Everything Lulu Mayo creates is enchanting, adorable, and truly an enjoyment to color. Perfect for a relaxing moment if you’re in need of one.
Stacey
Follow along on the adventures of ST the domesticated crow as he navigates the apocalypse with his trusty friend Dennis the dog in their “murder of two.” As an animal who had one foot in the house, and one in the wild, it is up to ST to help usher all the domesticated animals into the new world being born before his very beak. Equal parts profound and profane, this mash up of The Secret Lives of Pets and The Walking Dead had me laughing and wincing on the same page, which I dug.
Dave
Esme Wang won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize, as well as the Whiting Award for Nonfiction for her book, The Collected Schizophrenias. She writes about schizophrenia related illnesses from her own lived experience, which is a perspective not often enough given a voice. As such, her writing has the beauty and thorough consideration of someone who’s life is personally impacted by the illness as well as someone who’s an amazing author.
Seamus
Everyone needs a recipe for Rich Tea Biscuits (My brothers and I don't drink coffee).
John
Before he won a 2021 MacArthur “genius” grant and spearheaded Freedom Reads, an initiative to bring books to incarcerated people, Reginald Dwayne Betts was a poet. Before that, he was in prison, himself, for 9 years. This fearless book of poetry depicts the aftermath of incarceration – the regrets and the reverberations – as well as the injustices of the bail system. The poet takes an unflinching look at himself, his flaws, and the flawed system that afflicted him.
Rachael
Sometimes things are popular for a reason. I picked up Atomic Habits in 2020 in a desperate attempt to structure my lockdown. And I’m not going to say it worked miracles, but it made so much sense! Try it. Small changes can yield big results. Perfect for your New Year’s resolution regimen.
Wendy
A great resource from purees to finger foods to family meals, these recipes include easy and interesting ways to introduce a variety of foods. Our favorite so far is Chickpea & Broccoli. Next up: Bulgur, Eggplant, & Yogurt and Red Lentil, Carrot, & Coconut Milk.
Katie
With this laugh-out-loud, poignant-ish part-memoir filled with helpful lists like “Top Eight Ways to Avoid Charming Your Therapist,” Novak bravely gives fellow “depressos” permission to lean in to what they feel, and learn things along the way, maybe.
Kate M
This extraordinary collection of short stories is, sadly, the last work of best selling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Zafón died in June 2020. His four novels - Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven and The Labyrinth of the Spirits were all international bestsellers and these eleven short stories, created by a master storyteller, return to the Gothic world of those novels known as the "Cemetery of Forgotten Books Quartet".
Nathan
A story collection that questions how stories work. A story collection that questions if stories work. But for all the loud and quiet weirdness of the book, for all the winding paths and experiments with narrative, this is a profoundly human book. Trammell cares about the low lifes & beat downs that fill this book, and makes sure you care about them too.
Josh
