Tuesday, April 28, 2015

So many books to read...

Alas and alack, my time on the collection development committee is done. So here's the last round-up of books I'm looking forward to. It's this month's and last, so it's HUGE, but makes for a most awesome summer reading list!!!



Dietland by Sarai Walker. Plum wants weight loss surgery, but while waiting, she ends up joining "an underground community of women and agrees to a series of challenges including work with a group that stages anti-misogyny terrorist acts." Pubs May 26

Girl at War by Sara Novic. A college student in Manhattan has to make sense of her childhood, when she lived through the horrors of the Croatian civil war. Pubs on May 16.

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan. Inspired by Scottish folklore, an exiled shoreside burial coordinator and a floating circus performer deal with an offshore storm. INSPIRED BY SCOTTISH FOLKLORE. Pubs May 19



The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza. Imogen must battle her 20-something tech saavy assistant, who's trying to take over Imogen's fashion magazine. It's supposedly wickedly funny. Pubs on May 19

Re Jane by Patricia Park. In this retelling of Jane Eyre (really, do you need to know more than that?) Jane Re is a half-Korean, half-white orphan who travels to Seoul in search of her roots. Can't wait to see how they handle Bertha. Pubs on May 5.

Read Bottom Up by Neel Shah and Skye Chatham. A love story told in email and other online communication, complete with commentary from friends. I love digital epistolary. Out now.



War of the Encyclopaedists by Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite. Speaking of digital epistolary! Two friends, on deployed in Iraq, keep in touch through wikipedia edits. Pubs May 19

The Anchoress by Robyn Cadwallader. In 13th century England, a woman decides to become an anchoress, only to find it's not the escape she thought. I'm very intrigued by anchoresses, so yes please. Pubs May 12.

The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard. Aron and his friends find ways to smuggle things and out of the Warsaw ghetto to help their friends and families survive. Pubs May 12.



The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison. Harrison hosts The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Everything I know about this book makes it a beautiful trainwreck that I can't wait for. Pubs May 19.

Queen of Flowers and Pearls by Gabriella Ghermandi. In the 80s, a young girl hears family stories of Italy's occupation of Ethiopia and and Ethiopian resistance. She is then drawn to other people's stories of that time, especially as she moves to Italy and has to come to terms with what it means to be Ethiopian in Ethiopia, and what it means to be a foreigner when abroad. Soooooo much catnip in this one. Out now.

The Figaro Murders by Laura Lebow. A historical fiction mystery about opera?! Say no more. Out now.



The Cherokee Rose by Tiya Miles. A story about a Cherokee plantation and missionaries and how three women today discover that the family past they thought they knew doesn't even begin to tell the full story. Out now.

Barefoot Dogs by Antonio Ruiz-Camacho. A novel told in linked short stories about a large Mexican that scatters when its patriarch is kidnapped. Out now.

Scale-Bright by Benjanun Sriduangkaew. A novella and short stories that take place in a mythical China? Oh yes. Shortlisted for the BSFA. Out now.



Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. Because here's what Kirkus said "A powerful novel of hard men in hard country reminiscent of Jim Harrison's Legends of the Fall." Comparing it to my teen self's favorite movie is a sure way to perk my interest. Plus, it's written by a Native author. Pubs May 12.

The Four Books by Lianke Yan. I loved Yan's Serve the People and will of course be picking up his latest, about life in a Mao re-education camp. Out now.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. A book-seller runs a floating bookshop on the Seine, healing his customers through books, but can he heal himself? Pubs June 23.



My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman. First of all, that's an awesome title. A young girl is left a series of letters by her grandmother that show her the reality behind her grandmother's bedtime stories. Pubs June 16.

The Cherry Harvest by Lucy Sanna. German POWs in WWII are put to work in a Wisconsin farm community. I like books in my home state! Pubs June 2.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume. IT'S BY JUDY BLUME! JUDY BLUME! JUDY BLUME! THIS IS NOT A DRILL, ALL HANDS ON DECK, JUDY BLUME!!!! Pubs June 2.



Wars of the Roses: Margaret of Anjou by Conn Iggulden. Historical fiction about the War of the Roses! Second in a series, I'll have to start with Wars of the Roses: Stormbird. Pubs June 16.

The Travels of Daniel Ascher by Deborah Bertherat-Levy. Helene's great-uncle writes a very popular series of YA mysteries, but it's his story, adopted by Helene's family to escape the Holocaust, that holds the real mysteries. Pubs May 26.

The Queen's Caprice: Stories by Jean Echenoz. Mostly because the prose is supposed to be gorgeous and the translation phenomenal. Out now.



The Hanged Man by P. N. Elrod. Paranormal Victorian mystery that explore gender and class issues? GIMME. Pubs May 19.

Backlands by Victoria Shorr. A novel based on the lives of real-life Brazilian folk heroes Lampiao and Maria Bonita. Compared to Bonnie-and-Clyde, with a band of fellow outlaws they try to gain control of the Brazilian outback. Out now.


Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

What's Next?

I'm a bit behind on blogging about all the books I put stars next to when I'm doing collection development work. They're the books I want to read myself.



Sisters of Heart and Snow by Margaret Dilloway. It's a novel that explores the relationships between adult sisters and aging parents while weaving in the (true!) story of a female samurai. It pubbed last week.


She Will Build Him a City by Raj Kamal Jha. 3 stories (that I assume bump and touch against each other) in today's New Delhi in a style that Booklist compared to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical realism. Out now.

Black Diamond by Zakes Mda. A biting social commentary that examines race, gender, and class in contemporary South Africa, in a package with an enjoyable plot? Yes please! Out now.




God Help the Child by Toni Morrison. Um, it's by TONI MORRISON. Pubs on April 21.

Prudence by Gail Carriger. A new series about Alexia and Conall's daughter? That takes place in India? It's out now, and my hold just came in on it. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, start with Soulless.

All Involved by Ryan Gattis. Gangs use the 92 LA Riots as chaotic cover to settle old scores. Intriguing. It pubbed last week.



Diamond Head by Cecily Wong. Family secrets. Multi-generational saga. Wealthy shipping family in China and Hawaii. 3 catnips, 1 book. Out on the 14th.

Madam President by Nicolle Wallace. Awful cover aside, it's about what happens when major terrorist attacks happen while a crew is filming a day-in-the-life thing on the President. I'm hoping it's like the Access episode of West Wing, but cooler. Plus, it's by a former White House communications director. Pubs on April 28.

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick. It's a romance that involves solving a murder among the wealthy elite. Nice. Pubs on the 21st.




Perfect Match by Fern Michaels. A former NFL player takes over a matchmaking business? I assume hijinks and smooching ensue. Out on April 28th.

The Thunder of Giants by Joel Fishbane. In 1937, Andorra stars in a biopic about Anna, who lived 100 years before. Both are giants, but led very different lives. Pubs on the 14th.

Meadowlands: A World War I family saga by Elizabeth Jeffrey. Aristocracy in WWI. Pubbed at the beginning of the month.



The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris. Jews and mobsters in Jazz Age Chicago. And all the catnip! Out now.

Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian. A PEN finalist and debut about the Armenian genocide and family secrets. Out now.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. A Viet Cong agent in LA int he 70s spies on refugees. I love stories that explore how wars never really end. Out now.



What's new or coming out this month that you can't wait for?

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Sass and Sorcery

Rat Queens Volume 1: Sass & Sorcery Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

Palisade is a prosperous commerce town with several marauding gangs that keep the bad things away. Only, when the gangs get drunk, they have a habit of trashing the town. After a town meeting of angry merchants, the gangs are each given a minor quest to keep them out of jail--only the tasks are all set-ups and not all them survive.

The Rat Queens are one of the gangs--4 women--Betty's a Smidgen who likes candy and drugs, Hannah grew up in a squid worshiping cult and might be a goddess, Hannah's a bitter necromancer, and Violet just wants some blood on her sword. They fight, they drink, they party and hook up, and lovingly send up or subvert a lot of fantasy tropes. And they try to figure out who set them up and why.

Lots of wise-cracks, magic spells, and sword play, and a hell of a lot of fun. So much fun. I love these women and want to party with them and watch them kick a lot more ass.

The saddest thing about this is that a lot of the press and reviews are like “YAY! GIRLS!” (including several of the blurbs on the back of the omnibus, and bonus points for how they’re drawn) and given the state of the comic industry, yes, YAY! GIRLS! It’s an exciting breakthrough, but this isn’t a token volume and I fear it will become “oh, that girl comic” and it’s more than that. Read this book because it’s girls being awesome, but really, read this book because it’s just fucking awesome.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.