Ghosts Of Booksellers Past
While these booksellers themselves aren't necessarily ghosts, their recommendations still stand even after they've left our stores.
Enticed at first by the writing, then by the plot, and then by the joining of the two,this book crept up on me in the subtle and haunting way that Ottessa Moshfegh's style is uniquely wont to do.
-- Zofia
Two magical plays, adapting and translating two vastly different iconic works in brilliant ways. This pairing of plays is just one example of the masterful versitility prevalent across ruhl's writings.
-- Zofia
This book did NOT get the attention it deserved upon its release, but is one of the best dystopian novels I've ever read. On an isolated island, the boys grow up knowing that they will be in charge of their home + community while the girls will be expected to be content to be barrefoot and pregant, literally, for their entire lives after their "summer of fruition." But until then, every summer, they're allowed to run wild - until one girl begins to question it all. A perfect book fo rlovers of The Giver, The Handmaid's Tale, never Let Me Go, and Spring Awakening.
-- Sophia
This existential satire about trying to live a fulfilling life- as a temp. With no money, no less. Might remind you of yourself in alarming ways. I read this book in an hour.
-- Sophia
This is one of the funniest books I've ever read. If you love Jane Austen's heroines and Bridget Jones, this book is perfect for you.
-- Sophia
Her creativity in finding sources is unparalleled, and her research is painstakingly thorough. Lepore's attention to historical detail is exceptional, and this book is Lepore at the peak of her powers.
-- Sophia
If you only have time to look at one book today, this should be it. This is one of the coolest pieces of mixed media art/writing I've ever seen.
-- Sophia
It is rare to come across a collection that so flawlessly blends narrative and commentary. This is one of my favorite poetry books of the year.
--Sophia
In this book, Jericho Brown introduces us to the duplex, a new poetic form he has invented, blending the sonnet, the ghazal, and the blues. These poems ask unflinching questions about fissures in our society, but he never fails to find moments of beauty in unexpected places. I had a sneaking suspicious Jericho Brown is a genius. The Tradition confirmed it.
If you like essays that read like poems, or collections of poems that feel like essays, you'll like this book. Perfect for lovers of Lydia Davis, Maggie Nelson, Anne Carson, or Jane Hirschfield.
Towards the end of what most Americans remember as the “Roaring Twenties,” Zora Neale Hurston traveled to Alabama to interview the last known living survivor of the Middle Passage. I think this might be the most important book in the store.
-- Sophia
“Nations don’t tear themselves in two accompanied by poetic strains of eloquence alone.” (p. 4) If you think the state of American partisan politics has “never been worse,” read this book.
-- Sophia
If you like short stories, this should be next on your list. I read this collection the day it came out on my lunch break and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
-- Sophia
If you only buy one hardcover in 2019, this should be it. Nobody writes like Toni Morrison, and this is a collection of some of her most beautiful thinking, distilled into thoughtful, elegant prose. She’s my favorite writer of all time.
-- Sophia
This book contains some of the most haunting poetry I’ve ever read. M. NourbeSe Philip uses the legalese of court documents from a case in which over 100 people were murdered so that the slave ship’s owners could collect insurance to tell a story that simultaneously “cannot be told but must be told.”
- Sophia
This collection of short stories is incandescent; each tale unfurls with grace and precision, and then snaps shut before you’re ready for it to be finished. They get more absurd as they go on - in one, a woman rips herself out of a photograph back into real life - yet no theme is too heavy for Arimah to capture. Heartbreaking and haunting, these stories are unforgettable.
-- Sophia
A must-read for anyone with a predilection for the prehistoric! I think the best part about this book is how accessible it is. Brusatte's writing comes off almost conversational, and it never gets bogged down with forgettable technobabble. Perfect for newcomers or seasoned vets, this is my favorite book I've read on the subject.
-- Matt
This was unlike anything I've read before. The narrators in FRESHWATER are the voices (or "gods") inside Ada's head. And they talk about her like a virus talks about the next set of cells it's about to invade. Or like a parasite stalking an unknowing host... where eventually, some sort of symbiosis has to occur.
Emezi compliments this sense of unease with a lyrical narrative and a story that's as hypnotically beautiful as it is hauntingly tragic. Highest praise!
This book sucked me in, shook my nerves, stabbed my heart and melted my frickin' mind! Relentlessly gripping with layered originality, it's a home invasion nightmare unlike any other. A story grounded in domestic relatability, but with terror that creeps in and unleashes itself on unexpected levels. My #1 pick for 2018, no question!
-- Matt
From the mastermind behind TV's Riverdale!! Aguirre-Sacasa has also crafted some of the best horror comics out there and Chilling Tales of Sabrina is Satanically-spot-on! It features the Archie Comics characters you know and love, filtered through a macabre yet tongue-in-cheek lense. RATING: 5/5 upside down pentagrams
-- Matt
