Hilarious and so real, Calin's comics are perfect to read while curled up in sweats (yours or stolen from a significant other) and eating a bag of chips-- preferably ones that leave your hand orange.
Marika
Feel like the end of the world? Fear not: with this handy (and hilarious) guide, you can completely rebuild civilization from scratch--and even take some shortcuts and avoid some of the missteps of our forebears. This book somehow manages to be a fascinating primer on science history and a witty page-turner. Essential reading for the post-apocalypse.
Kate
I turn to this book whenever I need to be comforted or inspired, to laugh or cry, to feel understood and be reminded that we are not alone. Every time I pick it up, I find something new in it, and it's always what I need most to hear at the time. In fact, I've already staff picked it! But I'd like for you all to have the chance to have a copy with you right now. Plus.... if you want..... it can double as a quarantine coloring book.
Kate
From the creator of the eminently adorable Instagram account @sadanimalfacts (featuring such tragic true tidbits as, ‘rhinos make a squeaking sound to call for their friends when they’re lost’). This wonderful, all-inclusive celebration of the weirdness of love features notable couples through history, animal courting rituals, and all the strange things we do when we’re half of a pair. I’m tossing you a softball here, folks: get this sweet, silly book for your partner for in lieu of the Hallmark card. Or for yourself, if you’re a single, hopeless romantic like me!
Leila
Because there's a lovable grouch in everyone's life, and because sometimes we're the lovable grouch.
Stacey
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
It's not just enormous and hilarious, it's definitive and comprehensive and brilliant. Bob Mankoff, longtime cartoon editor, has curated over 3,000 cartoons into categories (Adam and Eve, snowmen, and about 250 others) and has added sparkling, hysterical commentary. There is no better gift you can buy for anyone who loves humor - or for yourself.
David
Filled with fun facts about juvenile animals of all kinds! The drawings that accompany each fact are adorable and peppered with the author's poignant (and slightly painful) jokes. I had a tough time putting it down. Informational, cute, and great for cracking a smile and unleashing an "awwww" or two.
Stacey
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
The dynamic duo we need! (Four more years?!) This hilarious caper finds Joe Biden feeling left out while his best friend Barack Obama vacations around the world with high-profile friends. But soon they're brought together while investigating the murder of an Amtrak train conductor. This book is perfectly corny and satirical. Thank you Andrew Shaffer!
Heather
