The Book Shire

book recommendations

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Back in my Super Nerd days of Academic Decathlon tournaments, I read a tiny book called Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a novel that is considered by many to [...]

The One by Kiera Cass

Who doesn't love a happy ending? Look, I'm not saying that I can't appreciate a sad one, or a bittersweet one, but I'm a sucker for a well-written "happily [...]

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer

  Even its name betrayed the problem. Reality TV: two antonyms right next to each other. It was as bad as "jumbo shrimp" or "fun run."    There are few [...]

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I adore Mindy Kaling. Not because she's a fantastic actress, which she is, or even because she is hilarious, which, again, she is. No, I adore Mindy because [...]

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

What do Kurt Cobain, Amelia Earhart and Heath Ledger all have in common? They're dead, for starters, and therefore they're perfect for spilling your secrets [...]

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A good mystery can keep anyone up late into the night. In fact, some of my earliest reading memories are of reading Mary Higgins Clark's Daddy's Little Girl, [...]

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

A bookstore piled high with indecipherable volumes. A high-tech animated boob designer obsessed with fantasy. A Googler obsessed with immortality. A [...]

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fan Fiction is a tricky subject. There are authors who vehemently oppose it - stating that it's a breach of copyright, that it violates an author's ownership [...]

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

"Brains love poetry. It's sticky stuff." This beautiful quote exemplifies what makes Eleanor & Park one of the best books I read this year. Rainbow [...]