Christopher

Christopher is a graduate of Belmont Abbey College (NC) where he was a Literature major. In the time since graduation he has been travelling the U.S. in an orange VW bus, working intermittantly as a waiter (MI), a barista (TN), a grocery store clerk (TN), a waiter again (AL, AZ), a proofreader (AZ), a bookseller (CO), a useless corporate office drone (CO), an assembler of chili dogs (KY), a waiter again (KY), a factory worker (AL), a veterinary technician twice more (NY), a cake decorator (NY), a baker (NC), a waiter once more (AL), a construction worker (CO), a baker again (OR), and an office manager at a small publishing house (OR).
He is thrilled to be selling books once more, settled down in the delicious town of Seattle.

The Last Musketeer
by Jason
Jason is a master of simplistic storytelling, using his deadpan style to great effect. I positively love every comic he has ever made. Characteristically situational, this story has Athos (of Dumas' classic novel) bored at the passing away of his swashbuckling youth. He becomes engaged in fighting off an alien attack. Along the way we learn the fates of the other two Musketeers, find out that aliens like to smoke cigarettes, and witness a sword fight with a giant robot. Totally awesome.

Food Play
by Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers
This is the sort of art book that you can get for anyone: an attractive and affordable hardbound volume featuring amazingly colorful pictures of animals made out of food. No, really, it's animals. Made out of food. And it is art. Delightful and beautiful art.

Halflife
by Meghan O'Rourke
There is beauty in the radiation buried beneath the surface of our daily lives. This excellent debut collection delves into the complexities and returns repeatedly to the sunlight on the surface.

An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England
by Brock Clarke
This is a great American novel—literate and funny, both a mystery (sort of) and a commentary on the importance of story (of sorts). Clarke addresses all of the subsequent issues: alcoholism, higher education, stand-up lawnmowers, German food, chain bookstores, and, of course, fire.

And the Ass Saw the Angel
by Nick Cave
Gruesome, grotesque, and gorgeously executed, this Gothic tale follows the life of Eucrid, a wretched mute in a parched small town as he is persecuted by the pious and tormented by the sensation of love welling up in his murky, rotten heart.

The Castle
by Franz Kafka
Never has the soul-crushing tedium of bureaucracy been so much fun. Play along with K as he navigates the endless mobius loops of the law in an attempt to fulfill the duties of his job as surveyor. See him find love, temporary employment, and the restful shelter of a barroom floor while unquestioningly succumbing to futility. This is a terrific read for anyone in between jobs.

The Last Rock Star Book or Liz Phair, A Rant
by Camden Joy
The debut novel by a drastically underappreciated genius, this book is a true find. The protagonist, one Camden Joy, has been commissioned to write a pulp where-are-they-now bio on a new rock star whose descent, it is surmised, is imminent. He finds this difficult as he has only a vague familiarity with his subject. He is instructed that this does not matter, the book will only be bought for its pictures. the author therefore fills the pages with ramblings on the lifelessness of rock music, the ill-fated anarchism of his childhood, a romance with a hand-held tape recorder, and the loss (and rediscovery?) of his one true love, Shaleese. Lavishly illustrated by the author.

Giles Goat-Boy
by John Barth
From the godfather of metafiction comes this rollicking tale of bestial ribaldry. All of the world is a university campus which has been suppressed under the tyrannical control of a supercomputer. A savior emerges in the form of a child who has been raised by goats. At turns it becomes a re-telling of Judeo-Christian mythology, 20th century world history, and a vibrant commentary on American literature.

Actual Air
by David Berman
This collection of poems brings to life the experience of growing up American. Berman's descriptions are rich and furtive. Sleep is a combination of "death and tourism". Alternating between hilarious and heartbreaking, this is an infectious collection by one of our greatest young writers.
Or as Berman himself says "Like a brown bird nesting in a Texaco sign, I've got a point of view."