Our Book Whisperer Linda Sullivan gives two extremes this week to stretch our imagination: The Midnight Library and Half Sick of Shadows.
Linda gives cautions with this first recommendation, The Midnight Library, by author Matt Haig. The protagonist, Nora, suffers from depression and anxiety, attempting suicide by overdose a few chapters into the story. Then, Nora visits a library filled with books about her “road(s) not taken.”
Linda asks, “Regrets. We all have them. Have you ever wondered how your life would be different if you could live your what if…?” Read or listen to the audio and find out how Nora reacts to her what ifs?
Matt Haig is an English author and journalist who has written both fiction and non-fiction novels for children and adults. He has sold over three million books worldwide with The Midnight Library being his No. 1 bestseller.
The second recommendation for this week, Half Sick of Shadows, is the debut adult fantasy novel for author Laura Sebastian.
Linda questions:
Do you enjoy Arthurian mythology?
Have you ever read Lord Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shalott (Poetry Foundation)
Linda tells us Half Sick of Shadows is a feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend and the main character is “The Lady” aka Elaine. Linda has enjoyed many movies and books about King Arthur, Sir Lancelot and Camelot through the years, although the way the female characters are portrayed usually bothered her.
In this novel, Sebastian focuses on the friendships of Elaine, Morgana, and Guinevere. Linda warns the story jumps back and forth in time, but she says, “the first line of the book sucked me in, so I had to see how the story unfolded.”
Laura Sebastian was born and raised in South Florida but currently lives in London with her two dogs. Sebastian has always loved telling stories. When she isn’t writing, she loves reading, cooking or baking and clothes shopping.
Remember: Knox County Online Library to search for Linda’s recommendations each week.
All of us have a story and I want to tell yours! Send them to susan@knoxtntoday.com.