|
|
New and loved at WORD
|
|
   
Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway. It's hard for us to use our words, rather than just gush about how good Angelmaker is. You might guess, given our championing of The Gone-Away World, how nervous we were to read Harkaway's latest, but our anxiety was ill-founded. Not just any author could build a thriller out of some gears, a forgotten Victorian art critic, and a son's dissatisfaction with his father, much less a thriller of these proportions. And very few authors can boast the combination of smarts and heart that defines Harkaway's work. It is the rare book that can return us to the experience of wonder that set our collective path as lifelong readers from an early age--and Angelmaker is one. (Jenn and Stephanie) Arcadia by Lauren Groff. This book will undoubtedly be on everybody's best-of lists at the end of the year, so read it now and beat the rush. It's the story of Bit, a boy who is born on a commune in upstate New York, and it's one of the most beautifully paced, vividly written books we've read this year. Her writing is lush and precise, and the story feels like we imagine a commune might be: somehow both comforting and unsettling. Just beautiful. (Stephanie and Jenn) The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac by Kris D'Agostino. It's a slacker story, yes, but it isn't a typical slacker story; I was unbelievably touched by this family as they dealt with illness, depression, teen pregnancy, and financial difficulties, and D'Agostino's deft narrative had me rooting for them all. I loved this book and can't wait to see what comes next from this talented voice. It's books like these, small treasures that come seemingly out of nowhere, that make me love what I do. (Christine)
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman. Rory is a poor girl in a forgotten corner of Nevada, a place of trailer parks and bars where the stools might as well have regulars' names scratched into them. Her bleak life is terribly familiar and entirely her own. There are a lot of books about terrible things happening to little girls, and maybe, like me, you're not sure you need another one. Girlchild is different. Hassman writes with her own rhythms, and she gives Rory such a voice that her story lifts itself up and over the heads of its contemporaries. Especially recommended for any Willy Vlautin fans--like Vlautin, Hassman writes with intense compassion for people on the fringes. (Molly, and also recommended by Simone!)
How To Cook Everything: The Basics by Mark Bittman. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything series is an everyday reference guide in my household. But whereas the previous installments of the series are biblical in length and can be intimidating to the casual cook, The Basics is more accessable, with tons of color photos, and more focused "how to's" for specific dishes. Perfect and refined; for the eager student of cooking. (Cree) By Blood by Ellen Ullman. Just the book I didn't know I wanted. It's an unnerving story in an eerie setting about some odd people. The story: a professor overhears a woman telling her therapist about her life and gets personally involved in manipulating her life out of a somewhat sincere desire to help (and dislike for her therapist). The setting: 1970s San Fran, home of the Zodiac Killer and the crumbling remnants of the Swinging Sixties. The people: the woman, her therapist, and our narrator, the Professor, who is one of those characters who becomes creepier and yet somehow more understandable the more time you spend with him. It's fantastic. (Stephanie) word. by Natan Last. Complete with a recommendation from crossword god Will Shortz on the cover, this book of 144 crosswords is for the "new generation of puzzlers." The puzzles still maintain the intergrity of classic crosswords, but also incorporate more recent pop-culture and trivia. For late-20s and early 30-year-old puzzlers such as myself, it's a nice blend. (Cree) I READ BOOKS shirts by WORD. We've updated our adult-sized I'VE READ BOOKS shirt for the younger crowd! Yes, it's the cutest thing you've ever seen--but that's because you haven't seen our READ ME BOOKS onesie yet. (Yes, that IS our logo on the butt.) Buy a shirt for every member of your family, and then go take the most literate family photo in Brooklyn. |
|
Staff picks
|
| |
   
The Most Human Human by Brian Christian. This book was recommended to me by local children's author Peter Brown, when we were geeking out about the Turing test, and wow, is it fascinating. Christian becomes a human competitor in an annual competition that actually tries to create a computer that can pass for a person--an intriguing look into the way personality and relationships work! (Jenn)
Men in Space by Tom McCarthy. Written before Remainder, but published after it (published for the first time in the U.S. just last month!), this novel shows the beginning of the themes that McCarthy has developed in his last two novels. Following a set of characters with ties to the art world and the mafia in Prague in the early 90's, Men in Space walks the line between comedy vs. tragedy, and realization vs. loss. (Cree)
Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work by Edwidge Danticat. Edwidge Danticat's books are all excellent, and most of them are heartbreaking, too. In Create Dangerously, Danticat weaves her life as a writer into the history and stories of Haiti--and the stories of other Haitian artists, novelists, journalists, photographers, and more. Though it's full of stories about other people, it's such a personal book that it's hard to write about; it feels like any summary will leave something vital out. Some books are full of things you didn't know you needed to know, and this is one of them. (Molly)
Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller. A biography of the contentious writer and thinker from her childhood in revolution-torn Russia to her days of fame and infamy in the U.S. Even if you are not planning to read her thousand-plus-page novels, the story of her life stands on its own as historically curious and plenty scandalous. (Simone)
|
|
Google ebooks
|
|
   
The President Is A Sick Man by Matthew Algeo. This is Stephanie's favorite presidential biography of 2011! And she read a whole stack of them, so that's saying something. Why does our twentysomething store manager read so many dad books? We have no idea.
Why They Cried by Jim Hanas. A great short story collection, highly recommended by Jenn, from one of our favorite up-and-coming writers. While supplies last, buy Why We Cried and get a free print copy of Joyland Retro Vol. 1! (In-store pickup only, just show us your confirmation email when you come in.)
Midnight by Beverly Jenkins. Until the end of March, Avon is offering some of their favorite classics for $1.99, including this Revolutionary War-era gem by Beverly Jenkins. See more $1.99 romance novels here!
And finally, yes, you can buy Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James from us as an ebook now! The print book will be available in a few weeks, but if you can't wait, buy now and read on your phone, tablet, or computer (just make sure you have a spreadsheet open in another window, depending on your workplace). |
|
|
|
|
This has been another production of the book-lovin' fools at: WORD 126 Franklin St Brooklyn NY 11222 Open for your reading needs from: 11am to 9pm, seven days a week Available during those hours at: 718.383.0096 And always open at: www.wordbrooklyn.com |
|
|
