Staff picks

Besse says: The Lacuna is Barbara Kingsolver's best book yet. It is not only a book that transcends cultures, but also time. It beautifully portrays the ability of words and language to create culture as well as to destroy it. With guest appearances by Frida Kahlo, Leon Trotsky and Diego Rivera this is a must read for Kingsolver fans!

Lianna says: I love books where the story interweaves between past and present day. Even more, when the past is set in Italy, since I’m quite fond of Italian history. Therefore, Anne Fortier’s new novel Juliet caught my attention. I was absolutely captivated by the present day story of twenty-five year old Julie Jacobs, probably because I could relate to her trying to discover her fate in life.  In the chapters focused on the past, there is a unique historical spin that keeps the story of Romeo & Juliet fresh.  In the end everything comes together for an invigorating and romantic work of art.

Nicole says: This novel kept making it to the top of my pile. I spent the weekend with it, and I loved it! A mix of magical realism and foodie prose, great character development and a wonderful coming-of-age story. The tale revolves around a young girl who has the strange ability to taste the emotions of those who make her meals. If you can suspend disbelief, then you will enjoy the book!

Evie Rosen-Budd says: Ann Lamott’s book, Imperfect Birds is not a self help book.  It is a novel.  However Anne Lamott writes about a family dynamic that any one who has raised a teenager is raising a teenager or will be raising a teenager will find help for themselves.  The characters are real.  We all know people just like them. Our children can be both connected to and independent of us. Like birds they can choose to fly away. When love prevails as it does in this story, they will return to the nest. Even if you agree or disagree with the author’s description of how a fictional family deals with crises, you will have empathy for families who find themselves in similar situations.  The writing is so honest and insightful that it made me wonder if Ann Lamott herself has experienced the terrifying issue of parents fearing for their children in these dangerous days of raising children. At the same time that it is tough and heartbreaking, it is also heartfelt and hopeful. 

Anuschka says:

I love it!  I have become extremely fond of novels that are capable of exploring complex or adult themes and emotions with simple, clean use of language.  I had felt so refreshed after reading Hector and the Search for Happiness (another one of my favorite August releases) and now I feel like this is a whole new emerging style that I am going to fall in love with.  While Hector was almost forceful in its sparse, simplistic vocabulary, The Tower is more about charming turns of phrase and enchanting, whimsical prose with a thoroughly lovable and unique cast of characters. I would tell you what it’s about, but I really think you need to meet them all for yourself. I was devastated to turn the last page......can't books like these go on forever?

Lianna says: I read the back of this book and it immediately jumped to the front of my summer, must read, right now, books! I loved the author’s style of writing; very witty and conversational.  I’m definitely a hopeless romantic as well, so I loved the story of a unique friendship growing into something more. There is also an unexpected emotional twist, where I probably said out loud, “There’s no way that just happened!” 

 

 

 

Nicole says: Some books are meant to be difficult to begin - books like Elie Wiesel's Night or Dave Eggers' What is the What. Mark T. Mustain's book is just this way. Yes, it is about the Armenian genocide, but it is not just about acknowledging the mass destruction of a people. Instead, the reader finds herself among a set of characters she can't seem to live without, among a set of events both too real and horribly wrong. This is a book one feels compelled to finish, no matter how hard it is to begin.

Anuschka says: This powerful debut novel explores the tumultuous marriages of three couples. Each marriage experiences the closeness of love and violence, passion and resentment.  Ross touches you deeply with the idea that we are only capable of true, unadulterated cruelty towards those we love and serves as a warning that we not drift apart from each other before we even realize what's happening.

Besse says: If you love a good fairy tale, or a tragic love story you will fall head over heels for this novel from first time author Ali Shaw. In a strange world inhabited by moth winged cattle and albino creatures rumored to be capable of turning a man to stone, Ida Maclaird's feet are slowly turning to glass, and she has no idea how it happened or how to stop it. But, when she meets Midas Crook, amateur photographer, florist and introvert, she begins to feel a hope for the future that can only be sparked by love. Perfect for anyone who loved the Twilight series but was eager for a bit more depth. 

Nicole says: Read this book for Lily King's mastery of language and that can't-look-away-despite-the-imending-disaster-that-is-life quality. Full of family drama, indecisive characters and an picture of idyllic New England WASP existence gone wrong. It's a great summer read!

Evie Rosen-Budd says: Two worlds are brought together in a unique combination of greed, skepticism, romance and fulfillment. Allegra Goodman artfully does this with a story about two sisters with very different interests, the dot com world of Emily and the save the trees world of Jessamine.  Nothing could be more opposite and yet when the story carries the two sisters through the path of meeting the realities of life, their experience has a common thread.  It is a sweet story of the sisters supporting each other in spite of their differences. The author once referred to The Cookbook Collector as a Sense and Sensibility for the digital age.  The origin of recipes and the mystery of their beginnings becomes one of the themes when ancient cookbooks are discovered. Allegra Goodman has demonstrated conclusively (for this reader) that she can write beautifully.  The Cookbook Collector is a great summer read with some intriguing elements added. The 18th century cookbook collection itself offers a creative spin. Favorite quote:  "It is a very interesting fact that few things happen by chance.  Look carefully and also look with some distance and you will see connections and designs to everything."