August 2009
Looking for a Good Book?
Posted by Robin Brenner on Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 12:36 pm
The Brookline Public Library is happy to provide our community of readers with a new and exciting service. We all know that tracking down the right book at the right time can be a struggle, especially when many of us don’t have as much times as we’d wish to browse shelves or pore over reviews. So, let us do the…
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Love as a Foreign Language
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:32 pm
“Joel hates Korea. Why he agreed to teach there defies his comprehension. He can’t wait to return to normal life. His year of teaching is almost over and then he’ll finally be free. But Joel’s life is about to go from dark dreams to cotton candy kisses and it’s all because of Hana. The very sight of this girl sends…
Tags: interest: other cultures, format: graphic novels, genre: romance, genre: humor, length: fewer than 250 pages, character age: 20-35, interest: journeys/travel, humor: events/situations | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
The Eyre Affair
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:27 pm
“England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in Wordsworth poems, militant Baconians roam freely spreading the gospel that Bacon, not Shakespeare, penned those immortal works. And forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. This is all business as usual for brainy, bookish (and heat-packing) Thursday Next, a renowned Special Operative in literary detection —…
Tags: interest: books about books, genre: humor, character age: 35-50, humor: clever, humor: wordplay, genre: action/adventure, mood: funny/light | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
The Duke and I
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:22 pm
“By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend’s sister, the lovely—and almost-on-the-shelf—Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth—it’s all an elaborate plan to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her…
Tags: genre: historical fiction, genre: romance, interest: romantic relationships, character age: 20-35, humor: clever, mood: funny/light | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Beguilement
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:18 pm
“Troubled young Fawn Bluefield seeks a life beyond her family’s farm. But en route to the city, she encounters a patrol of Lakewalkers, nomadic soldier–sorcerers from the northern woodlands. Feared necromancers armed with mysterious knives made of human bone, they wage a secret, ongoing war against the scourge of the “malices,” immortal entities that draw the life out of their…
Tags: genre: fantasy, interest: politics, genre: romance, interest: romantic relationships, setting: fantasy lands, character age: 20-35, characters: conflicted, mood: serious/tense | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Into the Wild
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:13 pm
“Having escaped from the Wild and the preordained fairy tale plots it imposes, Rapunzel, along with her daughter Julie Marchen, tries to live a fairly normal life, but when the Wild breaks free and takes over their town, it is Julie who has to prevent everyone from being trapped in the events of a story.”
Robin’s Note: This fast-paced, wild…
Tags: genre: fantasy, interest: retellings, interest: fairy tales, setting: united states, setting: fantasy lands, style: easy, settings: suburban, character age: teens, mood: funny/light, genre: action/adventure | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Tam Lin
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:08 pm
“In the ancient Scottish ballad “Tam Lin,” headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover’s body and soul. In this version of “Tam Lin,” masterfully crafted by Pamela Dean, Janet is a college student, “Carterhaugh” is Carter Hall at…
Tags: genre: fantasy, genre: romance, interest: romantic relationships, setting: united states, humor: clever, humor: wordplay, interest: academia, language: lush/poetic | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Crown Duel
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 4:04 pm
“To fulfill their father’s dying wish, teenage Countess Meliara and her brother Branaric organize a revolution against a greedy king.”
Robin’s Note: This fantasy tale, originally published as two separate novels Court Duel and Crown Duel, is a wit-driven romance combined with a struggle for control of a kingdom. Our heroine, opinionated and clever (and a bit naive), is a…
Tags: genre: fantasy, genre: romance, interest: romantic relationships, interest: humor, character age: teens, mood: funny/light | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Sorcery And Cecelia, Or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 3:56 pm
“In 1817 in England, two young cousins, Cecilia living in the country and Kate in London, write letters to keep each other informed of their exploits, which take a sinister turn when they find themselves confronted by evil wizards.”
Robin’s Note: This Regency fantasy combines the best of Jane Austen with the charm of magical talents. As with all of…
Tags: genre: historical fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: romance, interest: history, interest: romantic relationships, character age: teens, humor: clever, format: letters and diaries, mood: funny/light, style: old-fashioned/traditional | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
The Bone Key
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 3:52 pm
“An unwilling foray into necromancy makes Booth attractive to the creatures who roam the darkness of the world. Ghouls, ghosts, and incubi single him out as one of their own in these ten stories.”
Robin’s Note: This collection of interconnected short stories is fueled by an old-fashioned sense of horror, built around frightening ideas and situations rather than gore or…
Tags: genre: horror, format: short stories, interest: history, interest: gbltq, character age: 35-50, mood: dark/ironic, language: lush/poetic, style: old-fashioned/traditional | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
Alphabet of Thorn
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 3:48 pm
“One of the most spectacular fantasists of our time, Patricia A. McKillip creates fairy tale worlds of wonder and magic. Now, she opens the page on a time and place where an orphan girl is haunted by thorns…a reluctant queen rules between sea and sky… and epics never end…”
Robin’s Note: As with all of Patricia McKillip’s fantasies, this title…
Tags: genre: fantasy, interest: politics, interest: history, interest: romantic relationships, style: demanding, character age: 20-35, mood: serious/tense, interest: military/war, language: lush/poetic | Permalink | Continue Reading ›
A Curse Dark As Gold
Posted by Robin Brenner on Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 3:39 pm
“Upon the death of her father, seventeen-year-old Charlotte struggles to keep the family’s woolen mill running in the face of an overwhelming mortgage and what the local villagers believe is a curse, but when a man capable of spinning straw into gold appears on the scene she must decide if his help is worth the price.”
Robin’s Note: Appealing for…