Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Title: Night Film

Author: Marisha Pessl

Call #: PESSL

This is the story of Scott McGrath, a journalist whose entire career was trashed when he falsely accused the [fictional] cult horror film maker, Cordova, of evil things. When Cordova’s daughter turns up dead, McGrath is drawn back into the filmmaker’s world. But when you are trying to solve the murder of the daughter of a highly secretive man, whose entire life has been spent creating dark, disturbing, movie masterpieces, things do not follow the straight line of a basic mystery novel. Night Film is part mystery, part psychological suspense, and part horror movie. In fact, I loved how the entire book was written in an uneasy and unsteady tone that never lets up. And, if you are looking for a closed ending, stop reading this recommendation right now because you aren’t getting one here.

Recommended by: Becky

Chew by John Layman

Title: Chew: The Omnivore Edition

Author: John Layman

Illustrator: Rob Guillory

Call #:  G LAY

Welcome to a near future dystopia where a horrible bird flu has killed millions of people and chicken as a food source has been completely outlawed for our safety.  Tony Chu, a cibopath, which means he can get a psychic impression from whatever he eats and it also means that if he is willing to eat corpses, he can solve just about any case.  His job is to stop illegal chicken consumption. This is a dark, character driven story with cliff hangers, but it is not for the weak stomached.

Recommended by: Becky

Ines of my Soul by Isabel Allende

Title: Ines of My Soul

Author: Isabel Allende

Call#: ALLENDE

This historically accurate novel fictionalizes the story of the Spanish conquerors of Chile in the 1500s. Ines Suarez narrates the book in her old age looking back on her life that began as a seamstress in Spain, but wound up with her becoming the first Gobernadora of Chile. Ines relates the trials and jubilation, the hard times and the wonderful moments of establishing Santiago, Chile. Most of the novel is taken up with the story of Ines and her lover, Pedro Valdivia, the war hero, and their bloody struggles with the indigenous people of Chile. This is the story of Ines’ life, a chronicle of the founding of Chile, a comment on the price of “discovering” the New World, and a tale of the power of love.

Recommended by: Becky

Far Dark Fields by Gary Braunbeck

Title: Far Dark Fields

Author: Gary Braunbeck

Call #: BRA

Like most of Braunbeck novels, this takes place in the fictional town of Cedar Hills, Ohio. This novel has all the chills and horror fans crave by creating a creepy small town and populating it with troubled protagonists, dark secrets, and evil supernatural monsters. This is a smart, Midwest-flavored, gory story in which the reader is never quite sure whom they can trust. 

Recommended by: Becky

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Title: The Leftovers

Author: Tom Perrotta                  

Call #: PER

Set in the suburbs of a world much like our own, only here it is 3 years after some sort of rapture like event where a significant percentage of the population disappeared into thin air. This is a thought provoking literary novel disguised as a genre departure.

Recommended by: Becky

Becky’s Picks 2014

As the year comes to an end, the contributors to the Browser’s Corner would like to share some of the best books they read in 2014.  These titles were not necessarily published in 2104– only read this year.

Next up, Becky from Readers Advisory

I have my own blog, RA for All,  where I posted my top books for 2014 here.

Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

Title: Minority Report

Author: Philip K. Dick                   

Call #:  SF/ DIC

In a future America, the Police Commissioner John Anderton creates a “precrime” system which utilizes precogs (people who can see the future) to arrest people before they commit a crime.  All is going well until a precog identifies Anderton himself as the next criminal and he must find a way to save himself.  Despite the science fiction backdrop, this novel reads more like a typical fast-paced, suspense story.

Recommended by: Becky

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Title:  Never Let Me Go

Author:  Kazuo Ishiguro

Call #:  ISH

It is the 1990s in an alternative reality England and the reader is introduced to Kathy, our narrator and a student at the exclusive Halisham, a British boarding school for “special” students. This book is both a coming-of-age tale and a true dystopian science fiction novel in which the reader is asked to question the price we are willing to pay for scientific and medical advancements in our every day
lives.
Recommended by:  Becky

Passage by Connie Willis

Title:  Passage

Author:  Connie Willis

Call #:  SF WIL

Psychologist Joanna Lander invents a pill which will recreate Near Death Experiences. When Joanna tests the pills herself she keeps ending up on the Titanic. Evil Mr. Mandrake is also studying NDEs but is publishing false reports on his own fabricated experiments. Joanna is in a race to make sense of her findings and keep Mandrake from ruining her research.

Recommended by:  Becky

Becky’s Best of 2013

Title:  The Darkling

Author:  R.B. Chesterton

Call #:  CHESTERTON

I loved how this novel was Southern Gothic meets psychological suspense with a generous helping of horror on the side.  It is told in a flashback by Mimi, who is  telling the story of when she lived with a wealthy family just after college, serving as a governess/teacher to their three children.  This is a short, fast read where things go from uneasy, to troubling, to problematic, to terrifying rather quickly.  And the ending is fabulous!  We never know if we can trust Mimi and at the end we are left questioning everything we just read.  I closed the book and literally said aloud “Wow!”  In fact, I almost started it over again immediately.

Title:  NOS4A2

Author:  Joe Hill

Call #:  HILL

In this suspenseful, original and chillingly realistic horror novel, Joe Hill sets up an epic battle between our villain, Charlie Manx and a troubled Heroine, Victoria (Vic) McQueen.  Vic and Manx are among the few people out in the world who have access to the “inscape” which is a world of thought, where the science of the real world can be left behind.  This is an awesome, terrifying and thrilling story and it was just plain fun to read for this horror fan.  It is long but every detail and adventure are there for a reason.  Please, please, please read every single page, including after the acknowledgements in the “Notes on the Type.”  The story does not end until the last page with text on it.  That was one of the coolest things I ever experienced in reading a novel.

Title:  The Golem and the Jinni

Author:  Helene Wecker

Call #:  FANTASY WECKER

In this lyrical debut, Wecker combines fantasy and historical fiction in a cleverly told immigrant tale set in 1899 New York City.  But our protagonists are no ordinary immigrants – we have the Golem, a sentient creature made out of clay from Jewish Folklore and  a Jinni, a genie from Syrian folklore.  It is a serious look at folklore and immigrant life at the turn of the century but it is all packaged as a compelling and heartfelt story of two creatures looking for their place in a non-magical world.  This is a captivating and original story that reminded me of a combination of Forever by Pete Hamill (immigrant to NYC plus magic storyline), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (dark fantasy with amazing world building and fluid storytelling) and People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Jews and Arabs working together to save something precious).

Recommended by:  Becky