Ann Hood’s Morningstar: Growing Up with Books | LibraryReads Author Spotlight
By Barbara Hoffert
Following The Book That Matters Most, fiction about a reading group whose members each present the book that most shaped or sustained their lives, Ann Hood’s Morningstar: Growing Up with Books seems like the perfect nonfiction complement.

Christopher Swann's Shadow of the Lions is one of two starred fiction titles this week. "Swann’s tightly knit debut novel is a moving coming-of-age story with a noir twist that will appeal to readers of John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, N.H. Kleinbaum’s Dead Poets Society, and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History." In nonfiction, Joseph Robertia's Life with Forty Dogs: Misadventures with Runts, Rejects, Retirees, and Rescues "recalls the many, many mushing dogs, from a variety of backgrounds, who live together with the [author's] family in Alaska." In audiobooks, Christine Hyung-Oak Lee's Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember features "engrossing true-life experiences, [but] this work ultimately disappoints.... Narrator Emily Woo Zeller narrates as if she’s only too aware of the book’s flaws, merely pushing through to get to the end, especially when facing daunting stretches of medical and psychological jargon." The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson and Sylvain Runberg, with illustrations by José Homs, is one of three starred graphic novels this week. "For any library looking to expand its graphic novels collection, this is a valuable addition, embodying the many strengths that make the format an exceptional medium for modern storytelling." And One True Pairing, the second book in Cathy Yardley's "Fandom Hearts" series, is one of two starred e-originals this week. "This second installment in the series (after Level Up) is highly recommended for romantic comedy lovers and nerds who want to see the OTP (that’s one true pairing in fan-fiction speak) get the HEA (happy ever after)."