By Erin Kolb
Bookish books! What’s not to love? These newly published books about books, bookstores, booksellers, librarians, readers, and writers are sure to delight any avid bibliophile.
“The Book Charmer” by Karen Hawkins
Sarah is no ordinary librarian. To her, books have always been more than just objects: They live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. Sarah’s gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: The arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace. If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that the small town desperately needs. The problem is, Grace isn’t interested in helping the town or its quirky residents.
“The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michele Richardson
Nineteen and blue-skinned, Bluet is the last of the Kentucky Blues. In the dusty Appalachian hills of Troublesome Creek, Bluet has used up her last chance for “respectability” and a marriage bed. Instead, she becomes a packhorse librarian, riding up mountains on a mule to deliver books and other reading material to the poor hill communities of Eastern Kentucky. The tale was Inspired by the true and historical blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project.
“The Bookish Life of Nina Hill” by Abbi Waxman
The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, it’s time for Nina to come out of her shell. She wonders if this new, unexpected life can live up to her beloved world of books?
“The Last Book Party” by Karen Dukess
In the summer of 1987, 25-year-old Eve is an aspiring writer languishing in a low-level assistant job. With her professional ambitions floundering, Eve jumps at the chance to attend an early summer gathering at the Cape Cod home of a famed writer for the New Yorker. Dazzled by the guests, Eve lands a new job as a research assistant. A subsequent invitation to the writer’s exclusive "Book Party” leads Eve to discover some uncomfortable truths about the literary world she so desperately wants to be a part of and that not all is what it seems.
Kolb is the adult services librarian at Asotin County Library. Her love for reading began at a young age with the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series. Let her know what books you’re into now at: ekolb@aclib.org
