Patrick's Picks

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You Get What You Pay For: Essays By Morgan Parker Cover Image
$25.20
ISBN: 9780525511441
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: One World - March 12th, 2024

With a mere dozen days separating our respective births, the kinship I feel when reading Morgan Parker at times seems to be astrologically preordained. The anecdotal elements of her essays speak to a time and feeling intimately familiar to me, and serve as a welcome expansion of what is already so magnificently displayed in her poetic work. As an exercise in taking inventory of both the self and the history one lives within, each sentence of this collection carries a magnitude of its own, offering insight into the mind of a brilliant thinker whose raw sentiments make for revelatory prose. 


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The Troop: A Novel By Nick Cutter Cover Image
$16.19
ISBN: 9781501144820
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Gallery Books - August 16th, 2016

This infectious delicacy will swiftly worm its way into your gloomy heart and birth an untameable voracity within that can only be satiated by further consumption of its pages. It is an impressively composed coming of age story of Cronenbergian proportions, dripping with a deep grotesquery that seizes you by the jugular and never unfastens its grip. With an enviable aptitude for vivid description that can only be recognized as beautifully putrid, author Nick Cutter makes clear that he has plenty of literary chops to offer the horror genre, but absolutely no reservations about dragging you gagging and dry heaving to near unfathomable depths of disgust and despair. 


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This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances By Eric LaRocca Cover Image
$20.69
ISBN: 9781803366647
Availability: Coming Soon - Available for Pre-Order Now
Published: Titan Books - April 2nd, 2024

Imagine this collection as a body of sorts - claustrophobia for a torso, madness for a head, and decay for limbs. Its tongue speaks of grotesque fetishes, otherworldly afflictions, and the morbid exploits of sociopathic geriatrics, binding twisted tales into a truly bizarre assemblage of horror that shines a light into the darkest quarters of human nature, revealing the sum of its own parts as a collective monstrosity that is not to be missed. 


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Your Shadow Half Remains By Sunny Moraine Cover Image
$15.29
ISBN: 9781250892201
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Tor Nightfire - February 6th, 2024

A lonely little novella here to keep you some company, though only for what feels like too brief a moment, as its conclusion arrives just as the tension reaches its climactic critical mass in a manner that leaves you starving for far more. It is a worthwhile undertaking that brings forth echoes of the real life paranoia-inducing isolation experienced during the onset of the pandemic - a familiar and welcome attribute which makes this story about weighing risks and examining the necessity of connection in the face of crippling fear and uncertainty all the more accessible.  


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They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us: Expanded Edition By Hanif Abdurraqib, Jason Reynolds (Afterword by), Eve L. Ewing (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Hanif Abdurraqib, Jason Reynolds (Afterword by), Eve L. Ewing (Introduction by)
$17.06
ISBN: 9781953387448
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Two Dollar Radio - June 20th, 2023

Written in the wake of a very eventful 2016, this esteemed Ohio poet and essayist invites us to simply be interested - if not in the most general sense, then specifically in the gifts of living, the lessons of death, and all the messy complications that occur in between. Often the most alluring and endearing element of these mostly concertgoing anecdotes is Abdurraqib himself, whose maneuvering through scenes in which he feels at home or alien serves as a solid framework for exploring worlds we do not always understand, but must contend with. Lamenting personal losses and laboring through pain with sharp and provoking pop culture observations, Abdurraqib's words appear nothing short of vibrant against the backdrop of social unrest and political regime change. I frequently found this book bringing me intimately closer to subject matter I love, don't love, and honestly hadn't given much thought to, but am absolutely gracious to have encountered. 


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The Tragedy of Heterosexuality (Sexual Cultures #56) By Jane Ward Cover Image
$18.95
ISBN: 9781479804467
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: New York University Press - March 1st, 2022

The truth hurts! And I encourage anyone who might be deterred by the title to embark on this sociological indictment with nothing less than full and receptive humility. From an examination of the inherently coercive and adversarial nature of straight partnerships, to a brilliant unraveling of the ever evolving relationship repair industry, author Jane Ward employs the contributions of a diverse array of queer feminist writers and thinkers to emphasize the very misogynist and very White supremacist tenants of heterosexuality that help secure it as the widely accepted default mode of romantic connection across the globe. This is just as well a fascinating critique of the many seemingly well intentioned responses that keepers of the status quo have deployed in an effort to divert the attention of the masses away from addressing the root issues of gender inequality which lie at the core of same sex unions. This is a necessary and alarming diagnosis of something that is insidiously dictating far too large a portion of human behavior.


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The Bonus Room: A Novel By Ben H. Winters Cover Image
$15.29
ISBN: 9781683693826
Availability: Backordered at least 2 weeks or possibly unavailable.
Published: Quirk Books - August 1st, 2023

By the time any supernatural element makes its way into the text, you will already have endeared yourself to this novel's picturesque protagonist family, making their descent into the creepy, itch-inducing madness which lies at the pit of this tale all the more distressing. Winters flexes a masterful grip on pacing, with lean storytelling that seems to possess a symmetrical nature, as the pieces of mystery he puts into play early on fall into place with satisfying proficiency. If you're on the hunt for something to aid in your horror obsessed quest to make your own skin crawl, this is a book that will bug the hell out of you in all the best ways. 


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Magical Negro By Morgan Parker Cover Image
$15.26
ISBN: 9781947793187
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Tin House Books - February 5th, 2019

Per the title, I imagined this collection might house a somewhat whimsical poetic critique of the ubiquitous media trope it references. The testimonial verity within transcends that expectation, bestowing upon us a stream of consciousness for the conscious and initiated. Lines leap off the page with both unabashed humility and unrelenting conviction, highlighting themes that may be demanding to embrace, but are very much necessary to the wider discourses from which they so eloquently helm.  


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This Wretched Valley By JENNY KIEFER Cover Image
$17.09
ISBN: 9781683693680
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-7 business days
Published: Quirk Books - January 16th, 2024

A promising new talent brings us this solid, mesmerizing debut - one whose opening wastes no time establishing the ghastly brand of imagery that will permeate the air of all that narratively follows. Kicking off at the macabre aftermath of a perplexing tragedy, the plot embarks on a diligent climb toward the revelatory summit of its gory premise, toggling between points of view with accommodating fluidity as the misfortune and terrors compound upon each character respectively, bringing full circle the scope of atrocity with nightmarish neatness. If you like your frights fixed in a single inescapable location designed to incubate a constricting sense of dread around an inevitable plunge into the depths of darkness, this is a wall of horror you will absolutely want to ascend.  


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The Bus on Thursday: A Novel By Shirley Barrett Cover Image
$13.50
ISBN: 9780374110444
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: MCD x FSG Originals - September 18th, 2018

If you prefer your narrators sympathetically problematic and with a full serving of unreliability alongside a helping of catastrophe, let this off-beat novel's tragedy-ridden protagonist be your guide as you wade painstakingly through waves of terrors both real and imagined. With a deftly crafted voice that snaps off the page with youthful flair, Barrett's novel reads like an unnerving fever dream, prompting you to examine why you may find yourself championing a character who, despite all her unwarranted tribulations, seems to be ensnared in a perpetuity of bad life choices, the bulk of which are cringe to the point of absolute horror. 


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Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear By Erica Berry Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250832672
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Flatiron Books - February 20th, 2024

This debut fixes a gaze on the complex relationship between humans and wolves in a way that works to reconcile the mythological context with which we fear them against the reality we share with them. What I have the most adoration for in Berry's work is that it is, in itself, a wolf in sheep's clothing, as the true thematic core focuses on fear and how a once problematic and revered creature has played the role of cultural construct, allowing us a vessel through which to project age-old anxieties. Whether your sentiment toward the infamous beast is one of wariness, compassion, or indifference, this will equip you with an earnest appreciation for an animal whose mere presence you perhaps did not know has shaped so much of our world and our behaviors.    


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Stokely: A Life By Peniel E. Joseph Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780465065585
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Civitas Books - February 9th, 2016

Once or maybe twice a year, I kick back and enjoy the fiery sounds of Stokley Carmichael's riveting 1966 UC Berkeley speech in its entirety. Reading this fulfilling biography was like being able to physically grab hold of that brilliant oration and unfold it to reveal a tapestry of affirmations and contradictions which illustrate a portrait of an imperfect, but undeniably important figure. One whose mostly unsung contributions to the radical ideation of mid 20th century America have played a central role in shaping Black identity, making his journey as worthy of acknowledgment as the more familiar juggernauts of the civil rights movement.  


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The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema from Fodder to Oscar By Robin R. Means Coleman, Mark H. Harris Cover Image
$22.49
ISBN: 9781982186531
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: S&S/Saga Press - February 7th, 2023

If you need a hand in unpacking a very specific sect of horror film tropes and how they've been instrumental in permeating popular culture with a wealth of misgivings about an entire community, you've picked up the right ominously titled piece of woke literature! Baked under a flavorful layer of comic genius (an ingredient key to make coping with the ubiquity of American racism at least palatable), this amusing read contains a filling as rich in history as it is delightfully comprehensive in its sprawling encyclopedic posture. Even when irreverent, the depth of this book's reference breathes a love for the genre's many offerings, complete with enough departures from its archival nature to please the most list-loving of cinephiles. And while it is proven here that Black people actually do not always get unalived first in scary movies, the revelations of when, how often, and why make for a worthwhile examination of how sometimes the entertainment we revere can be a wildly misleading, if not malevolent force. 


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Acts of Service: A Novel By Lillian Fishman Cover Image
$16.20
ISBN: 9780593243787
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Hogarth - May 30th, 2023

What is sacrificed when the labels we adhere to, both assigned and adopted, collide spectacularly with the messy demands of desire? Are some revelations destined to reshape our identities or crumble away through denial under the stresses of fear? Lilian Fishman raises such questions with this deftly composed journey of infidelity at large, in which a young queer woman is drawn into a velocitous and ethically questionable tryst with a straight couple, which eventually propels her through a emotionally taxing gauntlet of self-scrutiny and self-discovery. With a thoughtful balance of substance and spectacle, this debut novel is a welcome and impressive display of the nuances of modern sexual politics. 


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It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror By Joe Vallese (Editor), Carmen Maria Machado (Contribution by), Bruce Owens Grimm (Contribution by) Cover Image
By Joe Vallese (Editor), Carmen Maria Machado (Contribution by), Bruce Owens Grimm (Contribution by)
$23.36
ISBN: 9781952177798
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Feminist Press - October 4th, 2022

My preferred genre of film occupies a crevice in media where marginalized identities are rarely spared from being exploited in dreadful ways that leave entire communities feeling underserved. Such an admission is what gives this collection urgency and makes it so inviting. The writers assembled here display a willingness to create space for themselves as they recall the horror movies that have impacted their lives, for better or worse. It is a navigation of self discovery in the face of complicated media that helps to further flesh out horror as a transgressive means of dissecting and dismantling modern fears projected by societal unease and ignorance. At its most triumphant, this is a concentration of reclamation, demonstrating just how the legacy of a creative work truly can belong to its audience and serve as a conduit of contemplation allowing each individual viewer an opportunity to find themselves, even when they do not initially see themselves. 


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Dogs of Summer: A Novel By Andrea Abreu, Julia Sanches (Translated by) Cover Image
By Andrea Abreu, Julia Sanches (Translated by)
$13.50
ISBN: 9781662602450
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Astra House - August 8th, 2023

What makes Abreu’s embodiment of the youthful perspective unnervingly appealing is the sharpness and bareness with which she cuts through the painful, curious, and complex anecdotes that highlight the relationship between two so-called friends. It has echoes of a John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, amplified by the cultural zest that beautifully illustrates the Canary setting. An engrossing exploration of obsession and why we sometimes love the things that seem to hate us.


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Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir By Ashley C. Ford Cover Image
$17.09
ISBN: 9781250203229
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Flatiron Books: An Oprah Book - May 3rd, 2022

With unbridled radiance, Ashley Ford weaves prose around heartstrings and evokes raw empathy with commanding honesty. Growing up impoverished under the rule of a complicated and abusive mother, even the hardest truths surrounding her traumas are recounted with unmitigated integrity. As she navigates a world too quick to show a Black woman its sharpest teeth, it is her linking of the past and present, bound flawlessly by the uninformed idolization of her incarcerated father, that make her revealing journey worth knowing and this impactful memoir worth celebrating. 


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King Kong Theory By Virginie Despentes, Frank Wynne (Translated by) Cover Image
By Virginie Despentes, Frank Wynne (Translated by)
$16.20
ISBN: 9780374539290
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: FSG Originals - May 11th, 2021

Virginie Dispentes, who describes herself as “more King Kong than Kate Moss”, kicks in the door of male chauvinism with a heavy foot and trains a proverbial pistol on our most fragile sensibilities, embodying an unapologetic feminist bullet. This bodacious autobiographical manifesto translated from the French aims to obliterate traditional conventions of sex and gender and rebuild them anew - upon the foundation of a middle finger nonetheless. From dismantling the institution of marriage as a weaponized construct for controlling female autonomy to approaching (from quite a radical perspective) the subjects of prostitution and pornography, Dispentes applies captivating anecdotal evidence to make very impactful feminist theory, sans any euphemistic subtlety that might render this as unnecessarily digestible. Not a single thought here is designed to pacify, nor should it be. Oppression is never a polite affair, and this  juggernaut responds to such a truth with a riveting level of intensity. 


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The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey By Candice Millard Cover Image
$17.10
ISBN: 9780767913737
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Vintage - October 10th, 2006

While this survivalist tale of pioneerism relishes in much Rooseveltian legacy building, it is more a celebration of the untamable Amazon rainforest, come to life with lovely and frightening vividity, placing you right in the center of disaster as a severely ill equipped 20th century expedition takes on an unfamiliar and treacherous river deep within the lungs of the Earth. Of the fascinating figures within, all of whom Candace Millard depicts with leveled neutrality, most impressive is Braziilian commander Candido Rondom, without whom our 26th president would surely have been lost to the unforgiving entity that is the planet’s most formidable terrain. Loyal as ever to a remarkably selfless pacifism toward Brazil's native inhabitants, Rondon’s honor is both a gift and curse, a presence which adds a heightened air of peril that makes this exhilarating read seriously difficult to put down.


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Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships By Christopher Ryan, Cacilda Jetha Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780061707810
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Harper Perennial - July 5th, 2011

Sex - the world’s oldest and most practiced pastime, and the pinnacle of contemporary American taboo. Is it any wonder that we often find relief in resting on our assumptions about this natural act, instead of acknowledging our vast and sometimes frightening ignorance of it? Though certainly no field guide for navigating the world of sexual relationships, this wildly informative and funny book may prove useful in identifying and normalizing many of the common behaviors societies have (with a little nudging from the agricultural revolution) demonized as unworthy of human acceptance and celebration when it comes to why we think and do the very things we cannot help but find ourselves thinking and doing.   


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A Luminous Republic By Andrés Barba, Lisa Dillman (Translated by), Edmund White (Foreword by) Cover Image
By Andrés Barba, Lisa Dillman (Translated by), Edmund White (Foreword by)
$14.99
ISBN: 9781328589347
Availability: Not in stock. Usually arrives in 2-7 business days
Published: HarperVia - April 14th, 2020

It is an effective move, telling this story through a journalistic lens. It thus possesses a tone that effectively feigns actuality - an admirable cocktail for this detailing of a child-led uprising, the exacerbation of which produces increasingly violent and bizarre effects. Barba’s narrator dictates the progression of these peculiar events with a pragmatism that does not falter, even with its faint adage of mysticism. Loyalists of Lord of the Flies and even casual admirers of A Clockwork Orange will find themselves right at home in this dystopian treat.


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The End By Fernanda Torres, Alison Entrekin (Translated by) Cover Image
By Fernanda Torres, Alison Entrekin (Translated by)
$15.29
ISBN: 9781632061218
Availability: Backordered. Will not ship for 2 weeks or longer.
Published: Restless Books - July 11th, 2017

Reading Fernanda Torres’ wild and marvelous debut is like attending a rapid succession of parties and funerals. We accompany five elderly Brazilian men in their respective last moments, reflecting on past relationships of every nature and pining after the bygone vitality of their youth. Bonded by hedonistic impulses and destructive behavior, each member of this wild bunch revisits their most infamous antics as they face their own mortality. With an engaging narrative structure which gives an impactful voice to even its supporting characters, this is an entertaining, introspective, and uninhibited effort. Who knew a novel about death could be so full of life?   


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Friday Black By Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Cover Image
$17.09
ISBN: 9781328911247
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Mariner Books - October 23rd, 2018

An explosive collection that opens with a provocative bang and drags you gasping and laughing through bizarre tales that shine an absurdist light on Black identity with assured inventiveness. This is Black Mirror meets Atlanta - surrealist satire that gives way to outstanding social commentary, complete with an entry that will give cause to those with retail experience to grin in solidarity. A seriously impressive debut. 


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Let the Right One In: A Novel By John Ajvide Lindqvist, Ebba Segerberg (Translated by) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780312355296
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - October 28th, 2008

One probably wouldn't expect a horror novel to perfectly illustrate the confounding juncture that is preadolescence, but if you're looking for a much more profound alternative to the upsurge of Twilight-esque anecdotes, then this is certainly for you. Set in the 1980s, the story focuses on 12 year old Oskar, a lonesome and beleaguered outcast who finds an unlikely companion in the peculiar new neighbor Eli, whom he only sees at night skulking about their apartment complex in suburban Stockholm. Though they appear to be the same age, Eli possesses an enigmatic quality which suggests a heinous secret - one that becomes all too relevant for Oskar as the bodies of murdered townsfolk begin to turn up in macabre fashion. This is a story that remains respectfully within the bounds of its popularized source material while reaching beyond the inanity exhausted by its predecessors by embracing themes of isolation, bullying, and even transgenderism. Though tremendously explicit, Lindqvist's work manages to encompass an aura that is as innocent as it is morbid, making this a one of a kind tale of vampirism that definitely doesn't suck. (Terrible pun intended).


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The New Me By Halle Butler Cover Image
$15.30
ISBN: 9780143133605
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Penguin Books - March 5th, 2019

A quite definitive mantra of youthful precarity, Butler's sophomore novel will be most accessible to those who've found themselves in the purgatorial stasis between accomplishment and contentment. It harbors a satirical, though accurately ominous take on the existential crisis that is the millennial self image, and handily captures the essence of an emotional conflict that may seem as ambiguous as whatever the hell we're actually supposed to call this past decade, but will speak with clarity to worriers of a certain generation. 


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I'm Down: A Memoir By Mishna Wolff Cover Image
$19.79
ISBN: 9780312379094
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - June 8th, 2010

Mishna and her little sister Anora are the children of divorce. As if that itself isn't enough, their eccentric father is sincerely convinced that he is, and therefore lives as, a Black man. He proudly resides in an economically depressed Black neighborhood and constantly pressures his daughter to shed her timid temperament, unwind and learn to just be "down". Unlike the far more impressionable Anora, who finds her own niche within their world with relative ease, Mishna navigates her early life as a racial outcast, encountering disappointment and embarrassment despite her efforts to be accepted. She is often thought of by her Black peers as "too White" to socialize with and is thus looked upon with an eye of disdain by her father. When she finally does begin to assimilate, Mishna is transferred to an upper class all White school under her mother's orders, where she is once again ousted - this time for being a little too "urban". Though not masterfully written, Wolff's bizarre and comical circumstance is a unique premise which supplies a distinctive take on what it means in our society to be thought of as White, Black, both, or neither, as well as what such labels actually dictate in our society beyond just skin color.


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Flowers For Algernon: Student Edition By Daniel Keyes Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9780156030083
Availability: Backordered at least 2 weeks or possibly unavailable.
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - June 14th, 2004

Flowers for Algernon  provides a peak into the world of Charlie, a gentle and well intentioned man whose developmental condition makes him a much maligned figure amongst his peers. When Charlie undergoes an experimental procedure which triggers a staggering growth in his cognitive abilities, he is suddenly gifted with an intellectual capacity which invites him into a brand new way of experiencing life.  Unfortunately, the effects of the procedure begin to fade, dooming Charlie to consciously bear the slow loss of his own genius and nearly all the wonders it has brought him. What I admire most about this novel is Keyes' use of the first person perspective. The story is told through Charlie's journal writing, the quality of which endures a gradual progression, then an eventual waning, as it seamlessly reflects Charlie's shifting aptitude throughout the entirety of his journey as his intelligence increases and ultimately declines. Most importantly, this story comments on the very idea of intelligence as both a constructive tool and a sometimes divisive hindrance, as Charlie learns the hard way that extraordinary cognizance may not be too different of a social impediment than its opposite.


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Y: The Last Man Book One By Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator), Jose Marzan, Jr. (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra (Illustrator), Jose Marzan, Jr. (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781401251512
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Vertigo - September 16th, 2014

When a devastating plague inexplicably kills every other mammal with a Y chromosome, amateur escape artist Yorick Brown and his capuchin monkey Ampersand find themselves the last remaining males on Earth. Setting off to reunite with his girlfriend in Australia, Yorick finds that his status as civilization's most sought after specimen is one which exposes him to peril at every turn in a new world dominated by women. Accompanied by a cagey government agent sworn to safeguard him and a geneticist seeking to determine the cause of the plague, Yorick eventually comes to understand that the future of the world (whatever that future may be) is largely dependent on his journey. Though an obvious commentary on gender politics,  the plot of Y unravels at a even pace, allowing Vaughn to display his flair for deconstructing characters via the relationships they develop with one another, made all the more genuine by exceptionally sharp dialogue. Y: The Last Man is a remarkable feat in storytelling which blends themes of scientific innovation, human sexuality, and the role of the individual within a society in a superbly imaginative and engaging package.


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My Sister, the Serial Killer: A Novel By Oyinkan Braithwaite Cover Image
$15.30
ISBN: 9780525564201
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Anchor - July 30th, 2019

First time author Braithwaite plays on our most innate sympathies and challenges ideas of familial and ethical responsibility in a quirky thriller about a cunning psychopath who, in the eyes of most, can do no wrong - except to the envy-ridden sibling who reluctantly aids in concealing her heinous crimes. This is a novel which playfully dotes on its lovable, yet aloof monster, even as we view her through the eyes of her staunchest critic – and possibly most passionate defender.


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All the Dirty Parts By Daniel Handler Cover Image
$14.40
ISBN: 9781632868053
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - August 27th, 2019

“Who can I complain to, if I don't like the shape of the globe?”

 

With spirited candor, Daniel Handler breathes color into his portrait of an oversexed adolescent whose impulsive appetite for gratification is both his joy and his burden. Cole may not be a dependable lover, but he sure as hell is a reliable narrator - recanting his seemingly empty high school exploits with matter-of-fact indifference, inflated with a wisdom and naiveté that is often contradictory, though always worthy of examination. His words are indulgent, poetic even. Every thought and utterance is a brief testimony to an internal fire that illuminates his life and threatens to burn a few bridges along the way. Confronting issues of internet pornography, commitment, sexual identity, and consent, this half coming of age tale, half erotic exposé is in an engaging, chapter-less rendezvous told with remarkable honesty and welcoming wit.


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Five-Carat Soul By James McBride Cover Image
$16.20
ISBN: 9780735216709
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Riverhead Books - September 25th, 2018

A compound flurry of assured prose and truly marvelous conceptualization positions this tenacious assembly of stories as something to be lauded. Each segment casually exceeds its predecessor - the sum total culminating in a deft exploration of the idiosyncrasies circling identify, fate, and circumstance. The final and most enchanting entry, "Mr. P and the Wind", is nothing short of phenomenal, and will nestle itself in your favor long after you've turned the final page. I smiled my way through it's entirety, impressed by the depth of its thoughtfulness. That's not to underplay the remainder of the work here. The aforementioned is simply a platinum piece within a narrative gold mine, to which an uncanny wit is ascribed throughout. The ingenious tonal shifts showcase a pointed balancing act between humor and solemnity from a writer who undeniably has genuine love and respect for the lives he constructs on the page. This will at times inspire awe, and will steadily leave you yearning for more. 


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Death Note Black Edition, Vol. 1 By Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781421539645
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: VIZ Media LLC - December 28th, 2010

Upon the discovery of a notebook that can cause the death of anyone whose name is written in it, genius high school student Light Yagami resolves to purge humanity of its criminal element, taking on the identity of “Kira”, a faceless entity who swiftly becomes infamous for a homicidal brand of judgment. When the world’s greatest detective, known only as “L”, launches a massive investigation into the Kira murders, a cat and mouse game of the highest stakes ensues in which two evenly matched prodigies set out to outwit one another in a passionate bid to define the true meaning of “justice”.


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The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite By Gerard Way, Various (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Gerard Way, Various (Illustrator)
$16.19
ISBN: 9781593079789
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Dark Horse Books - July 22nd, 2008

At first glance, The Umbrella Academy may appear to fall victim to the much acquainted “Wise old man recruits superhuman children to fight evil” trope (à la X-Men), but don’t let that familiarity dissuade you! Though certain elements of this ambitious narrative are not as cohesive as they might have been under a more seasoned writer, Gerard Way’s debut is very much a refreshing and turbulent foray into superhero mythology and science fiction, uniting some of the most electrifying components from each field respectively. Extraterrestrials, time travel, political conspiracies, and a talking ape! What more could you ask for? Much more you say? Well this series has it!


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Underground Airlines By Ben H. Winters Cover Image
$14.39
ISBN: 9780316261258
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Mulholland Books - July 18th, 2017

This is an exceptionally imaginative mystery that manages to epitomize so many things, making it impossible to focus praise on just one of its triumphs. At face value, it is a high concept thriller, of which there are enough narrative coils to keep you engaged throughout. It is just as well an enthralling work of sci-fi, revealing an alternative history wherein technology's symbiotic relationship to society has advanced human innovation in a disturbing direction. Even deeper lies a glimmer of some kind of horror story - one whose exploratory depiction of human suffering draws unnerving parallels from the reality that lies beyond its pages. At its most ambitious, what Winters has bestowed upon us is an incredibly reflective and edgy speculative tale about the obscurity of managing the idea of identity in a society which hardly has a grip on its own.


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The Invoice: A Novel By Jonas Karlsson Cover Image
$21.60
ISBN: 9781101905142
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Hogarth - July 12th, 2016

Karlsson's latest serves as a tender and whimsical reminder that, no matter what your burdens may be, there is usually someone out there with way worse fortune than yourself…usually.Though petite, this softhearted novel casts quite the thematic net, encapsulating ideas of privilege and perception, while charmingly satirizing the ever growing absurdity of debt culture. If you’re in need of something that will inspire you to see your own financial woes as a glass half full, this is definitely your cup of tea.  


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Alex + Ada Volume 1 By Jonathan Luna, Sarah Vaughn, Jonathan Luna (By (artist)) Cover Image
$11.69
ISBN: 9781632150066
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Image Comics - July 29th, 2014

Welcome to a world in which robotics have been fully integrated into almost every facet of modern society and androids are marketed and sold as all-purpose servants to the human race. When lonely bachelor Alex receives an unexpected and unwanted birthday gift from his grandmother, he is forced to confront his own ideas of humanity and affection while trying to maintain his morality in a world ripe with technological gray lines.  What Luna and Vaughn have constructed to drive this story is a thoughtfully detailed backdrop that impresses with a surprising amount of modesty. Whether you welcome this as an allegorical tale or simply a solid sci-fi venture, Alex + Ada will provoke you to question your own notions of what real connection is and what it means to simply “be”. 


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Joker By Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo (Illustrator)
$17.99
ISBN: 9781401215811
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: DC Comics - November 4th, 2008

This particular representation of the “Clowned Prince of Crime” is a definite callback to Heath Ledger’s scarred, mobster-esque Dark Knight performance, which automatically qualifies it as worthwhile for me. Still, Brian Azzarello’s macabre entry breaks plenty of ground on its own, giving us a stylishly modernized adaptation of the classic villain as he returns from the infamous Arkham Asylum for a night of wicked undertakings fit only for a psychopath of the highest degree. 


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Look Who's Back By Timur Vermes, Jamie Bulloch (Translated by) Cover Image
By Timur Vermes, Jamie Bulloch (Translated by)
$13.49
ISBN: 9781681449524
Availability: Backordered at least 2 weeks or possibly unavailable.
Published: MacLehose Press - May 10th, 2016

If the title and cover haven’t tipped you off already, it is incumbent upon me to note that this is a book in which history’s most hated (and hateful) figure inexplicably "wakes up" to find himself alive and well in modern day Berlin, ready as ever to pick up exactly where he left off on his psychotic campaign for political dominance. However, in the ultimate bout of irony, the once terrorizing Führer is mistaken for his own impersonator, a misunderstanding which catapults him into a most unlikely career in satire. The result here is a clever and hilarious indictment of celebrity culture as well as the shortcomings of our understanding and appreciation of history.         


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Mox Nox By Joan Cornellà Cover Image
$13.49
ISBN: 9781606998427
Availability: Backordered at least 2 weeks or possibly unavailable.
Published: Fantagraphics - August 23rd, 2015

This Spanish cartoonist's bizarre and macabre graphics will either indulge the most forbidden and twisted depths of your imagination or leave you gawking blankly at the panels in bewilderment and discomfort. As brilliant as they are psychotic, these visual tantrums are surprisingly quite thoughtful in their hyperbolic depictions of simple "misunderstandings" (and certainly better suited for a mature audience!). 


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Between the World and Me By Ta-Nehisi Coates Cover Image
$23.40
ISBN: 9780812993547
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: One World - July 14th, 2015

The bond between what will likely be Coates' definitive contribution to the literary world, and this peculiar decade from which it helms, is one of symbiosis. I cannot imagine a present in which its near fatalistic tone is not integral to contemporary Black consciousness, and I doubt the book would be exactly what it is outside the context of a Black presidency that, for better or worse, helped birth it. A retrospective look reveals further poignancy, as this mid-decade National Book Award winner predates the rampant literary inquisitions into how a Trump presidency happened, posing a more important and chillingly preemptive question: How could it not?


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The Room: A Novel By Jonas Karlsson Cover Image
$12.60
ISBN: 9780804139984
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Hogarth - February 17th, 2015

Jonas Karlsson's amusingly Kafkaesque debut is a quick read which undertakes themes of success, conformity, and addiction in a most uncanny fashion. The novel's antihero, Bjorn, is an unapologetically neurotic bureaucrat who couldn't fit in any less at his mystifying new government job (where he conspires to someday become top dog). As he obsesses over the ineptitude of his colleagues, he becomes fixated on an inconspicuous room that offers an escape from the daily irritations of the workplace - a room that no one else seems to acknowledge. Bjorn's frequent visits to his seemingly private sanctuary become problematic to the staff, who believes that his unconventional retreats are disrupting the workplace environment. Will Bjorn's solitary behavior persist at the expense of advancing his career, or can he negotiate a compromise with those seeking to deprive him of his peace of mind? As the conflict intensifies, the tone deafness of this story's rather loathsome protagonist produces unforgettable moments that are as comical as they are awkward. 


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Chocky By John Wyndham, Margaret Atwood (Afterword by) Cover Image
By John Wyndham, Margaret Atwood (Afterword by)
$13.46
ISBN: 9781590178522
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: NYRB Classics - August 18th, 2015

Chocky is light on its fantastical elements, making it the kind of quietly laid science fiction that favors simplicity in storytelling over the often times predictable flamboyance of spectacle. What begins as an eerie account of the barely welcomed arrival of a preadolescent’s would-be imaginary friend evolves into a subtly profound tale which emphasizes the importance of thinking outside the box and remaining receptive to all life’s possibilities – as well as its impossibilities.


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Rum Punch: A Novel By Elmore Leonard Cover Image
$17.09
ISBN: 9780062119827
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Mariner Books - October 18th, 2011

I’m generally hesitant to read a novel if I’ve already viewed its film adaptation beforehand (Mistake!), however, the source material for Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is a notable exception – full of dicey double crosses and two-timing characters of both the polished and rash variety, each one a badass in their own right. Sort of a “heist within a heist” story, Rum Punch is sharp, fun, and just plain cool.


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How to Set a Fire and Why: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) By Jesse Ball Cover Image
$16.20
ISBN: 9781101911754
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Vintage - June 13th, 2017

Lucia Stanton is an anti-hero you’ll not soon forget. The kind who gets dispatched from one school to another for stabbing a classmate with a pencil. The type who supposes we shouldn’t possess anything beyond need (she has almost nothing) and questions the practicality of detention (she’s a regular). Lucia is the brand of angst-ridden teen who does not want to simply sulk in her observation of life’s absurdities – pursuing a secret arson club and writing of an upheaval propagated by flame help with that. Her anarchic ambitions will rouse admirers of Tyler Durden. Her youthful introspection echoes the musings of our old friend Holden Caulfield. This is another noteworthy spark in the category of pariah-led coming of age stories. And, as Lucia imparts: “Each fire is a small thing.”


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Citizen: An American Lyric By Claudia Rankine Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781555976903
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Graywolf Press - October 7th, 2014

Citizen expertly documents the daily defeat of being juxtaposed as an "other" against a racial backdrop that frequently fails or refuses to recognize one’s humanity. In placing a vital emphasis on the common transgressions we habitually accept as routine, Rankine breathes visceral honesty into what could otherwise be the indescribable with passages and anecdotes that distress as well as impress.


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Demand the Impossible!: A Radical Manifesto By Bill Ayers Cover Image
$13.46
ISBN: 9781608466702
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Haymarket Books - September 20th, 2016

An America void of prisons? Free of police? With universal healthcare and complimentary education for all? Are these goals we as a society can seriously conceptualize? Activist and educator Bill Ayers boldly asserts that we can and must take a step beyond the idealism of imagination and actually envision such a world. Though his proposals for change may have little new to offer as far as leftist platforms go, this manifesto still serves as a timely and appropriate reminder of something history has proven time and time again: The potential the future holds is not always indicated by the reality of the present.


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Heather, the Totality By Matthew Weiner Cover Image
$13.49
ISBN: 9780316435321
Availability: Backordered at least 2 weeks or possibly unavailable.
Published: Back Bay Books - June 12th, 2018

This largely plot-driven tale begins, progresses, and concludes with the velocity of a film montage, maneuvering rapidly between the portrait of a would-be happy family and the parallel journey of a pariah whose very fate seems ripe for a foul end. What eventually transpires between these two worlds unravels in the way of a twisted parable, pulling absolutely no punches.  First time author Matthew Weiner (of Mad Men and The Sopranos writing fame) does a notable job of manipulating archetypal conventions, making his characters’ moves and motives near incalculable, though uncomfortably honest.


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Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement By Angela Y. Davis, Frank Barat (Editor), Cornel West (Preface by) Cover Image
By Angela Y. Davis, Frank Barat (Editor), Cornel West (Preface by)
$14.36
ISBN: 9781608465644
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Haymarket Books - February 9th, 2016

Made up of selected interviews and speeches, Angela Davis' Freedom is a Constant Struggle expresses the need to recognize the anti-capitalist struggle as an unending process which unifies all oppressed peoples at all intersections of identity. More specifically, she draws compelling comparisons between Black Americans' campaign for civil rights in Ferguson (among other cities) to several ongoing struggles for political and social autonomy across the globe and how essential it is for all committed agents of change to see themselves not as separate sects of progressivism, but international comrades allied in a common cause to obtain equality and justice for all. 


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Men Explain Things to Me By Rebecca Solnit Cover Image
$14.36
ISBN: 9781608464661
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Haymarket Books - September 1st, 2015

Rebecca Solnit begins this remarkable eye opener by dissecting a social discourtesy on the part of men ("Mansplaining") which is all too common in interactions with women. Ultimately, she imparts upon the reader a greater consciousness of the cultural denigration of the female gender – an actuality widely felt, though rarely given the attention it appropriately deserves. The statistical information in this book alone would be its most moving element, if not for the conveyance of the alarming complacency with which society concedes to normalizing the horrors it underscores. There is nothing I can say of the subject of male superiority that Solnit doesn’t more masterfully express with the faithfulness required to properly highlight such a detrimental reality. We as the audience must fully trust and invest in the acceptance and validation of her voice, whether or not we share her perspective or sense of urgency - though we very well should. That is exactly the point. 


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Zonzo By Joan Cornellà Cover Image
$13.49
ISBN: 9781606999851
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Fantagraphics - February 7th, 2017

Though not quite as topically side-splitting as its predecessor Mox Nox, the unbridled insanity emanating from Zonzo further showcases Joan Cornella’s unique penchant for the exceptionally demented. With visuals as perplexing as they are uproarious, this vibrant and stylish endeavor truly embodies the concept of cartoonish violence.  


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Nailbiter Volume 1: There Will Be Blood By Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson (By (artist)), Adam Guzowski (By (artist)) Cover Image
By Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson (By (artist)), Adam Guzowski (By (artist))
$8.99
ISBN: 9781632151124
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Image Comics - October 14th, 2014

Buckaroo, Oregon is the sort of small, rural community where just about everyone knows everyone. It’s also a town where every resident is either acquainted with, related to, or is themselves a serial killer, as this ill-fated town serves as the birthplace of 16 of the nation’s worst and most prolific murdering psychopaths. Is this unfortunate attribute a cruel curse of nature, or the product of generations of bad community nurturing?

Inquiring minds are DYING to know. Whatever you do, though…just don’t ask the Nailbiter. 


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Octavio's Journey By Miguel Bonnefoy, Emily Boyce (Translator) Cover Image
By Miguel Bonnefoy, Emily Boyce (Translator)
$13.46
ISBN: 9781910477311
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Gallic Books - April 18th, 2017

The very nature of this brief, yet endearing Venezuelan novel mirrors that of its spotlighted figure - seemingly simple on the surface while at center harboring a hint of something more profound. A story of finding literacy through love quickly becomes a quest for purpose and redemption for a gentle giant with a kind soul whose unlikely and nefarious associations lead him down paths of remarkable discovery and coincidental tragedy.   


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Paper Girls Volume 1 By Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (By (artist)), Matthew Wilson (By (artist)), Jared K. Fletcher (By (artist)) Cover Image
By Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (By (artist)), Matthew Wilson (By (artist)), Jared K. Fletcher (By (artist))
$8.99
ISBN: 9781632156747
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Image Comics - April 5th, 2016

Regarding the premiere installment of this time-travel adventure, we have something which beautifully bleeds 1980's nostalgia in delicious fashion. Cliff Chiang's illustrations pour over each panel with dreamy fluidity and lend themselves well to Vaughan's narrative coupling of youth in revolt with the archaic sensibilities of a bygone era. Every fantastical element introduced is done so with integrity and aids in driving a fast moving spectacle with lovable characters, indicating that this gem is likely already progressing in a very promising direction. 


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Camanchaca By Diego Zúñiga, Megan McDowell (Translator) Cover Image
By Diego Zúñiga, Megan McDowell (Translator)
$14.36
ISBN: 9781566894609
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Coffee House Press - March 7th, 2017

 

With the vast majority of its pages limited to just a few passages, the memories recounted in Camanchaca unwind like fragments of dreams. A road trip down coastal Chile allows for reflective pause, as a young boy recalls the uncertainties and tragic atmosphere that surround the history of his broken family. One side of the novel delves into the past, focusing on a complicated and damaging maternal bond, while the opposite side takes on the present, highlighting the paternal disconnect of an oblivious father. This produces a duality in the narrative in which both realities compliment one another without ever hinging on the emphasis of intersecting. The frequent shifting between tenses with such brevity prevents this one-day read from ever going stale. It even dares to leave some of its biggest questions unanswered in a way that dodges feeling incomplete. Most impressively, it is something that can potentially be read three different ways, as two equally solemn stories volley to make one emotionally cloudy journey through the desert fog. 


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Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy By Tim Harford Cover Image
$16.20
ISBN: 9780735216143
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Riverhead Books - August 28th, 2018

I can always appreciate good nonfiction that isn't bogged down with an overabundance of graphs and charts, complex statistics, and academic jargon that makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) for the general public to genuinely process. Tim Harford's efforts here are guilty of nothing of the sort. Any data conveyed through the concise narratives contained in this marvel of a study are presented in such a way that allow them to inspire the reader instead of burden them. It is something that begs one to endlessly ponder the origin and impact of all that we take for granted, all that makes the contemporary economic world exactly what it is. Furthermore, it reminds us that we can never truly foresee what our individual and collective impact on the fiscal future might be, despite our best and most assured intentions. 


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Found Audio By N. J. Campbell Cover Image
$14.39
ISBN: 9781937512576
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Two Dollar Radio - July 11th, 2017

To suggest that this author's near maddening and mystic debut will "take you places" is an understatement. You may emerge from the gauntlet of its layered mysteries with a definite air of perplexity, though no more so than the narrator, an adventure journalist passionately chasing an ever elusive utopia of sorts. As his obsession with this location of wonders intensifies, so does his perception of its validity, leading him to scrutinize the very existence of everyone and everything around him. This novel meticulously shrouds its own destination in a provocative fog from the outset and, with casual finesse, pulls the reader into sharing the wonders and inevitable horrors of confronting the plasticity of reality.


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The Black Farm By Elias Witherow, Thought Catalog (Editor) Cover Image
$15.29
ISBN: 9781945796500
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Thought & Expression Company - June 9th, 2017

"This story is not for the faint of heart." - Such a customary note from the author prefaces this nightmare ordeal, and it is delivered justifiably. What follows will pulverize your sensibilities into near oblivion and have you actually quite relieved to reach its end. Thus, as a horror novel, I would say it more than does its job. At play here is a mad and unforgiving world, collaboratively foreclosed on by heaven and hell, left to the vile whims of a feral deity whose pleasures lean heavily toward the macabre. After a grieving couple enters into an ill-fated pact, they are cast into the tortuous "Black Farm" to experience firsthand the ghastly machinations of its malevolent warden. Be warned - little of what takes place is easy to digest. Trekking through this purgatorial perdition is a taxing journey, albeit a fascinating one. What makes it actually worth reading is the vision applied to shaping the logistical ambiguity of the Farm itself, an environment with far more to it than advertised, its only guarantees being unending chaos and incomprehensible violence. Reader Beware. 


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The Deaths of Henry King By Brian Evenson, Jesse Ball, LILLI Carré (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.96
ISBN: 9781941250204
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Uncivilized Books - October 31st, 2017

Henry King performs one particular task with great frequency and consistency....dying. His episodic confrontations with his own mortality show no lack in variety, as the manner of his demise toggles between quiet profundity and deadpan inanity. This is an easily digestible read, with vignettes that are sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and consistently thought provoking. 


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Mrs. Fletcher: A Novel By Tom Perrotta Cover Image
$15.29
ISBN: 9781501144035
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Scribner - May 1st, 2018

This novel is a fine and fitting reflection of the ever morphing landscape of human relationships, and the difficulty of navigating its nuances as well as transcending the stigmas of its taboos. Perrotta ascribes a convincing amount of naiveté to each of his subjects, allowing their journeys to blossom (for better or worse) with an allure that borders pure magnetism. Their every victory and failure are in some way enlightening, particularly when their supposed principles are in direct conflict with their behavior. Perrotta also gives the impression that he shares some of the curiosity and vulnerability he so eloquently infuses into his characters, which invites us to grow and learn, triumph and fail right alongside them as we contrast their development against our own presumptions. This is a story rich in discovery, and an exemplary tale of people exploring the best and worst parts of themselves, enigmatic though their actual selves may be.  


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Hummingbird: Essays By Jude Angelini Cover Image
$14.36
ISBN: 9781945572593
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Rare Bird Books - September 19th, 2017

If you can imagine how Bukowski might have written under the influence of hip hop culture, then it won't be difficult to see Jude Angelini’s painfully candid memoir as somewhat of a Ham on Rye with an Ice Cube sandwiched in (see what I did there?). With little sign of shame or reserve, Angelini accelerates us through one sex, drug, and violence infused anecdote after another, seemingly only recanting the darker elements of his life - a stark contrast from this book's inviting title and cover. Reading Hummingbird is like tuning into a very explicit and personal rap album. The experience is at once pretty ugly, seriously funny, and all around entertaining.


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If Beale Street Could Talk (Vintage International) By James Baldwin Cover Image
$14.40
ISBN: 9780307275936
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Vintage - October 10th, 2006

There is a distinct beauty in the tragedy, in the righteous anger, in every cathartic revelation within Baldwin's prose. The players in this early 70's Harlem tale both clash with and cling to one another in an arguably absurd existence, striving not only for purpose, but for the right to even have purpose in a world which seemingly derives its own from their suffering. To persist at all toward any meaning under such circumstances must be a labor of love - a notion which extracts some comfort from the disheartening crisis in which a young couple and their families find themselves, making this a powerful, yet dismal love story. 


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A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies By Bartolomé de Las Casas, Nigel Griffin (Editor), Nigel Griffin (Translated by), Anthony Pagden (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Bartolomé de Las Casas, Nigel Griffin (Editor), Nigel Griffin (Translated by), Anthony Pagden (Introduction by)
$13.50
ISBN: 9780140445626
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Penguin Classics - November 3rd, 1992

De Las Casas' vivid testimonies of Spanish savagery towards the native peoples of the Americas in the 16th century quickly grow emotionally burdensome, sinking into a gut wrenching, rhythmic pattern of steal-kill-destroy. It is this callous repetition that is crucial to the experience of absorbing what is not to missed here - the reminder that historical patterns of the past have certainly shaped attitudes of the world we now occupy.  


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Heartbreaker: A Novel By Claudia Dey Cover Image
$23.40
ISBN: 9780525511731
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Random House - August 21st, 2018

An eerie, melancholy tale of an insulated, seemingly retrograded community and the elusive outsider who settles into, and eventually abandons it. Through a trio of unique accounts that detail life in "the territory", we piece together the puzzle that is Billie Jean Fontaine, a figure with a curious presence that harbors many secrets, and whose abrupt departure teases consequential revelations. Ill-fated bonds, familial twists and a setting saturated in a bizarre tapestry of 1980s nostalgia make this an odd, though incredibly magnetic story of love, belonging, and self-actualization. 


Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove By Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Ben Greenman Cover Image
$16.19
ISBN: 9781455501373
Availability: In Stock (but it is always wise to call ahead to confirm!)
Published: Grand Central Publishing - May 12th, 2015

If your knowledge of Questlove extends only as far as The Tonight Show, then this is required reading! The famed afro behind The Roots' creative genius has lived quite the musical fairy tale, complete with a soundtrack that bestows nostalgia almost as a gift of affection to the reader. Breaking from the assumed memoir format, this is the story not just of a remarkable musician, but of a legendary group and the cultural movement with which they exchanged pivotal cultural contributions. If you need any more motivatoin, just know that this book very much features Prince in roller skates.