On Halloween Day, Oct. 31, the Reading Rock Books staff will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters until closing time at 7PM. Bring your little one by and take advantage of our Halloween SALE!

The Glass of Time is a captivating Victorian mystery that takes place in the fall of 1876 at the great country house of Evenwood in Northamptonshire, England. Esperanza Gorst, a nineteen-year-old orphan, has become the lady’s maid to Lady Tansor, the 26th Baroness. Esperanza was sent to Evenwood by Madame de l’Orme, her guardian since birth, to uncover the long held secrets of injustice that Lady Tansor holds that, once discovered, would change the lives of everyone at Evenwood and the destiny of Esperanza.

Esperanza is a wonderfully written character that is wise beyond her years. She handles the difficult position of maid/spy with ease all while trying not fall in love with either of Lady Tansor’s two sons, Perseus and Randolph. I absolutely loved this book! The story of revenge, love, betrayal, and murder are made even more compelling by the Victorian setting.

The Glass of Time is the sequel to Cox’s first novel The Meaning of Night which was shortlisted for the 2008 Costa First Novel Award. Cox’s writing style has been compared to Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins.

Congratulations on a job well done to all the students and parents who worked on the beautiful floats in today’s Homecoming parade. We could hear the band loud and clear from inside the store, and they sounded great! For more parade pictures, click here.

To Siberia is a haunting novel about a nameless narrator’s relationship with her brother while they grow up and experience WWII in a small, fishing town in Denmark. Jesper becomes a communist and Sistermine, as Jesper calls her, struggles to fit into her own family. Rife with family history and class warfare, the story of these siblings goes beyond the war, deep into the inner workings of the family unit.

Our book club had its first meeting this past Tuesday to discuss Out Stealing Horses, which is also by Per Petterson. Petterson has become known for his spare, quiet prose and To Siberia, released this week by Graywolf Press, follows suit. Out Stealing Horses may well be my favorite book and rereading it for book club only made me like it more. To Siberia has the same masterful writing, but the story has a little less sparkle. The first half is amazing, with wonderful side stories and gripping events. The second half is much more stark, as the narrator matures and the evidence of how the events of her childhood shaped her becomes apparent.