Holly
Holly has worked full time as a bookseller since 1980. She has served on the board of Northwest Bookfest and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Her favorite books are children's books (the kind with pictures) and cookbooks (the kind with pictures) and she is a devoted fan of Ray Bradbury and Kate DiCamillo.
Reviews & Recommendations
Benjamin Percy’s essays on writing are filled with aha moments as thrilling as Toto pulling back the curtain on the Wizard. Citing passages from many sources, he elucidates the subtle principles behind arresting storytelling: the importance of place in fiction, how to use images in writing, why characters should have jobs, and so much more. He examines (and exalts) the writings of Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O’Connor, James Baldwin, Donna Tartt, and Michael Chabon so that we can see behind the curtain to that which makes them the masters they are. Whether this book makes you a better writer or not, it will make you a better reader.
This is what you need to read after Bossypants. This book is hysterically funny. It will make you laugh—the deep, hard kind of laugh where you think you might be choking or that you've ruptured your spleen. Quality sh*t.
Do you have cats?
Cats sure are keen
They fill your life
With pleasantries
... But only if you obey. FUNNY STUFF!
This is truly one of the best edge-of-your-seat fantastic sorcery-filled adventures EVER! A great read aloud for the whole family (or try the audio book for your road trip). Book 2, The Sorceress, is also available. Highly recommended!
In 25 or 30 years, when our children are reading aloud to their children about pirates, princes, and little women, they will also be reading from battered and cherished copies of "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane". This is a timeless, amazing book with all the beauty and heartache of the human condition stuffed into a rabbit named Edward Tulane.
If you are looking for a laugh (and I mean laugh so hard bodily fluids might expel), then Unabrow is your book. Una LaMarche is the soul-sibling to Tina Fey and Jenny Lawson (meaning she has a definite tilt to her worldview).
America is on the brink of a devastating war. Televisions as large as a wall are populated by reality shows. Ear buds help us tune each other out.
Fahrenheit 451 was published in 1953 and still holds devastating relevance today. Is reading important? Are books essential?
As a teen I was a huge fan of Monty Python. I had a poster of the group on my bedroom wall and spent many hours fantasizing about my life as Mrs. Monty Python. But I digress. Eric Idle's autobiography is absolutely sublime. Apparently he knew (or worked with) EVERYONE - George Harrison, David Bowie, Robin Williams, the entire cast of Monty Python, and the Queen (of England, not the band). I laughed. I cried. No, honestly. This book is spectacular.
Eric Idle is a true gem.
It's not just about bloodletting (although there are some great tales of leeches). It's about where blood comes from (not just geographically, but where too, in
the body). It's about the politics of menstrual products, and yes, it is about the science of transfusions and donation. George is the best kind of journalist: thorough, thoughtful, and personable.
Ten-year-old Mia Tang's parents are offered a job managing the Calivista Motel and the whole family can live at the motel for free. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it is. The truth is grueling work, low wages, and a heartless owner. The themes of poverty and racism (and their opposites of generosity and friendship) make this such a powerful book! Here is a book to share with everyone - kids and grown-ups alike, it will change the way you see the world!
