Suzanne Walker is a Chicago-based writer and editor. Her academic work has been published in Classical World and Barriers and Belonging. She has spoken widely on topics ranging from disability representation in sci-fi/fantasy to applying the themes of science fiction to everyday political activism. You can follow her on twitter: @suzusaur.

What's the book about?

It's a story of love and demons, family and witchcraft. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods.

As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any townhome. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help.

​Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery. 
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If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. 

You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! 

Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes to the event! Do that here!

Review: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu -- The Nerd Daily​
Graphic Novel Review: Mooncakes, by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu -- The Queerblr
Interview: Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker reflect on transforming MOONCAKES into a graphic novel -- Comicsbeat.com

Keep reading to find the summary, reviews of the book, interviews with the author, and info about how to buy your book from us in various formats. ​

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.

Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
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If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. This title is also available from our audiobook partner, Libro.fm, as a DRM-free audiobook--buy it here. 

You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! 

Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes to the event! Do that here!
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Octavia Butler’s Prescient Vision of a Zealot Elected to “Make America Great Again” 
​-- The New Yorker
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (Book Review) -- Black & Bookish
Parable of the Sower -- Publisher's Weekly
An Interview with Octavia Butler, 2004 -- by Joshunda Sanders for Africana.com & In Motion Magazine
Octavia Butler: Writing Herself Into The Story -- for Code Switch by NPR

Keep reading to find the summary, reviews of the book, interviews with the author, and info about how to buy your book from us in various formats. ​

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.
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But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. This title is also available from our audiobook partner, Libro.fm, as a DRM-free audiobook--buy it here. 

You can pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window. We also offer free media mail shipping & local delivery (within Boone town limits). Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! 

Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes to the event! Do that here!

Monsters Imaginary & Real Haunt the Caves of The Luminous Dead -- NPR Books
Rich & Complicated Survival Horror: The Luminous Dead by Starling -- tor.com
The Luminous Dead--Spooky Reads! -- Horror Bound Blog
Podcast Episode #6: Interview with Caitlin Starling  -- Sublime Horror Podcast
Q&A with Caitlin Starling, author of 'The Luminous Dead' -- Fictionist Magazine

For the month of August, the Hatchet Coffee book club choice is A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab, the second book in the Shades of Magic series. We read the first book together this year and wanted to complete the series. Feel free to join in the conversation, even if you weren't a part of the book club during the reading of the first book. Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, and the City of Ghosts series. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.” So what's this book about?

It has been four months since a mysterious obsidian stone fell into Kell's possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Prince Rhy was wounded, and since the nefarious Dane twins of White London fell, and four months since the stone was cast with Holland's dying body through the rift--back into Black London.

Now, restless after having given up his smuggling habit, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks as she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games--an extravagant international competition of magic meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries--a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.

And while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night will reappear in the morning. But the balance of magic is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another London must fall.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy reading, we really hope that you'll come grab a copy from the bookstore or from one of the local libraries, then join us at the book club meeting. 

If you decide to get your copy from Foggy Pine Books, the paperback copies are on sale for 15% off until the end of the month. You can also buy the audiobook online from our partner, Libro.fm. Click here to get yours!
​

"Plenty of Shadows Loom in 'Gathering'" -- NPR 
"In Search of Doors" -- Tor.com
"Subverting Fantasy Tropes: An Interview with VE Schwab" -- Geekritique
"A Q&A with Author VE Schwab: On Creativity & Transparency" -- BookRiot
​

We'll meet at Foggy Pine Books on August 29th at 7:30pm. Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here .

April's choice this year is Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. We've really been enjoying our foray into fantasy and science fiction so we decided to read a few books that might be considered "classics", or at least very well known, that we hadn't read before. Many of us were already fans of Gaiman or Pratchett but a few didn't enjoy the books they'd previously read by those authors. So, we're expecting a lively discussion at the end of April! So, what is this book about anyway?

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth's mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist . . .

We don't know about you but we just love an excellent fight between Good and Evil, especially if there's lots of snark. This has been on our TBR for a while so we're glad to finally be able to get to it, especially since we get to discuss it with such an awesome group. 

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy reading, we really hope that you'll come grab a copy from the bookstore or from one of the local libraries, then join us at the book club meeting. 

If you decide to get your copy from Foggy Pine Books, the paperback copies are on sale for 15% off until the end of the month. You can also buy it from us online, if you prefer to read a digital copy or listen to the audiobook. ​

Digital Audiobook
eBook
Paperback
Mass Market
Large Print
Audio CD

We'll meet at Hatchet Coffee on April 25th at 7:30pm. Hatchet Coffee has drinks & snacks available for purchase but we typically also have snacks to share with one another.  Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here .

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman-Fun, with Footnotes -- The Guardian Review
Good Omens is the Perfect Gateway Fantasy -- Tor.com Review
Pratchett & Gaiman: The Double Act -- Locus Online Interview

Back in January, when our book club was trying to decide what books to read next, we made a decision to change the type of book that we focus on reading. Since this book club started, we have read eclectically and widely across genres. We've explored everything from literary fiction to mystery to horror to classics. However, we were always drawn back to reading fantasy and science fiction. So, we decided to stop lying to ourselves and to spend our reading time focused on books that we really wanted to read. To that end, we have decided to make the Hatchet Coffee Book Club a science fiction & fantasy focused club. So, if you had been coming to this club and enjoyed the eclectic nature of our readings together, I suggest that you check out the Foggy Pine Book Club which is our general interest book club. Let's move on to this month's Hatchet Coffee book choice though. 

This month we're reading The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. This is the first book in the Winternight trilogy. The second book is The Girl in the Tower and the third book, just released in February, is The Winter of the Witch. This book is Katherine Arden's debut novel but she's also written a children's chapter book, Small Spaces. So what is our book club book about? The publisher summary says:

Winter lasts most of the year at the edge of the Russian wilderness, and in the long nights, Vasilisa and her siblings love to gather by the fire to listen to their nurse's fairy tales. Above all, Vasya loves the story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon. Wise Russians fear him, for he claims unwary souls, and they honor the spirits that protect their homes from evil. 

Then Vasya's widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Fiercely devout, Vasya's stepmother forbids her family from honoring their household spirits, but Vasya fears what this may bring. And indeed, misfortune begins to stalk the village. 
​
But Vasya's stepmother only grows harsher, determined to remake the village to her liking and to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for marriage or a convent. As the village's defenses weaken and evil from the forest creeps nearer, Vasilisa must call upon dangerous gifts she has long concealed--to protect her family from a threat sprung to life from her nurse's most frightening tales. 

This book is one of the owner's, Mary, favorite books. She recommends it to her customers when they're looking for something magical but not silly, dark but ultimately hopeful, and well-written. Arden is an incredible writer who has the ability to weave sentences around her readers into a warm cozy blanket to snuggle up into. Her descriptions are quite evocative and bring the locale to mind in an intense and vivid manner. Her characters are thoughtfully rendered and they come to life on the page, only to jump out and go running amok in your mind. Truly, Arden is a fantastic writer.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy reading, we really hope that you'll come grab a copy from the bookstore or from one of the local libraries, then join us at the book club meeting. 

If you decide to get your copy from Foggy Pine Books, the paperback copies are on sale for 15% off until the end of the month. You can also buy it from us online, if you prefer to read a digital copy or listen to the audiobook. 

Digital Audiobook
eBook
Paperback
Hardcover

We'll meet at Hatchet Coffee on March 28th at 7:30pm. Hatchet Coffee has drinks & snacks available for purchase but we typically also have snacks to share with one another.  Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here .

'The Bear and the Nightingale' is a Rich Winter Tale -- NPR Book Review
The Bear and the Nightingale -- Kirkus Book Review
The Bear and the Nightingale -- Publisher's Weekly Book Review
Interview with Katherine Arden -- BookPage Interview
Katherine Arden: It's a great time for female fantasy writers --CNET Interview

This month's choice for the Hatchet Coffee Book Club is Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore, known for his comedic novels. We realized at the last meeting that we hadn't attempted any comedy books. Most of us had heard of or previously read something by Christopher Moore. Mary's favorite book by this author is A Dirty Job, about a man who unintentionally becomes the next Reaper and must learn the ropes so that souls can be harvested in time. Oh, he also runs a thrift store and is a single dad to a baby girl who ends up being guarded by Hell Hounds. So, that's the type of novel that Christopher Moore writes and we thought this one, about the death of Vincent Van Gogh, would be a great place to start.

Here's the official summary: 
In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he?
Vincent’s friends, baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, have their doubts. Now they’re determined to answer the questions surrounding van Gogh’s untimely death—like who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent claimed was stalking him across France . . . and why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue? Ooh la la, quelle surprise, and zut alors, what follows is a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late-nineteenth-century Paris, as the one, the only, Christopher Moore cooks up a delectable confection of intrigue, passion, and art history . . . with cancan girls, baguettes, and fine French cognac thrown in for good measure.

Sounds awesome, right? You can get your copy of the book from the store with a 15% discount until the end of the month. If you'd like to purchase online, we have the following the formats available:

Digital Audiobook
Large Print Paperback
Paperback
​eBook
Audio CD

Due to an author event that we had to schedule on the last Thursday, we're meeting on the last Friday instead for July. We'll meet at the Hatchet Coffee lounge on July 27th at 7:30pm. We'll have free wine and snacks for book club members to share.  Bring a friend and come discuss the book with us, even if you weren't able to completely finish it or if you didn't like it. You can see the Facebook event & RSVP here.

Washington Post Review--"Book World: ‘Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d’Art’ concocts a new ending for van Gogh"

Kirkus Review--"Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore"

NPR Interview--"Art, Mystery, and Posh Pigments in 'Sacre Bleu'"

Recording of Live Interview about "Noir", his new book