Book Reviews (and the local bookstore / library where I got them)

By Kirsten Laaspere on  2020-10-14

Here are some books I liked. You might like them too. 

Word Nerd Books

Eats, Shoots, & Leaves (gift)

The author carries with her apostrophe stickers to fix signage. Some people will think this is crazy, some people will respect this and find it calming - if you’re the latter, this book is for you! Not only does it espouse the importance of the Oxford Comma LINK TO OXFORD COMMA BLOG but it demonstrates the history, use, and value of all varieties of punctuation. (Special shout out to the interrobang - we barely knew thee.)

Just My Type (gift)

If you are the kind of person who notices fonts on menus, marquees, and logos, this is the book for you. Did you know the London Underground has its own font? Or the etymology of upper and lower case? This book is full of those fun facts! Nerd out about fonts in this easy to read gem.

Holy Sh*t - Norwich Bookstore (Norwich, VT)

As someone who struggles reading non-fiction, it was still a little dense, but I learned a lot and it was interesting enough to keep my attention (I just read it in smaller chunks than my usual multi-hour down the rabbit hole reading sessions). Tracking the historical evolution of which was more abhorrent: oaths or swears is a fascinating study of world culture.

New Favorite

The Starless Sea - Porter Square Books (Somerville, MA)

The moment I finished this book, I wanted to immediately start reading it again. It’s a story about the magical transformative power of books, packaged within a magically transformative book. The characters you follow are complex and true, and the story is packed with adventure, hope, loss, triumph, mystery, loyalty, and memory. If you are a lover of books, you will be as enamored as I am with this tribute to the power of a story.