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Orcs! Swords! Alchemy! Gnomes! And ooey-gooey chocolate croissants? Legends & Lattes is a surprising re-imagination as to what fantasy can be. Viv, a fearsome orc warrior, decides to stash her sword and start out on a new adventure: running a coffee shop. This story is full of lovely little moments in a fantastical world that are sure warm your cold, dead heart. But fair warning: it may also give you an overwhelming desire to cozy up in your favorite café with a hot beverage and a cinnamon roll the size of your head.
Heather
I went into this book without reading any synopsis or reviews- totally blind. I was not expecting a dark, cosmic horror that felt like a modern take on H.P. Lovecraft. This book was fantastic. At one point, the world was literally shifting and merging things together, creating gruesome amalgamations and some strange body horror. If Lovecraft is your thing, I urge you to give this book a try.
Anna
In this electrifying sci-fi adventure enemy agents Red and Blue seek to one-up each other in a centuries-long game of cat-and-mouse that plays out on battlefields and in London teashops. What neither agent could’ve predicted? The love that blooms when they begin a correspondence. With their precarious--yet fierce--love stringing Red and Blue together across time-strands, only one question remains: is their love and wit enough to keep them one step ahead of their enemies, or is the fight to be together the one battle they can’t win?
Jenna
Never in my life have I read a horror novel that kept me guessing as much as this one, and I read a lot of horror books. Ward has crafted a story that truly feels like peeling the layers of an onion as you get to know the characters. I was confused about who the true villain was until the very end of the book. If you're looking for something to absolutely give you chills, this is it.
Anna
A haunted cruise ship in space. Yep, you read that right. This book has everything I love about both the ghost ship and haunted space tropes. It gave me the heebie jeebies in all the best ways, and I would definitely NOT recommend reading this one at night. I give it 10 out of 10 ghost astronauts.
Anna
When Addie wishes for independence she gets more than she bargains for. Addie is cursed to live forever and have no one remember her until one day a boy changes it all with three small words “I remember you." Schwab takes you on a masterful adventure over centuries as Addie tries to leave her mark. This book will have you crying, laughing, and clutching at your heart for the emotional journey that Addie lives through. Be careful what you wish for.
Jess
I am such a sucker for a reimagined classic, and Kingfisher's take on Poe's famous The Fall of the House of Usher is wonderful. Rarely do I come across horror novels with such witty and delightful characters. The dialoge made me want to sit down to tea with each person, but the creepy gothic atmosphere made me want to forgo the tea and run away screaming instead.
Anna
Everything in the world is so hard, but A Psalm for the Wild-Built is such a warm-hearted balm. Sibling Dex (a traveling Tea Monk) and Mosscap (a sentient, “wild-built” robot) wrestle with hard existential questions about purpose and belonging, but the book is generous and patient. Psalm is a great reminder of how huge and full even a small life can be when it’s well-lived. (And don’t miss the follow-up, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy!)
Timothy
Solving cold murders is not your typical retiree pastime; however for Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim, and Ron, it’s the highlight of the week at Coopers Chase retirement village. When a local homicide sends the Thursday Murder Club crime-solving in real time, this quick-witted group of senior citizens will use all their cunning to solve their most thrilling case yet. Filled with dry humor and unique characters, this murder mystery is one of the best and certainly the funniest I've ever had the pleasure of reading.
Anastasia
Black Mirror fans, this is for you. As soon as I picked this book up, I couldn't put it down. Blake Crouch has created a novel that deals with matters of human relationship and of the heart while also not losing any of his masterful, approachable high sci-fi. I haven't fell so in love with a book in such a long time and the ending STILL has me thinking about it at least once a month.
Jess
Set in the ‘50s, When Women Were Dragons is a story about misogyny and, most of all, how keeping quiet about it won’t change anything. During the Mass Dragoning of 1955, tons of women just up and left their jobs, families, and lives when they -poof- turned into dragons. Barnhill has crafted an extremely powerful story about rising up and speaking out, which could not be more timely.
Anna
Hernan Diaz’s fantastic second novel opens with a novel-within-a-novel—Bonds by the fictional author Harold Vanner—about a reclusive millionaire and his wife. The following sections refract, reflect, reframe, and undermine that novel and one another, as we learn about the people and events that inspired Vanner. Trust is a kaleidoscopic portrait of American wealth and the individuals who hoard it, full of unreliable narrators and mysteries that deepen even as they’re solved.
Timothy
Ada Limón’s poetry is some of my favorite to recommend to long-time poetry lovers and new poetry readers alike. Her newest collection is no exception. Reckoning with living in a world where suffering and joy, beauty and loss are all held together in the palm of the same hand, The Hurting Kind, is the kind of book that found me right when I needed it most. I hope it meets you wherever you are too.
Claire
It’s a yearly occurrence for Henry to capture my heart with her books–and Book Lovers certainly did. From both the nods to–and subversions of–movie tropes, to the references to the literary world that backdrop Charlie and Nora’s slow unraveling of each other, I was as head over heels for them as they were for each other. A tender love story full of all the banter you could wish for, paired with the joy found in cherishing your partner’s dreams.
Jenna
The story-telling cleric Chih encounters three shape-shifting tiger sisters one heart-pounding night and--while avoiding getting eaten--gleans the love story of the tigress Ho Thi Thao and her human wife Scholar Dien. Chih shares their version of the legendary story, while the tiger sisters share their version. Full of stunning prose, sweeping romance, captivating storytelling, and an interesting narrative of truth that this series is known for.
Jenna
Jos Charles' last book, feeld, was the first time I ever thought, "I want to memorize this whole book so it's always nearby." Her new book, a Year & other poems, is just as astounding, the poems charged like the moment before static shock, documenting losses, fears, and longings both personal and collective. Time pulses irrevocably in the daybook that is the long title sequence. I remain deeply moved by how carefully and intentionally Charles selects and places each syllable on the page, and by how that care extends to us as readers.
Timothy
This debut poetry collection recounts seismic shifts–a cancer diagnosis following the birth of her child–with searing honesty and gorgeous lyricism. DesAutels’ poems follow illness, recovery, motherhood and all the life that happens amid such earth-shaking moments. Throughout the collection, DesAutels shifts between the dangerous, the familiar and where they intersect, be it in the natural world, the home, or within the body itself. In addition to being stunningly written, the whole collection is at once a gut punch and a healing song, and a journey well worth embarking on.
Claire
Irby brings a reality to what we call life. Each chapter forms its own essay, revolving around Irby’s love interests (failed and flourishing), her body (and its odd mechanisms of reminding her it’s working…or not), and her humor (which despite the ups and downs, stays hilariously consistent). Irby’s compassion for the human experience is tucked neatly into all this, centering her insecurities in a way that can only lead to compassion for our ridiculous little moments that make up this life.
Carolyn
In poems that reference "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Virginia Woolf with the same ease as noise music and Star Trek, Bianca Stone's latest collection looks at the dark things that live in us all—shame, doubt, addiction—and reminds us that even Christ spent "forty days in the desert / with what he thought was the Devil / but was really just himself." Here’s the moral questioning of Dante and Milton updated with a contemporary gallows humor about the twin existential fears of climate change and capitalism. "That's purgatory, baby."
Timothy
As thrilling as it is to think about wildlife in the city, the sad fact is that it highlights how humans encroach on the natural habitats and habits of the wild ones. Science writer Mary Roach’s new book for adults, Fuzz, looks at the disruption and danger caused by the two worlds converging. In her wildly entertaining manner, she reports on the chaos that ensues ‘when nature breaks the law’. But whose law? The law of nature? The law of science? The law of humankind?
Collette
Folklorist Maria Tatar explores the role of female characters and archetypes from our best known and oft-repeated stories, drawing from ancient tales to modern literature, re-tellings, and social movements. Surveying texts spanning from The Odysseyto Madeline Miller’s Circe, this fascinating read invites us to reengage with and reimagine the heroines we thought we knew, and how their stories shape our world.
Claire
The introduction is titled “Animalish”: my new favorite adjective! This lively collection of essays by Susan Orlean explores human/animal relationships. Although I picked it up for the animal side of the story, I was blown away by her observations about humans. From backyard chicken farmers to show-dog breeders, from hoarders to conservationists, she covers them all with grace and humor. A thought provoking book that will inspire you to take a closer look at your own animalish universe.
Collette
A tender, unflinching story about three unexpectedly intertwined women: one runaway trans girl, a former violinist who sold her soul to a demon, and an alien who’s new to Earth. Katrina is struggling to find her place in the world, but with help from her violin instructor, she’ll find her voice – if Shizuka doesn’t sell Katrina’s soul to hell. Filled with the magic of music and good donuts, romance, and found family, this is a defiantly joyful novel.
Jenna
I love Ross Gay's writing so much. The prose pieces in The Book of Delights are delightful, but they're also complicated, profound, funny, sad, and so much more. A lot like life. Poet Ross Gay avoids saccharine, Hallmark-style sentimentality and finds the gritty, wonderful depths of delight, gratitude, and joy. Ross Gay's books are my answer to most unanswerable questions.
TIMOTHY
“I couldn’t put this book down” is a phrase used so often, we barely blink at it. But to be caught in the pages of a book and never want to leave really is a rare and powerful magic. The House in the Cerulean Sea bestowed that level of enchantment on me. This endearing and entertaining story has everything I want in a comforting fantasy read: whimsy, a cast of misfit characters, a smidge of mystery, a dash of romance, and a whole lot of heart.
CLAIRE
Local author! Local press! Bao Phi's poems are frank and affecting. I admire the tenderness with which he writes about the joys and challenges of being a man and raising a daughter—especially in America, especially as a Vietnamese American. If you want to read more poetry, this book is an excellent place to start.
TIMOTHY
Le Guin is one of the greatest American writers of the last century and this is one of her many masterpieces. Like all of her best work, it takes some “what if?” questions—especially about gender and culture—to their logical endpoints, while also simply telling a very good story. I don’t have enough space here to explain how much I love this book.
TIMOTHY
Gifty is a brilliant neuroscientist who was raised evangelical, studying reward-seeking behavior in mice. As she cares for her mother who struggles with depression, she confronts issues of race, grief, addiction, mental illness, immigration, religion, and faith, all through the lens of her own experiences and her Ghanaian-American family in Alabama. Completely different from Gyasi’s debut Homegoing, but just as stunning and epic in its depth and the array of subjects it so eloquently tackles.
Drew
Reading each chapter in Ford’s sparkling debut, with its shifting points of view, is like sifting through a box of old, faded photos. In her story of four generations of Cherokee women, we see how home, both the place and the people within, forges bonds strong enough to withstand all manner of struggle and disappointment. There is little romanticism here, but the book at its core is a real love story.
Katie
Benson and Mike are in a complicated, possibly-failing relationship when Mike’s mother Mitsuko arrives for a visit from Tokyo, and a day later he leaves to say goodbye to his dying and estranged father in Osaka. After meeting for the first time, Benson and Mitsuko are stuck living together in a small apartment in Houston. Through the alternating perspectives of Benson and Mike, Washington lovingly explores the changing and sometimes challenging relationships between partners, parents and their adult children, and friends. The cities of Houston and Osaka are so present they are almost characters, and I loved the descriptions of food and cooking throughout. This book has stayed with me in the best way.
Drew
This beautiful novel is a story within a story, looping back on itself through time. These stories are protected by those who are willing to give their lives for them, and many have. Zachary is searching for these stories and the door to their sanctuary without even knowing it. His door is waiting for him, and with the help of two strangers, he becomes part of a world he knows nothing about. Yet it has been speaking to him his whole life.
-Anna
The Name of the Wind is one of my top-five favorite fantasy novels. After our protagonist Kvothe suffers a violent tragedy in childhood he commits his life to finding the perpetrators, mythical beings the rest of the world does not believe exist. Along the way his many adventures and challenges distinguish him as the greatest wizard the world has ever known, he himself becoming the stuff of legend. It is the first of a fun and fantastic series, make sure to grab book two (The Wise Man's Fear) as well!
Kristen
I'll be honest, I initially found this book a bit off-putting. Eleanor, this story's recluse heroine, is quite socially idiosyncratic. But as you stick with Eleanor's blunders and maladaptive tendencies, clues about why Eleanor seems to be such an unusual human begin to fit together. The result is a deeply funny ode to emerging from the depths of loneliness and opening one's heart.
Kara
Barnhill masterfully expands from her typical work in this eclectic collection of eerie stories. Ranging from the tale of a widow's love affair with a Sasquatch to the life of a girl destined to be a revolutionary pirate; these stories are some of the most imaginative I've read. An extraordinary mix of fantasy, magical realism, science fiction and folk-inspired stories, this book would be a versatile gift.
-Kara
Joe Hill has written everything from novels to comic books, but he really hit the nail on the head with this collection of short stories. Ranging from supernatural to horror, each story is exquisitely crafted to be wholly different from the last. Some are shocking, some sad, and some sent shivers down my spine. This collection would be perfect for that person on your list who doesn’t mind getting a little spooked.
Anna
Do you have an uncle/cousin/friend who you simply CANNOT shop for because they like movies but no one watches DVDs in 2019? This is the book for you! Find out the answers to questions you never knew you had in a set of illustrated essays for the ages. This book would be rated R for language and H for hilarious. “We do great with the ‘don’t normally read books’ crowd.” -Shea Serrano
Linda
Sigrid Nunez, winner of the National Book Award (2018 ‘The Friend), is the perfect author to bring to life the small period of time during which Leonard and Virginia Woolf lived with the encroaching danger of Nazi Germany and hosted a marmoset named Mitz—first as a sickly guest, then as a constant companion to Leonard. I’m always curious about the private lives of famous authors and Leonard and Virginia Woolf are such an iconic writing couple. In the early 1900’s they were the ring leaders of the ‘Bloomsbury Group’ of writers and artists. They created their own publishing company: Hogarth Press and mentored young whippersnappers such as T.S. Eliot. This book, culled from diaries, biographies and autobiographies gives us a snapshot of a truly likable couple who maintain rigorous writing/editing schedules but make room for the niceties of Sussex, England circa 1930. This is the minutiae of the worst pet in the world (Mitz) and her fierce attachment to Leonard. Virginia’s acerbic asides are hilarious, weirdly intimate and endearing.
Collette
I got this book as a gift a few years ago and couldn't put it down till I finished it. This is a compelling and inspiring account of a woman making a path in STEM, and Hope Jahren's story of perseverance and passion masterfully mixes memoir and science. In fact, her clear, clever explanations of biology just might have made me contemplate changing my career and becoming a botanist.
Paige
It's like Handmaid's Tale; except this time, women have all the power. A modern science fiction that is so perceptive and relevant, it is hard to distinguish from reality. It starts with an innocent playground fight, then escalates to a national emergency due to all the cases of injured men. Some of these altercations are involuntary; yet, once some women discover they have the power, they seek vengeance.
Beth
This book sat on top of my “to read” pile for three years before I finally picked it up. I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. Yang’s duet with her father is a lyrical, yet unvarnished recounting of their family’s journey from Laos to the United States and their ensuing years in the Twin Cities. Both beautiful and thought-provoking, The Song Poet is an essential read for all Minnesotans.
Katie
Whether you’re well-acquainted with the world of Earthsea or are visiting for the first time, the 50th anniversary omnibus edition of Le Guin’s classic fantasy series is a must-own. Immerse yourself in a realm where magic springs from truth, names hold great power, and dragons are capable of far more than breathing fire. Handsome new illustrations, personally selected by the author, will further engage your imagination along the way.
Rachel
A host of characters makes for a most colorful tale of life in hard-times Greenstone, MN. Virgil Wander, proprietor of the failing Empress Theater, takes the ride of a life in his old Pontiac as he plunges over a cliff into the frigid lake below.
Barely surviving, Virgil finds a new path in life—a rebirth, if you will. Because of the friends he never knew he had, the “soft old heads-down” version of Virgil is on extended leave, discovering new roads. Come along for the ride! Amen.Ellen
In a story for the literature lover you know, William Tyce gifts us with a glossary of his young life. From ABSENCE to JELLYBEANS, each entry is a puzzle piece introducing and developing key figures in his story: a gambling uncle, a
balloon-chasing best friend, and a missing father. Follow Will as he grows up and embarks on a journey downriver to find his father. The tale woven throughout is built through clear-eyed prose and the startling and earnest insights of its protagonist.
Through it all, William learns of the power language has to shape and define the world around him.Paige
Dear Tina, Dear Kristian...their letters share all that seems important when “the time ahead and the time behind is more or less in balance.” Theirs are thoughts of plans never fulfilled. And yet, we readers are comforted in the elegance of their
penned correspondence. (Aren’t we all in need of someone we care for?) The museum is open every day. As curator of the museum, Kristian invites Tina to “please come!” Join in on this memorable romance between two strangers, one from East Anglia, the other from Denmark. There is an enormity in the might-have-been!Ellen
Le Guin is one of the greatest American writers of the last century and this is one of her many masterpieces. Like all of her best work, it takes some “what if?” questions—especially about gender and culture—to their logical endpoints, while also simply telling a very good story. I don’t have enough space here to explain how much I love this book.
TIMOTHY
This book has stayed with me for years. Walls impeccably recounts the story of growing up with her unique, nomadic family. Jeanette’s mother was an artist who encouraged the four Walls children to be independent, so she could focus on painting. Her father was an exceptionally brilliant man who taught them about physics, philosophy and geology, but became reckless and abusive when drinking. Thus, the Walls family would run away from their problems, always hoping to build a better life in their self-designed Glass Castle. At its core, this is a heartbreaking story of family and resilience.
Kara