The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along […]

If you missed the second of my 2026 book recommendations events with the Ashland Public Library last night, you can watch the video on Youtube here. While last year’s program focused on both fantasy and science fiction, I’m primarily focusing on fantasy book recommendations this year. (But if you’re looking for more science fiction books this year, Elizabeth Bear has you covered!) This time, I highlighted the following: A Song of Legends Lost by M. H. Ayinde, an epic science […]

One week from today, I’ll be doing the second quarterly virtual book recommendations event with the Ashland Public Library in Massachusetts of this year. If you followed last year’s recommendations, both fantasy and science fiction books were covered. This year, I’m focusing on fantasy books and author Elizabeth Bear is covering science fiction recommendations. (She just did her second recommendation event last night, which made me want to start a couple of books on my shelves I still need to […]

As a Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose, the first book in a trilogy set in an alternate historical version of our world with dragons, was one of my favorite books published in 2023. Since I wanted to refresh my memory before reading To Ride a Rising Storm, the second book in the Nampeshiweisit trilogy that was released earlier this year, I decided to reread it and write a lengthier review […]