Sallie is one of our booksellers.
My go-to reading genres are sci-fi/ fantasy, literary fiction, mystery thrillers and a bit of science/real world phenomena. I also really enjoy fictional conspiracy type stories.
Favorite Genres: Sci-fi/Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Mystery/Thrillers, and Sciencs/Real World phenomena
5 Most Recent Books:
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5 Favorite Books:
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"When was the last time a book really threw you for a loop? The Silent Patient should be next on that list. We meet Theo, a forensic psychotherapist who endeavours to help a particularly difficult (silent) patient, Alicia, after she murders her husband and stops speaking altogether. Theo has his own unfortunate childhood to deal with, which clashes with his professional life in a delectable thriller that I couldn’t put down. Your instincts take a back seat in this story, which TRULY keeps you guessing until the very end. While this story does take its time with fleshing out the characters and their experiences, this allows the reader to become fully invested in your eventually outburst with the twist at the end. I wish I could read this book again for the first time. I would probably still drop the book right onto the floor from shock, all over again. If you’re looking for a refreshing thriller/mystery, do not pass this debut up."--Reviewed by Sallie
"You Know You Want This is a collection of guilty pleasure stories that will leave you wanting long after each story ends. Every situation the characters’ find themselves in seem, at first, very ordinary and typical. As each story unfolds, however, you become familiar with that nagging sense of ‘how you would react in each situation’ and it forces you to question your judgment based on what the characters do. You meet a couple who becomes dependent on their friend living with them far beyond what is appropriate, a group of girls who obsess over a scandalous movie in their early years, a man who questions how far is too far when Tinder is involved and various other characters who have perplexing experiences that mystify your fly-on- the-wall view of their lives. For some of these stories, you can easily see happening in your life, while others you would probably never admit that you experience out-loud. Each story is compelling, thoughtful and makes you take the time to contemplate how experiences that seem normal can become so enchanted or even confused. If you enjoy full bodied short story collections or the existing feel that a thriller/mystery story brings, this is the next pick for you."--Reviewed by Sallie
"The Dreamers is a beautiful novel, set in a town where you feel at ease. But the beginning of the novel soon changes this feeling, when college students start falling asleep and not waking up. Slowly, more and more students are affected by this sleeping spell. The news spreads out of their town into the rest of the state, and the rest of the country—everyone knows about the sleepy college town that is ACTUALLY putting people to sleep. The narrative shifts between multiple characters, where we meet a husband and his newlywed wife and baby, the students who are quarantined who were affected first, and a little girl whose family has been preparing for the end of the world. Each of these characters approaches the threat differently – based on what they know or have heard about it. Do they continue their daily routines or alter them drastically to stay safe? What is the cause of the sleeping spell? Why did it start with students at college? What exactly do they dream about – if they dream? I think about dreams differently after reading this book, and how each person has their own fears and hopes and how it all affects dreaming. For fans of Walker’s other novel, The Age of Miracles, if you’re looking for a love story about dreams and the dreamers—this one is for you."--Reviewed by Sallie
"If you enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale, Vox should be next on your reading list. This novel is about gender, language, and family dynamics. This novel is infuriating and makes me want to scream. This book shows what limiting one’s speech can do to a woman, and how far she’ll go to be free herself from oppression and save the people she loves. Our protagonist, Jean, is a neurologist, a mother of four children, and a wife. She’s a strong protagonist, save for the fact that she’s limited to 100 words a day. In her world, a year has gone by where the government takes control of the female gender’s speech and makes changes that set women’s movements back decades. Women’s movements were not enough. Marches, protests, all the things we see today, end up not being enough to make change happen—and the government takes notice. Vox is a story about an infuriating society that limits the female gender to 100 words of speech a day, with physical pain as punishment for using more than 100 words. The author, Christina Dalcher, studied linguistics prior to writing the novel, so there is a fluid connection between society and language, and how it renders some weak and makes others so strong—and how it shapes generations. This book makes you think about your own words, well after you put the book down."--Reviewed by Sallie
"In Ottessa Moshfegh’s new novel, we meet an unnamed narrator who embarks on an anti-adventure of sorts; she plans to sleep for a year in hopes of reawakening and ultimately resetting herself. It’s the year 2000, she’s young, a recent college grad, wealthy, and good looking. It’s extremely convenient that she’s living off an inheritance from her parent’s passing away. She’s working part-time at an art gallery, but this is only a minor distraction in her ultimate goal of sleeping as much as possible. With the help of an eccentric psychiatrist who really should be a patient herself, our narrator is prescribed many “downers” that will help her sleep and sleep hard, resulting in blackouts and sleepwalking excursions. She finds herself going to extreme lengths to preserve her goal and she internally examines many parts of her life that feel very influential in this undertaking. My Year of Rest and Relaxation is not what the doctor prescribed, but you’ll enjoy it none the less."--Reviwed by Sallie
"Not knowing anything about James Comey except for his title of ex-Director of the FBI and his involvement in the recent election, after reading A Higher Loyalty I have a better understanding of who he is as a person. I learned about his childhood issues and accomplishments, which shaped who he is as an adult and how he handled very intense and sensitive information and situations in his roles as a lawyer and the Director of the FBI Director. His writing was effortless and the narrative was easy to follow and understand. I enjoyed learning about his opinions on various issues over the course of his careers and how they differed from the perception that the media created about him. Much of what is discussed in the book is readily available due to the media’s coverage, but it was refreshing to hear directly from the source about so many topics that you never truly get the full story. Regardless of your political standing, this book is informative, easy to read, and gives you a clear picture on one mans involved stance on current events that continue to shape our society today."--Reviewed by Sallie
"A little girl and her 2 fathers are staying at a cabin in the middle of nowhere, off the beaten track, minding their own business, when they are approached by 4 strangers with an awful choice they force on this family. What ensues is a journey you have to read to believe, but along the way, you’re challenged as to who to believe and what to believe is really happening. Thankfully, author Tremblay doesn’t make you wait long. What I can tell you is that whatever you thought about this book – you probably aren’t even close. I know I wasn’t. I was NOT expecting to cry, I was NOT expecting
to be so engrossed that I would read the entire novel in one sitting. The journey these characters go through is raw and it’s hard to read. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s not overly graphic, either. Many times during the course of reading this novel did I look up and think, “What in the actual hell am I reading?” If you’re looking for a perplexing read that you’ll race through to figure out, this is the novel for you."--Reviewed by Sallie
"Ruth Ware’s 4th thriller/mystery is just as quizzical and nail-biting as her other books. We’re introduced to Harriet, Hal for short, who lives by herself in Brighton, who’s not doing so well on her own after her mother was killed in a hit and run 3 years prior. Being only 21, Hal had to step into her mother’s shoes as a tarot reader/psychic in order to make ends meet and she’s taken by surprise when an inheritance letter arrives, just when she needs it (money) the most. But the grandmother who passed away isn’t her grandmother...even though they share the same common last name, Westaway. Maybe there’s another Harriot out there who it was meant for? Hal makes a very difficult decision to con her way through this inheritance deal which ends up sucking her into a complicated relationship of the real Westaway family. This story has all the makings of a good thriller, and plot thickens as Hal rushes to find out the mystery before she’s found out herself. Even if you haven’t read any of Ware’s previous books, this is one you NEED to check out."--Reviewed by Sallie
One of Sallie's 5 Favorite Books
"I Am, I Am, I Am is a breathtaking memoir about 17 moments in O’Farrell life that almost caused her death. There is no linear timeline to the stories. They are not in order of when they happened. You can pick up anywhere and each tale reads like its own short story. In one of the tales, the author explains that she is writing these stories for her children who may run into the same issues that she has had her whole life, and hopes to help guide them when they have similar experiences. She details each of these 17 times in her life, elegantly and honestly, in a way that makes you think about similar situations that you’ve experienced and how easy and quick life passes by. Some of the stories make you sad, make you feel helpless as she details emotional roller coaster rides, while others are exhilarating and striking and make you hold your breath to see what happens next. As Maggie is already a published author of literary fiction, it’s no wonder that her elegant writing sweeps you into her life and stays with you long after you’ve finished reading."--Reviewed by Sallie
Recommended by Sallie
Recommended by Sallie
Recommended by Sallie
One of Sallie's 5 Favorite Books
"This delightfully colorful and informative picture book takes the reader inside the life of seven kids in different countries between the age of 7 and 11. We get to see illustrations of their families, their meals, their homes, their commutes, their schools, their experiences and the side by side comparisons really help illuminate how beautifully different and how familiar all of their lives are to each other. The cultures of each of these kids shine bright through the pages as we get a glimpse into their daily routines and learn ‘how they do it.’"--Reviewed by Sallie
One of Sallie's 5 Favorite Books
One of Sallie's 5 Favorite Books
One of Sallie's 5 Favorite Books
