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Lori's Book Loft

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What Does a Corn Maze Have to Do With Minecraft—and a Trilogy?

on September 10, 2026

Magic Maze Trilogy Phil Proctor Samuel Warren Joseph What Does a Corn Maze Have to Do With Minecraft—and a Trilogy?

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When Stillness Brings Clarity: What the River Knows by Ashya Khan

on September 10, 2026

Ashya Khan What the River Knows When Stillness Brings Clarity

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What Stayed With Me After Ham’s Heaven

on September 05, 2026

Ham's Heaven Joanna Chen Ori Gersht What Stayed With Me After Ham’s Heaven

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Birdbrains: A Book That Reminded Me to Look Closer

on September 05, 2026

Birdbrains: A Book That Reminded Me to Look Closer

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A Sentence That Made Me Stop in Straw Shoes

on September 04, 2026

Mathias B. Freese Straw Shoes

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Beyond Goose and Maverick: Discovering the Real Top Gun

on September 04, 2026

Anthony Edwards Beyond Goose and Maverick: Discovering the Real Top Gun Dwight Jon Zommerman mazza museum Top Gun 50 Years of Naval Air Superiority

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Why I’m Reading What the Dog Saw

on September 04, 2026

Malcolm Gladwell What the Dog Saw Why I’m Reading What the Dog Saw

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Lori's Book Loft Audience

on August 02, 2026

Lori's Book Loft Audience

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The Stacked Bookstore

on July 30, 2026

The Stacked Bookstore

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Brumback Library 125 years

on July 11, 2026

Brumback Library

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Beverly Lewis Moms New Obsession

on July 11, 2026

Beverly Lewis Reads and Parabellum Bookmark

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Parabellum Bookmark

on July 10, 2026

The Erich Problem.When Fiction Feels to Real

on April 25, 2026

A Cry in the Night Mary Higgins Clark

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The Outsider Ann H. Gabhart

on April 25, 2026

Ann H. Gabhart The Outsider

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Hidden History of Toledo by Lou Hebert

on April 25, 2026

Hidden History of Toledo Ohio Lou Hebert The Glass City

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LET'S TALK BOOKS

lorisbookloft@gmail.com

Hi, I'm Lori

I’m a lifelong reader, a Midwestener, book lover and the person behind Lori’s Book Loft. Here you’ll find book reviews, author conversations, bookstores worth visiting, books being adapted for film, and the occasional story about how a particular book found its way into my hands.

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POPULAR THIS WEEK

Birdbrains: A Book That Reminded Me to Look Closer

Earlier this year, I received a copy of Birdbrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington State Birds from Raven Chronicles Press via Shannon O’Grady. I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I first opened it. I love books that bring together different pieces of a story, and this one immediately caught my attention because it isn't simply a book about birds. It is a collection of poetry, stories, observations, artwork, and facts that encourages you to look a little closer at the birds we so often take for granted. Birdbrains is a 314-page anthology featuring 107 species of birds from Washington State, along with other species from across the United States and around the world. It was edited by Washington State poet Susan Rich, with original pen-and-ink sumi-e paintings by artist Hiroko Seki and bird facts and notes from Stephanie Delaney. But what really makes this book interesting is the collection of voices inside it. Ninety-eight poets and writers contributed thei...

What Stayed With Me After Ham’s Heaven

\ I don't think we can look at the early days of space exploration without understanding how much courage, curiosity, and determination went into figuring out whether humans could actually survive in space. I have to admit, when I first picked up this book about Ham, I wasn’t sure how I’d get through the story. Before Ham, there were rhesus monkeys known as Albert I through IV. These monkeys were part of Project Albert, which aimed to study the effects of space travel on living organisms. None of them survived. Reading that part of the story is important. It shows that the risks were already known. By the time Ham came along, there had already been loss, and the people involved in the space program had learned some lessons from those earlier attempts. That stayed with me as I continued reading about Ham. There was already a history behind what he was being asked to do. Before he was Ham, he was simply known as Number 65 . Captured in Cameroon in 1957, he became...

When Stillness Brings Clarity: What the River Knows by Ashya Khan

I recently finished What the River Knows by Ashya Khan, a beautiful book that stayed with me in a quiet way. The writing drew me in through its conversations between a seeker and a river and the questions we carry quietly within ourselves. It speaks to the importance of finding clarity by returning to our own nature and taking the time to truly listen to what is within us. But it was the watercolor illustrations that gave me another feeling altogether. There was such softness and peace in them. As I moved through the pages, I found myself wanting to slow down, be still, and sink myself into the illustrations. They seemed to create a little space where I could breathe, feel more at ease, and simply let go. I think that is what I appreciated most about this book. The writing gives you something to think about, while the illustrations give you permission to pause. Together, they create a feeling of stillness that can be hard to find in everyday life. Sometimes we need that reminder—that...

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