Alexander's Staff Picks

Forget the superficial caricatures typical of office comedy--Ferris offers something entirely different, an office filled with real people, as tragic as they are cruel, and as noble as they are flawed. Yes, this novel is funny; but it's also smart, sad, and insightful, and displays genuine empathy--rather than disdain--for the millions of people who spend their weekdays working in cubicles.
Alexander

This novel in short stories takes the form of an oral history, detailing the founding of an imaginary empire and the development of a civilization. Hundreds of years may pass between stories. Dynasties rise and fall, cities wax and wane, heroes and rulers live and die, as the as the story of the empire moves ever onward, all wrapped in the unmistakable tones of myth and legend.
Alexander

You don't need to be an art history expert to enjoy the oddball characters in this book--part murder mystery, part fantasy, part primer on the avant-garde artists of 1907 Paris--but if you do know your artists, it just makes this strange adventure all the more fun. When a blue-skinned woman starts killing artists, a crew of innovative painters, including quiet and reserved Georges Braque and a wildly unrestrained Pablo Picasso, sets out to solve the crime and invent Cubism. Picasso's impish antics alone make the book worth the read--so long as you're not offended by small naked men.

An elephant goes to sculpture camp...a rabbit joins a secret society of underground journalists...and a dog builds a submarine. Together, can they solve the mystery of the monster in the pond before the frightened townsfolk decide to feed Ms. Scrimshaw, the sculpture teacher to it? This Eisner Award-winning story is a clever and exciting adventure for kids and grown

Let's be honest--comics adaptations of other people's books don't usually work very well, and it's hard to imagine The Babysitter's Club being the exception to the rule. And yet it is, for one simple reason--Raina Telgemeier is a fantastic cartoonist, with obvious affection for the material she's adapting. Her depictions, of kids and teenagers especially, capture a true-to-life energy, appeal, and warmth that can't be beat. Whether you're a longtime fan of Martin's classic series or even if you've never had any interest in The Babysitter's Club at all, Telgemeier makes these books a treat.
Alexander

In a distant future where citizens have traded freedom for an illusion of safety, the government uses the vague specter of "terrorism" to maintain its power. But how do you foment a revolution when there's no one left with the will to fight? The writer of Watchmen and From Hell offers us a troubling hero in the figure of V, a man who will cross any line necessary in his quest to restore democracy.

Being a mouse is dangerous at the best of times--when you're small and tasty, it's easy to fall prey to just about anything from snakes to sand crabs. But that's why the Mouse Guard was formed--so that a handful of battle-trained soldiers can make the forest pathways safe for the rest. But are the Guard strong enough to stand against a threat from within? When one mouse turns traitor, war isn't far behind.