Staff Picks


	Adrian, the world's only illiterate bookseller Most recent staff pick: Little Pea, Little Hoot, Little Oink by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Jen Corace At 4, Adrian has been enjoying revisiting some of the board books that he loved as a baby and seeing them in a new light. He especially loves this boxed set lately and had this to say, word for word: "Pea doesn't like candy and pig doesn't like messing up and the owl doesn't like playing and that's why I like them. These books are really lovely."
	Chad Most recent staff pick: The No World Concerto by A.G.Porta The No World Concerto is the first novel to be translated into English from Roberto Bolaño's friend and occasional writing partner, A. G. Porta. Following the critical acclaim of the duo's collaboration, Advice from a Morrison Disciple to a Joyce Fanatic (it won the Ámbito Literario de Narrativa Prize in 1984), Bolaño began the most prolific decade of his life. Porta, on the other hand, stopped writing entirely, opting instead to read and re-read James Joyce for ten years. No World is a strange world. You've got maybe-aliens and maybe-alien hunters, you've got Shakespeare and Proust and Joyce. You've got teen musicians; their leader, a female piano prodigy that wants to quit it all to write; and, at the center of it all, a mysterious old screenwriter. It's a slow burn of a read, but I assure you, the payoff is huge.
	Christine, owner Most recent staff pick: Starstruck by Rachel Shukert I really enjoyed this young adult novel about 1930s Hollywood. The period details were impressive and the portrayal of the studio system and the complex political atmosphere of the time were all handled skillfully. It's a somewhat dark glimpse at the desire for stardom at all costs.
	Emily, manager Most recent staff pick: Red Doc> by Anne Carson If you haven't experienced the lyrical beauty and confusion that is Anne Carson, Red Doc> is a good place to start. You need not have read Autobiography of Red to enjoy Carson's latest. It rejoins both characters decades later, G still tending his herd and also tending his aging mother, and Herakles (now known as Sad But Great) recovering from serving as a soldier. One of the most prominent traits of Carson's writing is its uncategorizability. She weaves her narrative in short, understated lines, but they have the weight and deep observation of poetry. Sometimes it's like a play, sometimes lists, sometimes grammatical, sometimes not -- not unlike the mind and heart.
	Jenn, events manager Most recent staff pick: How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid Between the potentially-off-putting title and the fact that this novel is written in the second person, you might be inclined to give it a pass. But I promise you, you'll be sad to miss it! Chronicling the narrator's journey from poor village boy to aging former tycoon, and the parallel journey of his youthful crush, Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is beautifully written, sharp, and entertaining. This is without a doubt the best rags-to-riches story I've read since ... well, I actually can't remember the last time I read one I liked this much.
	Jenny, children's specialist Most recent staff pick: One Cool Friend by Tony Buzzeo, Illustrated by David Small Don't miss this picture book, which was recently awarded a 2013 Caldecott Honor! When dapper young lad Elliot asks his absent-minded father for a penguin during a trip to the aquarium, he ends up taking a real one home in his backpack (instead of the stuffed toy from the gift shop that his father thought he was approving of!). Hilarity, of course, ensues.
	Molly Most recent staff pick: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Rowell's pitch-perfect YA novel -- our first pick for the new YA Not? book group -- is a heartbreaker. Writing from the alternating perspectives of her two main characters, Rowell lingers on the tiny moments that feel enormous, charting the cautious connection that builds between unpopular Eleanor and accepted Park. Their home lives are as much a study in contrasts as their standings on the social ladder of high school, and both feel incredibly real. Mix tapes and comic books are key in Eleanor and Park's relationship, but the pop culture is icing, not the focus -- that stays on these two teens, the gentle, rocky way they fall for each other, and the circumstances that disrupt their lives.
	Simone Most recent staff pick: The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon Hemon's first nonfiction work is a memoir of leaving war-ravaged Sarajevo to resettle in Canada. Hemon emigrated as a young man but his memories of the experience and his life since are sharp and clever and make for an excellent read.
	Stephanie, manager emeritus All-time favorites: The Phantom Tollbooth, The Grapes of Wrath, Bombadiers, Vanity Fair, James Agee, E. Lockhart, The Best of Everything, The Westing Game, Louise Erdrich. Utter fangirl for: Alan Moore, Mark Bittman, Nigella Lawson, and Jules Feiffer.