Recommended to me by two of our best booksellers (thank you, Wes; thank you, Emily), this is the first story collection I ever fell in love with. Lorrie's grief is heavy and familiar with a willingness to find relief and comfort in growing in and out of love and in the universality of death and loss. Allow her to bring solace to an achy heart and you'll want to swim in her wit and drown in her sorrows forever.
A brutal, complex, and cool-as-hell '70s version of the hard boiled private eye noir, with nihilism, humor, and radical left-wing politics aplenty.
Yes, surfing is cool, but did you know just how cool? Peek inside for an encyclopedia of grainy old photos, vintage advertisements, sleek swimwear, and an extensive collection of writing on the history and lifestyle of the sport. Perfect as a gift.
I will never think of Best Western the same. This book is a trip through creativity in the midst of heartache. Writing through grief. Finding yourself by losing yourself, completely. In Death Valley, Broder brings readers along on a surreal journey that either has her lost in the desert for days or planted firmly in the queen size bed of her hotel room. I'm glad I will never know which one is true. This work is deeply personal. Trippy and emotional. Unpredictable and yet completely relatable. An exploration through the meaning of life, death, and everything in between; climb on the back of a giant bird and let the vivid colors of Death Valley consume you.
A departure from Tingle’s typical steamy sentient food stories, this first of two traditional LGBTQ+ themed releases is scary because it reflects a chilling reality. Told through the lens of a young queer woman, it answers the question: How far could hatred masked as religion go to keep queer youth in line? Expect plague-like flying insects, monsters, and one pretty cool scene involving a rock-n-roll flame-thrower. But in this cinematic exploration readers can also expect heartfelt emotion, love, and friendship. A crew of misfits brought together by a (terrible) common experience must travel back to the conversion camp that cursed them to rediscover their authentic selves, but do they have the tools they need to defeat their demons?
I loved this because I am an identical twin BUT, if you've ever been fascinated or a little weirded out by twins, you very well might like this too. As a philosophy professor and identical twin, Helen de Bres combines her teachings with her lived experience to expound on the intersectionality between being multiple as well as a woman, queer, and disabled versus being a singleton. (And her twin sister, Julia, made the illustrations inside the book!)
Quiet, atmospheric, a little chilly to the bone. A college graduate moves to Sokcho, a town nestled between North and South Korea, to work at a guesthouse during the off season. A traveling French graphic novelist visits Sokcho in search of inspiration. The two develop a bond that I can only describe as liminal, constantly between growing close while growing apart. The town and everything in it unfolds before us through our narrator’s eyes and the very second a thought comes to her head. It’s beautiful, a wintery cocoon, and deeply meditative.
For the hobby naturalists and carnivore fanatics, this book is an observation of not only pumas, but about the importance of biodiversity. Pumas are deeply fascinating and misunderstood creatures, that all of us should understand that carnivores (especially pumas/mountain lions/panthers) are a necessity to our changing environment – they keep things in balance and provide for big and small creatures alike. By the end of the book, the term “everything is connected” becomes apparent.
Oversized suit jackets, cable-knit crewnecks, long fur coats, diamond chains, colorful glasses, Air Jordans and Chuck Taylors – these are the ingredients of basketball style. Mitchell S. Jackson’s Fly carves out six visual eras of the sport’s history and ties each one to the politics and culture of the time. This is no mere photo book, though. If you aren't a basketball fan, pickup Fly and look for yourself – Jackson’s captions might just do the trick. Among my favorites are: “Michael Jordan, 1985 Slam Dunk Contest. Was it the shoes?” (p. 100); “All knit, no problem,” (p. 170); “The texture on that suit is straight sophisticated,” (p. 189); “Baby, I’m a star.” (p. 217).
We all know that getting stuck inside a whale is a coming-of-age rite of passage for young men escaping the weight of a traumatic upbringing. But Whalefall isn't your average been there done that story of getting eaten while deep-sea diving for your father's corpse; the body horror of being digested inside a stomach and the suspense of Jay's oxygen tank running out serve as metaphor for the crushing expectations he felt from his father in life, and still in death.
My favorite part about this book: Daniel Kraus puts the science in science fiction. I've never read 'ocean horror' that did such thoroughly-researched, while also compassionate and loving, work to show us the beauty and horrors of the sea in the most realistic way possible. Claustrophobic and relentless, I highly recommend.
