Tag: staff picks

August Staff Pick: Nettle & Bone

July 28, 2022
by Robin Wood

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books), picked by Bookseller Camila

“The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires.”

first line, Nettle & Bone

I was browsing for a summer read amongst our new releases when I came upon this brief description on the back jacket of one of our bestsellers.

“This isn’t the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince. It’s the one where she kills him.”

Well, that grabbed my attention and I started Nettle & Bone that very evening. Marra is our princess and the hero of this story, or rather dark & twisty fairy tale. She is the youngest of three sisters in a kingdom struggling to maintain its power. Marrying off the sisters seems to be the only way to keep it safe from invasion, even if the marriage is to a powerful yet abusive prince. We follow our hero Marra while she plans a rescue mission to save her sister, murder a wicked prince, and topple his throne. In order to receive the help she needs to fight such an evil adversary, Marra needs to succeed in this insurmountable quest:

  • Build a dog of bones
  • Sew cloak of nettles
  • Capture moonlight in a jar.

Along the way she meets new friends and gathers a fierce team of the quintessential fairy tale variety which includes a courageous yet disgraced ex-knight, a fairy godmother with unreliable magic, a dog of bones, an ornery grave witch, and a demonic chicken. Can they save her sister and survive this mission? Will they have their happy ending?

I loved reading this dark fantasy and devoured it within one sitting. Nettle & Bone is a perfect summer read… especially if you like a blend of fantasy, horror, unforgettable characters, humor, and a brave feminist protagonist. Enjoy the journey, I sure did.

~ Camila

Judy & George Recommend

June 24, 2022
by Robin Wood

For early summer reading, I chose a glorious romp of a novel. Not a rom-com, but something different for me. I’d read good reviews and it’s hard to beat that cover. Turns out LOVE MARRIAGE by Monica Ali was just what I craved.

The story of two young doctors, engaged to marry, set in London. She is from a conservative middle class British/Indian family. He is the son of a wealthy, liberal, famous feminist. Both families approve of the marriage. That’s not the problem.

Everything else is. Plenty of humor, political satire and sex. It all comes together and makes for a great read. I loved it!

George just finished RIVER OF THE GODS by Candice Millard. At first I told him to stop telling me the story. I wanted to read it myself. But his stories about the characters and their adventures were so fascinating I encouraged him to tell me just a little bit more each time.

We both wish you many happy hours of reading this summer.

~ Judy Blume, store co-founder

About RIVER OF THE GODS, George writes:

The fabulous true story of the brave, obsessive Englishmen who discovered the source of the Nile, and of the role played by heroic Africans who guided and supported them.

“Compulsively readable, and ultimately heartbreaking.”

May Staff Pick: Booth

May 2, 2022
by Robin Wood

Picked by store co-founder, George Cooper

BOOTH by Karen Joy Fowler

When I learned that Fowler, author of the witty and surprising We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves had a new novel, I jumped at the chance to preview it. 

She’s still surprising, but in a completely different way. BOOTH is historical fiction, but it might better be described as a novelistic biography of a famous family, famous for its lifelong brilliant achievements on the Shakespearean stage, but even more for the single dastardly act of young John Wilkes.

The father, Junius Brutus Booth emigrated from England as a young man and went on to triumph on the American stage, and father a family of six children who survived into adulthood. Son Edwin became even more celebrated than his father as an actor, perhaps the most famous Hamlet ever; daughter Asia had some success as a writer; and son June (Junius, Jr.) became a theatrical producer. 

But the novel is not limited to these foreground players. Equally important are daughter Rosalie, the stay-at-home ugly duckling of this luminous family, and long-suffering mother Mary Ann who held the family together through periods of poverty, as the often drunk, flamboyant father would disappear on road tours for months, often drinking his fees rather than sending them home.

The period covered goes from the arrival in America of Junius and Mary Ann in 1821, until 1865. A crushing gloom and infamy then settled on this northern, Lincoln loving family as it tried to reconcile love for its assassin son with revulsion at what he did. The book is a novel, but supported by a wealth of research: letters from and to the principle characters, journals and news stories, and the documented history of the United States during a period of passionate divisions that bears disturbing parallels to today.

It’s full of descriptive set pieces from this master novelist, like the burdens of a journey by citified Easterners to San Francisco by boat and a slog through the mountainous jungles of Panama – supposedly easier and safer than the direct overland route through Indian lands and the Rockies – that makes one marvel at the fortitude of ordinary men and women of the time.

This is historical fiction at its finest.

April Staff Pick: Taste

March 24, 2022
by Robin Wood

Picked by Gina, bookseller

Cook
        Smell
                Taste
                        Eat
                                Drink
                                        Share

Repeat as necessary.

Gina’s pick for this month is TASTE: MY LIFE THROUGH FOOD by Stanley Tucci.

“TASTE reminds me that whomever you are and wherever you come from the sharing of food connects us,” Gina writes. “It’s impossible to read this book and not be drawn back into your memories to the feel of a certain room, the sounds and smells of that ONE special dish (that of course only your family makes perfectly). And, then to sharing that dish with family or people who will become family.

Plus, I learned how to make the “perfect” martini! PRICELESS!”

Feb Staff Pick of the Month: Yonder

January 28, 2022
by Robin Wood

Picked by Lori, bookseller

Now out in paperback!

Lori, who curates our Black History Month display, recommends Yonder by Jabari Asim (Simon & Schuster) for readers who enjoyed one of her previous picks, The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr.

Of Yonder, Lori writes, “The slaves are The Stolen, their masters are The Thieves, and Yonder (Canada) is the promised land of freedom. The story of slavery and all of its horrors is not new, but this book focuses instead on the intimacy and love The Stolen feel for each other under the harshest conditions. Allegorical, poetic, and unflinchingly honest, it had me reading through tears of sadness and joy.”

In picking this book, Lori was looking for a good read to kick-off Black History month, and she thinks that it will appeal to readers who want complex stories of the challenges and joys of Black people in America.

“I would consider this a companion piece to The Prophets, which tells the story of a passionate affair between two enslaved young men, another book depicting slaves as loving people looking for intimate connections in the face of the most hopeless of times,” Lori writes. Read her review of The Prophets from last February.

Lori writes that she enjoyed and was intrigued enough by Yonder to add other books by Jabari Asim to her TBR. Maybe she’ll find something that works for next year’s Key West Literary Seminar, which has the theme I Sing, America: A Celebration of Black Literature, and for which she is the chairperson.

Jan Staff Pick of the Month: A Certain Hunger

January 12, 2022
by Robin Wood

Picked by Emily, store manager

Store manager Emily, masked, holding a copy of A Certain Hunger

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers (Unnamed Press)

It’s well known among the store staff and volunteers that my reading picks tend to pivot to the macabre. Yes, I do enjoy a little dark in my books, but above all I love a deep dive into the minds of interesting characters.

So, when I came across a book from the perspective of a murderous food critic, it instantly jumped to the top of my TBR pile. A Certain Hunger did not disappoint. It checked all the boxes.

Dorothy Daniels is a food critic with all the descriptive language skills needed to tell her story of love, lust, murder and a smidgen of cannibalism. You know she did it, you know she gets caught, and yet I still found this to be a page turner.

How did she become a ruthless killer? Did her victims have it coming? Will she ever find the perfect duck confit? I had to know.

Like some of my other favorites this one might not be for everyone but even if you don’t always like dark, the descriptive language alone is enough to keep anyone engaged. And if you do like dark, don’t waste another moment not reading Summers brilliant debut novel.

~ Emily