Check It Out! Blog

The Last White Rose by Alison Weir explores the life of Elizabeth of York, the mother of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth grew up and reigned during turbulent times in England. Weir's retelling of Elizabeth's story covers the death of King Edward IV (Elizabeth's father), the disappearance of her brothers (the Two Princes in the Tower),… Read More

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Tova works the evening shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. After her husband's death, she finds that it really helps to keep busy, and she likes the quiet atmosphere of the aquarium after hours. She makes an unlikely friend in Marcellus - a giant Pacific octopus who's got ninja escape skills and likes to tour… Read More

Nora Stephens is a successful cutthroat literary agent from New York City who will do anything for her clients. She was practically raised in a bookshop with her younger sister Libby and idolizes the memory of her mother, who died when Libby was young. Nora's fierce dedication to hard work and protection means she will… Read More

Ray Macmillan is something of a prodigy on the violin, despite having no private lessons, and until his grandmother gifts him with his great-great grandfather's instrument, no violin of his own. Despite the lack of support from the rest of his family, and not being taken seriously because he's a black kid who loves to… Read More

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is a mosaic of a novel with bits of historical, contemporary, and sci-fi fiction storytelling all in one. The book is narrated by 5 different characters in 3 different timelines: Anna (a young girl in 15th century Constantinople while it is under siege by the Ottoman Empire) Omeir (a… Read More

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Thiago and Vera are so excited to move into their new Chicago condo. That is, until weird things start happening. Random cold spots. Scratching from within the walls. They're able to chalk it up to, well, just weird stuff. But then, after purchasing an Itza smart speaker, the weirdness escalates to random packages arriving (industrial… Read More

Nine complete strangers get a mysterious letter in the mail. The letter has no return address, and inside is a list of nine names, including their own. These nine people live in different parts of the country and seemingly have no connection to each other. Most of them toss the letter aside and forget about… Read More

Joan is 27, lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. She sends a fan letter, along with a small gift of saffron to 59 year-old Imogen, a writer who writes a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine. This begins their friendship by letter, one… Read More