April 2021

The Radiant Lives of Animals

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The Radiant Lives of Animals By Linda Hogan Cover Image

The Radiant Lives of Animals (Hardcover)

By Linda Hogan
$19.95
ISBN: 9780807047927
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Beacon Press - October 13th, 2020

I was torn between staff-picking this and Stefano Mancuso's fascinating new book, The Nation of Plants. (You should really pick them both up for a great pairing of books to make you contemplate the wonder & wisdom of intelligences other than our own.) In the end, Linda Hogan's writing won out--both earthy and elegant, and full of passages that I've dogeared to read for the rest of my life. Happy spring!

Kate

Women and Other Monsters

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Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology By Jess Zimmerman Cover Image

Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology (Hardcover)

By Jess Zimmerman
$25.95
ISBN: 9780807054932
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Beacon Press - March 9th, 2021

In Women and Other Monsters, Jess Zimmerman explores the mythological and cultural ways that women have been portrayed as monsters, particularly in the Greek pantheon. We are Gorgons, who turn men to stone with our ugliness; we are Charybdis, murderous and unseemly in our hunger; in all the ways we are unideal, we are monstrous. Zimmerman’s experience and her articulation of it was so crisp and felt so real. This book made me feel deeply seen and more at ease with my own monstrosity.

Meaghan

The Arsonist's City

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The Arsonists' City By Hala Alyan Cover Image

The Arsonists' City (Hardcover)

By Hala Alyan
$26.00
ISBN: 9780358126553
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Harper - March 9th, 2021

First of all, always read prose written by a poet. The web of one family’s particular complexities is woven into the larger picture of the region’s, because so much of who we are is informed by where we’re from and where we can call home. At the heart of The Arsonist’s City is Beirut, the most fascinating place I’ve ever been, rendered with exquisite, vibrant nuance.

Leila

The Bookseller of Florence

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The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance By Ross King Cover Image

The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance (Hardcover)

By Ross King
$30.00
ISBN: 9780802158529
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Atlantic Monthly Press - April 13th, 2021

Equally as important in the development of Western culture as the explosion of creativity in the visual arts based on ancient models we now call the Renaissance, was a similar rediscovery and dissemination of classical knowledge in the literary arts. Rich in detail of the political, religious, and commercial culture of this time, King focuses on the story of Vespasiano da Bisticci, essential to the creation of this new book culture in Florence as both producer of finely bound manuscripts and bookseller to the patrons of some of the greatest libraries of the day, whose career apex coincides with the development of the printed book that forever changed how knowledge spread across the world.

Dale

Hurricane Season

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Hurricane Season By Fernanda Melchor, Sophie Hughes (Translated by) Cover Image

Hurricane Season (Paperback)

By Fernanda Melchor, Sophie Hughes (Translated by)
$16.95
ISBN: 9780811230735
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: New Directions - October 6th, 2020

This story of crime and witchcraft, of desperation and oppressive social mores, of poverty and hustling for beer money reads like a storm system. Shifting currents, pressures, heats, a sense of violence in the atmosphere, the feeling that everything around is out of your control. Hurricane Season is a powerful story told in dynamic, scintillating prose.

Josh

Sometimes People March

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Sometimes People March By Tessa Allen, Tessa Allen (Illustrator) Cover Image

Sometimes People March (Hardcover)

By Tessa Allen, Tessa Allen (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062991188
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Balzer + Bray - September 1st, 2020

A great reminder of our civic duty and right to protest and gather, for kids and parents alike. Beautifully illustrated, this explanation of past and current movements includes children in  creating our shared vision of a brighter future.

Rachel

Drawn Together

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Drawn Together By Minh Lê, Dan Santat (Illustrator), Dan Santat (Cover design or artwork by) Cover Image

Drawn Together (Hardcover)

By Minh Lê, Dan Santat (Illustrator), Dan Santat (Cover design or artwork by)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781484767603
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - June 5th, 2018

I remember holding back tears in the store when I first read this touching picture book, based on the author's own relationship with his grandfather. But don't worry, it won't make kids cry!! It's driven by vibrant, action-packed illustrations by Caldecott award winner Dan Santat. Flip it open, and you won't be able to put it down :)

Kate

The Unbroken

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The Unbroken (Magic of the Lost #1) By C. L. Clark Cover Image

The Unbroken (Magic of the Lost #1) (Paperback)

By C. L. Clark
$17.99
ISBN: 9780316542753
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Orbit - March 23rd, 2021

If you want both scathing deconstruction of colonialism in a fantasy setting and extremely good sexual (and political/social) tension between a soldier and her princess, you are going to love this book so much. It's a story brimming with good intentions and terrible decisions, and I can't get enough of it.

Shana

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