Part Planet of the Apes, part 2001: A Space Odyssey; “Semiosis”, by Sue Burke, tells the story of a group of astronaut colonists, and the planet they discover. “Semiosis” is a generational novel, each chapter is told from the first-person perspective of a member of a new generation – beginning with original team of astronauts. […]
Being a teenage girl is rough. Being a teenage girl trapped on an island while a mysterious illness transforms you and your friends into strange, animal-human hybrids and destroys the wilderness around you? Well, that’s a hardship I’ll probably never be able to relate to. And that’s what the characters in WILDER GIRLS have to […]
Reading slumps aren’t uncommon. Lately, I’ve been starting books, only to return them unfinished. In times like these, I often turn to short stories to help me get back into the groove. Short stories take the pressure off of reading. I don’t have to track characters and plots for hundreds of pages. And this is […]
I became familiar with Ted Chiang after seeing the movie The Arrival. If you haven’t seen it, I don’t want to spoil too much, but it’s a fascinating take on making first contact with an alien species. Chiang wrote the novella called Story of Your Life that the movie was based on. The story plays […]
I’m a sucker for alternate universe stories. Exploring “what if” questions is just so much fun. “What if” can range from the small to grand questions of life. What if I hadn’t made that left turn? What if I had taken that job? What if I had moved to Seattle? I was really excited to […]
I’m a horror fan. Well, a lightweight horror fan. I much prefer horror stories I can explain away so I can sleep at night. If I haven’t watched a haunted videotape, the ghost can’t possibly get to me. Right? Right?! So when I heard John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of the vampire novel Let the Right […]
When I first read the summary of BITTER ORANGE by CLAIRE FULLER, I thought it would be a fast-paced murder mystery. I was wrong. Bitter Orange is tense, with plenty of moments that work together to build toward a shocking ending. With a small cast of characters, Fuller intimately explores the intricacies of human nature […]
This week, instead of writing a book review, I wanted to take a minute to introduce a new service for Joplin Public Library patrons. It’s called Hoopla, and it’s a great way to use a variety of electronic resources. Whether you need audiobooks for your commute, want to preview the newest Ariana Grande album, or […]
Stories about haunted houses have been told for thousands of years. According to my research, one of the first written haunted house stories comes from Pliny the Younger, sometime between 61 and 115 AD. Stories about hauntings have stuck with us for thousands of years, turning the comfort of our homes into entities with minds […]
I don’t usually read true-crime books. The genre has never really appealed to me. The ways in which human beings can be awful leaves me lying awake at night as it is. But, as the internet makes the world ever more connected, it seems like these sorts of stories pop up on every form of […]
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