shrouded skeleton statue

Daryl M.

Librarian


Posts by Daryl M.

  • Author Terence Kell and his latest book, The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence

    Interview With an Author: Terence Keel

    Terence Keel is a professor of human biology, society, and African American studies at UCLA. His latest book is The Coroner's Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence and he…

  • Author Christopher Huang and his latest book, A Pretender’s Murder

    Interview With an Author: Christopher Huang

    Christopher Huang grew up in Singapore, an only child in a family tree that expands dramatically sideways at his parents' generation. He moved to Canada after his National Service, studied…

  • Author Ryan Douglass and his latest novel, The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay

    Interview With an Author: Ryan Douglass

    Ryan Douglass is a queer author and poet from Atlanta, Georgia. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston, and his short fiction appears in All These Sunken Souls…

  • Author Tom Lutz and his latest book, Chagos Archipelago

    Interview With an Author: Tom Lutz

    Tom Lutz is the author of many books on literature and culture, as well as several books of travel writing and two novels. He taught, formerly, at UC Riverside, the University of Iowa, CalArts, the…

  • Author Rosie Grant and her book, To Die For

    Interview With an Author: Rosie Grant

    Rosie Grant is the creator behind @GhostlyArchive on TikTok and Instagram, where she researches and re-creates recipes found on gravestones. She works at the Center for the Study of Women at UCLA and…

  • Author Kamilah Cole and his latest novel, An Arcane Inheritance

    Interview With an Author: Kamilah Cole

    Kamilah Cole is the bestselling author of So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers. A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early…

  • Author Brad Meltzer and his latest novel, The Viper

    Interview With an Author: Brad Meltzer

    Brad Meltzer is the Emmy-nominated, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lightning Rod and twelve other bestselling thrillers. He also writes nonfiction books like The JFK Conspiracy, and the…

  • Author Tod Goldberg and his latest book, Only Way Out

    Interview With an Author: Tod Goldberg

    Tod Goldberg is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the Gangsterland quartet: Gangsterland, a finalist for the Hammett Prize; Gangster Nation; The Low Desert, a…

  • Author Theodora Goss and her latest book, Letters From an Imaginary Country

    Interview With an Author: Theodora Goss

    World Fantasy, Locus, and Mythopoeic Award–winning author and poet Theodora Goss was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in various European countries before her family moved to the United States…

  • Collage of favorite books

    Daryl's Favorite Books of 2025

    Season’s Readings everyone! As is generally true, there have been some marvelous books published in 2025, and I’m thrilled to share my favorites with you. I’ve listed these books in alphabetical order…


Reviews by Daryl M.

  • Cover image for Crossings : consisting of three manuscripts

    Crossings : consisting of three manuscripts

    • By: Landragin, Alex
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Crossings, Alex Landragin’s debut novel is as difficult to define as it is to describe. At its most elemental, Crossings is a collection of three novellas that collectively tell a story. There are elements of several different genres present: historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, and romance. And, perhaps most surprising, the...
  • Cover image for Before She Was Helen

    Before She Was Helen

    • By: Cooney, Caroline B.
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Helen Stephens lives a quiet life in Sun City, a retirement community in South Carolina. She regularly plays cards in the clubhouse with other residents of the complex, including her neighbors Joyce and Johnny. While she is mostly retired, she continues teaching some Latin classes at a local high school...
  • Cover image for It Came From the Sky

    It Came From the Sky

    • By: Sedoti, Chelsea
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Sixteen-year-old Gideon Hofstadt prefers an orderly life and an orderly future. In his schoolwork, he excels in the sciences, but struggles with the vagaries of the humanities. It is the same way he struggles with his relationships with his family, friends, and his maybe boyfriend, Owen. Gideon cares about Owen...
  • Cover image for The Operator

    The Operator

    • By: Berg, Gretchen
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    In a world where most people walk around with a telephone on their person that can allow them to contact someone anywhere in the country, or the world, easily and directly, it may be a bit of a shock to realize that as little as 50 years ago many people...
  • Cover image for The Darwin Affair

    The Darwin Affair

    • By: Mason, Timothy
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    It probably goes without saying that when Charles Darwin published his revolutionary theories regarding evolution, and their supporting evidence, in The Origin of Species in 1859, there was controversy. Even today, 160 years later, Darwin’s theory of species evolving over time still engenders strong feelings of resistance to his ideas...
  • Cover image for The Ghosts of Sherwood

    The Ghosts of Sherwood

    • By: Vaughn, Carrie
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    The earliest references to Robin Hood date back to the 14th century, and the earliest surviving copies of the story are from the 15th century. The details may change, but the core of the legend concerns a nobleman turned outlaw with a band of followers known as the Merry Men...
  • Cover image for A Star is Bored

    A Star is Bored

    Kathi Kannon is the daughter of a famous actress mother, and went on to gain her own fame as Princess Talara in the space spectacular, Nova Quest. She has gone on to work as a script doctor and written several novels, but several decades later she is a star in...
  • Cover image for Pretty as a Picture

    Pretty as a Picture

    • By: Little, Elizabeth
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A young film editor in need of a job is offered one that, at first, seems too good to be true: working for an Oscar-winning director on a high-profile project on location. But, as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, it more than likely is...
  • Cover image for When we were magic

    When we were magic

    • By: Gailey, Sarah
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    After graduation, prom night is often the penultimate event in the life of a high school senior. Students may save, plan and dream about the night for months or even years prior to going. So what happens when the prom doesn’t go the way you planned? What if something truly...
  • Cover image for The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

    The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

    • By: Maggie Tokuda-Hall
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A young noblewoman is betrothed by her parents into an unwanted, arranged marriage. A young pirate struggles to survive and protect his brother from the dangers inherent in the life they have been forced to live. A mermaid is captured and threatened with death because her blood, when drunk, allows...