Ghosts Of Booksellers Past
While these booksellers themselves aren't necessarily ghosts, their recommendations still stand even after they've left our stores.
It's not too often that I read nearly an entire novel in one day. This book was just so unbelievably pleasant in every way and it turns into one of those books that you keep thinking about even when you've put it down to shower or eat and you have to pick it right back up when you're finished! Our main character is Quinn, gay, about to turn seventeen and has all the characteristics of a seventeen year old; however, there is a terrible tragedy in his family that takes place just before the novel starts that makes Quinn not your average seventeen year-old boy. All together, this is a pleasant little YA novel that is about our friend Quinn finding himself again, learning that not all of our heroes turn out to be heroes, and not everything is always as bad as it seems.
-- Josh
The narrative throughout this book kept me hooked. This is a beautiful, multi-story novel that is so well done that you cry. I sighed a huge sigh after finishing and gently placed the book down as if it were a baby. The amazing part of this is that I read the ARC of this novel. I can only imagine how beautiful the published version must be with corrections and additions. If you loved Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin, you'll love this even more.
-- Josh
This precious little book gave me a bit of a startle. Before buying it I was skeptical because the narrative is a little different then what I was looking for. The paperback came out about a week later so I took the plunge and I wasn’t disappointed! This is another novel full of stories that converge into one and each one will just tear you into pieces. This book, however, will at least try to glue you back together at the end!
-- Josh
There is a reason Tartt won the Pulitzer and that is because she is truly gifted author. This book is more than just a beautiful novel. It is a book to understand the philosophy of life, understand the beauty of art (life in art/ art in life— these are often different!), and a literary understanding of a painting and it’s meaning and all of this is through one Dickensian, bildungsroman, gorgeous, and perfect (I can keep the adjectives going but I’ll stop here) novel.
-- Josh
To describe this book would take me a lot more thought than just writing a quick blog review. Isherwood's style of writing, imagery, and character development is indescribable. You really feel George's grieving, his anger, and his happiness. It's incredibly relateable in the sense that what George is feeling, you're feeling it for the exact same reasons. If you've seen the movie and decided 'oh, I just don't need to read that,' YOU'RE WRONG! You do need to read this! They are rather different. If you've read this book and haven't seen the movie, YOU'RE ALSO WRONG! The movie is fantastic! Anyway, this entire novel is just a masterpiece. Pick it up and read it.
-- Josh
Donna Tartt is my absolute favorite author. This book is full of the most beautifully crafted sentences I have ever read. This is a murder story-- but not a whodunit, rather a 'whydunit.' A warning: you're not going to like any of the characters. At all and if you do you are evil (like me who liked several of the characters but I am constantly in the minority). I can't tell anymore because I may ruin the whole thing but please give this book a try!
-- Josh
Is this a good book? Not necessarily. Will you still love it though? Yes. It is just a sweet, sweet YA novel that will give you the guilty pleasure/ emotional fuzzies you're possibly searching for in a YA novel. It's a complete Harry Potter spin-off which makes many so, so happy.
-- Josh
I was thoroughly amazed by how good this book was. I was SO captivated by Ari's teen-age boy angst throughout this entire novel-- to further that thought-- the way Saenz captured a gay, angsty, teenage boy during the Reagan era. It's a wonderful roller coaster of a ride and I wasn't disappointed and I don't think you will be either.
-- Josh
Ruilier has used the stories told to him by immigrants to weave a narrative that’s both heartbreaking and timely. The simple yet chaotic art style heightens the emotion even further. Please read this book!
-- Katie
Gorgeously drawn, romantic, and imaginative, this fantasy is a great gift for fans if Miyazaki and animation in general.
-- Katie
A truly stunning and unforgettable book, Daytripper follows the life of obituary writer Bras through the highs and lows of his life, to his death-- over and over again. Each chapter ends with Bras' death at different times in his life, in different ways, and the result is a moving observation on what we make of our time on Earth, and what means the most to us in the end
-- Katie
What an old-fashioned pleasure this book is! Both smart and absorbing, this is a story about ordinary people in a small English town on the eve of the WWI. The story sounds trite (a young woman arrives to teach at the local school, etc.), but Helen Simonson is such a good writer that I felt I was there with them and just wanted to keep reading and reading.
-- Annie
This deceptively simple picture book is a pleasure to pore over. My 2-year-old and I look through and discuss this mostly wordless book over and over, finding new hidden stories each time. Combining exquisitely realistic details of daily life with a touch of whimsy, this book is real treasure for curious little people and their parents.
-- Annie
A beautifully written, old fashioned love story. The Invisible Bridge is, to begin with, the story of a young Hungarian architect student in Paris at the beginning of WWII. I was completely captivated and there are scenes that are still fresh in my memory several years later.
-- Annie
This is a life-changing book. Jessie Greengrass is one of the best prose stylists writing today. Individual clauses can speak paragraphs in her hands. In Sight, Greengrass blends fiction and history to tell a poignant story about the relationship between mothers and daughters and the way we see ourselves and each other in the world. Read this now!!!
--Adam
I can't believe there was a time when I hadn't read Anita Brookner. Her brilliant novels explore solitude and intellectual work with impeccable prose that is, in turns, hilarious and touching. Look at Me is a great introduction to her work, as Brookner portrays the life of Frances Hinton (she does not like to be called Fanny), a librarian who struggles with companionship and the life of the mind in a bracing meditation on what it means to be a writer in society.
-- Adam
4 Kids Walk Into a Bank is a fantastic play on nostalgia and friendship. The story is riveting, Tyler Boss is one of my favorite artists working right now, and, frankly, who doesn't love a good bank heist pulled off by a bunch of nerdy kids? This book is like The Goonies but much darker and just as funny or like Dog Day Afternoon but sweeter and with more heart. You won't regret reading this one.
-- Adam
Through her impeccable manipulation of poetic form, Tarfia Faizullah brilliantly makes you feel all the pain, hunger, and anxiety that these poems narrate. This book shows poetry's immense power to rewire our experience of the world in unexpected and touching ways. Navigating between individual bodies in pain to losses felt by entire cities, Faizullah shows us how language can turn violence and loss into reparation, understanding, and dazzling illumination.
-- Adam
Walsh shows off her brilliance in these brief, witty stories that are as clever as they are touching. Joanna Walsh been one of my favorite writers since her previous book, Vertigo, and Worlds from the Word's End is even better. It's the perfect book for anyone who loves great puns and brilliant explorations of literature's possibilities.
-- Adam
