The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix is about the people who keep our reality as we know it.

The right-handed booksellers are the intellectuals. The left-handed are the weapons. 

Susan Arkshaw just moved to London. She will be starting art school in three months. She has come early to research her father. She has no name, only a small silver case and a reading room ticket from the 1970s. 

Susan's first stop is at Uncle Frank's. He is not really her uncle, but her only clue. When she gets here, Merlin (a left-handed bookseller) has turned Frank to dust. 

Since Susan can see this, it means she has some magic in her. This becomes more evident when thing keep hunting her.

Nix is one of my favorite authors. His imagination leads to wonderful stories, many which combine magic, myth and the Old World. This is no exception!

Nix, Garth. (2020). The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. New York: Katherine Tegan Books.

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1)

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse is a great book and the first in her Between Earth and Sky series. 

Celestial prophesies say that on the day of the black sun there will be a reckoning. In the city of Tova the solstice is a time of celebration and renewal as the sun completes the year and comes back for a new one. The Sun Priest will lead the ceremony to ensure that it does.

Captain Xiala, a Teek sailor whose song can calm the waters and call a breeze, is hired to get a blind man to the city of Tova. He must arrive before the convergence. This will require cutting across the sea instead of following the shoreline. 

Serapio, the blind man, is anything but harmless. He has been training almost since birth to perform one act.; It has to be done as the sky darkens - before the sun can be brought back for a new year.

Roanhorse has created a wonderful fantasy series set in the pre-Colombian Americas. This is one of the best books I read in 2020!

Roanhorse, Rebecca. (2020). Black Sun. New York: Saga Press.

A Deadly Education (Scholomance #1)

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is the first book in her fantasy series The Scholomance - imagine if Hogwarts killed more students that it graduated! 

El, short for Galadriel, is a magic high school that eats about half of the students, or rather mals get them. It is dangerous to make friends, but also necessary to form alliances by the last year. 

Some of the other students belong to magical families who have joined an enclave. These students are used to getting their way, have access to the best spells and use the unaffiliated as serfs with the promise to consider them for membership in their enclave if they live through graduation. 

El is a dark wizard, born to the sweetest healer in Europe. She refused to embrace her darkness, but the school keeps giving her assignments based on her evil talent.

Novik has created a wonderful series. I love this book and cannot wait for the next. Buy a copy today.

Novik, Naomi. (2020). A Deadly Education. New York: DelRey.

The Lost Shtetl

The Lost Shtetl by Max Gross is the story of what happens to an isolated village when the modern world encroaches. 

A small Jewish village in the forests of Poland has been living the same way for generations. It has been lost to time by the rest of the world.

When two different people go missing in a short amount of time, the village chooses someone to walk to the city - a three-day walk - to inform the police. 

Just before Yankel Lewinkopf leave for the city, the Gypsy caravan that comes to trade twice a year stops by. They agree to take Yankel to the city.

Speaking little Polish and having little money, Yankel has a difficult time explaining what he needs. He is overwhelmed by a modern city and is eventually taken to be hallucinating, and taken to the hospital for help.

Gross's book is a look at the differences between tradition and the modern world - in a creative setting. 

Groos, Max, (2020). The Lost Shtetl. New York: Harper Via.

Daoism: A Beginner's Guide

Daoism: A Beginner's Guide by James Miller is a great introduction to a philosophy and religion of balance.

This is a great introduction to Daoism, from its creation through the main three schools of thought today, including the philosophies, Tai Chi, and meditation.

Beginning in China, spanning centuries and almost every part of the globe, this guide is beautifully organized some of the main concepts in Daoism. Miller also explores how Daoism and Buddhism influenced each other over the ages.

This is a beautiful book whose timeliness in the current pandemic may give you some ways to refocus your mind.

Miller, James. (2014). Daoism: A Beginner's Guide. London: Oneworld.

The Midnight Library

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a great novel for 2020 - a time when we have more time to think about our choices and where they have led us.

Nora Seed is living a life of misery and regret. The regret stems from decisions she has made in the past, but she does not see a way out of where she now resides.

After taking drastic measures, Nora finds herself in a huge library. All of the books are green and the shelves to for what seems like miles. When she sees her school librarian, a woman who was always kind to her, she is told that all of the books are her lives.

In a multiverse model, each decision we make splits into new lives. Now Nora will have a chance to see what her life would have been like if she had chosen differently.

This is a wonderful, though-provoking look at life. An extended version of Jane, Unlimited. I absolutely loved this book. Buy a copy today from your local bookstore.

Haig, Matt. (2020). The Midnight Library. New York: Viking.

Changing Course

Changing Course by Brey Willow is a science fiction novel that takes place on the lawless planet of Indemnion. 

When her ship is hit by asteroids, Captain Jessa Arabella is forces to evacuate her entire crew. She is in the last escape pod, that is also struck. The only planet within range is one that her fleet avoids.

Scrounger Kylin Enderson sees the debris falling from the sky. She hopes for some good finds to get her out of debt to a shady character who makes her fight to pay her father's medicine. 

Great science fiction adventure featuring two strong women. I hope Brey Willow writes more scifi!

Willow, Brey. (2019). Changing Course. Valley Falls: NY: Bold Strokes Books.

Upright Women Wanted

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey is a dystopian western that takes place in what is now the southwest of the United States. 

With general lawlessness between towns, and a strong patriarchy in place, Esther has a need to escape. Her best friend / secret girlfriend was just hanged for a minor offence. Now Esther is to marry the fiancée. 

Her only chance is stowing away in the wagon of the librarians - women who roam from town to town distributing Approved Materials. No one would mess with these strong women doing the work of the government.

What she finds are queer librarian spies on horseback - can't get much more perfect than that! I loved this book and am hoping for a sequel. Also, I am reading everything Sarah Gailey has written!

Gailey, Sarah. (2020). Upright Women Wanted. New York: Tor.

30 Dates in 30 Days

30 Dates in 30 Days by Elle Spencer is a lesbian romance novel of finding love. 

Veronica Welch is a busy lawyer. She is about to make partner - something she put the rest of her life on hold to accomplish. On night, after a few drinks, she confessed to her assistant Bea that she planned on being partner and married to a lovely woman by the time she turned thirty-five. 

Now that she is approaching that age, Bea has taken it upon herself to create a profile for Veronica on a lesbian dating app. She has set up 30 dates of 30 minutes over the next month. The set up gives Veronica a way out if she doesn't want more. 

Bea has found a wonderful bar, recently inherited by the daughter of the previous owner and updated. Monaghan's Bar is located near work, next to a good Italian restaurant if she want to extend any of the dates. 

As the dates begin, the locals at the bar start to notice and take bets on the dates. Charlotte Monaghan's cousin, Rachel, who helps out at the bar, thinks this is a terrible way to meet someone.

Spencer has written a wonderful, fun romance book. One of the best ones I have read in a while. 

Spencer, Elle. (2019). 30 Dates in 30 Days. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.

Shatter the Sky (Shatter the Sky #1)

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells is the first book her YA fantasy series.

Maren loves Kaia. They live in a mountain nation that was conquered and is now under a far off ruler. The only evidence they see is when the Aurati come every seven years for the census. Rumor is that they sometimes take young women with them when they leave.

When Kaia is taken, Maren will do anything to rescue her. Telling her parents a half-truth, she leaves on a trip to clear her head and mourn. But she is really planning on stealing a dragon (all controlled by the emperor) and break into the stronghold where Kaia is being held.

Wells has written a great first book in the series. I am impatiently waiting to read the next! 

Wells, Rebecca Kim. (2019). Shatter the Sky. New York: Simon & Scheuster.

Breaking Down Her Walls

Breaking Down Her Walls by Erin Zak is a lesbian romance western.

When Julia fled Chicago after a meeting her birth parents for the first time, her goal is just to head west as long as possible. After a detour in Colorado, her car decides she has gotten far enough.

An offer of a job for car repair lands Julia on a ranch outside of town working for Elena Bennett and her son Cole. It is an experience far from her norm.

After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Julia has never stayed anywhere for very long. But things could change...

Zak, Erin. Breaking Down Her Walls. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.