Dear readers, welcome back and thank you for letting me share with you the books that I have been enjoying. As usual, I delight in a diverse range of genres. This month’s reads come from the genres of non fiction, fantasy, and horror. I greatly enjoyed reading these titles and I hope one of these catches your eye!
FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
A shout out to my fellow librarian, Aubrey, for recommending this title is in order. Thank you Aubrey! If you are looking for a book that stays with you long after the closing page, this one is it! It has been a week or so since I finished this book, but I still find myself thinking about it. Dear reader, this book is a work of fiction, but it could very easily be set in the real world present day. FantasticLand is a theme park in Florida built by an eccentric billionaire. What sets FantasticLand apart is that it is designed to be many mini theme parks in one. There are different sections of the park. All are designed to be their own unique world. There are places like The Pirate Cove, The Fairy Prairie, and so on. Everything is great until a super hurricane hits. In theory, the staff that stay behind to care for the park should be fine. There is enough food and water for everyone. Dear reader, if that were the case we would not have a story. What results is something that resembles a slasher movie as the young people trapped in the park turn on each other. Each faction fights for dominance as supplies dwindle. The sordid tale is told from the point of view of interviews with those who made it out alive. Only the survivors can tell the tale of what REALLY happened inside FantasticLand. What keeps me thinking about this book is that this is no ordinary slasher. It poses psychological questions about the effects of phone addiction on our young population. Yes, it is a fiction, but it makes one wonder.
Click HERE to request FantasticLand!
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
I love a good mystery with a supernatural twist. This one hit all the boxes of the kind of eerie mystery that I enjoy. The story revolves around an unsolved cold case. Thirty years ago Ethan and Billy were kids having a camp out in Ethan’s back yard. The tent was slashed. Billy was kidnapped. Billy and his kidnapper were never found. Ethan has blamed himself over the past thirty years for sleeping through the whole event. He could have witnessed something! However, he has no memories of the event. His only clue is the nightmare that plagues him, the tent being rent by a tearing slash. Now Ethan has to move into the house he grew up in since his parents are moving away. Once Ethan moves back into the neighborhood strange things start to happen. A figure lurks in the shadows. A mysterious baseball that used to belong to Billy keeps ending up in the yard. Could this be Billy’s spirit begging Ethan to solve this long cold crime? Ethan finds himself devoted to solving this mystery. He faces suspicious neighbors, family secrets, and the legacy of the cultish group that lived on the estate deep in the woods. If you like a good mystery with a tinge of paranormal, I highly recommend this one! This one also gets bonus points for 90s nostalgia.
Click HERE to request Middle of the Night!
Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson
Unlike the others in this blog post, Symphony for the City of the Dead is a true and heartbreaking story. This nonfiction follows the life of Dimitri Shostakovich from his childhood during the Russian Revolution and up through World War II. Shostakovich lived during some of the most historic moments in Russian History and his music reflects that. While other artists and musicians were executed under Stalin, Shostakovich managed to keep out of harms way even though all his work was censored for being “anti Russian”. Some believe that he used his music to speak out against Stalin and his regime. During World War II Shostakovich was living in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) when it was blockaded by German forces. Due to the blockade and how Stalin handled the war effort hundreds of people starved to death in the city. Those that clang to life were not expected to survive. Many say that it was music that kept up moral. Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony played a big part in what kept spirits up. In fact, his composition was smuggled past the German lines to be sent to America. The Russians felt that by sharing their music with the Americans it would show that they were human too and strengthen the alliance. It worked. Shostakovich’s music bridged two nations and gave many the hope they needed for survival. Symphony for the City of the Dead was an eye opening read. I learned much of Russian history that I was unaware of. Dear readers, I greatly encourage anyone interested in history to give this book a read. If we do not learn from the past we risk repeating it. Even if you do not plan on giving this a read, check out Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony of youtube (I am linking it below.) It is quite the musical piece!
Click HERE to check out Symphony for the City of the Dead!
Click HERE to listen to Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony
Dragon’s Kin by Anne and Todd McCaffery
Dragon’s Kin is a book that is part of The Dragon Riders of Pern series. It can be read on its own, but it is the first in a trilogy. So far, this is my FAVORITE of The Dragon Riders of Pern series. I recommend this book to both an adult audience and a teen/young adult audience. Part of what I enjoyed so much was the nostalgic feel this book gave me. It reminded me of fantasy adventures that I read as a child such as Deltora Quest. One of the reasons for this is that Dragon’s Kin follows the adventures of a group of kids from a mining camp. Kindan is the main character. His family were watch wher handlers for the camp, but were killed in an accident along with the camp’s watch wher (a nocturnal dragon-like creature known to be able to sense bad air). Now, on top of being an orphan, Kindan must raise a new watch wher with the help of his friends. The only problem is, no one knows much about watch whers besides that they are related to dragons. Could watch whers be more powerful than anyone realized? Kisk, Kindan’s watch wher is absolutely delightful. But can Kisk help the kids solve a mining camp mystery and save the venture? Dear readers, this was a delightfully fun fantasy romp that I highly recommend to readers of the genre. Watch Whers have been added to my list of dream fantasy pets. They can grow to be the size of a horse (so more practical than a dragon). They can fly. They are super intelligent and can communicate to a degree. They are rideable. A watch wher would make a splendid animal companion.
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