Category Archives: From the Stacks – A few favorites

In this social novel written toward the end of the Edwardian era, a British man from the lower class works with his uncle to advertise and sell “Tono-Bungay”—in reality, a useless medicine—to the masses. He and his family achieve great … Continue reading →

Originally written to illustrate the life of a Lithuanian immigrant, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle became more well-known for its depiction of the unsanitary and unsafe practices of the meatpacking industry. Descriptions of horrors such as workers falling into the grinding … Continue reading →

The title of this book:  From the Land of the Snow-Pearls: Tales from Puget Sound is so enchanting who could resist further exploration. The book is a collection of short stories that reflect the natural beauty of the area and … Continue reading →

After having killed off the popular detective Sherlock Holmes and effectively ending the series, The Hound of the Baskervilles marks Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s return to the Holmes storyline. The story follows the characteristic Sherlock Holmes crime pattern, introducing several … Continue reading →

L. Frank Baum set out to write a fairy tale for children that was specifically American, not European.  His work became popular immediately and the characters, tropes and phrases that he created remain recognizable to most Americans today, even if … Continue reading →

While not H.G. Wells’ best writing, this sci-fi novel does exemplify his uncanny knack for subject matter that seems to predict future (though with a much longer lead time than Michael Crichton). The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection … Continue reading →

Gossip in a Library!  Another title that we just could not resist, but don’t pick up this book expecting to find out some long forgotten secrets of scandalous library behavior. Edmund Gosse, the author,  was a prolific man of letters. … Continue reading →

Written by William Hamilton Gibson, an American naturalist from Connecticut, this book is a lovely tribute to nature with illustrations by the author. But equally impressive is the book binding. The book is bound in  green cloth over boards with … Continue reading →

1890: Poetry of Emily Dickinson Author/Editor: Emily Dickinson The  Poems of Emily Dickinson were first published in 1890 and are still in print today.  Many library resources, like the Concise Dictionary of American Literature,  provide insight into the life and … Continue reading →