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6 FROM THE SHELF DECEMBER 8�15, 2021 Celebrate the holiday season with these 6 paperbacks (for a friend or yourself) By Moira Macdonald The Seattle Times D ecember is a lovely time for reading, and for thinking about what books to buy as holi- day gifts. (You may have heard: Order early this year.) Here are six fresh-minted options in paper- back, to suit a variety of tastes. THE CITY OF MIST: STORIES by Carlos Ruiz Zafón Zafón, the Barcelona-born author of the international bestseller “The Shadow of the Wind,” died last year of cancer at age 55. This posthumous collection of stories features many that have never before been published in English, re- turning readers to the mythical Barcelona library known as the Cemetery of Forgotten Books explored in “The Shadow of the Wind” and several sequels. Writing of “The Shadow of the Wind,” which sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, a New York Times reviewer described Zafón’s style as “Gabriel García Márquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show, ex- asperatingly tricky and mostly wonderful.” LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND by Rumaan Alam By bestseller and National Book Award fi nalist Alam, this novel throws two families — strangers to each other — to- gether in a remote beach house during a blackout. Calling it a “slippery and duplicitous marvel of a novel,” an NPR reviewer noted that “’Leave the World Behind’ is atmospheric and prescient: Its rhythms of com- edy alternating with shock and despair mimic so much of the rhythms of life right now. That’s more than enough to make it a signature novel for this blasted year.” Norman (“Paul McCartney”) fol- lows the electric guitar god from hardscrabble Seattle boyhood to enormous fame and his 1970 martyrdom to rock-star excess,” according to Publishers Week- ly’s starred review. “Norman’s entertaining, psychedelically tinged portrait shows why Hen- drix made such a deep impres- sion on rock ‘n’ roll.” MOONFLOWER MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz If you, like me, fell head over heels in love with Horowitz’s “Magpie Murders” — a mystery deliciously wrapped in another mystery — you’ll be delighted to hear of this sequel. In it, former editor Susan Ryeland (now run- ning a hotel on a Greek island) gets called back into the liter- ary world when she learns that one of her former authors, now deceased, based his book on a real-life crime. If you’re in need of a holiday gift for someone who loves witty British myster- ies, wrap up these two books and prepare to be thanked. THE SEARCHER by Tana French French is the author of the wonderful Dublin Murder Squad series, which began with the award-winning “In the Woods” and continued for fi ve more novels, each told from the point of view of a diff erent member of a Dublin CHECKING OUT THE WORLD OF BOOKS HarperCollins Publishers police department’s homicide division. Her last two have been stand-alone mysteries; this one was inspired by the Irish author’s love of Westerns. Reading it last year, I wrote, “’The Searcher’ feels diff erent from French’s previous books — there’s a sparseness to the setting that contrasts with the bustle of the Dublin Murder Squad, or even the gathered fam- ily in ‘The Witch Elm’ — but is no less addictive; the pages practi- cally turn themselves.” WILD THING: THE SHORT, SPELLBINDING LIFE OF JIMI HENDRIX by Philip Norman Born in Seattle 79 years ago this month, Hendrix was only 27 when he died in London, after a remarkable four years as a rock star. “In this rollicking biography, Tom Reed Friday, December 17th @ 6:30 Zoom and in-person options. In person event will be at Churchill Baker, proof of vaccination required. Zoom invites will be sent via email day of the event. Please call to be added to the invite list. Audio & E-Books Available THE WRITER’S LIBRARY: THE AUTHORS YOU LOVE ON THE BOOKS THAT CHANGED THEIR LIVES by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager Seattle librarian extraordinaire Pearl and playwright Schwager asked 22 prominent authors — among them Seattle’s own Charles Johnson, plus Michael Chabon, Donna Tartt, Luis Alberto Urrea, Amor Towles and Louise Erdrich — to name the books that shaped and inspired them. Pearl and Schwager “bring boundless enthusiasm and curi- osity to this eclectic and probing book of interviews,” wrote Pub- lishers Weekly in a starred review. “Readers of this delightful com- pendium will relish the chance to fi nd many of those shared loves, as well as discover new ones.” As a student of Japanese arts and aesthetics, and a student of the study of consciousness, photographer and hypnotherapist Tom Reed is interested in the experience of aesthetic arrest and what he calls “shocking beauty.” (See his TEDx presentation on that subject) Zen sensibilities pro- foundly influence his compositions. Other major influences on his work have been Ansel Adams, Edgar Payne’s work in the Sierras, and the Hudson River School of painters. Indeed he was nicknamed “The Ansel Adams of Patagonia” after his book, The Granite Avatars of Patagonia. His work can be seen at www.tomreed.com. 1813 Main St, Baker City, OR • (541) 523-7551 • https://bettysbooks.indielite.org