February 2022

The Roughest Draft

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The Roughest Draft By Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780593201930
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Berkley - January 25th, 2022

The Roughest Draft is an adult contemporary romance about two people who are close writing partners, only for a private disaster to ruin their relationship. Bound by contract to co-write one last book, both characters are forced to reflect and write in the aftermath of their falling out. What could possibly go wrong? Similar in content and style to Emily Henry’s Beach Read, this book is perfect for writers, readers, and lovers all around.

Cindy


Burnout

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Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle By Emily Nagoski, PhD, Amelia Nagoski, DMA Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781984818324
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Ballantine Books - January 7th, 2020

You need to read this book. I don't care who you are, but if you're living in year three of a pandemic and have even an iota of connection to the world (I wouldn't blame you if you've checked out) you need to read this book. Emily and Amelia Nagoski have created a book that brings you through actual real things you can do to help yourself feel less burnt out even when you can't change the world around you. I am not a self help book person, but even before I finished this book I found myself flipping back to passages, annotating the parts I needed the most, and quoting it to those around me. I know for a fact I will be reading it again.

Katherine


Chouette

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Chouette By Claire Oshetsky Cover Image
Not Available
ISBN: 9780063066670
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Ecco - November 16th, 2021

An unhinged narrative about motherhood with a stunning cover? Oh, YES. In Claire Oshetsky's Chouette, a cellist called Tiny—a feral woman in her own right—gives birth to an owl-baby. Her husband and his family can't accept this terrifyingly unique daughter as she is, putting Tiny at odds with them as she fights to understand her owl-child. Even if it means feeding her baby mice. Not in spite of, but because of, her weird premise, Oshetsky perfectly captures the ferocious love, the isolation, the white-hot pride, and the many teeth of motherhood.

GrubStreet


Hope for the Flowers

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Hope for the Flowers By Trina Paulus Cover Image
$14.95
ISBN: 9780809117543
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Paulist Press - January 1st, 1973

Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus, does a great job of describing a world view in a way that's accessible enough to be read by kids, but true enough to capture adults.  The mother of a childhood friend of mine bought half a dozen copies and passed them around to my friend group in our junior year of high school.  So, I wanted to continue the tradition of cross-pollination in making it my staff pick, which itself, is one of the books topics.

Seamus


Late City

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Late City By Robert Olen Butler Cover Image
Not Available
ISBN: 9780802158826
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Atlantic Monthly Press - September 7th, 2021

On his deathbed on the night of the 2016 election, the 115-year-old last surviving soldier of WWI reflects back on the first 50 years of his life, from his early childhood in Louisiana, his role as a sniper in the war, and his post-war career as a journalist in Chicago.  His meditation takes the form of a conversation with God, who admittedly is depicted somewhat heavy-handedly, but the real beauty of the book is Olen's description of the effect of the war on a young man, and the perspective of a journalist on local and international events and the impact of his career on his family.

David


This Woven Kingdom

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This Woven Kingdom By Tahereh Mafi Cover Image
Not Available
ISBN: 9780062972446
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: HarperCollins - February 1st, 2022

If you're a lover of destiny, Persian mythology, and two characters yearning for a forbidden love, Tahereh Mafi's This Woven Kingdom is perfect for you! The style is reminiscent of well-loved stories like The Arabian Nights and The Shahnameh. Set among clashing empires, it also parallels the court intrigue that Games of Thrones is known for...

Engel


The People Could Fly

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The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales By Virginia Hamilton, Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon, Ph.D. (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Virginia Hamilton, Leo Dillon (Illustrator), Diane Dillon, Ph.D. (Illustrator)
$14.99
ISBN: 9780679843368
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers - January 4th, 1993

The pompous will fall and the humble prevail in these stories born (mostly) of American Slavery. From the transcendent title story to the tale of the iconic “tar baby,” cleverness and magic have a way of triumphing over greed. Told in witty dialect and evocatively illustrated; subject matter might be heavy for the very young.

Rachael


The Disordered Cosmos

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The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred By Chanda Prescod-Weinstein Cover Image
Not Available
ISBN: 9781541724709
Availability: Available to Order from Supplier: Arrives at Store in a Week(ish)
Published: Bold Type Books - March 9th, 2021

Come for the particle physics, stay for the treatise on how racism and sexism have been as pervasive in science as in everything else. A beautiful, brilliant, necessary book.

Shana


Magical Boy

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Magical Boy Volume 1: A Graphic Novel By The Kao, The Kao (Illustrator) Cover Image
By The Kao, The Kao (Illustrator)
$15.99
ISBN: 9781338775525
Availability: In Stock: Click Title to See if it's in CAMBRIDGE or BOSTON
Published: Graphix - February 1st, 2022

There is nothing I love more than taking a gendered trope and saying, well, what about trans people? Max is the Magical Boy we've been waiting for, and this book is charming, funny, and full of heart. Here's hoping he can defeat gender dysphoria: the fate of the world depends on it!

Shana


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