11-08-2023 HGG1 - Flipbook - Page 8
8 Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Books for
Book Lovers
Great gifts for all ages
BOOKS FOR ADULTS
SHADY HOLLOW
Juneau Black, January 2022, Mystery, Adult
Wind in the Willows meets Miss Marple
in this charming woodland mystery novel.
All characters are woodland creatures living
harmoniously in Shady Hollow, until a murderer strikes. Reporter Vera Vixen teams
up with police bear Orville Braun to solve
the mystery. This is the first in the series,
and the fourth novel, Twilight Falls, will be
released on November 7, 2023.
BABEL: OR THE NECESSITY OF
VIOLENCE: AN ARCANE HISTORY
OF THE OXFORD TRANSLATORS’
REVOLUTION
R.F. Kuang, August 2022, Fantasy, Adult
Babel is an extraordinary combination
of fantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction. More of a deliberation on etymology
than fantasy, this novel is what Rebecca
Roanhorse referred to as “love-letter to
academia.” Set in 1830s Oxford, it follows
a young Cantonese boy, Robin, as he gets
swept up in the imperial ambitions of a
British Empire powered by silverworking
and its inevitable conflict with China. The
characters are so thoughtfully drawn out,
and you’ll find yourself immersed in an alternative, fantastical dark academia.
By Katie Turner
A
BOOKS FOR
YOUNG ADULTS
ny reader will tell you that the best book recommendations are not found on bestseller lists. Rather,
they come from other readers – the person at the library who excitedly shares the book they are just
returning, your running partner recounting her latest beach read, or a coworker who cannot stop
talking about his new favorite writer.
If you are shopping for a book lover in your life, the best source for recommendations is your local
bookstore owner. From the moment you step inside, you will know you have entered a reader’s paradise.
The animated whispers as shoppers share titles and authors, the brightly colored array of artful covers on
display tables, the soft smell of fresh paper, and the gentle whoosh of flipping pages.
Backwater Books, which opened in 2022 in Old Ellicott City, is just this sort of place. Right in the heart of
Historic Main Street, Backwater Books features two levels of books for all ages, cozy armchairs and tables
for browsing, and a recently opened bar. Owners Alli and Matt Krist, both former teachers, are happy to
provide the following list of recommendations for the readers in your life. And, if you are still not sure, then
stop in for a chat with your local bookstore owner!
CHILDREN OF ASH AND ELM: A
HISTORY OF THE VIKINGS
Neil Price, March 2020, nonfiction, history
Price dispels the caricatures and stereotypes of the Vikings to deliver a riveting narrative based on the most recent
archaeological and textual discoveries. This
is a history of the Viking Era told from inside
the Norse mind, not one pieced together
from the sporadic encounters of others. It’s
a wide-ranging tome, and by the end of it
you’ve visited everywhere from Iceland to
Constantinople, the Middle East, Russia
and North America. You’ll learn of Bjorn
Ironside, who sacked Rome, and Gudrid
Thorbjarnardóttir, the most traveled woman
in the world.
A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT
(MONK & ROBOT 1)
Becky Chambers, July 2021, Science Fiction,
Adult, Young Adult
In Panga, robots gained awareness,
abandoned their jobs, and wandered into the
wilderness never to be seen again. Centuries
later, a tea monk looking for his purpose in
life comes across a wild robot who must
answer the question, “What do humans
need, before returning to its community?”
Together they begin to find the answers they
are looking for. This heartwarming novel is for
THE HEAVEN & EARTH
science fiction lovers and any reader who is
GROCERY STORE
James McBride, August 2023, Literary skeptical of science fiction alike.
Fiction, Adult
Human remains are found during con- THE SILK ROADS: THE
struction in 1970s Pennsylvania. Small town EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY
secrets come to light as Chona Ludlow, THAT CREATED YOUR WORLD,
who runs the Heaven & Earth Grocery store, ILLUSTRATED EDITION
and Nate Timblin, the unofficial leader of the Peter Frankopan, September 2018, Children,
town’s Black community, must face their Young Adult, Adult
This illustrated edition for The Silk Road is
pasts. A beautifully crafted story that is comperfect for all history lovers. Beautiful illustrapelling and compassion
tions and detailed maps fill the pages of this
informative and easily understandable text.
Books continued on page 14.