   
Lost Everything by Brian Francis Slattery. Brian Francis Slattery has written another apocalypse novel, and I for one hope he never stops. It's an incredibly timely and moving meditation on war -- who and what do we fight for? Who are we fighting against? And, of course, in true Slattery style, it's also bursting at the seams with laughter and hijinks, and parties I wish I could attend. (Before the shooting starts, anyway.) (Jenn)
Chime by Franny Billingsley (also available as ebook). I love this book so much that I gave my copy away. I was that sure my friend needed it. Now it's just out in paperback and you can have it too. Billingsley writes these beautiful, folktale-infused stories about places that feel familiar and true, like they almost existed between some magical then and the industrial now. Chime is a glorious, dark tale about the power of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and how some stories, if you repeat them too often, become true. (Molly) Abstract City by Christoph Niemann. A collection of terrific graphic art musings, clever and pleasing to the eye. Graphs, dolls, LEGO blocks and leaves are all employed to to share Neimann's days and thoughts with his family here in New York and abroad. (Simone)     Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot. This one I picked up because customers couldn't stop raving about it, and recommending it to each other, and you guys are always spot on when that happens. It's a zany and mildly absurd, but also incredibly thoughtful, philosophically-inclined blockbuster of a plot. Total Recall meets Blade Runner, maybe? Anyway, it's great. (Jenn) Vegetables, Revised by James Peterson. This new cookbook is a highly usable and lovely re/introduction to vegetables both humble and exotic.The tips and reasons behind the different ways to handle and prepare the numerous vegetables include important nutritional information and guide you through technique to the most delicious results. And of course the pictures are gorgeous. (Simone) Grantland Issue 2. I know, why should you buy Grantland when you can get it for free online? Well, for starters, this Grantland comes with a double-sided poster, and can be read even when your neighbor's wi-fi is not working/your plane is taking off. But also because it is full of great writing about sports. Some of it you haven't seen before, but the stuff you've already read gets a new life on the page (sometimes new graphics, and sometimes just the new layout makes it read differently). Definitely worth it. (Stephanie) The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson (also available as ebook). Hopkinson's Midnight Robber changed the way I read science fiction. She makes the world bigger, and her writing is so precisely descriptive that when I think of her books, I see the settings, not the pages. The Chaos, her first young adult novel, is a glorious mix of Russian and Jamaican folklore, crazily inventive imagery and the coming of age story of Scotch, whose path through adolescence gets really complicated when a supernatural force turns Toronto into a mishmash of dreams and nightmares come to life. (Molly) |
