Staff Picks by Tag

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Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons By John Paul Brammer Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781982141516
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Simon & Schuster - June 7th, 2022

J.P. Brammer writes from a very specific background as a gay Mexican-American man raised in rural Oklahoma, but these are identities you don't need to personally claim in order to both love and benefit from this book. His writing style makes you forget you are reading and instead feel as if you're having a conversation with someone who is deeply invested in helping you seize the best from life. And he's hilarious, so that's a plus.


Review by Marii

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A Burst of Light: And Other Essays By Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez (Foreword by), Jen Keenan (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez (Foreword by), Jen Keenan (Illustrator)
$22.95
ISBN: 9780486818993
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Ixia Press - September 13th, 2017

A timeless piece of writing, with reflections on battling cancer, lesbian motherhood, Black American womanhood, community organizing, and love. An important voice to familiarize yourself with now, as Audre Lord's wisdom and vision carry lessons that could help us traverse our most persisting social issues if only we would listen.


Review by Marii

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Pizza Girl: A Novel By Jean Kyoung Frazier Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781984899002
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Anchor - May 4th, 2021

Pizza Girl, a pregnant pizza-delivering eighteen year old, is nonchalantly trying to blow up her life despite the support from her golden retriever boyfriend and her Korean mother living the American Dream (through her). With the ghost of her alcoholic father haunting her off her own cliff, she grabs on to the last branch of safety: a crush on a middle-aged housewife. Ugly & uncomfortable, unwinding & gripping, set against the backdrop of the lazy, hazy suburbs of Los Angeles. Takeaways: tender but sharp writing for a debut and, screw pineapples on pizza, let's talk about pickles on pizza.

 


Review by Emily

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Patricia Wants to Cuddle By Samantha Allen Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9781638930044
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Zando - June 28th, 2022

Hard to put down! Very readable like chips are very eatable; you can't have just one. It tickled my behind-the-scenes of the Bachelor itch and hit me in my PNW heart. Allen really brought out the stops for this horror comedy with just the right amount of camp and believability. Come on, this lady sasquatch just wants to cuddle. 


Review by Emily

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Our Wives Under the Sea: A Novel By Julia Armfield Cover Image
$26.99
ISBN: 9781250229892
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Flatiron Books - July 12th, 2022

Part queer love story, part subtle horror story, both parts eerie and beautiful. Wives Leah and Miri try to manage when Leah comes back from a failed deep-sea mission that left her stuck on a submarine for five months. Armfield seamlessly creates the sensation of being underwater, that kind of silence that is quiet and loud at the same time. A slow burn until the last 50 pages or so then the quiet gets unbearably loud. If you like swimming, Florence + the Machine, Kristen Arnett, or loving someone or something, read this. 


Review by Emily

Review by Emily

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Time Is a Mother By Ocean Vuong Cover Image
$24.00
ISBN: 9780593300237
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Penguin Press - April 5th, 2022

I read this in one sitting - they had to kick me out of the coffee shop. Despite the fact that this was written as Vuong was dealing with the loss of his mother, I saw so much joy and lightness in this collection. I can see he's enjoying himself; I can see he's dealing with himself. If you like his other work, you won't be disappointed in spending this time with him. 

 


Review by Emily

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Dreaming of You: A Novel in Verse By Melissa Lozada-Oliva Cover Image
$23.00
ISBN: 9781662600593
Availability: Out of stock, usually available in 3-10 days
Published: Astra House - October 26th, 2021

This is a novel in verse that tells the story of a young woman who decides to being back the singer Selena from the dead. But it's so much more than that. It's about loneliness, feminism, the culture behind fandom and queer/latinidad identity. TOP TEN BOOK 2021 OF FOR ME!  


Review by Rosa

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The Song of Achilles: A Novel By Madeline Miller Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062060624
Availability: On our shelves now at one or more of our stores
Published: Ecco - August 28th, 2012

I love fairytale/mythology retellings, so from the beginning I expected to enjoy this reimagining of Homer's Iliad, as told from Patroclus' perspective. I didn't expect to fall in love with this quiet and gentle story about legacy and how we choose to honor the ones we love. If you're on the fence about it, jump off and pick it up!

 


Review by Sarah B.