Back I'm so excited about this
segment because, you know,
the weather is getting cooler,
which means it's a perfect time
to curl up with a great new book.
And here with six she thinks we
should know about is Misha Stone
from the Seattle Public Library.
Hey, Misha. So happy you're here.
Great to see you again. Amy, we've
missed you. I I feel like I need you
to come every month to tell me what
to read because I read them so fast.
But I'm excited about these
ones that you brought.
Yes. So tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
The author herself said it's about
art and love and video games.
And she said she wanted to tell a story.
It shows that a love story,
a good love story,
could also be a good friendship story.
It's about Sam and Sadie who meet in
a Children's Hospital when they're 12
in LA and they bond over video games.
They play hours of Super Mario brothers
and they have a falling out and
reconnect in College in Boston where
they actually come together over video
games and start making them together.
And I have to say,
you don't have to love video
games to love this book.
This is just an incredibly nuanced,
character driven book that if
you liked a visit from the Goon
squad by Jennifer Egan or the
Interestings by Mango Waltzer,
you'll love this book.
It's just so absorbing and I adored
it. I love it and I love the cover art.
That is really fascinating.
I do happen to love video games,
but I think I love a story
now more than anything,
so I'm excited to read this one.
Alright. The next one is Babel.
Yeah, so Babel.
So the author herself said this is
the love child of the secret history.
And Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell,
who are her favorite books.
It's a dark academia set in 1830s Oxford,
and it's about secret
societies student revolution.
An empire, and we meet four students
who are studying languages there in the
institute where Magic is created in,
in is maintained for that society.
And they are so wrapped up in
their studies and in the luxury and
glamour that Oxford offers them,
they have no idea that the work they're
doing is maybe serving sinister ends.
And so it's one of those slow
burns that once the fire is lit,
it just goes off with a bang.
It's fireworks to the end.
You brought this one for me? And yeah,
yeah, I love this. I love
this kind of book.
This is a really, really fun read.
And it's a long one too.
So you're really kind of taking
your time and reading that.
Yeah, perfect for fall. I love that.
OK, nothing but blackened teeth.
What is this?
This is a disturbing cover.
That's the point. So it's
October. I had to get a
little spooky stuff in
there. And this is about a group
of friends that they have a
destination wedding in Japan.
And because the bride wants to
get married in a Haunted Mansion,
and this mansion has a pretty spooky history,
and the friends start setting up
this whole extravagant party and
they start fighting with each other.
So all of their petty dramas.
Actually prevent them from seeing
that they've awoken some pretty
nasty spirits that are living
in the walls of this place.
Ohh my gosh, things get super weird.
This is just a delightfully
chilling novella written with
a poetic and visceral style.
Cassandra just has the kind of writing
style that I can't compare to anyone else,
and it's just marvelously done.
Wow.
It
is a novella, so it's super short.
You can get through it if you,
you know, have a little trip
prepared. Yeah. Is it gory?
Yeah. Little bit. OK, little bit. This is
a good one. I think I know
who I'm getting this one for.
Our next book, Solito, and this
is getting a lot of attention.
Yeah, you know, I mean,
the fall is the perfect time for memoirs.
And solito in particular is
just such a powerful memoir.
And it's Javier is a more recounting.
When he was nine years old,
he left El Salvador alone.
He could not even tie his own shoes.
And he went on a journey that was
supposed to be 2 weeks and became 9 weeks.
So he recounts his experiences,
the harrowing and also the like,
heartwarming.
He talks about some of
the terror he experienced,
but he also shares the kindness
he experienced.
Along the way it's just a gorgeously
rendered immigrant story from again
the experiences of a young poet.
And it's one of those books
that shows you how the love
of family can keep you going
ohh you know. And it just opening up to
a random page and just reading this like
incredible dialogue giving me the chills.
I I think I saw him the author
speak on the Today show and it
was powerful to hear him speak.
It must be powerful to read the book.
And and Sandra says Neros Sisneros
she's written her reviews too and
she's an incredible author. Yeah.
So wow. OK, our next book, ducks.
Yeah. So this is a graphic novel memoir
and she's more well known for her sort of
whimsical web comics like Hark, a vagrant.
But this is about her two years
working in the oil sands in Alberta,
right after she graduated from college.
She wanted to get a job where she
could pay off her student loans.
And she is one of a few women in a male
dominated field working for oil companies.
And she, through these simple but
like evocative grayscale drawings,
shows you what it was like
to be in these isolated.
Work camps.
And it's just so marvelously told
you feel like you're right there
with these workers and it just
illuminates a kind of work that we
don't often see depicted in in memoir
and certainly not in graphic novels.
My goodness, you are absolutely right.
It is. It's, it's almost interesting
you're looking at this cartoon.
But the the subject matter is,
is very adult and very real.
Oh my gosh, this is an amazing book.
If you've never jumped into a graphic novel,
if you've never thought that it's for you,
you should definitely try it. Alright.
Last book, House of Broken Angels.
So I just want to say that House of Broken
Angels by Louis Orea, Al Boucher area,
he's just a marvelous storyteller.
This is our Seattle reads book.
This year it is about a
Mexican American family.
And they are coming together on
the eve of one of the Patriarchs.
You know, last days he knows he's
dying of cancer and then the
matriarch of the family dies.
So it brings everyone together.
It's about family.
It's about just the richness of
this family and what it means to
be a Mexican American family.
And I'll tell you,
he's one of the most amazing
public speakers I've ever seen.
Got to host him when this
book first came out.
So if you, you know,
want to go see him,
he's here on the 20th at 1:00
o'clock at Lake City and at
7:00 o'clock at Central Library.
So the 20th and you can also
sign up to attend online.
But seriously,
he's just an amazing public speaker,
a lovely human being.
And this book is just a
marvelous Seattle reads book.
Misha. Thank you so much.
And all this information is on the
Seattle Public Library website as well.
Thank you so much for giving
us these wonderful reads.
We'll see you in a month, OK.
Alright. Thank you everybody. Alright.