| The May 2013 Staff Picks can also be viewed or printed as a PDF Staff Picks May 2013 (.7MB) |
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A SENSATIONAL FIND BY CHARLES BOTTOMLEY
The Blue Fox, From the Mouth of the Whale, and The Whispering Muse This year's most exciting literary discovery is here with a bang - three of them, actually. Plain prose illuminates surprising depths in these marvelous Icelandic tales of revenge, myth and the balance between savagery and civilization. |
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Three novels by the Icelandic
writer Sjon, translated by Victoria Cribb.
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 More Than Freedom:
Fighting for
Black Citizenship
in a White Republic,
1829-1889 by
Stephen Kantrowitz. Reading this
brilliant and compelling
story may draw you to walk
Boston's Black Heritage Trail. Protecting
fugitive slaves, fighting the
Confederacy and even ending slavery
itself were only the first hurdles
for Boston's free black population:
the ultimate goal was nothing less
than full equality. ~ Bill Lewis |
 With or Without
You: A Memoir by
Domenica Ruta. Growing
up in a chaotic,
book-devoid,
trash-filled home
north of Boston,
Ruta chronicles
the insanity of a family ensnared
in addiction, ruled by her locally
notorious mother. How she makes
her escape while facing her demons
makes for a powerful and inspiring
story. ~ Amy Palmer |
 Return of a King:
The Battle for
Afghanistan,
1839-42 by William
Dalrymple.
With its spies,
betrayals and hairraising
escapes, this
chronicle of the
First Afghan War is like something
straight out of Kipling or McDonald
Fraser. An unputdownable
adventure that is also a timely
lesson for any of today's would-be
conquerors. ~ Charles Bottomley |
 For Adam's Sake:
A Family Saga
in Colonial New
England by Allegra
di Bonaventura. Colonial
New London teems
with life, the reader
gets up close and personal with an
extraordinary cast of characters and
their stories are unforgettable. You
won't feel you've been watching
a quaint costume drama after
finishing this book. One of the
finest New England history books in
decades. ~ Bill Lewis |
 In the Body of
the World by Eve
Ensler. From
the author of the
amazing Vagina
Monologues, an
equally important,
yet sobering,
memoir. Ensler draws irrefutable
parallels between her cancer and
the raping of Congolese women:
each is undeserved, a violent upset,
irreversibly damaging, leaving
tangible marks upon its victims
through disconnect and guilt.
Simply astounding. ~ Jess Krawczyk |
 500 Crochet:
Fun Designs
and Projects
for Blocks,
Triangles,
Circles &
Hearts by Kath
Webber and Hannah Elgie.
I own several crochet books, but this
one is by far my favorite. The size is
perfect for travel and the variations
on patterns are fun and imaginative.
A book that will appeal to novice
and expert alike. ~ Sarah Teunissen |
 Saving Italy: The
Race to Rescue a
Nation's Treasures
from the Nazis by
Robert M. Edsel. Edsel shows
how a special Allied
arts unit tracked
down Italy's hidden art treasures,
preventing the Nazis from shipping
them to Germany. A sequel to his
fascinating The Monuments Men and
just as absorbing. ~ Louise Jones |
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 A Constellation of
Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. Marra's
(astonishingly)
first novel defies
ordinary adjectives,
makes trivial the
phrases we
commonly use to praise them. His
small constellation of Chechen and
Russian characters are as vital and
phenomenal as any you could ever
hope to encounter in a work of
literature. ~ Stan Hynds |
 The End of the
Point by Elizabeth
Graver.
A masterful
evocation of time
and place, spanning
three generations
of a New England
family who return
yearly to a fictitious Massachusetts
summer community. A novel
about change and the fissures and
healing that occur within familial
relationships. ~ Amy Palmer |
 Abdication by
Juliet Nicolson. Splendid
historical fiction by
a great historian. A
different perspective
on the familiar tale
of Wallis Simpson
and King Edward
VIII, told from the point of view of
different characters, while darting
into little known alleys of London
life during this fascinating period.
~ Karen Frank |
 Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende. The best
book I've read
in several years.
Lyrical, rich, realistic
prose; interesting,
iconoclastic
characters; timeless themes of
emotional failings, love, redemption,
addiction, family, adolescence,
aging, culture. This is a complete
book - I put it down feeling nothing
was lacking. ~ Chris Morrow |
 Criminal
Enterprise by
Owen Laukkanen. A successful
family man loses
his job during the
recession and starts
robbing banks to
pay the bills. The
reader roots for him – at first – then,
when things turn ugly, for the cops.
Laukkanen grabs the reader by the
collar and doesn't let go!
~ Louise Jones |
 The Legend of
Pradeep Mathew by Shehan
Karunatilaka.
Cross Malamud with
Rushdie and you'll
get something like
this terrific novel
about the search for Sri Lanka's
greatest athlete. Funny and tender,
it's one of the best books about
sports fans I've read.
~ Charles Bottomley |
 Dear Lucy by Julie
Sarkissian. If
you enjoyed Room
or The Curious
Incident of the Dog
in the Nighttime,
you'll love this
debut novel. What
appears to be a
straightforward story about a unique
young woman named Lucy turns
into a much more complicated and
disturbing narrative about a family.
~ Jess Krawczyk |
 The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner. A young
artist's adventures
in "Drop Dead"
New York's underground
are the basis
for one powerful
literary performance. Like an art
world Visit from the Goon Squad,
but way better.
~ Charles Bottomley |
GRAPHIC NOVELS
 Hand-Drying
in America: And
Other Stories by Ben Katchor.
The secrets of the
city are laid bare
in these beautiful
strips, populated by slugbearers,
chair-breakers and cracked-cup
inspectors. Katchor is a true comics
genius and this is a must for any fan
of the weird and wonderful.
~ Charles Bottomley
 Marble Season by
Gilbert Hernandez. The
endless summer
of childhood is
perfectly captured
by the co-creator
of Love and
Rockets. A poetic
love letter to youthful imagination and Superman re-runs.
~ Charles Bottomley
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 The Woman
Upstairs by Claire
Messud.
Any woman who
thinks of herself
as an artist will be
seared by Nora's
attempts to define
herself, allowing her
creativity to blossom while living
her chosen normal life. An intricate
story that poses many questions and
offers some answers, full of thought
and emotion. ~ Karen Frank |
 A Working Theory
of Love by Scott
Hutchins.
It's one thing to
create an artificial
intelligence program
using your late dad's
journals. It's quite
another when "dad"
starts talking back. Hutchins's debut
novel is a father-son story unlike
any you've read before.
~ Charles Bottomley |
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OLD FAVORITE
 A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Each of these autobiographical stories from the author of
The Master and Margarita glows like a candle in the Russian
wilderness, while "Morphine" is a harrowing insight into
addiction.
~ Charles Bottomley |
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This month browse
our Used Book
Staff Picks. 