2018 Pick of the Year

DeadEndia: The Watcher's Test: Book 1 (Paperback)

By Hamish Steele

$14.95
It's Complicated--Contact Us for More Information

ISBN: 9781910620472

Published: Nobrow - August 7th, 2018

 

If you put the Muppets in a theme park and added the heart of Steven Universe and some paranormal energy, you'd get Deadendia. It's an awesome mixture of humor, friendship, self-discovery, and drama with flawed characters you will love as much as your best friends. Heart-warming, heartbreaking, heart-pounding, and heartfelt!

Marika

These Truths: A History of the United States (Hardcover)

By Jill Lepore

$39.95

ISBN: 9780393635249

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: W. W. Norton & Company - September 18th, 2018

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With a country large and varied as the United States there likely will never be a definitive single-volume history. With These Truths Lepore gives us a largely political history though one informed by the many insights produced by changes in historical methodology over the last few decades. Lepore is always a joy to read. She keeps this book lively and entertaining by focusing on individual lives involved in some of the key dramas that illuminate the how and why of our past.

Dale

Ask Baba Yaga: Otherworldly Advice for Everyday Troubles (Paperback)

By Taisia Kitaiskaia

$14.99

ISBN: 9781449486815

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: Andrews McMeel Publishing - September 26th, 2017

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Some of the questions posed are very traditional for an advice column, but the responses are all earthy, poetic, and a little sinister. I can easily picture Baba Yaga's claws clacking away as she type up her response. I enjoy the raw, truthfulness of some of the answers, but just a reminder that Baba Yaga is not an actual therapist. (This book was featured on BitchReads' list of "11 Books to Hex the Patriarchy" last October.)

Stacey

Dinner at the Center of the Earth (Vintage International) (Paperback)

By Nathan Englander

$16.95
It's Complicated--Contact Us for More Information

ISBN: 9780525434047

Published: Vintage - September 4th, 2018

 

If you've read Englander before prepare to be surprised - the writing is brilliant as usual, but unlike his previous work it's plot-driven and quite political - practically a thriller. As in his other work, the characters in the story struggle with empathy and conscience and moral ambiguity, but this time in a novel of today's Israel-Palestine with spies and generals and double crossing and informants. A compelling, non-stop read.

David

Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future (Paperback)

By Martin Ford

$18.99

ISBN: 9780465097531

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: Basic Books - July 12th, 2016

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Who's job is likely to become automated, A journalist's, a lawyer's, or a pharmacist's? The answer is that all three can and chances are, so can yours.

John

The Mars Room: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Rachel Kushner

$27.00
It's Complicated--Contact Us for More Information

ISBN: 9781476756554

Published: Scribner - May 1st, 2018

 

If you're a fan of the Netflix shows Orange is the New Black or Manhunt then you'll love this book. Kushner's characters are all related to the justice system, and most of them are on the wrong side of it. But that doesn't make them bad people. This is a gritty portrait of people who are down on their luck.

Heather

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us (Paperback)

By Hanif Abdurraqib, Eve L. Ewing (Foreword by)

$16.99

ISBN: 9781937512651

Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON

Published: Two Dollar Radio - November 7th, 2017

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Like the music he writes about, Hanif Abdurraqib's essay collection is by turns novel and nostalgic, euphoric and poignant, contemplative and raw. A moving examination of the way pop culture ties into the current state of our nation--and how it affects us on a personal level.

Kate

The Kiss Quotient (Paperback)

By Helen Hoang

$16.00

ISBN: 9780451490803

Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON

Published: Berkley - June 5th, 2018

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A smart, sexy, adorable romance about an autistic woman who decides to get "good at sex" by hiring a male escort! This one convinced me to give the romance genre another try--so if you're not a romance fan, maybe it'll convince you too!

April

Deadly Class Volume 1: Reagan Youth (Paperback)

By Rick Remender, Wesley Craig (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Artist)

$9.99

ISBN: 9781632150035

Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON

Published: Image Comics - July 29th, 2014

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If you're not convinced by SCHOOL FOR ASSASSINS I'm not sure I can help you, but here's some bonus stuff to love about this book: - Some of the most gorgeous, kinetic art in comics today - A wildly diverse cast of characters - A story that, even amidst all the high stakes, captures the angst of growing up and trying (/failing) to fit it. Get this one quick, because the TV adaptation is coming next year, and your friends are sure to be impressed by your scads of insider info when it becomes the Next Big Thing!

Caleb

Go, Went, Gone (Paperback)

By Jenny Erpenbeck, Susan Bernofsky (Translated by)

$16.95

ISBN: 9780811225946

Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)

Published: New Directions - September 26th, 2017

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Superior writing about a retired professor from East Berlin who unwittingly befriends homeless African refugees. Subtle layering of ancient and recent history, politics and cultures. All delivered in quite gestures and conversations. Outstanding reviews from across the globe. Book group gold.

Molly