June 2023

 

Laura’s Picks:

tempest at sea Opens in new window

A tempest at sea by Sherry Thomas (2023)

Charlotte Holmes is back! Forced to go into hiding from Moriarty, the detective boards a boat to retrieve a dossier that might grant her some protection from him. It is sheer bad luck when a murder onboard threatens to reveal her presence. Can she discover the killer and still retrieve the dossier?


 

The warden by Daniel Ford (2023)warden Opens in new window

Aelis de Lenti, necromancer and recent graduate of the Magisters’ Lyceum, anticipates a first assignment worthy of her talents. Instead, she is sent to Lone Pine, a rundown village at the edge of the wilderness where nothing ever happens. Little does she know that things are about to get very exciting indeed. Bandits, rogue magics, and stray goats are only the beginning. 

 


 

Lauren’s Picks:

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (2013) Bone season Opens in new window

A dark and gripping mash-up of fantasy and dystopia set in 2059. In this future based on an alternate history, the new U.K. government, Scion, hates clairvoyants, or anyone with the ability to see and interact with spirits. This is unfortunate for Paige Mahoney, because she is one of them. She has been working in the criminal underworld of London, trying to avoid discovery. Her life changes when she is captured after an escape gone wrong and taken to a penal colony where she discovers the existence of the Rephaim, a species of otherworldly beings. There, Paige will hone her power and discover things about herself she never knew. 

 


John's Picks: 

Aurora by Daisy Jones & the Six (2023)aurora

The real debut album by the fictional band Daisy Jones & the Six based on the TV miniseries and book of the same name by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  Serving as both the fictional band’s commercial release as well as the soundtrack to the actual television series, the album was written by California songwriter, Blake Mills, and performed by the show’s lead cast.  According to Reid, the album was loosely based on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, and it’s not too hard to hear the similarities; it really does sound like an authentic record from the seventies. 

 

Egypt Station by Paul McCartney (2018) egypt station

The seventeenth studio album by the former Beatle and named after a painting McCartney himself had painted some thirty years prior that serves as the cover art.  To promote the album, McCartney went on a world tour and also performed several secret concerts throughout England.  Containing sixteen tracks of new material including the singles “I Don’t Know” and “Come on to Me”, the songs are written about modern themes but with McCartney’s classic musicianship.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Guardians of galaxy

The first film in the Guardians trilogy retroactively referred to as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 directed by James Gunn.  The film tells the story of Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, as he and a ragtag group of space outlaws search for a powerful artifact with mysterious properties.  The film was a surprise hit, considering it featured a cast of Marvel superheroes that most people were unfamiliar with at the time.  With the final film in the trilogy having just been released last month, now would be a good time to go back and watch the movie that started it all.