FIRESIDE BOOKS HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 2019 A selection of recent favorites picked by your local booksellers

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa The government systematically makes ordinary things “disappear,” perfume, calendars, roses, birds, photographs … and your associated

memories. But some people remember. —Mary Ann Steller’s Orchid by Thomas McGuire A young botanist finds himself in over his head on a to the Shumagin Islands in 1924 following rumors of an orchid last seen by naturalist Georg Steller. A wonderfully atmospheric glimpse into an old Alaska of fish traps, wooden boats, and inscrutable smugglers on wild islands. —Ruth Wanderers by Chuck Wendig A plague of sleepwalkers: unresponsive, unstoppable, explosive when forcibly halted. Incredibly compelling, stay-up-way-past-bedtime,

twisty and timely and scary! A deeply satisfying read. —Kate Refugium: Poems for the Pacific (edited by Yvonne Blomer) Ranging from playful to mournful, you can practically smell the saltwater when you read this stunning collection of poems about the

Pacific. —Jessica Belzebubs by JP Ahonen A collection of short mockumentary comics about everyday family struggles–when the family happens to be a black metal band.

—Justice

Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott No local history or anything before 1800 may be taught in this mysterious town. Join a delightful cast of strange but likeable characters to find out why! —Nathan Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson In this wonderfully bizarre novel, a woman is tasked with being the caretaker to two children who spontaneously combust into flames when

agitated. Strange, funny, and profoundly affecting, Wilson writes with a breezy style which, despite its premise, always remains grounded and tells a uniquely human story of the complicated mess that is parenting. —Ellis

Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern An intricate, beautiful, and beguiling novel that will entrance anyone who lives to get lost in stories. —Jessica

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips This novel’s vivid glimpse into the landscape and communities of Kamchatka may feel to Alaskans like looking into a strange mirror. Each

chapter could stand as a short story, but all the pieces add up to solve the propulsive underlying mystery. —Ruth Fiction

The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir A mysterious book with a mysterious Two necromancers compete in a Gothic signature leads to the unraveling of a space cathedral to serve the undying family’s history. I loved the characters in emperor. POV character is extremely witty this charming story. (Expertly entertaining and easy to connect with. —Justice narration on Libro.fm) —Mary Ann

Semiosis by Sue Burke The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn Clever, fun, utterly absorbing sci-fi for those What a thrilling suspense story! Untangling who like their science to be biology and their the mystery, whodunnit, how, and WHY? fiction to be epic. The story follows seven —Mary Ann generations of a small human colony adapting to the ecology of an alien planet,

where some of the plants show an unnerving degree of intelligence. —Ruth The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz A secret society of time-traveling feminist Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton academics race against men’s rights activists Cannibalistic in fancy hats! from the future, editing Earth’s timeline like —Nathan a contentious Wikipedia article. Set in the near future, the Ordovician, the 1893 World’s Fair, and the 1990s California punk rock scene. —Ruth Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft Nevernight by Jay Kristoff A difficult to recommend, beautifully A girl who can control shadows watches her bizarre, disaster-filled train wreck of a tale father hang for treason in a Romanesque about a couple honeymooning at the Tower republic and joins an elite school of assassins of Babel. —Nathan to overthrow the corrupt government. Very flowery prose and the narrator is deliciously sarcastic. —Justice The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook The Lost Queen by Signe Pike What a hoot! A fast read, funny and gritty, in which the classic Western role of ‘retired Richly written, mystical, and dark. This gunslinger talked into one last great pursuit’ sweeping historical epic will transport you to is here played by a dog. A panther-hunting the time before Camelot. —Jessica posse chases through the canyonlands of post-Civil War Texas, pursued by a murderer, related epistolary-style in letters to the circuit judge. —Ruth Middlegame by Seanan McGuire Two twins are alchemically engineered to All Systems Red by Martha Wells perfectly embody the principles of After hacking its governor module, a mathematics and science, and their 'father' depressed SecUnit watches media on the job. seeks to exploit their powers to attain —Nathan godhood. —Justice

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine Dog-sized, sentient, armor-wearing, by Gail Honeyman civilization-building SPIDERS. ...enough The quirkiness of the character was so said. —Kate endearing. The British still have a distinct way of quaintly portraying the socially awkward. —Mary Ann

Nonfiction

Winterlust by Bernd Brunner The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

A fascinating collection of facts and stories This is less a political book than a deep-dive about the cold and how humans have civics lesson into what our government is survived and thrived in it. Perfect for anyone and what it does, especially the most who is dazzled by the beauty of a frigid, important bits we forget to even worry snow-covered landscape. —Jessica about. It leaves you with a fierce pride in the dedication of public servants, and a dizzying Think Black by Clyde W. Ford awareness of how much we could lose or An intriguing and unexpected exploration of destroy through ignorance. —Ruth race, history, and technology, centered on Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty the career of the author’s father, IBM’s first Mortuary scientist Caitlin Doughty answers black software engineer. questions children have asked her about —Ruth death and what may happen to our bodies when we die. — Justice Deep Creek by Pam Houston Pam Houston’s gorgeous memoir of her ranch in the Rocky Mountains has special Atlas of a by Craig Childs relevance up here after our summer of Craig Childs sketches out what the earliest wildfires. Stories about her dogs and horses humans to enter North America would have alternate with essays on neighbors, nature, seen, drawing on archaeological evidence writing, the best and worst of humanity, and and a lifetime of his own adventures, from how we make our home on this earth. the Bering Sea to the Everglades, glacial —Ruth treks and sea voyages and a hilarious hide- Our Wild Calling by Richard Louv and-seek game in the desert. His writing is A thought-provoking call to reconnect with lovely and evokes a vivid sense of deep time the natural world and heal our broken spirits. that often made my hair stand on end in the —Jessica best way. —Ruth The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen Put your troubles in perspective with a good dose of geological thinking in this fun book At the Existentialist Café by Sarah Bakewell about mass extinctions. It’s invigorating to A concise biography of major figures of the contemplate the deep history of our planet in Existentialist movement, focusing mainly on all its cataclysmic glory. —Ruth Heidegger and Sartre, while also being an introduction to the basic ideas and literature of the movement as a whole. —Justice

Alaskana

Tip of the Iceberg by Mark Adams Tales of Alaska's Bush Rat Governor by Jay Hammond A lively survey of Alaskan history interwoven Alaskans of all political stripes can agree: Jay with an entertaining travelogue, suitable for Hammond was the best storyteller ever elected cheechakoes or serious Alaskana buffs, in governor. His wildly entertaining 1994 memoir which the author retraces the 1899 Harriman of near-death scrapes and humorous hijinks expedition via ferry and explores the history of also covers a lot of significant points in each port along the way. —Ruth Alaskan history, many we’re still arguing To Russia with Love by Vic Fischer about today. —Ruth Alaska’s most politically active 95-year-old Kochland by Christopher Leonard has been in the news a lot this year. His 2012 Wait, what’s a Wichita-based multinational autobiography is a must-read for all Alaskans. corporation doing in the Alaska corner? Hm, Read about how we became a state and what GOOD QUESTION. —Ruth Vic is still fighting for after all these years. —Ruth Graphic Novels

Skip by Molly Mendoza Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley Set in a surrealist post-apocalyptic world, Skip In this graphic memoir Lucy Knisley recounts is an explosion of vivid color and striking the birth of her first child: from the visuals. The story follows two unlikely friends, complications with conception, to the Bloom and Gloopy, as they find themselves complications of giving birth, to all the other hurled from dimension to dimension in a complication in between those nine months. tender journey of friendship and self- Sprinkled throughout are informative factoids, discovery. —Ellis , and misconceptions about reproductive Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda health. Sometimes hilarious and sometimes Set in a 1900s matriarchal Art Deco/ harrowing, Kid Gloves is an honest and society. Tells the story of a teenage intimate tale of the impact of one woman's girl, who has a psychic link with a of pregnancy and the transition into motherhood. tremendous power, struggling to cope with the —Ellis traumas of war. The art is absolutely breathtaking and the characters are all super unique. — Justice

For Younger Readers Picture Books

Nordic Tales (illustrated by Ulla Thynell) The Little Guys by Vera Brosgol A beautifully illustrated collection of A funny of power in numbers, and the traditional Nordic folktales. Perfect for reading responsibility of power, by the aloud around the fire. This would be a great author/illustrator of Fireside favorites gift for both children and adults! Be Prepared and Leave Me Alone! — Jessica —Ruth

Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis Duckworth, the Difficult Child Compelling storytelling, detailed research, and by Michael Sussman & Julia Sarda top-notch drawing make this Elizabethan-era One bookseller exclaimed “Did Wes graphic novel of an exiled Anderson direct a picture book?” Stylishly queen an absorbing read for kids or adults. illustrated and slyly funny. —Ruth —Ruth

Griffin's Feather by Cornelia Funke The Steves by Morag Hood The sequel to 1997's Rider. As A thoroughly enjoyable picture book, charming, delightful and funny as the original. starring puffins! —Mary Ann A quest to find a magical item to save a magical race. Brimming with creatures and tons of heart. —Kate Field Trip (Sanity & Tallulah) by Molly Brooks Sea Bear by Lindsay Moore Imagine if the author of The Martian wrote a Spare and beautiful, a lovely read-aloud on graphic novel for kids. Actually, he did, it’s the patient endurance of bears in a changing great too, it’s called Cheshire Crossing – but world. —Ruth THIS is the funny problem-solving engineering adventure in space you’d think he’d have written. —Ruth The Very, Very Far North Go for the Moon by Chris Gall by Dan Bar-El & Kelly Pousette We’ve seen a lot of books about the Apollo This absolutely delightful book is like a missions, but this one is a stand-out, with Winnie-the-Pooh for the Arctic. — Jessica excellent illustrations of NASA technology alongside a kid’s perspective of watching history unfold. —Ruth