Current Recommends

If you are wondering what to read next, you may also wish to take a peek at our regularly updated Staff Picks page for more amazing books that our booksellers have fallen in love with.


$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780887848162
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: House of Anansi Press, 09/01/2009

Fans of David Mitchell's historical fiction will devour The Order of Good Cheer. Effortlessly flowing between parallel stories taking place in 1606 and 2006, this book brings to life Samuel de Champlain and Andy Winslow. Two seemingly disparate stories become one beautifully written tale about love, isolation, endurance, and the friendship that blooms from the order of good cheer. —Leighanne


By Amos Oz, Nicholas de Lange (Translator)
$13.95
ISBN-13: 9780547336244
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mariner Books, 04/01/2010

An author reads from his work at a bookstore and his mind wonders. And wanders. And you're not sure what's the story on the page and what's in his mind. If you've ever thought, "What's he thinking up there?" be prepared. Priceless. —Karen


Caucasia (Paperback)

$12.00
ISBN-13: 9781573227162
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Trade, 06/01/2003

Stitched up in complex issues and characters, Birdie’s story is a provocative, intense little page turner. She is a girl spinning in multiplicities in an either/or world, a painfully lucid witness, a powerful, awkward and thoughtful participant. She resists being the victim of a fractured family, seeking reclamation, self-determination and love to save herself. So well written and one of my all time favorites. —Shannon


By Susan Sontag (Foreword by), Christopher Middleton (Translator), Robert Walser
$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780940322981
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics, 01/01/2002

Robert Walser spent much of his life as a wanderer; drifting from job to job, town to town, family member to family member before finally succumbing to mental fatigue. While I hesitate reading too heavily into his (or any author's) biography, it's hard not to see the similarities in his work: an eerily locationless tone, stories that unravel right off the page, writing riddled with moments of boredom and euphoria, tedium and tangents, loneliness and delirium. Here his narratives and parables are deservedly given the NYRB treatment. —Matthew


Spoon Fed (Hardcover)

$25.95
ISBN-13: 9781594487576
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Hardcover, 04/01/2010

Spoon Fed is a love story that's about food and about recovery. Yes, you'll see a different side of Kim's food writer mentors (including Edna Lewis) but the heart of this story is her own journey—becoming sober. Falling in love with her wife Katia and becoming a writer. I loved this book. —Karen


The Signal (Paperback)

$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780143117551
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 05/01/2010

This is a great summer read. Our wayward protagonist, Mack, and his soon to be ex, Vonnie, are on their last annual backpacking trip in the Wyoming wilderness. Ostensibly, they are making this trip to say goodbye to each other but...it turns out Mack has an ulterior motive—he's on a mission to find something on the mountain for some bad people. And then, well, Mack and Vonnie run into some trouble...It's fast-paced suspenseful, and it has good character development, you'll have trouble putting this one down. —Hilary


$20.00
ISBN-13: 9780553386738
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bantam, 06/01/2010

Did you know a woman's body will burn approximately 500 calories more a week before her menstrual cycle? Or that it is more likely to become pregnant during a full moon rather than on a new moon? This wonderful book is so full of fascinating information about our bodies, I found it difficult to put down. I was even moved to tears reading many of the case studies listed within, most of which dealt with coming to terms with your past and allowing your body to fully process each emotion (whether you laugh or cry), to create an even healthier and happier you. A must read for any woman young or old. —Jillian


$21.99
ISBN-13: 9780446563086
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grand Central Publishing, 04/01/2010

We all know him as "Honest" Abe but it turns out that our 16th President wasn't being completely truthful when it came to one of his lifelong obsessions; ridding America of bloodsucking vampires! Now, thanks to Seth Grahame-Smith, the whole truth can be told about the man we thought we knew... —Rich


Soldiers of Salamis (Paperback)

By Javier Cercas, Anne McLean (Translator)
$14.95
ISBN-13: 9781582344720
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury USA, 01/01/2005

This "true tale" is the story of Cercas investigating a fascist’s narrow escape from execution at the end of the Spanish Civil War...and the Republican soldier who may have spared his life. I was drawn to it because Roberto Bolano surfaces as an important character is Cercas' search. What I found was a unique, dynamic, and beautiful novel that brought me to tears by its end. —Casey O.


$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780802143860
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press, 09/01/2008

A dark, witty and often times hilarious struggle with familial quirk and disappointments, immigrant identities, father and son relations and, ultimately, coming into one’s own. From feverish recollections of Tehran to Los Angeles and New York immediately after 9/11. Xerxes’ coming of age story is without equal. A beautiful debut. —Shannon


$13.95
ISBN-13: 9780393337204
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company, 11/01/2009

At the end of each of these brilliant short stories Mueenuddin’s meticulously sculpted characters hang loose, helpless and naked, dangling from the strands of the tightly spun story-web. The rich are spoiled, the poor struggle in life. A cultural confusion dominates modernized Pakistan, where feudal order, strict gender roles and tradition are used to govern peoples’ behavior. Expect surprises and plot twists from this "Chekhovian" young author. —Hanna


The Lacuna (Paperback)

$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780060852580
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 08/01/2010

“God speaks to the silent man,” says Harrison Shepherd, an accidental onlooker and narrative voice in Lacuna. Working as hired help in the Rivera/Kahlo household, Shepherd quietly documents the tumultuous events of the century as well as the hurricane-like lives of stubborn Diego and bohemian, peacockish Frida. The “lacuna,” or the missing piece, the cavity in Kingsolver’s novel, is a personal versus national identity, a quest for solitude and artistic freedom in a time when participation, ideological uniformity and communist resistance equals patriotism. I highly recommend this book for historical content and great language. —Hanna


Atlas of Unknowns (Paperback)

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780307389015
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 04/01/2010

I loved this book! It’s about two young sisters in Kerala, India whose lives take very different paths when one accepts a scholarship for study in New York. Lovely writing, great character development, and a touching story. This first-time novelist will go places! —Hilary


$32.50
ISBN-13: 9781439187326
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Free Press, 06/01/2010

A superb biography of a seriously neglected writer. I hope this brings his novels back into print (Lord of the Flies, aside) —Greg


$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780743298902
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Washington Square Press, 10/01/2007

When young David's mother dies, all he has left of her are the books that they read together. But when the books start talking to him, they lead him into a world of fantasy; a place where wolves rule ravenously, the good guys turn sinister and a young boy comes of age. A wonderful journey. —Leighanne


$25.00
ISBN-13: 9780385343664
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: The Dial Press, 04/01/2010

We all have such diverse tastes here at Elliott Bay that it is rare for us to agree on a novel. The Imperfectionists has us going around saying, "Yes, it is that good!" in agreement. Each chapter would be a wonderful short story on its own, each character deserves his own novel. Highly recommended. —Leah


A Happy Man (Paperback)

$13.00
ISBN-13: 9781933633817
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Melville House, 12/01/2009

This book will make your heart spill over. Let it enrich your hour, day or week. Once you finish, you'll likely flip it back over and start it once again. —Jillian


$14.95
ISBN-13: 9781582435480
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Counterpoint, 07/01/2010

Peter Lewis' debut whodunit, a heady blend of murder mystery and wine culture intrigue, is set in the Napa Valley and Cot d'or. Wine-wise but a little world weary, Babe Stern knows how to use a corkscrew and finds himself on the trail of someone who did wrong. A wonderful book. Here's to this—clink—and more to come. —Rick


Pariah (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780765326270
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books, 08/01/2010

Gory, depressing, touching, and darkly humorous. Bob Fingerman’s novel about a small group of survivors and a mysteriously off-putting girl shows that zombie literature still has some life in it...so to speak. —Rich


$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780473134518
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Lawrence & Gibson Publishing Collective, 01/01/2008
This is the sort of book that makes me love being a bookseller. It is published in New Zealand by a tiny press, and we had to work to get it, but here it is! The book takes place in Denver, in the early 2000s, just after that big national catastrophe, when it seemed like the world was falling apart. It chronicles the intersecting lines of three friends who handle their dread in a variety of ways - by drinking to oblivion, by disappearing from the world, or by dressing up like Batman. Literate, funny fiction from an exciting new writer. —Christopher

Lean on Pete (Paperback)

$13.99
ISBN-13: 9780061456534
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 04/01/2010

This is a book that carries serious weight with quiet confidence and a deep respect for its protagonist. Charley Thompson is an earnest and resourceful fifteen year old forced to fend for himself, constantly trying to keep ahead of the violence and pain in his life. His closest friend is an aging race horse as he goes on what turns out to be an epic quest just to have a safe and quiet teenage life. A gripping, beautiful novel. —Casey O.


By Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann (Translator)
$27.00
ISBN-13: 9781933633633
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Melville House, 03/01/2009

I bow to Primo Levy: The greatest book ever written about the German resistance to the Nazis." Based on a true story (with fascinating facsimiles of Gestapo files in the afterward)—this is the saga of an unremarkable couple whose innate decency compels them to protest, hopelessly and courageously, against the brutality of the Reich. Triumphant, tragic, gripping; simply and beautifully narrated. —Peter


Whoopie Pies (Hardcover)

$16.95
ISBN-13: 9780811874540
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Chronicle Books, 04/01/2010
Makin' whoopie pies! —Leah

$35.00
ISBN-13: 9780740791444
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 06/01/2010

Yum yum! Hop over to the farmer's market and try these recipes. —Jillian


One Day (Paperback)

$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780307474711
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 06/01/2010

One Day follows the twenty-year relationship between Emma and Dexter, beginning in 1988 and 'checking in' on them every July 15th. They have a lovably combative friendship that ebbs and flows, sometimes veering awkwardly into romance, yet rarely in sync. While this book starts out as a simple and fun summer read, it soon becomes a cynical, humorous and heart breaking story that you'll find yourself engrossed in. I highly recommend it! —Hilary


Ceremony (Paperback)

By Leslie Marmon Silko, Larry McMurtry (Introduction by)
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780143104919
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Classics, 01/01/2007

Set in the late 1940s, on a Laguna Reservation, Ceremony is the story of a young man who returns from war emotionally and spiritually broken. To help himself heal, he visits a wise man whose ceremony brings him back to himself. Lyrical and profound, Ceremony is well worth the read —Leighanne


Microscripts (Hardcover)

By Robert Walser, Susan Bernofsky (Translator), Walter Benjamin (Afterword by)
$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780811218801
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 05/01/2010

In 1927, enigmatic Swiss writer Robert Walser began writing in a baffling set of tiny dots and scratches. Thought by many to be further evidence of his insanity, these ant-like pencil markings were actually an arcane, ultra-condensed Germanic script that allowed the author to write out entire stories on torn envelopes, small scraps of paper, the back of a business card. Microscripts collects twenty five of these pieces, presenting each work alongside a glossy, high-res facsimile of the microscript from which it came. A beautiful book, a beautiful object. —Matthew


$20.00
ISBN-13: 9781604860801
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: PM Press, 05/01/2009

eith has written a radical critique of agriculture and lays bare the myth that vegetarianism/veganism will save the world. It is a noble goal and an ideal, but when examined closely it in fact proves to be a fallacy. The truth is, “Life must kill and we are all made possible by the dead body of another.” I recommend this book to vegetarians, vegans and carnivores alike. —Greg


Sea of Poppies (Paperback)

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780312428594
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador, 09/01/2009

Immediately, I latched onto this book. Perhaps it's the well crafted language, the wonderfully crowded cast or the energetic historical plot. Maybe the romance, the swashbuckling heft, the windswept pirates and sly humor. Could be the deft and entertaining pulse that winds itself from page one to the very "end" that leaves you both satisfied and winded, anxious for the next installment. Yes! A proper novel. Read and share. —Shannon


By Amy Pennington, Della Chen (Photographer)
$19.95
ISBN-13: 9781594853463
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Braided River, 04/01/2010

I read about Urban Pantry in Edible Seattle and knew I had to have it. I am such a fan of books that teach me how to store and keep all the delicious seasonal bounty. Now I know what to do with all my plums! —Holly


Hondo and Fabian (Paperback)

By Peter McCarty, Peter McCarty (Illustrator)
$6.95
ISBN-13: 9780312367473
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Square Fish, 06/01/2007

Hondo the dog and Fabian the cat are friends who spend the day apart—Hondo outside and Fabian inside. They each have fun playing with friends, they each get hungry, and they each come home to a cozy house, a good meal, and each other. If you fall in love with the soft illustrations, Peter McCarty has written a sequel, as well as a charming book about a bunny. —Charlotte


$16.95
ISBN-13: 9781582435404
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Counterpoint, 01/01/2010

It isn't everyone that gets to wake the Master-at-Arms of the Shaolin Temple, "demanding" answers! Leave it to Red Pine...this is a great travel narrative and a loving philosophical inquiry into the heart and soul of China as Porter travels the path of the first Patriarchs of Zen. Warm, understated, humorous and avuncular. Oh yeah, and perceptive... —Jesse


$13.95
ISBN-13: 9780393331400
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company, 04/01/2008

Martin Espada, poet/storyteller, his poems each hid a gem, a joke, a song, a political aside, a biography. One for Dennis Brutus, another for Pinochet (and his political kin), one for you. —Karen


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780143104865
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Classics, 04/01/2007

Arsene Lupin - contemporary of Sherlock Holmes—is a French burglar, thief and gentleman. This is the first of several adventures (in one he meets his nemesis—Herlock Sholmes). A fast paced mystery and adventure for the summer...Enjoy! —Charlotte


$23.99
ISBN-13: 9780316042796
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown and Company, 02/01/2010

If romantic and culinary passion, in the city famous for love and food, sounds appealing, then you'll find this memoir by an American journalist as deliciously irresistible as I did. Ms. Bard met her husband at an academic conference and writes eloquently about her courtship with the man AND with Parisian cuisine and culture in general. Her observations yield a wonderful portrait of place and of the process of making it one's home. Recipes accompany each chapter! —Erica


$19.99
ISBN-13: 9780061626968
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper, 11/01/2009
I love books like this! Tidbits of such fascinating information on everyday items we use. Read how artificial sweetener came to be. Who invented parking meters and why. More on the bobby pin, Velcro, white out, post-it notes, the artificial heart, wireless TV remote and many others. Something new each time you open up the book for great trivia! —Seth

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780143117667
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 07/01/2010

"Extraordinary kids aren't born that way," writes veteran teacher and father-of-four Rafe Esquith. They become extraordinary because the adults have helped these kids realize their gifts. Not an easy task, and he learns as much from his failures as from his successes. Not preachy and not about perfection. A real gift. —Karen


Bitter Seeds (Hardcover)

$25.99
ISBN-13: 9780765321503
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Books, 04/01/2010

The Nazis have created a team of supermen and are using their unusual powers to cut a swath of destruction through Europe. The British, fearing this unknown new weapon, summon the supernatural entities known as the "Eidolons" to help fend of the Fuhrer's war machine. But are these mysterious allies actually trustworthy or are they far more dangerous than anything Hitler could have dreamed up? —Rich


Beat the Reaper (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780316032216
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books, 09/01/2009

This wildly imaginative first novel is the ultimate guilty pleasure for the year! Eschewing literary pretension, Bazell has created a brilliantly readable adventure with great character and non-stop action. A very highly recommended book guaranteed to launch you out of your winter reading rut. Enjoy the ride! —Jamil


$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780312428280
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador, 03/01/2009

"We think we know the ones we love," begins Pearlie in this novel set in the San Francisco Bay area during the 1950's, that surreal decade devoted to the surface of things (never mind what was smoldering underneath). It is 1953, and Pearlie is a housewife in love with her husband and devoted to her young son, who has contracted polio. But one morning a strange man appears on her doorstep and life as she knows it will never be the same. This is a remarkable book: sentences that shine like gems, an incredible story, and intermittent revelations along the way that make you want to go back and re-read what you've read thus far with this new understanding in the mix. —Laurie


Little Brother (Paperback)

$9.99
ISBN-13: 9780765323118
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Teen, 04/01/2010

Marcus is a hacker. A cyber geek that likes to undermine authority. But when Marcus is in the wrong place during a terrorist attack on San Francisco, his worst nightmares of authority come true. As San Francisco descends into a police state, Marcus is thrust into a dangerous game against the Department of Homeland Security with the direst of consequences. A chilling young adult book worthy of Orwell's darkest thoughts on the future of society. —Casey S.


Genesis (Paperback)

$10.95
ISBN-13: 9780547335926
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mariner Books, 05/01/2010
A solitary island republic remains after a world war in Beckett’s stirring debut novel. Society is now ruled by the academy of philosophers, a group of scientists and great thinkers that have given order to a world devoid of it. Anax, a promising student, lies at the center of the tale as she is tested for entrance into the academy by three faceless examiners. Flashbacks to the downfall of the modern world and the birth of the republic are blended cleverly with the examination. Beckett succeeds in breathing life into a familiar genre and creating a story that begs for discussion. One of my favorite books of the last two years. —Casey S.

$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780307389206
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 07/01/2010

With the exception of Michael Blakemore's Next Season, Martin's novel is the best novel I've read about actors and acting. This is an excellent book. —Greg


$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780312429294
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador, 02/02/2010

I haven't been this excited about a short story collection for a while—at least since Nam Le's The Boat came out. Tower's stories about the people on the margins are funny, disarming, and unlike any others. Highly recommended. —Molly


Mortal Geography (Paperback)

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780892553587
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Persea Books, 04/01/2010

Deeply personal, like stolen glances into some one's diary. I felt as though I knew her, would like to know her better and can expect great things from her in the future. A spectacular collection of poems certain to delight anyone lucky enough to discover them. —Jillian


$25.00
ISBN-13: 9781400068937
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House, 03/01/2010

A retired major and a shopkeeper bond over their love of literature...but will they be able to fight off meddling friends and relatives? Love set in an English village filled with eccentrics. My idea of a great seasonal read. —Karen


$13.95
ISBN-13: 9780679733973
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 03/01/1991

Every few years it seems the reading public re-discovers Jim Thompson, even though this book was originally published in 1952 and he wrote over 20 novels from 1942-72. Lou Ford is a deputy in a small West Texas town. A dull, small man in a dull, small town—or so it seems. Actually, Lou has issues, or, to put it more directly, Lou is a complete sociopath without an iota of human feeling or compassion. What makes this story so shocking is that Lou knows he is "sick," as he puts it to himself. His veneer of dull normalcy is his attempt to keep his sickness at bay. Some events are coming to Central City and the truth about Lou that he has tried so desperately to hide is about to come out in a shocking, ugly, and brutal way. —Matt


$24.95
ISBN-13: 9781851687183
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Oneworld Publications, 06/01/2010

Dyer's book is a must read. It is a grim and necessary book at the very real challenges and dangers we face regarding climate change - it isn't pretty. —Greg


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780743291484
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster, 09/01/2008

That’s right, a whole year, a New Testament and Old beginning with eighteen single spaced pages of biblical directives. What makes this book so good and so much fun is that he does take it seriously and it becomes a sort of spiritual quest. Made me long for a chat with his long suffering wife... —Karen


$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780061857805
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: It Books, 06/01/2010

Vulgar! Vulgar! Vulgar! Also, hysterically funny. A blessedly atypical memoir of addiction which does not end all puppies and rainbows (oh, alright, there is a cat). Ab Fab. Really. —Holly


$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780802119285
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atlantic Monthly Press, 03/01/2010

Karl Marlantes, a decorated Vietnam marine and a Rhodes scholar, has written the classic novel of the Vietnam war. Set in 1969, the novel covers all aspects of the war: military, social, political, and personal. This is a brilliant work of fiction. —Carl


The Hot Rock (Paperback)

$13.99
ISBN-13: 9780446677035
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mysterious Press, 04/01/2001

This "gem" of a novel introduces readers to Westlake's long running John Dortmunder series. Dortmunder is a bit like Donald Westlake/Richard Stark's other series, Parker, but while Parker will probably slit your throat if you cross him, Dortmunder is more likely to devise some clever scheme to outsmart his opponents and achieve his end. In The Hot Rock though, it proves very difficult for Dortmunder and crew to achieve that end—which is the successful heist of the Balaboma Emerald. After assembling his crew of Andy Kelp, Stan Murch, Roger Chetwick, Alan Greenwood; all of whom bring their own special skills to the job, the guys steal the emerald, then they steal it again, and again, striking by helicopter, car, train, and hypnotism. A brilliant comedic caper. See also: Bank Shot, Good Behavior, Road to Ruin, and the novels of Richard Stark. —Matt


$16.00
ISBN-13: 9781594484360
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Trade, 02/01/2010

A profound mix of love, revenge, murder, oppression and salvation occasionally punctuated with magic, this is true Jamaican Gothic. A brutal and transcendent story fleshed out with the most mercurial, confusing and awe-inspiring female archetypes living in human bondage. I tore through it... —Shannon


By Anna Thomas, Annika Huett (Illustrator)
$22.95
ISBN-13: 9780393332575
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company, 09/01/2009

Love Soup + Farmer’s market (Sunday, Broadway and Thomas) = score.
This week, cold cherry lemon soup with yogurt. (p 337)
Fava Bean and sweet pea soup with mint (p 260)
Zucchini Basil soup with goat cheese (p 311)
Soup, bread, salads, spreads...and dessert? Awesome. —Karen


The Commitment (Paperback)

$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780452287631
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Plume, 10/01/2006

Why gay marriage? Read all about it in Dan Savage's memoir, The Commitment. He's not a saint—just a dad, partner to Terry and he writes a sex advice column. You'll learn more from reading this than from a sheaf of policy statements. And he's funny. TMI! I miss his mom. —Karen


The Passage (Hardcover)

$27.00
ISBN-13: 9780345504968
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ballantine Books, 06/01/2010

This book made me lose sleep for two weeks! The first was because I couldn't stop reading it and the second week was because I finished it! —Rich


$20.00
ISBN-13: 9780143116462
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 10/01/2009

This collection of paintings, text, and photography by the multi-talented Maria Kalman (author, artist, designer, NY Times contributor, children’s book illustrator) chronicles on year in her life. Along the way, Kalman traverses the quirky, the hilarious, the heart-breaking, and the life-affirming. Whether on the New York subway, wandering Paris, or contemplating her empty box collection, Kalman sees into the secret heart of things and the world some-how seems more tender and beautiful after. —Laurie


Ray (Paperback)

$12.00
ISBN-13: 9780802133878
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press, 03/01/1994

An unforgettable performance of run-on storytelling. Ray the novel is about Ray the person: an overheated, drug-addled, war vet doctor who threatens to come apart at the seams as he plunges headlong into the heart of his small southern town. Named the heir apparent to such literary greats as Faulkner and O'Connor, Hannah's strength has always been in his ability to blend grotesque strangeness with flesh and blood writing (please see: Airships, his sprawling debut, Geronimo Rex, anything really with his name on the spine). In Ray, he creates something extraordinary. A brilliant burst of euphoric, inebriated energy. —Matthew


$26.00
ISBN-13: 9781400052172
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Crown, 02/01/2010

Wow! This story hooked me quickly. To scientists Henrietta Lacks is known as HeLa. Her cancerous cells were taken from her body without her consent or knowledge. Those cells became increasingly important in science research. They were used among other researchers to develop the polio vaccine, test the effects of steroids, hormones, vitamins, etc. Henrietta's family did not find out until over 25 years later. One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. Not to be missed!! —Seth


By Susan Sontag (Foreword by), Christopher Middleton (Translator), Robert Walser
$14.95
ISBN-13: 9780940322981
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics, 01/01/2002

Solitary Swiss writer Robert Walser spent much of his life as a wanderer; drifting from job to job, town to town, family member to family member before finally succumbing to mental fatigue. While I hesitate reading too heavily into any author's biography, it's hard not to see the similarities in his work: an eerily locationless tone, stories that unravel right off the page, writing riddled with moments of boredom and euphoria, tedium and tangents, loneliness and delirium. Here his narratives and parables are deservedly given the NYRB treatment. —Matthew


Bookhunter (Paperback)

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780974271569
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Sparkplug Comics, 05/01/2007

"Crazy + Genius = Shiga" - Scott McCloud
A valuable book has been stolen from the Oakland Public Library and the "library police" are on the case! an action-adventure tale with a nerdy cast featuring a high speed chase on library carts. —Molly


$21.95
ISBN-13: 9781570615344
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Sasquatch Books, 11/01/2007

Every year when spring arrives it's time once again to get dirty. Having gardened in this area for over two decades Steve Solomon is articulate and detailed enough to cover the basics in a manner simple enough for new gardeners, while on the same page being capable and unafraid of going into the theory behind these practices. This guide will prove its worth all year long. —Dylan


The Reserve (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780061430268
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 02/01/2009

The Reserve is wonderfully dark and twisty, and it's every bit the rich literature that Russell Banks is known for. It has a page-turning plot, an illicit romance, a murder mystery, and a struggle between classes. There is a great scene in the middle of the book where several characters suddenly find themselves irreversibly entrenched in a crime scene—it is very clever! I couldn't put this one down. —Hilary


The Muse Asylum (Paperback)

$17.00
ISBN-13: 9780142000601
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 12/01/2002

Ten years ago David Czuchlewski burst onto the the literary scene with this incredible debut novel. Unfortunately for readers it went out of print soon after and only a select few had the chance to enjoy this tremendously beguiling story of identity, madness, authorship, love and possibly murder. This is one of those stories that will stick with you long after you've closed the book and one that you'll likely share with friends who love a good story. Thankfully readers now have another chance to enjoy the power of this remarkable novel. —Jamil


The Surrendered (Hardcover)

$26.95
ISBN-13: 9781594489761
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Hardcover, 03/01/2010

I've always wanted to use the phrase "sweeping epic" in a book review, and now is my chance: The Surrendered is a sweeping epic, and it is marvelous. The story follows three characters whose lives become intertwined during the Korean War, and the action shifts between the 1950s and the 1980s. You'll find yourself totally invested in the lives of these characters, who are both self-destructive and caring, and hoping to rid themselves of the evils the war has perpetrated on their souls.—Hilary


Asterios Polyp (Hardcover)

$29.95
ISBN-13: 9780307377326
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Pantheon, 07/01/2009

It reportedly took Mazzucchelli 10 years to complete Asterios Polyp, and it shows. This is a meticulously crafted graphic novel whose details beg for repeated readings. Each character speaks in their own font; their different emotions are rendered in distinct color palettes. Just as Asterios's mind is carefully calculating and ordered, no panel is out of place here. —Molly


The Judas Goat (Mass Market Paperback)

$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780440141969
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dell, 06/01/1992

Robert B. Parker's Spencer novels never let you down. Judas Goat features Spencer and Hawk bounty hunting in Europe. Full of action, humor, and the supreme confidence that has its own special charm, this book very well may lead to a fun and cheap little addiction. There are over 40 more! —Jake


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780307455086
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 02/01/2009

In the four books of The Red Riding Quartet, British novelist David Peace has crafted a stunning narrative of sin and corruption; a tale of depravity, despair, deceit, and death that would satisfy anyone's bloodlust. Yorkshire, England, home of pudding's terriers and rippers is the setting. Tories are dismantling the British welfare state, the IRA are striking, and Leeds United rules football. Into this miasma in 1974 steps young journalist Eddie Dunford, and by 1983 a half dozen or so young girls will be dead-- along with maybe a dozen women. Men will die as well, with lit cigarettes, power drills, guns, and, with shades of George Orwell, even a rat. I cannot emphasize enough how great these books are, but they are not for the squeamish. This is Grand Guignol entertainment at its finest. —Matt


By Tiziano Sclavi, Angelo Stano (Illustrator), Andrea Venturi (Illustrator)
$24.99
ISBN-13: 9781595822062
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dark Horse Comics, 04/01/2009

The art is amazing, the stories are gripping and weird, the zombies are disgusting, and nightmare investigator Dylan Dog is just so sexy and nonchalant about it all. There is plenty here to sink your teeth into... Seven tales from the best selling Italian comic. The quote from Umberto Eco on the cover is not overstated... this is truly high-brow zombie literature. —Casey O.


$15.95
ISBN-13: 9780307454553
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 03/01/2010

The Salander/Blomqvist saga continues—upping the adrenaline-frenzy levels from volume one. Block out a couple of days (and nights) and jump aboard—a wild and bumpy ride. —Peter


$12.00
ISBN-13: 9781416573517
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster, 06/01/2008

A quirky, off-beat, innovative, thoroughly original little book. Not its strangest aspect: Borges, reincarnated, as a gecko. —Peter


$25.95
ISBN-13: 9780307269768
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf, 11/01/2009

A fabulous new collection of short stories by the incomparable Alice Munro, recent winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Award for fiction. In "Dimensions" a young woman travels to visit the man who has killed her children; in "Free Radicals" a widow opens her door to a dangerous stranger on the run; in "Child's Play" a girl's loathing of a fellow camper has dire consequences. Munro has created a remarkable cast of characters beset by calamity and circumstance, and she inhabits their lives so effortlessly that we feel like we are breathing their air as we turn the pages. This is truly a stunning read. —Laurie


$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780805069341
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 09/01/2009

Fool (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780060590321
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Paperbacks, 03/01/2010

Whether you know Shakespeare's tragedy of filial affection gone awry or not, you will adore Moore's impertinent and bawdy retelling of King Lear. Sharp, clever, laugh-out-loud and inspiringly wicked. Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! —Holly


Dandelion Wine (Mass Market Paperback)

$7.99
ISBN-13: 9780553277531
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Spectra, 03/01/1985

Having read Fahrenheit 451 and a few other Bradbury stories in my time I was well aware of his prowess as a writer, but, to be honest, I was wholly unprepared for the wonder that is Dandelion Wine. Filled with gorgeous prose that begs to be memorized, it is a series of interconnected stories centering around the inhabitants of fictional Greentown, Illinois in the summer of 1928. I loved this book. It's the kind of book that makes you want to read everything that that author has ever written—and not just the one you were forced to read in high school. —Casey S.


Shutter Island (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780061898815
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 09/01/2009

This book has a bit of everything; it is a haunted house story, but there are no ghosts nor anything supernatural. It is a locked room mystery, it's a dark and stormy night whodunit, it's a buddy cop story, it has sadistic mad scientists, criminally insane murderers, fear, obsession and paranoia. Shutter Island is the stuff of nightmares, and it has some of the finest noir psychological suspense ever written. Read it before seeing the Scorcese movie —Matt


$17.95
ISBN-13: 9781400031870
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 05/01/2010

I'm not a great reader of non-fiction, but this book swept me up as fully as any novel. The "characters", Joseph Banks, William Hershel, and Humphrey Davy—brilliant—and all-too-human scientists will live long in my imagination. What a rich, tumultuous—yes—wonderful time.—Peter


$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780060855024
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 05/01/2006

River Town is Peter Hessler's memoir of two years spent teaching English in a small city in China. If you're an armchair traveler these days like me, this is a great read. Hessler's writing is clear and descriptive, and his tales are often infused with a very entertaining dry wit. This book makes me want to travel more! —Hilary


$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780307273536
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf, 02/01/2010

Reality Hunger is an audacious Molotov cocktail of a book. There are insights and provocative challenges within these pages, (particularly about the novel as a form) for writers and readers alike, as well as other Artists in general. I also love the cut-up collage style. —Greg


$25.99
ISBN-13: 9780061670909
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper, 01/01/2010
Terry Castle's witty, soul-bearing, and frequently hilarious tales of academe (in the 70s for naive lesbians), fame (as a sometime appendage to Susan Sontag... until she wasn't), the "woman-identified" 80s, and travel with an aged parent are captivating, essential reading. —Karen

$24.50
ISBN-13: 9780805091748
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Metropolitan Books, 12/01/2009

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most brilliant. If you've ever taken a plane flight or gone into a skyscraper, a checklist helped keep you alive. Now checklists might help you survive a surgery. Atul Gawande is a master storyteller. This book read like a thriller! —Karen


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780805091441
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Holt Paperbacks, 01/01/2010

In this fascinating compilation of essays originally published in the New Yorker, Tomkins looks at the lives and work, challenges and choices, and obsessions and egos of ten contemporary artists who answer the age-old question, "What is art?" with "Whatever we want it to be." Among the artists profiled are Matthew Barney, whose materials include tapioca and Vaseline; the painter John Currin, whose work might be described as "renaissance meets internet porn;" and James Turrell, whose medium is light. Tomkins offers up the intimate, the salacious, and the humorous in this brilliant chronicle of ten of the 21st century avant-garde. —Laurie


The Believers (Paperback)

$14.99
ISBN-13: 9780061430213
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 01/01/2010

Mr. Litvinoff, a radical lawyer, militant atheist, and a defender of the defenseless lies in a coma. How his family deals with his absence creates a hilariously entertaining novel. Heller's biting satire on idealism and contemporary society is set in New York post 9/11 and pre Iraq war. With themes touching on addiction, religion, pacifism, childlessness, immigration, and promiscuity, the book is like the best people-watching on a busy street. —Hanna


$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780307264930
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf, 09/01/2008

I got hooked on Kenny Shopsin after seeing the documentary "I Like Killing Flies". Shopsin is an autodidact when it comes to cooking—an intuitive experimenter who isn't afraid to fail. I love the way he thinks and expresses himself. Here is an example that makes me laugh,"...think about what pancakes really are. They are flour and milk drowned in butter and some form of sugar. They're crap. As far as food value, you might as well take Crisco, whip it up with powdered sugar, and spread it on your face. I am not saying they're not delicious or that you shouldn't eat them, but they're a luxury, a recreation, like smoking marijuana or having sex." or this from his Chicken, Mushroom, and Barley Soup recipe, "As chickens get older, they also get more savory, just like there's something more savory about a woman who has a few years on her than a young, shallow girl." Shopsin is unique and unpretentious. This will get you thinking differently about your own cooking. —Greg


Arkansas (Paperback)

$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780802144362
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press, 06/01/2009

Arkansas follows the lives of three men who don't amount to much until they embark on the promising path of criminality. What develops is an amazing combination of interior struggles, outward catastrophes, and reluctant but resilient kinship as these men temper their characters in drug running, theft, and murder. Brandon's prose balances this sensitive and brutal novel in such a way that the violence and potential for tragedy feels almost zen-like. A truly impressive debut from a gifted and unique writer. —Casey O.


Food Rules (Paperback)

$11.00
ISBN-13: 9780143116387
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin (Non-Classics), 12/01/2009

Excellent! Michael Pollan has done our homework! Short, simple, uncomplicated and to the point, Pollan has great thoughts on how to have a healthy diet. "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." You'll need to read to understand, and when you do, you'll get it!! Get thee to a farmers market and eat a great meal. —Seth


$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780679722311
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 06/01/1989

A co-worker was stunned at my confession that I had never read any Raymond Carver. She immediately stopped whatever it was that she was doing and went on a hunt for this short story I absolutely had to read. That weekend I got all cozy in my chair and opened up this book to the story she bookmarked for me. 3/4ths of the way through the story I was so terrified I almost closed the book—a page after that I was weeping tears of joy. After I finished the story I sat there in a daze. I was clearly shaken—shaken the way Dostoevsky shakes you—to the bone. —Jake
p.s. The story was "A Small, Good Thing"


America (Paperback)

$8.99
ISBN-13: 9780689857720
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon Pulse, 08/01/2003

America is a troubled fifteen year old boy. Trauma in his past has brought him to a residential treatment program, but falling through crack after crack and finding no support, America is reluctant to share with his new therapist. After what he's gone through though, I don't see how anyone can blame him. E. R. Frank, herself a social worker, has constructed a raw, affecting portrait of a boy beaten down by life, struggling to figure out where he fits in the world. —Casey S.


$30.00
ISBN-13: 9780374299248
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 10/01/2009

McManus has written a very entertaining and informative history of Poker. He covers the cards, rules, stories, and legends from 6th century Korea to 21st century Las Vegas. A great read for all players and fans of the game. —Carl


By Unai Elorriaga, Amaia Gabantxo (Translator)
$16.00
ISBN-13: 9780977857685
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Archipelago Books, 07/01/2009

This could be a book about childhood or about old age or about what childhood and old age have in common. Also about sport or craft, and how each can invade your mind and body. These stories spread out like the roots of a tree and then you're back at the plant. —Karen


Drood (Paperback)

$15.99
ISBN-13: 9780316007030
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books, 02/01/2010

Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins are your guides on this opium-fueled sojourn through the back alleys and underground catacombs of Victorian London. In this haunting and beguiling story, Simmons re-imagines Dickens' true inspiration behind his final novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This is a well written, creepy and enigmatic look into the dark, obsessed and demented corners of two of the greatest literary minds of the Nineteenth Century. —Jamil


Pete & Pickles (Hardcover)

$17.99
ISBN-13: 9780399250828
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Philomel, 11/01/2008

This book is a masterpiece of children's literature on so many levels I don't even know where to begin. The illustrations are wonderfully playful and demonstrative, some of which are homages to great masterpieces of world art. (See if you can spot them!) The story is beautiful—both heart-warming and tear-jerking. I absolutely love this book, and I think everyone (young and old) will adore it too. —Jamil


Slugs (Paperback)

By David Greenberg, Victoria Chess (Illustrator)
$6.99
ISBN-13: 9780316326599
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 05/01/1983

"Slick a slug with Super Glue, Stick it on your sister Sue. Place another, maybe two, In her favorite high-heel shoe."

I bet my mother regrets giving me this book when I was little... I know my brother does. There really are so many things that you can do with slugs. But beware! They might fight back in the end. This is one of the few books that I still keep on my coffee table. —Casey S.


By John Skipp (Editor)
$19.95
ISBN-13: 9781579128289
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 09/01/2009

What is your favorite flavor of zombie plague? Evil virus? Cosmic radiation? Divine retribution? Well, all of these and more are collected here in this delicious anthology of flesh eating undead mayhem from some of the world's greatest authors. —Rich


The Kindly Ones (Paperback)

$16.99
ISBN-13: 9780061353468
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial, 02/01/2010

You may have heard about this novel. It won France's prestigious Prix Goncourt as well as The Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award. It has been hotly debated by reviewers and readers with fans lauding Littell's creativity and virtuosity and proclaiming it a modern War & Peace. Detractors counter that it is obscene, crude and glorifying of violence and perversion. I, personally, thought it was excellent. The writing is inspired and it exhibited an exceptional scope of literary vision and execution. Yes, it is the story of a Nazi, there is stomach-turning violence and a few incestuous acts and fantasies, but let's remember that this is based on The Oresteia which Aeschylus wrote 2500 years ago. Have we really evolved to such a moral high ground since then? You'll never know what all of the fuss is about unless you've read it for yourself! —Jamil


Bluets (Paperback)

$14.00
ISBN-13: 9781933517407
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Wave Books, 10/01/2009

For years, the poet Maggie Nelson told people that she was writing a book about the color blue—without having written a word. What started as "and appreciation, an affinity" turned into something else—"it became somehow personal." In Bluets, Nelson turns philosophical investigation into poetry—reflecting on the loss of a relationship and the paralysis of a friend. I couldn't read this book slow enough. It's brilliant—highly recommended. —Molly


$25.00
ISBN-13: 9781580089814
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ten Speed Press, 09/01/2009

Cold, tired and hungry? It's time for Japanese Hot Pots. Food from all over Japan—I like Hiroshima Oyster Hot Pot (with or without noodles), and Salmon Hot Pot from Hokkaido. Begins with an illustrated ingredients guide but nearly everything here is easy to find and easy to cook. Dig in. —Karen


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780307389985
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 10/01/2009

In the process of wrestling with the idea of his own mortality, Barnes has only the resources of the living (or once living) to construct this amazing book. With an astoundingly reflective scope that ranges from the deaths of his parents; discussions with his atheist brother; analysis of art, religion and philosophical wanderings we not only confront his inner maze of fear, musings and unanswerable questions, but we confront our own. For the seeker in us all, this book is not to be missed. —Jennifer


$29.95
ISBN-13: 9780295989266
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: History Link, 07/01/2009

Long before the space age came to lower Queen Anne Hill and we were all invited to take a peek at the 21st century (where's my jetpack?) and required to take visiting relatives up 605 feet, Seattle was host to the Alaska Yukon Exposition in 1909, on what is now the UW campus. This incredibly illustrated and well-researched book chronicles the history of Seattle's first World's Fair, an event that ran four months in 1909 and attracted 3.7 million visitors. Interesting facts: it was the first World's Fair to make a profit, it provided a national platform for women's suffrage, and was designed by the Olmstead brothers. This book is full of fun and interesting history for both locals and out of town guests. —Matt


Pacific Agony (Paperback)

$14.95
ISBN-13: 9781584350828
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Semiotext(e), 10/01/2009

Reginald Fortiphton is the best cynics to come out of literature since Ignatius J. Reilly. Under false pretenses, Fortiphton procures a job as a travel writer and is sent to the Pacific Northwest to enlighten the east coast about its virtues. Instead, he churns out pages of vitriol on the locals' affectations, living on his publisher's dime while he descends into a manic-depressive state fueled by drugs and alcohol. Fortiphton's travelogue is footnoted by a member of numerous historical societies who is appalled by his observations and desperate to gain back credibility. You'll laugh, you'll cry, your belief that there are still books being published that are something honest—something new—will be reaffirmed. —Molly


Dark Places (Hardcover)


ISBN-13: 9781410417756
Large Print
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Wheeler Publishing, 08/01/2009

She was 7 years old. She witnessed the brutal slaughter of her 2 sisters and mother. She accused her brother who now sits in prison and she has no contact. 25 years later Libby suffers deeply. Not until the "kill club" creeps find her does she begin to question her brother's guilt. The author flashes back between the day of the crime to the present. The truth—you won't see it coming! —Seth


$25.99
ISBN-13: 9780061719547
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Harper, 10/01/2009

A wild, mad, drunken, raucous, heartfelt and hilarious account of Ferguson's life leading to the Late Late Show and finally American Citizenship. Ferguson writes very well—a rarity when it comes to celebrity memoirs. This is a exceptionally satisfying and enjoyable book for its candidness and sense of humor. Plus you get a list of Craig's ten favorite soups! —Greg


$15.00
ISBN-13: 9781416561408
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner, 01/01/2010

Based on actual events and family lore, this novel tells the amazing story of three brothers who run moonshine in the Virginia hills during the late 20's/early 30's. Bondurant's writing is masterful, especially when the action gets intense (there were several times when I had to look away from the book and take a deep breath). This is a prime example of the remarkable things that can happen when a talented author gets hold of a powerful story. "There's only two things up in them Franklin County hills for those who are looking: stump whiskey and free ass whippin's." —Jamil


The Other City (Paperback)

By Michal Ajvaz, Gerald Turner (Translator)
$13.95
ISBN-13: 9781564784919
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dalkey Archive Press, 06/01/2009

The allure of that other, hidden place (first discovered between the pages of a very strange book) is what entices a traveler to embark on a surreal journey. Yes, it is Prague, but which Prague and when? We're left to wonder, enchanted. —Karen


$24.95
ISBN-13: 9780307266309
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Knopf, 05/01/2009

This book is awesome! While reading it a strange thing happened to me... I began to think that marathons are rather short. Born to Run is full of whacko ultra-marathon characters, one of which is the elusive Caballo Blanco (AKA Gypsy Cowboy, his ultimate fighting nickname.) Caballo Blanco, an American free spirit, bailed on everything and relocated to Mexico where he could live like a hermit and run. He befriends the Tarahumara, a gentle reclusive tribe of Indians who literally run 100 mile races through Mexico's deadly Cooper Canyons! If you love to run and you haven't read this, then you're in for a treat. —Jake


Slow Loris (Paperback)

$7.95
ISBN-13: 9781929132287
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 04/01/2002

It takes Loris ten minutes to eat a satsuma... an hour to scratch his bottom. Most of the time he just prefers to sleep. The zoo visitors, even the other animals think he's boring. But Loris doesn't care. He has a secret. Assumptions of another are turned upside down in this wonderfully illustrated picture book. Out since 2002, I just found and fell in love with it. —Hanna


The Dollmaker (Paperback)

$17.00
ISBN-13: 9781439154434
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner, 06/01/2009

Have you ever loved a book so much you almost can't talk about it? This is mine. A sprawling family saga; moving, heartbreaking, triumphant as nothing else I've ever read. At the center of this story of a family uprooted from rural Kentucky to the inferno of Detroit during WWII towers Gertie Nevins, a character so real, so admirable you'll never forget her. I want everyone to read this book. —Peter


How to Cook a Wolf (Paperback)

$15.00
ISBN-13: 9780865473362
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: North Point Press, 10/01/1988

Written to aid cooks during the meager years of WWII Fisher's advise is once again relevant. While I wouldn't recommend trying all of her recipes (I just can't do canned salmon) some are very intriguing and probably quite good. But hard times aside, the author's sage tips, and her wit and charm, make this title timeless. —Pamela


How Fiction Works (Paperback)

$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780312428471
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador, 07/01/2009

How Fiction Works is not a "how to", an exercise in worrying about what you haven't read, or an escape from doing the reading and writing yourself. It is gorgeous, celebratory, surprising, funny, and cheeky. And it encourages you to read and write more. —Karen


Hard Rain Falling (Paperback)

By Don Carpenter, George Pelecanos (Introduction by)
$16.95
ISBN-13: 9781590173244
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics, 09/01/2009

Jack Levitt is a white orphan teen scraping by on the streets of Portland where he meets Billy Lancing, a black teenager just off the bus from Seattle who is wise beyond his years when it comes to handling a pool cue. By the time they meet again in San Quentin over a decade later, a lot has happened, This book is about real pain and real desperation, but it is also about love that is honest, unexpected and heartbreaking. Its beauty and power lie in its refusal to dishonor these characters with easy redemption or simple solutions. —Casey O.


$12.95
ISBN-13: 9781586854416
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Gibbs Smith Publishers, 09/01/2004

Whether you're looking for Thai, Indian, Chinese, or American food, this guide will point you to the best vegetarian restaurants in Seattle (including my all-time favorite, The Sunlight Cafe, for their nutburger). Other favorites are Araya's vegetarian place for their lunch buffet and Cedar's on Brooklyn for their palak paneer. Enjoy! —Charlotte


Flight (Paperback)

$14.00
ISBN-13: 9780802170378
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press, Black Cat, 04/01/2007

Can an individual and a society ever heal from a violent past? This is the question Sherman Alexie left me pondering after readig this devastating and beautifully crafted book. What is read as a wild ride into the darkness of America's violent past (and present), through the eyes of a 15 year old Irish/Indian boy eventually leads the reader to the realization that we all have a profound responsibility for one another. Flight did a thorough job of shaking me to the core yet leaving me with hope. —Jennifer


$21.95
ISBN-13: 9781580089487
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ten Speed Press, 04/01/2009

As a budding foodie with very little experience in the kitchen this book has been a catalyst and tutor. Full of short, bold ingredient lists and quick, uncomplicated instructions, each recipe skillfully expedites the process of preparing an exquisite meal. This is a wonderful cookbook for those just beginning to cook and those who would like to make impressive meals with less time and labor. —Dylan


Herbert's Wormhole (Hardcover)

By Peter Nelson, Rohitash Rao (Illustrator)
$12.99
ISBN-13: 9780061688683
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: HarperCollins, 05/01/2009

My 9 year old devoured this book, carted it off to a playdate, read it aloud to his friends, and we never saw our copy again.... What more can you ask for? —Tracy


Memory (Paperback)

$10.00
ISBN-13: 9781416560005
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster, 12/01/2008

Fiction and reality are almost inseparable in this award-winning novella. The author is also narrator and tells a tale of high-ended emotions, of family secrets, loss and grief, haunted pasts as he comes of age to learn of all. A beautifully translated story—highly recommended. —Seth