Staff Picks
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Josh, Gordon and Cody are high-schoolers from a small town in Oregon. Intense watercolor and ink drawings tell their story: their fathers are all serving in Iraq, and each is struggling with being the "man" of their household in their fathers' absence. Ultimately, this violent and bleak graphic novel presents a powerful picture of the sons left behind, as each dreams of following in his father's footsteps and serving in the military.
Jory
Every day the staff at el Bulli sat down together for a family meal before service. The meals were simple, hearty affairs designed to help power the chefs through their long night, but still spiced with the creativity that made Feran Adria and elBulli world famous. With elBulli now closed, this book will be closest we can get to tasting Adria’s genius.
Josh
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Gottlieb (formerly editor in chief of Simon and Schuster and editor of The New Yorker) has collected here his remarkable sketches (and then some) of well-known figures mostly from the literary and entertainment worlds. The first, and longer, section takes us into the (often intimate) lives of people whose names we all know, from Judy Garland and Harry Houdini to Bruno Bettelheim and the Mitfords. The Letters include an essay on the crime novels of two First Daughters (“White House Whodunits”) and “Analyze That: H.D., Bryher, and Freud”—all are witty, informative, and, of course, beautifully written. A lot of fun with, at imes, a delicious whiff of gossip.
Joan
Sebastian
Junger spent over a year with a platoon in the Korengal Valley in
Afghanistan to document what the experience of war feels like for
today’s front-line soldiers. This book and the documentary film Restrepo
he made with Tim Hetherington are the result. Junger’s book is both
powerful and profound and filled with insights as to how men respond to
and are affected by combat.Dale
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Beautifully
imagined and written, Breadcrumbs calls on a rich fairytale heritage to
examine the depths of friendship. Hazel and Jack have been best friends
through all of their lives and now life is changing them. When Jack
suddenly disappears into the woods, Hazel overcomes magical dangers to
rescue him. Loss might come to their friendship but Hazel makes sure it
is the loss brought by time, not by evil. There’s much to admire and
think about in this lovely book.Jane J
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By far, the best book I've read this year! If there ever were a book worthy of being a successor to The Chronicles of Narnia, with the readability of Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief, this is it. I love, love, love reading about hidden worlds just on the edge of our own--and Wildwood
has one, plus a ton of adventure, talking animals on the verge of a
magic-laden battle, and one missing sibling abducted by a murder of
crows. You will love this!Jill
Possibly the most elegantly wicked of the cold war thrillers, Trevanian's masterpiece was a hit in 1979 and delivers just as much pleasure today with its exquisite plotting, biting wit and snarky geopolitics. The Russo-Japanese Go master/assassin protagonist is so compelling the great Don Winslow (Savages, Power of the Dog) was inspired to resurrect him in the new smasher Satori.
Gary
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Mouse and Mole, characterized perfectly in gentle and spare watercolors, are back in their fifth book together – this time to celebrate Halloween! First, they must carve pumpkins and enter them in a competition. Then there’s preparing their costumes. And then the trick-or-treating. All the while, Mole is trying hard not to be scared of many spooky happenings surrounding Halloween. These early reader chapter books are a great combination of humor and sweetness.
Jory
Bear has lost his hat. He asks many of the animals he meets in the forest if they’ve seen it. No one claims to have seen Bear’s hat. Except maybe Bear did see it? In this hilarious debut picture book by Jon Klassen, patterned, retro-looking illustrations use white space nicely, but also add to the humor of the text. Can you find Bear’s red hat, possibly before he does?
Jory
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Breathtaking. Precise. Beautiful. Gruesome. This is a powerful narrative poem about a young British man coming of age in the midst of the Mau-Mau revolution. The de-humanizing effect of war, disparities of culture, the power and hypocrisy of colonial occupation, and enduring trauma of combat and inflicted cruelty. This is one of the best books in any genre of the year.
Josh
Drawing upon documents found as recently as 1991, Hay describes in deeply satisfying detail the emotional and commercial interconnectedness of a group of talented young people, whose philosophical and political beliefs brought them together when all were well under 30. Her use of their extensive correspondence is so successful one feels one is overhearing their conversations at breakfast. The later fabrications and exaggerations of some of the principle players are stripped away, and we learn not only the real story, but the motivations for invention.
Joan
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Long before Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, David McKee created Mr Benn, an ordinary man who has extraordinary adventures. Here is the first Mr Benn book reprinted for the enjoyment of a new generation of children in which Mr Benn swaps his bowler hat for a red suit of armor and makes friends with a dragon. McKee's artwork is a joy and the Mr Benn stories full of magical possibilities. (Also available, Big- Top Benn)
Susannah