You are here
Staff Picks
Kaveh Akbar can break your heart and make you laugh out loud within the space of a single sentence. Already an admirer of his poetry, this remarkable debut novel cements his status as one of my favorite writers working today. Martyr! explores family, migration/displacement, art, grief, addiction, and (yes) martyrdom with such style and tenderness. What an incredible storyteller. [Adrienne]
What an intriguing narrator! I would have given a hug to Margaret had she been my friend. I absolutely loved the poetic reification and anthropomorphism of grief. If only it had not ended, but then I would not be feeling this story's lingering effect. [Blanca]
Get ready to blast off into a fun adventure with this graphic novel! I laughed out loud and found it clever, but my favorites were the pet goat and the toilet weasel! [Blanca]
This account of the meeting between conquistador Cortés and emperor Moctezuma is my favorite kind of historical fiction. While highly focused in setting—the narrative unfolds over a matter of days and largely within palace walls—we get a monumentally big story about colonialism and imperialism. Full of absurdity, dark comedy, and palace intrigue, it's a fantastic imagining of this historic encounter. I was enthralled to the last word. [Adrienne]
There are five books in this series and I binged all five in eight days. I don't know how else to explain how much I adore this series. This is the first book (and they do need to be read in order) and every single one is amazing. There are scares, laughs, and a sweet smutty romance. My only complaint is I wish I could read it again for the first time. [Danielle]
A delightful book for record aficionados and those burgeoning listeners as it covers the history of the technology as well as its audience over time. Each section is peppered with images of significant cover art and notable record shops around the world. It inspired me not only to watch several mentioned documentaries but also to visit my local record shop. [Blanca]
Melissa Lozada-Oliva is brilliant. She's created a multigenerational family saga that's so many things at once: funny, strange, suspenseful, biting (heh), and emotionally moving. I literally lol'd, gasped in horror, and cried while reading this book. What a ride. A great choice for readers of literary family dramas and speculative fiction, alike. [Adrienne]
I'll be honest, Wren is not you're typical hero but that's part of why I love him. He's kind dark and broody and rather spent his time with chickens than other people. He also knows he's ace and thinks that means he's going to die alone like most ace people do at his age. Yes he gets the guy and yes there is an HEA but it's also a pretty realistic look at being in high school and growing up ace. It's nice to read a book with a character who knows who he is and isn't going to apologize for it. [Danielle]
Simultaneously a beautiful art book and a history of Turtle Island. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking, horny, hallowed, and homosexual. The encounters with real historical figures are delicious. The history is irreverent and made me mourn for what was lost. Monkman is a talented artist who has been painting Miss Chief for decades and this is their history. [sweet pea]
The nuances in this book are spectacular, and you'll not want to put it down. From the perspective of an autistic single-mom, we get to see how her ordered world unravels with the intrusion of two strangers. [Blanca]