Mara
@mrlzbth.bsky.social
Public librarian/cataloger, voracious reader, history buff.
My first pick for #LibFaves25 is Mia McKenzie's THESE HEATHENS, historical fiction at its best that combines an entertaining story with real emotional heft. I loved it myself and have loved recommending it to readers! 💙📚
December 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
My first pick for #LibFaves25 is Mia McKenzie's THESE HEATHENS, historical fiction at its best that combines an entertaining story with real emotional heft. I loved it myself and have loved recommending it to readers! 💙📚
Also reading SCREEN PEOPLE by Megan Garber, which is really interesting so far! A nonfiction look at how our culture has shifted to encourage us to see ourselves and each other as characters whose value lies in how entertaining we are and all the ways that affects, well, everything. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Also reading SCREEN PEOPLE by Megan Garber, which is really interesting so far! A nonfiction look at how our culture has shifted to encourage us to see ourselves and each other as characters whose value lies in how entertaining we are and all the ways that affects, well, everything. #ewgc 💙📚
Reading THE FOURTH PRINCESS by Janie Chang now, a Gothic tale set at the isolated Lennox manor in Shanghai. You already have me at "gothic" anything, but throw in an unusual setting and I'm doubly hooked. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Reading THE FOURTH PRINCESS by Janie Chang now, a Gothic tale set at the isolated Lennox manor in Shanghai. You already have me at "gothic" anything, but throw in an unusual setting and I'm doubly hooked. #ewgc 💙📚
I've been on a mythology kick lately thanks to having spent many, many hours playing Hades 2...I therefore really enjoyed APHRODITE IN PIECES by Lauren J.A. Bear, in which the goddess Aphrodite tells her life story to a sculptor so he can capture her true likeness. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM
I've been on a mythology kick lately thanks to having spent many, many hours playing Hades 2...I therefore really enjoyed APHRODITE IN PIECES by Lauren J.A. Bear, in which the goddess Aphrodite tells her life story to a sculptor so he can capture her true likeness. #ewgc 💙📚
EVERYTHING LOST RETURNS by Sarah Domet is the story of the Earthshine Soap Company and the women who have shaped its history...a history that a lot of people are curious about now that women are reporting that the soap has made them sick. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:14 PM
EVERYTHING LOST RETURNS by Sarah Domet is the story of the Earthshine Soap Company and the women who have shaped its history...a history that a lot of people are curious about now that women are reporting that the soap has made them sick. #ewgc 💙📚
Enjoyed the world-building in THE HOSPITAL AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Justin C. Key and the fascinating premise of a society where almost all medical practice depends on AI...but a few doctors still believe in the power of human touch. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Enjoyed the world-building in THE HOSPITAL AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Justin C. Key and the fascinating premise of a society where almost all medical practice depends on AI...but a few doctors still believe in the power of human touch. #ewgc 💙📚
Read AGNES AUBERT'S MYSTICAL CAT SHELTER by Heather Fawcett during our recent big snowstorm and thoroughly enjoyed it! A perfect balance between being a read-alike for her Emily Wilde books and doing something a bit different. #ewgc 💙📚
December 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Read AGNES AUBERT'S MYSTICAL CAT SHELTER by Heather Fawcett during our recent big snowstorm and thoroughly enjoyed it! A perfect balance between being a read-alike for her Emily Wilde books and doing something a bit different. #ewgc 💙📚
Just finished IN BLOOM by Liz Allan, about a trio of teenage girls determined to clear their music teacher's name after a friend accuses him of sexual assault. A compelling look at poverty, desperation, and the complicated ways in which women interact with predatory men. #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Just finished IN BLOOM by Liz Allan, about a trio of teenage girls determined to clear their music teacher's name after a friend accuses him of sexual assault. A compelling look at poverty, desperation, and the complicated ways in which women interact with predatory men. #ewgc 📚 💙
HONEYSUCKLE by Bar Fridman-Tell is going to be a great book club pick with a ton to discuss. When Rory's older sister makes him a magical friend to play with, he becomes determined to keep that friend alive...no matter what it takes. A dark and unsettling exploration of power and consent. #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:19 PM
HONEYSUCKLE by Bar Fridman-Tell is going to be a great book club pick with a ton to discuss. When Rory's older sister makes him a magical friend to play with, he becomes determined to keep that friend alive...no matter what it takes. A dark and unsettling exploration of power and consent. #ewgc 📚 💙
Like her previous book The Night Guest, DEAD WEIGHT by Hildur Knutsdottir is a quick but extremely unsettling horror read--a woman gets more than she bargains for when a black cat shows up at her door. #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Like her previous book The Night Guest, DEAD WEIGHT by Hildur Knutsdottir is a quick but extremely unsettling horror read--a woman gets more than she bargains for when a black cat shows up at her door. #ewgc 📚 💙
THE MIDNIGHT TAXI by Yosha Gunasekera is a fun mystery about a taxi driver who finds herself in a ton of trouble when she finds that her passenger has been murdered in the back seat without her noticing. Oops. Hoping for a sequel to spend more time with these characters! #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:13 PM
THE MIDNIGHT TAXI by Yosha Gunasekera is a fun mystery about a taxi driver who finds herself in a ton of trouble when she finds that her passenger has been murdered in the back seat without her noticing. Oops. Hoping for a sequel to spend more time with these characters! #ewgc 📚 💙
FIREFLIES IN WINTER by Eleanor Shearer is gorgeously written historical fiction about two women who find solace in the Canadian wilderness--and in each other--in 18th century Nova Scotia. A fascinating historical setting, great characters, and an emotionally compelling plot. #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:10 PM
FIREFLIES IN WINTER by Eleanor Shearer is gorgeously written historical fiction about two women who find solace in the Canadian wilderness--and in each other--in 18th century Nova Scotia. A fascinating historical setting, great characters, and an emotionally compelling plot. #ewgc 📚 💙
Really enjoyed THE POET EMPRESS by Shen Tao, in which a desperate young woman quickly learns to wield power of her own after offering herself as concubine to the violent heir of a dying emperor. An engaging plot that went places I didn't expect! #ewgc 💙 📚
November 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Really enjoyed THE POET EMPRESS by Shen Tao, in which a desperate young woman quickly learns to wield power of her own after offering herself as concubine to the violent heir of a dying emperor. An engaging plot that went places I didn't expect! #ewgc 💙 📚
Can't rave enough about Avery Curran's SPOILED MILK, a gothic, queer coming-of-age story set in a girls' boarding school that had me totally engrossed from the moment the most popular girl in school toppled over a staircase railing. Supernatural horrors and uncaring/unhelpful adults, oh dear. #ewgc
November 6, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Can't rave enough about Avery Curran's SPOILED MILK, a gothic, queer coming-of-age story set in a girls' boarding school that had me totally engrossed from the moment the most popular girl in school toppled over a staircase railing. Supernatural horrors and uncaring/unhelpful adults, oh dear. #ewgc
DARK SISTERS by Kristi DeMeester was a great pick for around Halloween. One of those books where you have to ask, what's really scarier? The demonic sisters supposedly haunting the nearby woods? Or the oppressive power of the patriarchy controlling women's lives? Both made me shiver! #ewgc 📚 💙
November 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
DARK SISTERS by Kristi DeMeester was a great pick for around Halloween. One of those books where you have to ask, what's really scarier? The demonic sisters supposedly haunting the nearby woods? Or the oppressive power of the patriarchy controlling women's lives? Both made me shiver! #ewgc 📚 💙
Also currently reading ALL OF US MURDERERS by KJ Charles, which is bringing me exactly the romantic but murder-y Gothic vibes I want in October. A whole room filled with spiders, yikes. #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Also currently reading ALL OF US MURDERERS by KJ Charles, which is bringing me exactly the romantic but murder-y Gothic vibes I want in October. A whole room filled with spiders, yikes. #ewgc 📚 💙
Currently reading A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar, a suspenseful and moving story set in a near-future Kolkata about both a family frantically searching for their stolen immigration documents and the thief who stole them. Really good so far! #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Currently reading A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF by Megha Majumdar, a suspenseful and moving story set in a near-future Kolkata about both a family frantically searching for their stolen immigration documents and the thief who stole them. Really good so far! #ewgc 📚 💙
People love a good cult story, and PAPER CUT by Rachel Taff is a suspenseful thriller about a woman who's made a living telling the story of how she brought down a cult in her teens...but when a filmmaker asks to make a documentary about the case, the truth may finally be exposed. #ewgc 💙 📚
October 2, 2025 at 8:25 PM
People love a good cult story, and PAPER CUT by Rachel Taff is a suspenseful thriller about a woman who's made a living telling the story of how she brought down a cult in her teens...but when a filmmaker asks to make a documentary about the case, the truth may finally be exposed. #ewgc 💙 📚
THE BOTANIST'S ASSISTANT by Peggy Townsend was a fun cozy-ish mystery about a quirky research assistant determined to uncover the truth about a beloved professor's death at her small university. A great one to hand customers looking for something similar to Nita Prose's The Maid series. #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:22 PM
THE BOTANIST'S ASSISTANT by Peggy Townsend was a fun cozy-ish mystery about a quirky research assistant determined to uncover the truth about a beloved professor's death at her small university. A great one to hand customers looking for something similar to Nita Prose's The Maid series. #ewgc 📚 💙
THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE by Tiffany Crum is a fun entry in the "thrillers about podcasters" subgenre. Benny and Joy are long-time friends (and maybe more?) who host a podcast about survival, but when Joy vanishes along with her husband, Benny must race to find her. #ewgc 💙 📚
October 2, 2025 at 8:19 PM
THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE by Tiffany Crum is a fun entry in the "thrillers about podcasters" subgenre. Benny and Joy are long-time friends (and maybe more?) who host a podcast about survival, but when Joy vanishes along with her husband, Benny must race to find her. #ewgc 💙 📚
CAPE FEVER by Nadia Davids is an engaging historical Gothic read with an unusual setting. A young Muslim girl works as a housemaid for an eccentric rich woman whose intentions towards her are more complicated than they first appear...and whose house is full of ghosts. #ewgc 💙 📚
October 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
CAPE FEVER by Nadia Davids is an engaging historical Gothic read with an unusual setting. A young Muslim girl works as a housemaid for an eccentric rich woman whose intentions towards her are more complicated than they first appear...and whose house is full of ghosts. #ewgc 💙 📚
Loved the creativity of HELM by Sarah Hall, which visits various people over the centuries as they engage with a mischievous wind in Northern England. Reminded me a bit of North Woods, one of my favorite books of recent years. #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Loved the creativity of HELM by Sarah Hall, which visits various people over the centuries as they engage with a mischievous wind in Northern England. Reminded me a bit of North Woods, one of my favorite books of recent years. #ewgc 📚 💙
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER by Rebecca Philipson was an entertaining fast-paced read where a killer seems to emulating the advice given in a self-help book titled, yes, "How to Get Away with Murder." #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:10 PM
HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER by Rebecca Philipson was an entertaining fast-paced read where a killer seems to emulating the advice given in a self-help book titled, yes, "How to Get Away with Murder." #ewgc 📚 💙
CURSED DAUGHTERS by Oyinkan Braithwaite had me totally hooked from its opening pages. A girl believed by many to be the reincarnation of a dead relative struggles to chart her own path despite an ominous family curse. #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:07 PM
CURSED DAUGHTERS by Oyinkan Braithwaite had me totally hooked from its opening pages. A girl believed by many to be the reincarnation of a dead relative struggles to chart her own path despite an ominous family curse. #ewgc 📚 💙
I was surprised by how much I loved SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood. Great character-driven writing that surprised me with how uplifting it ultimately was. Sad it missed out on the Booker Shortlist! #ewgc 📚 💙
October 2, 2025 at 8:04 PM
I was surprised by how much I loved SEASCRAPER by Benjamin Wood. Great character-driven writing that surprised me with how uplifting it ultimately was. Sad it missed out on the Booker Shortlist! #ewgc 📚 💙