5 Books for the Wild-Hearted

When it came to writing my first blog post for Towne BC, I couldn’t think of a better way to introduce myself than with the thing nearest and dearest to my heart; nature. Outside of the world of books, I feel most at home under the trees with my toes in the grass. So naturally…

Austen Adaptations

Jane Austen is comfort food for me. When I’m in a reading slump, I reach for the familiarity of that Austen wit. They’re perfect stories. Romance! Happy endings! And consequences for the “bad guys”! Ooh la la! (It doesn’t hurt that Lizzy & Darcy have the perfect “enemies to lovers” trope going on.) Lucky for…

A Mood Reader’s Guide to Fall

I have always been a mood reader. I could make lists of books I plan to read, in any order I pleased, but the minute I completed that list it felt more like a reading assignment than a hobby. I could promise someone that I would read the book they recommended next only to realize…

Seven Superb Short Stories

The short stories that you’ll keep thinking about long after you’ve read them The art of the short story is a tricky one. You have just enough pages to reach out to the reader and grab their attention, but not enough for a full story and layout of a usual novel. I think short stories…

Jump Into Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Hi everyone! So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past several years, you may have noticed that graphic novels have exploded in popularity. Whether you’re an adult, a teen, a tween, or an early reader there are graphic novels aplenty for you. In the world of middle grade books, graphic novels have…

Time for Something New and Exciting

Who doesn't love a fun new book, especially a hidden gem, during the summer to read during a thunderstorm? Here are some of my favorite new releases from the last few months! Summer '21 Favorites TBC LINKS Rachel to the Rescue by Elinor Lipman An absolutely delightful and witty book of a young woman who…

In Defense of Speculative Fiction

I have to preface this essay—Yes, I’m calling it an essay rather than a blog post. You know that meme about Shrek being a “sophisticated film” and not a movie? Yeah, that— with four notes. Let’s get a disclaimer out of the way: I was in no way inspired to write this from the viewpoint…

Carly’s Illustration Corner: Howard Pyle

Hi all!  Since this is my first blog post here at the Towne, I thought I’d start by introducing myself.  My name is Carly, and I’m an art historian with a particular love for the history of illustration.  I’ve always been bothered by the way that illustration is passed over, or seen as less than…

My Favorite Baking Cookbooks

My grandmother was a chef and pastry chef and I always loved visiting her house as a kid because we would bake wonderful things in the kitchen and do all sorts of crafts in her basement workshop. Some of my earliest memories are from baking holiday cookies in the restaurant kitchen (Widow Finney's in Reading…

My Favorite Poetry Books

A list for the casual poetry readers like me! Poetry is a scary genre. Not like horror is, not that kind of scary, but intimidating absolutely. I spent many years not wanting to read poetry because when I didn’t “get it” I felt unintelligent, and the poetry I was exposed to was classic poetry in…