shrouded skeleton statue

Daryl M.

Librarian


Posts by Daryl M.

  • Collage of favorite books

    My Favorite Books of 2023

    Season’s Readings everyone! As is generally true, there have been some marvelous books published in 2023, and I’m thrilled to share my favorites with you. As I’ve done the last few years, I’ve listed…

  • Author Delilah S. Dawson and her latest novel, Midnight at the Houdini

    Interview With an Author: Delilah S. Dawson

    Delilah S. Dawson is the New York Times bestselling writer of Star Wars: Phasma, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, The Disney Mirrorverse: Pure of Heart, Bloom, The…

  • Author Daniel Sweren-Becker and his latest novel, Kill Show: A True Crime Novel

    Interview With an Author: Daniel Sweren-Becker

    Daniel Sweren-Becker is an author, television writer, and playwright living in Los Angeles. His play Stress Positions premiered in New York City at the SoHo Playhouse. He grew up in Manhattan. He is…

  • Author Connie Willis and her latest novel, The Road to Roswell

    Interview With an Author: Connie Willis

    Connie Willis is a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She has received seven Nebula awards and eleven Hugo awards for…

  • Author Lina Rather and her newest book, A Season of Monstrous Conceptions

    Interview With an Author: Lina Rather

    Lina Rather is a speculative fiction author and graduate student living in Central New York. Her short fiction has appeared in venues including Lightspeed, Podcastle, and Shimmer. Her Tordotcom…

  • Author Hajar Yazdiha and her book, The Struggle for the People’s King

    Interview With an Author: Hajar Yazdiha

    Hajar Yazdiha's an Assistant Professor of Sociology, a faculty affiliate of the Equity Research Institute, and a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar (2023-2025). Dr. Yazdiha received her Ph.D. in Sociology…

  • Author Dr. Kathryn Harkup and her latest book, The Secret Lives of Molecules

    Interview With an Author: Dr. Kathryn Harkup

    Dr. Kathryn Harkup is a former chemist and author. She completed a doctorate on her favourite chemicals, phosphines, and went on to further postdoctoral research before realising that talking, writing…

  • Author S.L. Coney and her debut novel Wild Spaces

    Interview With an Author: S.L. Coney

    S. L. Coney obtained a master's degree in clinical psychology before abandoning academia to pursue a writing career. The author has ties to South Carolina and roots in St. Louis. Coney’s work has…

  • Author Fulton Ross and his debut novel, The Unforgiven Dead

    Interview With an Author: Fulton Ross

    Fulton Ross is a writer and journalist from the Scottish Highlands. A graduate of Scottish literature and history from Glasgow University, he has worked on national newspapers for more than a decade…

  • Author Timothy Janovsky and his latest novel, New Adult

    Interview With an Author: Timothy Janovsky

    Timothy Janovsky is a queer, multidisciplinary storyteller from New Jersey. He holds a degree in theatre and dance from Muhlenberg College. His work as a humor writer has been featured on Points in…


Reviews by Daryl M.

  • Cover image for Conventionally Yours

    Conventionally Yours

    • By: Annabeth Albert
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A common theme in novels, motion pictures and television is the fine line between love and hate. One only has to look at William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (or it’s modern reincarnation 1999’s Ten Things I Hate About You) for an example of supposed loathing turning to love...
  • Cover image for Under the Rainbow

    Under the Rainbow

    • By: Celia Laskey
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    In a recent survey, the small town of Big Burr, Kansas has earned the title of “most homophobic town in the U.S.”  The non-profit that conducted the survey, Acceptance Across America (AAA), determines that the appropriate response to their findings is to send a task force to Big Burr. They...
  • Cover image for Upright Women Wanted

    Upright Women Wanted

    • By: Gailey, Sarah
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Esther just watched her best friend die. Beatriz was found to be in possession of “inappropriate” materials, and for that she was hanged in the town square. Esther’s father spoke from the podium about the dangers of “deviance” all the while keeping his eyes locked on Esther.  Beatriz’s death was a...
  • Cover image for Oona Out of Order

    Oona Out of Order

    • By: Montimore, Margarita
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Imagine it is New Year’s Eve, 1982. Oona is 18 years old and will be 19 at midnight as the year changes to 1983. She has her whole life ahead of her, including the type of life altering “big decisions” that face everyone at that age. But, when Oona opens...
  • Cover image for Heart of Junk

    Heart of Junk

    • By: Geddes, Luke
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Hmm, what could the following all have in common: an aging antique mall in Wichita, Kansas, where well established and novice sellers are struggling to keep the doors open in the age of online shopping; a child beauty pageant queen who has mysteriously vanished; and the hosts of a phenomenally...
  • Cover image for Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel

    Eight Perfect Murders: A Novel

    • By: Swanson, Peter
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    The owner of a Boston bookshop specializing in mysteries posts a list of books on the store’s blog. It is entitled “Eight Perfect Murders” and it lists the novels he feels have described unsolvable murders. These are murders in which the killers cannot be connected with their crimes. Years later...
  • Cover image for Ormeshadow

    Ormeshadow

    • By: Sharma, Priya
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    It is often stated that “The meek will inherit the earth.” While that is a nice sentiment, it is not affirmed by history. More often than not, those who hold their tongues and think before speaking, as well as those who avoid confrontation and violence to resolve conflict are the...
  • Cover image for Riot Baby

    Riot Baby

    • By: Onyebuchi, Tochi
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Ella has what she refers to as her Thing. It allows her to see things that have not yet happened. As a young girl growing up in Compton, California, this is more of a curse than a blessing. Ella is rarely happy by the future she sees. And, as she...
  • Cover image for Made things

    Made things

    • By: Tchaikovsky, Adrian, 1972-
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    Coppelia is not quite a thief and not quite a con-artist. What she is, or could be if she were living a different life, is an artist. A builder who could create function and beauty from raw materials, but only in a different life. A life where her parents hadn’t...
  • Cover image for Steel Crow Saga

    Steel Crow Saga

    • By: Krueger, Paul
    • Reviewed By: Daryl M.
    A prince, a soldier, a detective, and a thief. Four very different people, with very different histories and experiences. There are two things that they all share: they have survived the war that just ended, and during that war they have all suffered significant losses. Over the course of a...