell Rang” is Nero Wolfe at his super-sleuthing best. Eccentric, lazy, corpulently gluttonous, and stunningly brilliant, the private detective who rarely leaves home and never on business takes on the seemingly impossible job of forcing the FBI to heel like an unruly dog on behalf of a fabulously rich client who can afford to pay… a lot! And of course, the brash, energetic confidential assistant Archie Goodwin is on hand to do all the real work so Wolfe is free to eat, ten...

  Book Review: “This is the most important book of 2022.” Dr. Robert Malone “Desmet shows us how to reclaim our humanity in an increasingly dehumanized and mechanized world.” Dr. Reiner Fuellmich Hands down my favorite read for many years!! If you have been at all alarmed at the strange course of events over the past few ‘corona’ years, read this book. If the willing relinquishment globally of many of our most basic rights and freedoms has mystified you, read this book. If you have been confused at the avalanche of obvious lies and misinformation passed off as fact by scientists, politicians, and conspiracy theorists alike, read this book. If you’ve wondered why  personal autonomy,  honest questioning, and public debate have become  transgressions  punishable by excommunication from general society, read this book. And if you ask yourself, “Are we finished with the crazy now that covid is done?”, well, again, read this book. Desmet does an admirable jo...

  Book Review:   Oh my god… I have so many emotions towards this book: happiness, sadness, concern, excitement, and disgusted. I cannot believe how good this book was. I know I loved the first book in the series, but now that I have read all three ( Kingdom of the Wicked, Kingdom of the Cursed, Kingdom of the Feared) it is probably my favorite series so far. I loved how the story never got boring, always had that on the edge of my seat feeling, and that it was dangerous – adventurous. Emilia and Wrath are so great for each other. I loved how they would fight for each other. Even when he was cursed, he loved her without having to say it. That was my favorite part about them. I loved the plot twist. I’m not going to spoil it, but whoever reads it will love it - oh my god!! Anyway, amazing read.   Definitely on my top 5 of 2023, and it’s only March. 5/5 🌶️ 5/5 ⭐️ By Jamie Reid   Author – Kerri Maniscalco Publishing – Little, Brown and Comp...

  Book Review: Okay, I understand that “Cloud Cuckoo Land” sounds like a stupid title. It certainly didn’t inspire me to pick up the book the day it arrived in our library. But the author has multiple book awards under his belt (including a prestigious Pulitzer Prize), and I was in a mood. So, what the heck – take a chance, right? I’m glad I did!! The story weaves together the strands of various characters’ lives in crisis: several youths during the 1453 siege of Constantinople, a kids' drama group embroiled in a modern-day bombing attempt, and a girl trapped in a future-time space voyage gone horribly wrong. The common thread throughout is the Greek myth Cloud Cuckoo Land in which Aethon searches for a paradise where all his troubles will end. Each character in the book encounters this tale in their own way, holding on to it’s crazy promise of a better future. Whether or not their hopes are ill-founded is by no means certain. Anthony Doerr flings out a disparate array of story pi...