This new addition to The Shelves is another of those single topic books – remember Salt? – about the history and influence of one specific thing. In this case, it’s a pretty big thing! Island: How Islands Transform the World by J. Edward Chamberlin: Island tells the groundbreaking story of humans and islands throughout history, and illuminates the ways in… Read more

Now, I’m not sure that I remember requesting this one, but I think everyone could use a little happiness in their lives: A Private History of Happiness: Ninety-Nine Moments of Joy from Around the World offers a fresh look at happiness that belonged to particular days as they were lived by real people—across many centuries and from around the world—and… Read more

Now this is a new book to get excited about! I knew I wanted this as soon as I heard about it – check back on June 29th for my review as part of the FaceOff blog tour! Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci and including stories by Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and more, this one-of-a-kind… Read more

This is one of those review copies that you get really excited about.  I’m somewhat familiar with the custom at the heart of the story, and I am really looking forward to reading it – The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi: Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi’s literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to… Read more

I’m pretty sure I remember requesting this one. I like a good murder mystery and I have high hopes for Painting With Fire: An Artistic Murder Mystery by K. B. Jensen: Claudia Wilson never quite trusted her roommate, an artist named Tom. After finding a body buried in a snow bank outside her front door, her suspicions about his eccentric behavior… Read more

I know I didn’t request this one – I never review romance and I didn’t read the first book in the series. But who knows? I like the cover and it might make a good beach read. Anyone have a recommendation one way or the other about Inked Armor by Helen Hunting? In this follow-up to Clipped Wings, the emotional love story… Read more

Now, originally I got this confused with the movie of the same title, but Far North by Marcel Theroux is a very different story. Doesn’t mean they could make a movie out of it with Sean Bean, though. IJS. My father had an expression for a thing that turned out bad. He’d say it had gone west. But going west always… Read more

Birthdays of a Princess by Helga Zeiner: One October morning, Melissa watches a breaking news story on television. A young girl has been filmed by bystanders, committing a brutal assault in broad daylight in a downtown Vancouver Starbucks … and it looks like the girl is her daughter. From this moment on, a story unfolds, so shocking, that it will… Read more

Another title from my personal library, Long Knives by Charles Rosenberg:  Jenna James’s life has been smooth sailing since she left the high-powered law firm of Marbury Marfan. She’s happily ensconced as a professor at a prestigious law school, where she’s well liked by her students, coupled-up with a handsome colleague, and on track for tenure. But things take a shocking… Read more

I am really looking forward to this one – The Wicked by Douglas Nicholas. Last January, I reviewed the first book in this series, Something Red and really enjoyed it. I’m betting book two is going to be a great read. Something evil has come to reside in a castle by the chill waters of the North Sea: men disappear and are… Read more