Staff Picks
Elayna's pick!
Elayna says: So freaking good. Grittier than I usually read but a fitting follow up to the masterful The Sympathizer. Such fabulous writing, so fearless in its exposure of the complex hypocracies of Western racism. Just absolutely brilliant.
Justyn's pick!
Justyn says: I rarely so inhabit a work of fiction that my memories of the reading of the book pass for my own visual memories. In the interstices between reading Baby's world interjected into my own. O'Neill's knack for left field metaphor is strong and never twee.
Naomi's pick!
Naomi says: Perfectly paced, delightfully illustrated, positive inclusive message, and a happy ending. We have a lot of skateboarders in our town, many of whom are girls, and I cannot wait to share this with them!
Blake's pick!
Blake says: Yoon's empathetic portrait of a handful of Lao people living amid the deadly landscape of the Vietnam era is a deftly woven novel of opposites that resist easy reconciling: Compact in size yet capacious in its humanity, haunting yet hopeful, a story of both survival and surrender.
Ever's Pick!
Ever says: It has been a long time since I copied so many quotes I loved from a book. Parakeet is all that the synopsis describes and so much more. Through a series of increasingly surreal events our nameless narrator discovers an indentity far beyond those given to her by the labels of bride, daughter, sister, friend.
Elayna's pick!
Elayna says: Truly, how does Claire Fuller do it? She's the master at writing books where not that much happens but sooooooo much happens. Another stunner filled with lush depictions of the natural world (what's her obsession with gardens??) and familial betrayal.
Naomi's pick!
Naomi says: My 4yo requested this one to be read again and again and again. Very fun read aloud and love the visuals.
Emilies's pick!
Elayna's pick!
Alexa's Pick!
Alexa says: The AIDs epidemic is ruthless and heart wrenching. This memoir of Ruth Coker Burks deep dive into the heart of AIDs and how this country has turned their back on the victims of this virus had my eyes filled with tears from start to finish.
Ever's Pick!
Ever says: I read/watch/consume a lot of horror-I didn't think there would be twists or elements that could surprise me anymore. Stephen Graham Jones showed me that I was very wrong. Incredibly character driven horror that blends the psychological with the supernatural, Only Good Indians is a fantastic recommendation for Stephen King fans looking to diversify their reading lists.
Kelsey's pick!
Blake's Pick!
Blake Says: Gripping, enlightening debut from the first Kurdish woman author printed in English. Homa makes up for at times novice-like writing with a page-turning narrative and a nuanced protagonist that provide us a window into a reality both grim and galvanizing.
Ever's Pick!
Ever says: Whether or not you can relate to protagonist Edie's experiences, her thoughts and her world are rendered in such lush and beautiful prose. Raven Leilani could write about *anything* and I would still be completely entranced.
Emilie's pick!
Elayna's pick!
Elayna says: This is the most powerful memoir I've ever read.
Paul's Pick!
Paul says: An insightful and powerful rethinking of race in America. Wilkerson draws a compelling analogy with India's hierarchical system, which is non-racial, to highlight the ways in which humans internalize arbitrary ideas of who in society is superior and inferior and how institutions reinforce those ideas. The real strength of the book is the way it is able to humanize these classically abstract concepts.
Naomi's Pick!
Naomi Says: Award-winning romance writer Alyssa Cole's debut thriller has a level of can't-put-down-ness that will leave you throwing this into the lap of your best friend/spouse/coworker exclaiming they just need to read this, and right now please. A historically Black neighborhood in Brooklyn is facing gentrification as a huge medical company is moving into the neighborhood. Endearing protagonist Sydney Green has recently moved back in with her mom after her divorce and she's frustrated with all of the changes. She dives into the creation of a neighborhood walking tour with an unwanted assistant, one of the new arrivals to the block, Theo. This perfectly crafted thriller starts to get super tense when she begins to notice that her longtime neighbors are disappearing without a word...where are they going? A must-read this fall! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Elayna's Pick!
Ever's Pick!
Ever says: This cookbook is the greatest tool imaginable! I am very guilty of optimistically buying vegetables only for them to wilt beyond recognition in my fridge. This book doesn't have recipes but rather ingredient pairing and cooking method suggestions for nearly every vegetable. I've found several dishes that are now staples of my work lunch rotation, many of which I could make with what ingredients I already had in my kitchen. If you're starting a cookbook library I definitely recommend it!
Elayna's pick!
Kelsey's pick!
Alexa's pick!
Alexa says: I loved everything about this story. The roads to and from separation of these two sisters and what ends up being the priorities of both, and then their offspring engulfed me.
Kelsey's pick!
Ever's Pick!
Ever says: Daisy Johnson does it again! Sisters is a contemporary Gothic masterpiece reminiscent of Helen Oyeyemi's White is for Witching. Johnson's incredible prose and knack for creating settings that feel like characters in their own right make Sisters a fast paced read that begs to be read again as soon as the last page is finished.
Naomi's Pick!
Naomi Says: Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, two long-distance and badass besties, celebrate friendship and inspire readers to prioritize these important relationships. The audiobook from @librofm was fantastic as is their podcast Call Your Girlfriend. I was so uplifted by this book!
Paul's Pick!
Paul says: Macfarlane's beautiful prose and overbrimming enthusiasm for people and ideas is intoxicating. He's a naturalist by title, but he is foremost a seeker interested less in the details of science as he is with its ability to open avenues of spiritual expansion.
Naomi's pick!
Blake's pick!
Blake says: Playful yet pungent revisionist biography of the 19th-century British literary milieu that included the Shelleys and the Merediths. Johnson's absorbing book serves as a reminder of both the fragile and deceptive nature of history and convinces us 'lesser lives' may be more worth remembering than those immortalized in their stead.
Elayna's Pick!
Elayna says: This book is absolutely batsh*t insane and I love it. The narrative is split into two alternating sections: the first, told in the second person, is of a closeted gay Republican Congressman; the second, told in the third person omniscient, features a taxidermist in 19th Century England, working to taxidermy the first aardvark seen outside of Africa. These disparate characters have much more in common than is first apparent, as their stories weave around and intersect with each other's. Many parts of this satire are laugh out loud funny, though it's about the utmost serious topics of self-hatred, denial, societal expectation, and hypocrisy. I have no idea how Jessica Anthony managed to come up with this crazy book, and even less of an idea how she executed it so well in less than 200 pages.
Naomi's Pick!
Naomi Says: Fifteen year old Latinx Liliana Cruz left her urban Boston high school when she was accepted into the coveted METCO program, which transferred her to a privileged, suburban, and oh-so-white high school where she has to decide whether to assimilate or be herself. Awesome multicultural and contemporary YA read that is full of humor and positive vibes. Highly recommend.
Paul's Pick!
Paul Says: A masterwork in place and character. Fully lived in and deeply human.
Elayna's Pick!
Elayna Says: Very funny, very poignant: race, community, family, love, and an art heist. What more could you want??
Paul's Pick!
Paul says: The single smartest, most nuanced, relentlessly researched and argued take on what is coming to seem like the biggest obstacle to progress in America -- our seemingly insurmountable polarization. Almost every page of this book blew my mind.
Ever's pick!
Ever says: I loved this one! Palmer's writing is incredibly immersive and presents this stranger-than-fiction case with equal doses of humor and reflection on what it means to be human. The characters are endearing and fully fleshed, with the exception of Mary herself, which is clearly intentional to represent her status in the eyes of others as miracle, fraud, patient, vessel, etc, giving what few lines she speaks all the more impact. As a side note, the hardcover of this book is just a really well made, satisfying book to hold.
Ever's Pick!
Ever Says: I absolutely loved this one!
Paul's pick!
Paul says:
Scary good.
Naomi's pick!
Naomi says: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds is a "remix" of Ibram X. Kendi's epic 2016 novel Stamped From the Beginning in which Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Kendi's book is incredibly important, but a bit intimidating in scope, which is why we find Reynolds' "remix" to be so relevant.
Written with young readers in mind, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You sheds light on the racist ideas still affecting our culture today and provides tools on how to identify and deal with them to build a better future. We think this book should be essential reading for both young AND adult readers alike!
Elayna's Pick!
Elayna says: I absolutely adored Lab Girl and while this is a very different kind of book, Jahren's lyrical, conversational voice rings just as true here as in her previous. Such a slim volume, yet it's packed with a huge amount of information about how our habits of consumption have changed since the year of her birth, 1969. Spoiler alert: we're really messing with our planet and we really need to change or else... or else...
Naomi's pick!
Justyn's Pick!
Justyn says: Several things could ruin Evie's wedding. A beached whale makes the island smell. Her mother, who abandoned her as a child, has shown up. And her fiance is lost at sea. Creatures takes place over a period of three days, but dives so deep into Evie's childhood I often forget she is about to be married. Creatures reads like a memoir, but is a story told. It brings to mind something Toni Morrison said: "'Truth is stranger than fiction,' I think that old chestnut is truer than we know, because it doesn't say that truth is truer than fiction; just that it's stranger, meaning that it is odd. It may be excessive, it may be more interesting, but the important thing is that it's random--and fiction is not random."
Kelsey's Pick!
Kelsey Says: A must-read for any self proclaimed feminist! Mikki Kendall explores the exlusionary aspects of mainstream feminism in a series of essays whose topics range from gun violence, to education, to Beyonce.
