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The staff at Rivendell Bookstore is always reading! Check out some of our favorite books that are in stock now. Goblin Quest by Jim Hines
Goblin Quest by Jim Hines is the tale of Jig-a near-sighted runt of a goblin whose daily goal is to avoid being eaten by anything. This includes his fellow goblins! It is his unexpected capture by a group of adventurers-a knight with too many older brothers, a mad wizard, a dwarf warrior and an elven thief-that puts him on the path to fame and fortune. A light and very funny fantasy, Goblin Quest redefines what it means to be a hero as you follow Jig and Smudge, his pet fire spider who has the unfortunate habit of bursting into flame whenever he's startled! This is the first of a trilogy, but each book can be a stand alone. ---Marilyn
The Gangs of New York by Herbert Asbury
I recommend The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld by Herbert Asbury. It's a re-release of a book that was first published in 1928. Focusing on the Five Points district, it relives the larger than life characters and debaucherous deeds of New York street gangs in the 1800s. With names like Hell Cat Maggie, Bill the Butcher and Baboon Conolly, this historical account reads like fiction but is in fact, one mans historical account of actual events. I thoroughly enjoyed the excitement surrounding the rise and fall of the likes of The Bowery Boys, The Dead Rabbits and the Plug Uglies, just to name a few. ---Chelsea
The Anita Blake Series by Laurell K. Hamilton
What makes the Anita Blake series unqiue is the strong, tough-minded character of the heroine and narrator, Anita Blake. Earlier vampire stories rarely had female leads, let alone one with the hard-nosed style of Anita Blake. She is a professional animator (one who raises the dead) and a licensed vampire killer in an alternate earth where vampires have come out of the closet (coffin?) and are active participants in American life. Hamiltons vampires are of the Anne Rice genre. They are beautfiul, deadly, and follow their own code of ethics. Many humands have become enthralled with them, but many are deeply suspicious. To Anita, they are monsters who when they out out of control, must be killed. But U.S. law protects vampires that behave themselves. What I really like in this series is that Anita Blake gets stronger and stronger as a female character. Anita is everything you want in a hero; tough, sexy and smart. Anita lives in a world of werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires and zombines. Each book in the series can be read as stand alone, but there are also ongoing plot threads that go from book to book. I highly recommend books 1 through 8. After that, the writing style changes some, and you can decide if you are hooked enough on the characters to continue...I still do! ---Shari
Subterranean by James Rollins
Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the icy terrain of Antarctica? When a team of scientists and one lone archaeologist are forced to explore the underground caverns of the continent in Subterranean by James Rollins, what they find will change evolutionary history forever. In a Jules Vern-esque like tale, a group of scientists and soldiers must accompany lead character Ashley Carter as she embarks on a journey deep within the bowles of the earth to not only search for the previous exploration team that suddenly disappeared, but also try to uncover the biggest mystery of all; who were the people responsible for building the ancient, massive city uncovered beneath the glaciers of Antarctica? If you like an action-packed thriller that combines a little bit of suspense, historical mystery and fantasy all-in-one, Subterranean is an excellent choice. While I enjoy almost all of James Rollins books for these very same qualities, Subterranean is definitely one that I recommend the most. ---Lisa
The Haunted Bookshop Series by Alice Kimberly
When I read an intense story, such as The Millennium Series, I have to read something light at the same time. I want to be able to read in the evening and still get a good night’s sleep. Most often I choose a cozy mystery, and recently I have enjoyed The Haunted Bookshop Series by Alice Kimberly. In this series, Penelope Thornton-McClure manages a modern-day Rhode Island bookshop haunted by the ghost of Jack Shepard. Jack was a big city private investigator who was murdered in the small town bookstore in 1949. The interaction between these two main characters is very entertaining. You get to see some of the story from her point of view and some from his - two completely different personalities. His 1940's attitude and language really gives this series its charm. Penny and Jack team up to solve mysteries in the small town setting. The towns people are colorful, interesting and familiar. The first book in the series is The Ghost and Mrs. McClure followed by The Ghost and the Dead Deb, The Ghost and the Dead Man’s Library, The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion. The sixth book in the series, The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller is to come out in January of 2012. I recommend that the series be read in order as the characters develop and the episodes build on previous books. ---Susie
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