Author: Liberty Hardy

This is a remarkable, powerful work of autobiographical fiction. It’s based on true events in Berest’s family’s life, and indeed, the main character is named Anne Berest. Two decades ago, sixty years after the end of WWII, the Berest family received a mysterious postcard. On the back were the names of several members of their family who were killed at Auschwitz. Anne and her mother enlist the help of others, amateur detectives and professionals, to discover where the postcard came from and to learn more about the family they never knew. This puzzle will take them all over the globe, and it’s a beautiful, sad story that will get its hooks in your heart. The Postcard won the Choix Goncourt Prize, which is widely considered to be France’s most important literary award. (CW for the horrors of war and mass genocide, including antisemitism, torture, violence, murder, and loss of loved ones.)

Backlist bump: Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky, Sandra Smith (translator)

Here is a wonderful memoir from Tin House, one of my favorite small presses! This is Wong’s story of growing up in the 1980s in Atlantic City. She and her brother were raised in their family’s Chinese restaurant on the Jersey shore. But as her family worked to achieve the “American dream”, her father was fighting a battle with his gambling addiction, one that would eventually cost his family everything. This is an honest and forgiving recollection of a childhood, one of those memoirs that is an examination of events as an adult that maybe you didn’t understand fully as a child, and is perfect for fans of Seeing Ghosts and Stay True. (CW for racism and racist language, substance abuse, and domestic violence.)

Backlist bump: Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir by Kat Chow

And last, but not least, the new novel from one of my auto-buy authors! I am a HUGE fan of Nick Harkaway (and his alter ego Aidan Truhan), so forgive me if I just squee for several minutes. His work is always MIND-BLOWING. Even just trying to succinctly describe this novel, a book I have already read, is tying my brain in knots. It’s a classic noir-meets-sci-fi mystery, about a detective who is called in to investigate a murder. The victim? A genetically-modified Titan, one of a few thousand elites with their genes rearranged to live a longer life. (Oops.) Cal Sounder is an expert on Titans, but as he digs deeper into the murder, his investigation is going to take him down a dark path that he may never return from. (CW for violence and murder, classism.)

Backlist bump: The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

This week, I am reading When Crack Was King: A People’s History of a Misunderstood Era by Donovan X. Ramsey and When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb. I also just got Madonna: A Rebel Life by Mary Gabriel, which I am very curious about but I don’t know if I am ready for 900 pages of Madonna just yet. In other news, the Celtics just won the Eastern conference semifinals (yay!), so I am taking the next few days until the first new conference game on Wednesday to avoid screens and cram as many books as I can into my brain pan. (Nom nom nom.) The song stuck in my head is “Missed the Boat” by Modest Mouse. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon is helping me rearrange the shelves in my library. Doesn’t this look helpful?

Aria Cayetano used to be able to see ghosts, until a special tea helped cut her connection to the spirit world. Aria also used to have a best friend who lived across the street, Derek Johnson, until their friendship was severed too. But then he starts acting strangely and the rosebush in front of his house wilts from mysterious circumstances. Aria thinks something supernatural is going on, and she’s going to have to face ghosts and her ex-best friend in order to save him and restore peace to their neighborhood. This is a solid, entertaining second novel, with ghosts, grievances, and romance. (CW for substance use, illness, injury, violence, death, and loss of a loved one.)

Backlist bump: Deep in Providence by Riss M. Neilson (Out in paperback today!)

When Victor Frankenstein’s great-niece stumbles upon his controversial works, she decides to take up where he left off. Mary has grand ambitions of being a scientist, but hasn’t had much luck. She realizes her discovery could change things for her and her husband. But before she can do anything with the information, they will have to flee to Scotland and try and protect the information from a rival who will stop at nothing to get it. This is a fantastic Gothic debut from a new young talent, for fans of Frankenstein, queer historical fiction, horror, and fun! (CW for mentions of violence, gore, animal death, child loss, miscarriage, and misogyny.)

Backlist bump: The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

And I have had a really amazing year reading middle grade graphic novels. I haven’t read many in the last few years, and I am so glad I decided to dive into them in 2023. This is an excellent medieval story about a clever young squire called, er, Squire, who travels with the big, brave (boneheaded) knight Sir Kelton. When they stop in a small village on their travels, the villagers implore them to vanquish the dragon who plagues their town. But it will turn out that it is actually Squire who has all the brains and bravery, and is the one who can fix the dragon problem. The story is charming and the art is wonderful! Plus: bone dog!

Backlist bump: Apprentice Lord of Darkness by Ced

This week, I am reading System Collapse, the seventh Murderbot Diaries book by Martha Wells and Saint Juniper’s Folly by Alex Crespo. Outside of books, I am rewatching one of my favorites, Regular Show. It’s so weird and ridiculous and easy on my brain. I’m a fan of the eleven-minute episode format employed by the cartoon network. The song stuck in my head is “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon sleeps like he’s Marty McFly.

This week: I’m currently reading Swim Home to the Vanished by Brendan Shay Basham, Godkiller by Hannah Kaner, and North Woods by Daniel Mason. Outside of books, the Celtics have advanced to the Eastern Conference playoff semi-finals, so I am locked in to that. I love watching basketball so much! And I have started rewatching Gravity Falls, because of course I have. (This is the 14th, maybe 15th time?) The song stuck in my head right now is “HandClap” by Fitz and The Tantrums. And here’s a cat photo: This is Farrokh, chilling on a case of Agatha Christie books.

This is a wonderful novel about a queer Palestinian American woman with blue skin. When Betty was born, her blue skin led her great-aunt Nuha to declare her special, like the color of lapis lazuli royalty. Betty is raised by several women in her family, including her larger-than-life great aunt. As an adult, Betty visits Nuha’s gravestone to tell her about the crossroads she is facing: should she stay with her family or follow the woman she loves to a foreign land? In the course of her struggle, Betty will learn all about Nuha, the hidden life and love she kept from her family, and have to decide what is the most important thing to her in her life. It’s an excellent family drama and a great piece of storytelling. (CW for violence, pregnancy trauma, war and war casualties, infidelity, body shaming, loss of a loved one, and repeated mentions of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide.)

Backlist bump: The Blue Girl by Laurie Foos

And this is another much-needed United States history book that centers Native people and their importance in U.S. history. Yale professor Blackhawk, of the Western Shoshone, explains how Native people were an integral part of many aspects of the country’s history over the last several centuries. Yet their contributions are still largely left out of the history books. There is so much information that will surprise you. This should be required reading for anyone who wants to learn — or teach — United States history.

Backlist bump: The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

Okay, so this book is a lot of fun, but you really have to suspend your disbelief and just roll with it. In this bloody YA horror, America has experienced a plague called The Hollowing, which turned some people into basically zombies. They’re alive and functional like everyone else, but they can only eat human flesh. The government invented a lab-grown source of food for them, and they are allowed to live their lives, although they are monitored and must check in with their case workers. Zoey, Celeste, Valeria, and Jasmine are four teens who are Hollow girls. They’re headed to a music festival to celebrate the end of high school. They came prepared with a cooler of synth-meat, but they soon run into dangerous problems when they start being unable to control their hunger for human flesh straight off the bone. It may be part of a nefarious plot to uncover Hollow people, and if they don’t escape the festival, it’s curtains for everyone. And Zoey thought her biggest problem this trip was figuring out her crush on Celeste. This book is a bloody good time! Yes, the metaphors are heavy-handed, and there’s no way the world would welcome people who eat people back into society. But it’s a charming, silly, queer YA horror novel that will entertain. (CW for many, many things, because it’s a gory horror novel, including lots of violence and murder, loss of loved ones, gore, homophobia, substance use, suicidal ideation, and transphobia.)

Backlist bump: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

This week, I am just started The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis and The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis, both of which I am very excited about. I keep wanting to reread Willis’s older books, but they’re so big, and I have so many other books waiting for me! Outside of books, I am digging the new game show Split Second on the Game Show Network, and cheering on the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. The song stuck in my head is “Loves Times Gazillion” by West Coast Exiles. And here is your weekly cat picture: Farrokh is practicing his gargoyle pose.

This is one of the most anticipated science books of the year. And it’s great! Everyone has their thoughts on whether we are alone in the universe. Science writer Green takes a look at the history of human’s belief in life outside of Earth, the scientific possibilities of other life, alien representation and ideas in pop culture, and more. Whether you think there are little green men, sentient rocks, Ewoks, etc. out there among the stars, or you don’t think life exists elsewhere, this is a fun read for science buffs and fans of learning alike!

Backlist bump: The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

On this week’s episode of All the Books! I was talking about how I thought I had horror book burnout, so I hadn’t read this one yet. But just talking about it led me to sit down and read this collection as soon as we were done recording! Due, who has written such great horror as The Good House and the collection Ghost Summer, returns with another scary selection of stories. The monsters and frights in this collection are real and spine-tingling, and often metaphors for the injustices still faced by Black people in America. There’s a daughter hoping to save her ill father with a wish, a bookstore manager dealing with a possible ghost, something weird going on at Grandmother’s house, a woman battling her demons, and more. Due is a horror master who deserves more recognition!

Backlist bump: Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due

And oh, my friends. If you are in the mood for a novel that will rip your heart out and slap you repeatedly in the face with it, have I got a recommendation for you. This is the story of two young friends trying to survive the violence and poverty of home life and Catholic school in working class Ireland in the 1980s. Tough-as-nails Juno and sensitive Legs lean on each other because they have no one else, and this story of their friendship is devastating. But it’s also a beautiful tale of survival and how friendship can be a salvation. It is a tough read but it is a great one. Heads up that this book includes many trigger warnings, including multiple instances of child abuse, child sexual assault on the page, homophobia, and substance abuse.

Backlist bump: The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe

This week, I am reading Come and Get It by Kiley Reid, Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo, and 1,000 Facts About Ancient Egypt by Nancy Honovich. Outside of books, I just caught up with the first three episodes of the current (and last) season of Succession this morning. What a delicious hot mess. The song stuck in my head is “HandClap” by Fitz and the Tantrums. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon has lived with us for over four years, but I still can’t get over how he folds himself into these strange positions. It’s like he has bones of cooked spaghetti.

After years of neglect, 2023 has turned into a big middle grade book-reading year for me. I have read dozens, both prose and comics! (Related: I read Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang this past weekend and loved it.) This is a wonderful, heart-squeezing speculative novel. It’s about a young Korean American girl named Maya and her grandmother, Halmunee. Halmunee is a magnificent cook, but lately, she has been losing her memory. When one of Halmunee’s meals surprisingly transports Maya and Halmunee back in time to when Halmunee was a young girl in Seoul, Maya will learn things about her family she never knew, as well as begin to understand Halmunee and her life better. It’s a fun and bittersweet story of aging and family. And it also includes recipes! (CW for illness and loss of a loved one.)

Backlist bump: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

And this is one of the most highly anticipated memoirs of the year, by acclaimed poet Maggie Smith. It’s about the breakup of her marriage, an honest self-reflection on what happened, and how it all unfolded. She has a particularly striking way with words, both in language and in how she sometimes limits her use of them, which I imagine comes from writing poems. Her prose is clear and succinct, detailing a moving story of marriage, motherhood, and loss. (CW for miscarriage and infidelity.)

Backlist bump: The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper

And last but not least, the story of a nonbinary teen named—you guessed it —Bianca Torre, who loves birds. While peeping on birds through their telescope one day, Bianca happens to witness a murder. When the police rule it a suicide, Bianca enlists the help of their neighbor, Anderson, and their crush, Elaine, to help them solve the case. But investigating a crime means Bianca will have to face up to some of their greatest fears, like being outside and talking to people. Can they fight their anxiety in the name of justice? This is a fun, twisty YA thriller with lots of heart and feathers. (CW for anxiety, violence and murder, animal death, and substance use.)

Backlist bump: Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig

This week, I am reading Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab, and “E” is for Evidence by Sue Grafton. Outside of books, I am impatiently waiting for the NBA playoffs to start. The song stuck in my head is “Human Fly” by The Cramps. (I always want to listen to The Cramps when the weather gets warm again.) And here is your weekly cat picture: Here is Zevon in his second-favorite pose (after the one where he stretches out as long as he can until he’s shaped like the head of a sickle). He will sit like this for several minutes before he remembers that he was washing his foot. He looks so inquisitive, but really, his head is as empty as Capone’s vault.

This week: I’m currently reading Multiverses: An Anthology of Alternate Realities edited by Preston Grassmann and “D” is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton. Outside of books, the regular NBA season is winding down, but my Celtics are headed to the playoffs. I started watching Lucky Hank, which is loosely based on Straight Man by Richard Russo. I read the book so long ago, I might have to go back and read it again. The song stuck in my head right now is “Wishing (If I Had a a Photograph of You)” by Flock of Seagulls, which is a better song than “I Ran”, in my opinion. And here’s a cat photo: Zevon is drooly and unruly.

If you had “Liberty will mention the new Kelly Link” on your bingo card, mark it down, because HELL YES. Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Kelly Link is my queen! And the stories are illustrated by the amazing Shaun Tan. What a combination! Link works her speculative fiction magic (for beginners) (that’s a KL joke!) in these seven fairly fairy tales. A professor tries to get home for an unmissable appointment; three siblings follow their father’s increasingly demanding instructions for the chance to be their father’s heir; a house sitting gig turns into a question of the existence of other worlds. These are weird, creepy, and delightful tales of science fiction and fantasy, and my only complaint is that there aren’t more of them. (P.S. Did you know Link has finished her first novel?!? I CAN’T WAIT.)

Backlist bump: Magic for Beginners: Stories by Kelly Link

This is going to be a hard week for me, kittens, so I apologize for not finishing my next two picks, but my brain is busy worrying about other things and refuses to cooperate. I did start this one, and I loved what I read. Probably because I love the work of Victor LaValle, such as The Ballad of Black Tom and The Changeling. This one is a historical horror novel set in 1915. Adelaide Henry is a young woman who must flee California because of what happened to her parents. So she heads for Montana on her own. Well, she isn’t exactly alone. She has a steamer trunk with her. The trunk goes everywhere she goes, and must never be opened, because if it is, bad things will happen. Awwwww, what’s in the box???! I can’t wait to find out! What a fun premise.

Backlist bump: The Changeling by Victor LaValle

And I’m really looking forward to picking this one up soon. I cannot pretend that I understand philosophy more than a teeny bit, but Bakewell’s books are fascinating and brilliant, and also accessible. This one takes a deep dive into what it means to be human. Like really, what about us makes us human? The book offers the opinions of several famous thinkers on mortality and humanity throughout history, such as Voltaire, Zora Neale Hurston, and Bertrand Russell. As someone who isn’t always sure I’m from this planet, I am excited to find out the answer.

Backlist bump: How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell

This week, I am reading Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, The Future by Naomi Alderman, and “C” is for Corpse by Sue Grafton. (I have a rare day off this week, so maybe I’ll get in a couple more letters, lol.) Outside of books, Poeltl, the Wordle-like game with NBA players instead of words, is bringing me so much joy, as is my Monk marathon. The song stuck in my head is “Natural One” by Folk Implosion. (Holy cats it’s so old now.) And here is your weekly cat picture: Farrokh is definitely judging you. Whenever he sits with his paws like this, I always think of this guy. “Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!”

Gaaaaaah, everything Barry writes is SO good. This is one of his shorter novels, but it’s still as wonderful and heartbreaking as his others. Maybe the most heartbreaking one yet. Tom Kettle is a retired Irish policeman in his sixties, living a quiet life in a castle annex with his memories and only occasional visits from his children. But when two police officers show up to discuss a case that has always bothered Tom, it brings old secrets to the surface. This is a look at the abuse of children at the hands of priests, the coverups, and the shame. It’s an important topic that still doesn’t get discussed (or prosecuted) enough, and Barry has skillfully and powerfully woven such injustice in with the story of victims, and family, and fading memory. (CW for discussion of child abuse and sexual assault, violence, murder, and suicide.)

Backlist: Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

This is the second book in the Secret Staircase series, but you don’t have to have read the first one to enjoy it. Tempest Raj works for her family’s construction company building really cool rooms, interiors, and hidden staircases for homes. Their latest build is a mystery novel-themed house. (Can you imagine??!) But as often happens in mystery novels, there is a murder in the mystery house. (Is that meta?) Tempest was one of the people invited to attend a séance at the house before the body was found, and so was her grandfather, who is now the prime suspect, because he somehow wound up with blood on him. She will have to find a way to solve the tricky (stair)case before Grandpa Ash winds up behind bars! (CW for infidelity, violence, and murder.)

Backlist bump: Under Lock & Skeleton Key: A Secret Staircase Mystery by Gigi Pandian

And last, but not least, this wacky hardboiled mystery from one of the best crime writers out there. When Charlie Garner learns that his ex-wife Meg has been missing for a week, he decides to investigate. Little does he know that along with his brother and a journalist, he is about to be drawn into the wildest, weirdest case of his life. It involves a donut shop owned by a cult that believes in aliens, a chimpanzee, and a stockpile of weapons. It all adds up to more fun than a barrel of monkeys! (But not the chimpanzee, because chimps aren’t monkeys.) I loved this wild, weird, witty ride. It’s perfect for fans of Dan Chaon’s Sleepwalk. (CW for Sexism, misogyny, violence, gore, murder, animal death, illness, infidelity, chemical use and abuse.)

Backlist bump: Cold in July by Joe R. Lansdale

This week, I am reading The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng, Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin, and “B” is for Burglar by Sue Grafton. Outside of books, I have been watching lots of basketball and game shows. It’s wild how the subjects of trivia questions start to overlap when you watch three different quiz shows a day. The song stuck in my head is “Can’t Hardly Wait” by The Replacements. And here is your weekly cat picture: I bought a small trampoline (or rebounder) to try a new way to jumpstart (pun intended) exercising again. Of course, the cats immediately claimed it as a bed. I did manage to remove them, and then I jumped up and down on it for about thirty seconds, before I thought I might die. So I may let them have it after all.