Stephen King
[isbn]
Stephen King sets a macabre table, inviting you to feast on a traditional hard-boiled detective story, with his signature flourishes of horror sifted into the mix. First introduced in King's novel, Mr. Mercedes, detective Holly Gibney, recovering from the death of an icy mother, is hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. What initially appears to be a simmering, straightforward case rapidly erupts into a chaotic mystery... (read more)
Recommended by Gary C. G.
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Kimberly Lemming
[isbn]
A romantasy that will satisfy readers of either genre, and give them a little something extra, too. She’s a spice trader who isn’t interested in adventures. He’s a demon, but that’s not as bad as it sounds. Off they go to defeat a witch and maybe… fall in love?
Recommended by Keith M.
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Kiley Reid
[isbn]
Reid’s second novel follows a cast of messy and charming characters whose lives intersect at the University of Arkansas. There are so many awkward and cringe-worthy moments that I live for in a book and it gets uncomfortable in different ways for everyone. I love the delicate yet biting nature of Reid’s work that reels the reader in to a world that's relatable and engrossing.
Recommended by Vicky K.
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Julie Myerson
[isbn]
Oh man, this book broke me — in the best way. A beautiful, blistering autofiction about a woman doing what she can to, without being able to do very much, to look after a daughter, while also working to reconcile her own history with her mother, her art, and the world. Fans of Rachel Cusk and Sheila Heti will love this one.
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Elaine Lee, Michael Wm Kaluta
[isbn]
Such a fun read!! Wacky, crass, and full of dark humor. A colorful, bright, and twisted take on space opera that leaves you laughing out loud. Check out Dimension 20's Starstruck Odyssey D&D campaign after reading (DMed by the author's son) to continue to explore this eccentric galaxy!
Recommended by madmythandy
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David Mazzucchelli
[isbn]
This book changed the way I look at the world. It explores how memories change as we age and look back at them with more and newer understanding. Mazzucchelli challenges you to change your perspective in more ways than one. It's a fantastic read that I keep coming back to.
Recommended by madmythandy
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Eliza Barry Callahan
[isbn]
As soon as I picked up this book, I couldn’t put it down. The writing is fresh and sharp and quietly devastating. After the narrator, a woman who makes money by scoring short films, is diagnosed with Sudden Deafness, her relationship to the world and people around her shifts. As she attempts to understand what her new circumstances mean and how to reconstruct a meaningful life for herself within these freshly drawn limits, she thinks about music... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Mircea Cartarescu and Sean Cotter
[isbn]
You might not think you need a 630-page Romanian surrealist novel to take over your life for a month, but I'm here to encourage the incineration of your to-read list in favor of this sui generis trip through the underbelly of 1970s/80s Romania. From the childhood visions of a schoolteacher with a predilection for termites and dreams of revelation, to meandering notes on philosophy, undecipherable manuscripts, and the fourth dimension, this is a... (read more)
Recommended by Nadia N.
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Lorraine Heath
[isbn]
How can you go wrong with a woman bent on revenge? This time, it's Regina Leyland. She was jilted at the altar and now, five years later, she's writing a scandalous, "fictional" tell-all under a pen name about "her" seduction and ruination. The book's "Lord K" bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Knightly, who's furious to have his good reputation questioned. Fake reconciliation between the two leads to unquestionable sparks with a second chance... (read more)
Recommended by Mecca A.
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Jacqueline Carey
[isbn]
Come back to the world of Terre d'Ange, a land full of secrets. Relive the action of the epic fantasy, Kushiel's Dart, now told from the eyes of Joscelin. Kushiel's Dart followed bond servant Phedre as she rises through the court as a courtesan/spy, and the betrayals that land her and her guard, Joscelin, in the hand of the enemy as they fight to save their country. Cassiel's Servant is Joscelin's experiences from their... (read more)
Recommended by Mecca A.
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E.J. Koh
[isbn]
E. J. Koh’s debut novel, The Liberators is her follow-up to the stunning memoir, The Magical Language of Others. I was so excited to read the novel; I started as soon as I got the galley, and couldn’t put it down. The story covers decades and contents, and follows one family as its members try to figure out what it means to choose a lover, a life, a home. The relationships between the characters are so lovingly and beautifully... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Bill Watterson and John Kascht
[isbn]
The Mysteries is an unsettling and eerily familiar fable about a world that loses direction. The images are gorgeous, wonderfully evocative, and just a little disturbing. This is a book to reread many times and to put its message into your own frame of reference and keep it close to your heart.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Isabel Greenberg
[isbn]
One of my all-time favorite books! Interwoven short stories about sisterhood and community. The art is absolutely gorgeous too!
Recommended by madmythandy
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ND Stevenson, Nate Stevenson, Noelle Stevenson
[isbn]
I will read anything by ND Stevenson. This book gives you the warm fuzzies and restores your faith that your queer love is out there. A must read.
Recommended by madmythandy
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Ross Gay
[isbn]
Ross Gay is a beautiful human, and reading this book makes you feel like he’s your good friend. These essays will restore your hope for humanity and remind you of the exquisite joy the natural world brings. This book makes a perfect gift.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Alexandra Tanner
[isbn]
So deliciously and expertly existential. To the point where I've begun noting every minutia of my day like they're somehow new and strange and connected and everything is an opportunity and nothing matters anymore and I want to hate that but it's kind of freeing and why am I desperately wanting to pick fights with anti-vax moms on Instagram?
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Lorrie Moore
[isbn]
Lorrie Moore has always been a writer whose words root into my veins, setting up camp for months after I think I’m done with them. I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home — a book about love and death and passion and grief and how all of it can be messy and muddy and bad but also sometimes, somehow, occasionally good and worthwhile — has already found a home in my bones. This book is so beautifully written and filled with such wild pathos... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Chris L Terry, James Spooner Spooner
[isbn]
This anthology of modern fiction, nonfiction, art, and comics describe punk today and gives a broader perspective as it delves into all the subgenres, styles, and personalities within Black Punk that are thriving and growing. The anthology approach to this book mixes generations and medias in a way that perfectly reflects the contents of the book and the scene they are highlighting. This technique also allows music lovers, history aficionados,... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Barbara Kingsolver
[isbn]
This is a beautiful, timely, and compelling book that does NOT require you to reread David Copperfield to appreciate it. Just know that Kingsolver is at her best, showing us the downside of the foster care system and the destruction to young lives and communities wrought by easy access to opioids. Always a superb storyteller, Kingsolver manages to break hearts while still offering glimmers of hope.
Recommended by Marianne T
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LouAnne Brickhouse, Jennifer Rea
[isbn]
I devoured this book in one sitting and desperately want more. The pacing is perfect, with great use of suspense. I am also a major history nerd, so I love when vampire media uses historical figures and details in interesting ways that are genuinely important to the plot, not just as a window dressing. For my vampire diaries fans out there: if you watched that show, but wished Bonnie and/or Carolyn was the main character, I think you'll like this... (read more)
Recommended by Kathleen F
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Edward Cahill
[isbn]
This historical novel captures the complexities of life as a gay man living in New York City in the early 1960s. In part a romance, in part a mystery, Disorderly Men is a thrilling and infuriating, but ultimately hopeful, read.
Recommended by Adam P.
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Lydia Davis
[isbn]
Lydia Davis's stories absolutely hum with strange beauty — contemplative, inventive, confident in their own singular power. This is the kind of book I want to throw across the room for being too good and also hug to my heart for existing. And it's only available at libraries and independent bookstores like Powell's!!
Recommended by Claire A.
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Nona Fernandez, Natasha Wimmer
[isbn]
Chilean novelist Fernandez weaves her own constellation in this book-length essay that roots her mother's brain scans to the stars, to national grief, to loss and the fragility of memory, and to what is left behind for the living. A slow, deep breath in shimmering prose — one of my faves of the year.
Recommended by SitaraG
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Sigrid Nunez
[isbn]
Another stunner from the inimitable Sigrid Nunez. The Vulnerables is a meditative, wry book that picks apart what it means to live in a world as unnerving as ours currently is, and what it means to create art (or at least, try to create art) in the midst of everything. The narrator is stuck in New York City during the height of the pandemic, caring for a friend of a friend’s parrot, trying to make meaning even as her brain feels like... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Ben Lerner
[isbn]
For poets who hesitate to call themselves poets, this essay is a reminder of the futility of our beloved form. Lerner incisively guides the reader through transcendent and terrible poems, all of which are failures of a different kind, only some of which succeed by virtue of their failure. I'm partial to Lerner's idea that every poet harbors some resentment towards poetry, and every poetry hater masks a certain envy, maybe even a curiosity, of... (read more)
Recommended by Nadia N.
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Catherine Leroux and Susan Ouriou
[isbn]
This incredible work tackles problems both fictional and very real. Alongside the poisoned rivers and regenerative houses, Leroux also beautifully addresses ongoing racial and economic injustice, pollution, and violence. However, in this same struggle, we find strength, resilience, and power in community. In the strange world we live in today, this book is important and a great reminder that we are strongest as a community.
Recommended by Aster A.
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Gerardo Samano Cordova
[isbn]
Don't be fooled by the cover — this is a love story. After Magos takes extreme measures to try and recover a piece of her dead son, something inhuman is born in his stead, changing the family forever. A messy, queer exploration of grief, identity, and a family trying to love and understand each other and failing and trying anyway... I cried.
Recommended by SitaraG
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Heather Fawcett
[isbn]
Besides a grumpy, young professor, this book has FAIRIES and adventure, romance, mystery… and did I say FAIRIES? This is a highly entertaining read that I thoroughly enjoyed. (And even the professor isn’t so grumpy in the end!)
Recommended by Marianne T
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Arkady Martine
[isbn]
The most hardcore, creative, complex, compelling world I've had the privilege of inhabiting all year. Mahit travels to the Teixcalaanli empire as ambassador from her tiny independent space station in hopes of keeping the massive, politically hungry neighbor from annexing them, only to somersault into loads of trouble. A phenomenal thought experiment in the tradition of Le Guin or Herbert on the seductive pull of empire, the fraught nature of... (read more)
Recommended by SitaraG
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Travis Baldree
[isbn]
Bookshops and Bonedust is a love letter to the book all wrapped up in a cozy fantasy setting. I fell in love with the dreamy coastal town of Murk, the hodgepodge of memorable characters, and with the joy of finding the right title at the right time. This book left me longing for books I've never read (and for all of Travis Baldree's future books)!
Recommended by Lindsay P
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Roberto Bolaño
[isbn]
Deliriously good. A kaleidoscopic vision of 1970s Mexico City whose heart lies with its young poets. Rich in character and circumstance, with fibrous, idiosyncratic narratives that slither madly and swallow themselves. At once a bildungsroman, a road novel, a collection of worldclass short stories, a book of literary criticism, and a thinly veiled autobiography, The Savage Detectives effortlessly goes where few novels have dared.
Recommended by Nadia N.
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Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner
[isbn]
Lovers of Michael Mann's quintessential heist film Heat will be absolutely riveted by the sequel novel, Heat 2, co-authored by Mann and Meg Gardiner. The book's plot is a pincer, equal parts prequel and sequel to the former film's depiction of robbery and homicide in 1990s Los Angeles. A nuanced and detail-driven tale of criminality, Heat 2 exquisitely depicts the ethos shared by thieves and those tasked with... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
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Bryan Washington
[isbn]
Bryan Washington's Lot and Memorial were two of my favorite queer fiction books of the past five years. I've also loved the food writing Washington's done. Family Meal combines his interests by telling the story of two queer friends examining their history and figuring out their future, while working side by side at a family bakery.
Recommended by Adam P.
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Brandon Stosuy and Rose Lazar
[isbn]
I’m a crier. I cry easily and often, and for reasons ranging from unwarranted (can’t open a jar) to unavoidable (unexpectedly hearing the song I listened to over and over and over again as a thirteen-year-old wallowing in the heartache of an unrequited love), and even though the aftershock of every outburst lingers on my face long after (please tell me your home remedies for puffy eyes), I love a good cry. So, when I heard about this... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Liz Marsham, CRITICAL ROLE , Jesse Szewczyk
[isbn]
Stories and food are inseparable, and the food of Exandria is just as good as its stories — truly “exquisite” actually! Just look at the gorgeous pictures, from “Slayer’s Cake” to “Jester’s Sweet Feast,” and your mouth will water. I’m going to start with the chickpea version of “Yasha’s Bug Bites,” washed down with a “Ruby of the Sea” cocktail, while I plan fun dinners for my RPG friends.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Oksana Vasyakina and Elina Alter
[isbn]
This book absolutely delivers on the promise of its simple title: it is a bruising, beautiful book that I couldn’t put down, even as each page pulsed with the heartache of existing in an unforgiving world. The narrator, Oksana, is a queer, Russian poet whose mother has recently passed. As she travels to their former home of Siberia, she thinks about her past with her mom and her mom’s tumultuous relationships; Oksana’s own complicated romantic... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Sean Michaels
[isbn]
A famed poet gets an offer to collaborate with an advanced AI on a book length poem for a large sum of money. She accepts. This exhilarating novel explores what it really means to be an artist, a parent, and a consciousness. Anyone anxious about AI should read this book.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Isle McElroy
[isbn]
Isle McElroy has taken a well-used trope and breathed fresh life into it. People Collide has exactly what I look for in literary fiction: intriguing characters, keen insights, and great pacing, all in service of addressing big themes. This is an immensely enjoyable and thought-provoking novel.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Lauren Groff
[isbn]
I read this book in three delirious days and was so frustrated whenever I had to do anything other than read it! Absolutely stunning — on its surface an adventure, at its beating heart a story of human limitation and fire to survive, of how and why one claims a home, a name, a self, of the divine, and so much more.
Recommended by Claire A.
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Roz Chast
[isbn]
Supposedly, describing your dreams is a faux pas that will bore anyone unlucky enough to be within earshot. This is just another rule that doesn’t apply to Roz Chast. Her new book explores the experience and meaning of dreams with characteristic wit and insight.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Manuel Munoz
[isbn]
I usually struggle to finish short story collections, but the expertly woven connections between some of these narratives immediately drew me in and held my attention till the last page. Each story is so convincingly portrayed that you could easily forget it's a work of fiction.
Recommended by Rudy K.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Given the context of the story, it may be in poor taste to state that I devoured this book in a sitting; however, that makes the statement no less true. This is easily one of King's most intriguing plots: a serpentine supernatural thriller awash in compelling character arcs and teeming with tension and terror. This book is most certainly a worthy successor to the Mr. Mercedes trilogy — and does fans of Holly Gibney good to see her begin to truly... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
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David Lehman, Elaine Equi
[isbn]
If you’re like me, and you didn’t get around to reading all those journals and new books of poetry that you meant to last year, then you’ll appreciate this slim book of stunningly good poems. You’ll find familiar names, ranging from Armentrout to Zapruder, but a lot of talented new voices as well. I look forward to this book each year, and 2023 is truly stellar!
Recommended by Marianne T
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Matthew Zapruder
[isbn]
This is a beautiful book that talks about the making of a poem while sharing a very intimate portrait of the author as he struggles with the weight of a child diagnosed with autism and a planet that’s fragile and failing. He responds by putting word after word on the page, and we get to read it all.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Stephanie Burt
[isbn]
Stephanie Burt is a talented poet who is really, really good at talking about poems, as she does in this friendly, informative guide to the pleasure of reading and interacting with individual poems, and by extension with “poetry.” With chapters like “Feelings,” “Wisdom,” and “Community,” this book provides a fresh approach that will inform those newer to poetry and will delight everyone.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Andrea Dworkin, Johanna Fateman, Amy Scholder
[isbn]
Legitimately one of the most important books in this store, from one of the greatest thinkers of the late-twentieth century. Andrea Dworkin's writing now feels prophetic, and is at least as relevant and necessary now as when she first published — and this book is currently the only way her work can be read in print. Including essays from the seminal "Woman Hating," the powerful "Intercourse," the shockingly insightful "Right-Wing Women," among... (read more)
Recommended by Devan M
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Melissa Broder
[isbn]
Melissa Broder's novel about an author dealing with her ailing dad and husband while being lost in the desert searching for a magical cactus speaks to me. Grief is a weird desert that allows you to get lost and parched while you're trying to find magic you thought you lost.
Recommended by Vicky K.
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Alexis M Smith
[isbn]
Glaciers technically spans one day in the life of Isabel, a twenty-something woman who works in the basement of the Central Library in downtown Portland, furnishes her life with vintage postcards and thrift store collections, and gently yearns for her coworker. Emotionally, it spans decades, visiting the memories of her childhood in Alaska and imagined stories of her secondhand treasures triggered by her movements through the day. While... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Ann Patchett
[isbn]
You're in the thrall of a fine storyteller when a book that's essentially a family conversation becomes impossible to put down. This is a love story and a timely family tale that calls out memory and the ways we edit it (or does it edit us?).
Recommended by Marianne T
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Sam Rebelein
[isbn]
Okay, so. SO. I honestly have no idea how to accurately sum up Edenville. This book has it all! Struggling author? Check. Strained relationships? Check. Massive amounts of gore and humor? Check. This is going to be the perfect Halloween read and I will be recommending it to my fellow horror enthusiasts!
Recommended by Chris P.
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Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
[isbn]
Just imagine Baba Yaga as a youthful Slavic goddess, fighting for good and maybe falling in love, all during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. There's something here for anyone who enjoys history, mythology, even romance. I could not put this book down!
Recommended by Marianne T
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Raven Leilani
[isbn]
A dark, literary, funny, impossible-to-put-down book, Luster is centered on 23-year-old Edie. The novel covers a period of her life intersecting with a much older lover, his wife, and their adopted teenage daughter. In phenomenal prose (Edie's descriptions and observations about the world are impeccable), Raven Leilani has captured complex, intimate ways that people help and hurt each other, the drudgery of modern workplaces and the gig... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Zadie Smith
[isbn]
A rollicking work of historical fiction, Zadie Smith takes readers from Charles Dickens’s London to colonial Jamaica and back. Asking big questions about social roles, public morality, the value of art, and the usefulness of truth; Smith’s latest is entertaining and thought-provoking. A joy to read!
Recommended by Keith M.
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Eliza MacArthur
[isbn]
Hank is the anti-hero we didn't know we needed. He's a big guy with an even bigger heart and once he's committed to you, he's yours forever. I love that a book about witches and vampires has some of the most realistic conversations about loving yourself and finding your special one! I'll never look at recliners the same way again!
Five Flannel Stars out of five!
Recommended by Jennifer V.
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Tom Stoppard
[isbn]
Follow Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Hamlet, as they live through the events of the play. However, from the first scene, it is clear that what they're experiencing is not quite reality... after all, what are the odds of a coin landing heads-up ninety-two times in a row?
Witty, bittersweet, and strange, this play is a breathtaking reflection on art and storytelling — as well as one of the most brilliantly surreal... (read more)
Recommended by Edme G.
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Linda Medley
[isbn]
Castle Waiting is an incredible comic series. It follows a motley cast of characters who have — through one way or another — found themselves at the eponymous castle. They include a retired plague doctor, a scamp of a nun, a stoic blacksmith, the frazzled stork-headed caretaker, and a woman on the run. Their lives together and their pasts apart make up the rich story of Castle Waiting. While the setting and characters are... (read more)
Recommended by Edme G.
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Cleo Qian
[isbn]
I feel like I read this debut collection in one, fast, maniacal gulp. Filled with displacement and redemption, video games and karaoke, Cleo Qian’s writing is unnerving, strange, delicious — all of the things you might want out of a collection with this title and this cover. I promise, once you’ve read the first story (called “Chicken. Film. Youth.” — a title that’s a short story in and of itself), you’ll be all in. For fans of Ling Ma and... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Mizuki Tsujimura
[isbn]
One of those books written with the same pastel languor of impressionist art. Somehow Tsujimura manages to reach through each page and gently take the hand of your inner child, tenderly reminding you of the person you were and what those early friendships meant. Equally melancholic and hopeful, recklessly unafraid of softness, Lonely Castle in the Mirror did a number on me.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Jen DeLuca
[isbn]
Lulu "girl-bossed" too close to the sun. Luckily, when she fell back down to Earth, she landed in the arms of a hot guitar player. Not only is this book adorable, but it also let me live out my fantasy of quitting my job and following a band around the country.
Recommended by Lindsay P
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Chengen Wu, Julia Lovell
[isbn]
If the impulsive, incorrigible, immortal kung-fu monkey doesn't sell you, maybe the lovely allegory for enlightenment will. One of the most fun and gripping classics out there.
Recommended by Edme G.
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Stephen O'Donnell
[isbn]
Fine artist Stephen O’Donnell turns his artist’s eye toward the act of putting story on the page in this debut collection. With lush imagery and poetic turns of phrase, these stories are a moving — at times beautifully melancholy — meditation on the ways we strive to find kinship in the world.
Recommended by Gigi L.
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Mona Awad
[isbn]
You would never guess that Tom Cruise, skincare, jellyfish, cults, and roses would fit together, but here we are. When Belle’s mother dies mysteriously, she follows clues to figure out what happened, and it ultimately leads her down a dangerous path of the pursuit of beauty and youth.
Recommended by Vicky K.
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Anna Burke
[isbn]
Compass Rose gave me the story I didn’t know I was looking for. I’m always interested in narratives where being queer isn’t the focal point, but is still intrinsic to the characters. This was exactly what I wanted. Rose is a complex protagonist with character growth that surprised me in the best ways. Her relationship with Miranda (the hot pirate captain) is an important part of the plot, but it’s not the entire plot. The supporting... (read more)
Recommended by Carlee B
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Kwame Alexander
[isbn]
Go to page 81 and read "Good Night." This look into his marriage... it's so relatable. Kwame Alexander's memoir reads like a love letter to his family. One that is open and honest and full of the good and bad. And at the center of it all is food. I love the mix of poetry and essays, with a sprinkling of recipes throughout. If you pick up this book, try the fried chicken on page 125. Yes, it's good.
Recommended by Rose H.
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Jean-Paul Sartre
[isbn]
Plot? No.
Brilliant character study of a mid-century French academic's unraveling existential dread? Hell yeah.
Recommended by Grace B
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Stephen King
[isbn]
For fans of King's crime novels and character studies, Billy Summers is a must read. The story's protagonist is an intriguing enigma, and the tale ranks with the best in what the action-adventure/mystery genre has to offer. Also, if you're into easter eggs, this one has a doozy.
Recommended by Shane H
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TJ Klune
[isbn]
It is very possible that I am making TJ Klune books my entire personality, but when you're gifted with characters like Ox, a loyal, fierce, strong, passionate, protective pack member, how can you blame me? I've never been more invested in the well being of characters like Ox and the rest of his packpackpack.
Recommended by Chris P.
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Lydia Kiesling
[isbn]
Mobility is a pitch-perfect look at one woman's life, a snapshot in geologic time that captures so much about how we're catastrophically harming the planet, even with the best of intentions. Lydia Kiesling gets so many precise feelings so perfectly right — workmanlike teen anxieties and activities; finding pride and ambition in a career you did not necessarily choose; prescient arcs in your personal story that only make... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Geoff Rickly
[isbn]
By far one of the best books I have ever read. This is one of those books that you want to tell everyone about because you can’t put it down, but is also so deeply personal that you want to keep it all to yourself. Rickly’s voice is stunningly creative and detailed and the world he has created here is the best modern adaptation I’ve read of any classic, but especially of Dante’s Divine Comedy. I genuinely cannot say enough good things... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Kate Beaton
[isbn]
Captivating and devastating! With unfailing humanism, Beaton chronicles the extractions — from the environment, from minority groups, from ourselves — in which we are all complicit. She finds empathy for the lonely men of the Alberta oil sands despite her mistreatment at their hands, and moments of humor and warmth despite the bleakness of her experiences. A must-read, especially if you have student loans.
Recommended by Kai B.
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Djuna and Anton Hur
[isbn]
The Korean conglomerate LK is creating an elevator into Earth’s orbit on the fictional island of Patusan, much to the displeasure of the Patusan people. This new hub of travel to and from our planet has turned their once quiet one-time stop tropical resort into a bustling gateway to the beyond. Originally planned to be a low-budget sci-fi movie, this antic novel features a maze of fake identities, neuro-implants, and political grievances from the... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Erika Kobayashi, Brian Bergstrom
[isbn]
Kobayashi continues to weave generations of women into stories of the wounds of nuclear power and the hubris of war, this time in a lyrical collection of eleven short stories. These stories follow the growth and change of nuclear power and how it mirrors the lives of the women in these stories. Though these generations are simply trying to live their lives, they each become their own perfect example of the irrevocable consequences of... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Maru Ayase and Haydn Trowell
[isbn]
The Forest Brims Over is the first of Ayase's novels to be translated into English, and both the themes and writing style remind me of Han Kang's The Vegetarian. Ayase's approach to examining gender roles and exploitation in the literary world via magical realism was interwoven throughout in a way that never felt jarring to the plot. I appreciated the varied perspectives within this book and the different self-reflections this... (read more)
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Alexandra Rowland
[isbn]
I read A Taste of Gold and Iron in 2022 and loved it more each time. It’s a beautiful, character-driven fantasy romance. The fantasy world is interesting, the sprinkle of magic is just enough, and the secondary characters are wonderfully fleshed out. But the draw for me, and what brought me back again, was the two main characters: Kadou and Evemer. They both shine so brightly in this narrative; as they stumble through their (wrong) first... (read more)
Recommended by Anna B.
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Justin Torres
[isbn]
Blackouts, the long-awaited second book from Justin Torres, uses words and images to attempt to recover and illuminate stories of queer people living in the 20th century. Blackouts doesn't give its secrets away easily, or for free. Torres demands your time and focus, and earns your respect and awe. This is an experimental and moving book, sure to be read and reread in the years to come.
Recommended by Adam P.
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Fonda Lee
[isbn]
I have no idea how to do justice to this series, dear god Fonda Lee — a rip-roaring world so complex that it feels impossibly real, Lee's series is as heartfelt and complicated as her characters and each book somehow raises the emotional and literal stakes of the last until the last jaw dropping page. Slick, sexy, and smart as hell, perfect for fans of Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy and Ang Lee movies.
Recommended by SitaraG
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Roxanne Moreil, Cyril Pedrosa
[isbn]
This is a high fantasy graphic novel that isn't being talked about enough. The art by Cyril Pedrosa is intricate and stunning and reminiscent of Fantasia and the earliest animated Disney movies. I was immediately engrossed in this fast-paced story of political upheaval and in the lives of the characters stuck in its wake. Fantasy lovers will be absolutely enthralled by this book.
Recommended by Sarah B.
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Juneau Black
[isbn]
Shady Hollow is the first in a lovely, cottagecore, cozy-murder mystery series that will satisfy your need for a fast-paced and witty amateur sleuth whodunnit.
Recommended by Sarah B.
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Victoria Goddard
[isbn]
if you're looking for doom and gloom, war, and morally gray characters, this is not the book for you. If, however, you want to read about good men trying to make the world a better place through government reform and the most profound friendship that exists, please read this book!
Recommended by Anna B.
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Victoria Goddard
[isbn]
This book should not be as good as it is. It wanders. It's lengthy. The vast majority of it is inside Kip's head, going over and over what he's feeling and what he's thinking at any given moment. But it's so good.
This is the most emotionally well-paced and cathartic book I've ever read. There were chapters where I had to reread sentences, paragraphs, pages over and over because I could not process the emotional weight fast enough. I wanted to... (read more)
Recommended by Anna B.
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Cassandra Khaw
[isbn]
Without a doubt, the most insane thing (actually and in a good way) you'll read in 112 pages. The fairy tales got everything wrong. The kids are all frankensteined, the mermaid is eating discarded body parts, and the plague doctor is the hottest character ever written. Cassandra Khaw, I love you.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Kirino, Natsuo
[isbn]
In Grotesque, Kirino shows off her ability to dive into the most deplorable corners of the human psyche and make readers want to stay there even as they're squirming to get away. The book showcases three different perspectives, all of which are unreliable in their own ways. As one reads, their grasp on the reality within the book becomes tenuous, and that sense of tension forms all of the unease and discomfort you could possibly want... (read more)
Recommended by Mar S.
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Alicia Thompson
[isbn]
With Love, From Cold World is about two coworkers at a failing, beloved, non-trademarked, winter-themed amusement park in Orlando. Lauren is all business while Asa is all fun (or is there more than meets the eye?), and they have to overcome their ongoing rivalry to come up with a wacky-yet-grounded solution to save their beloved anomaly of a workplace. And maybe... sparks fly, even in artificially cold conditions?? Alicia... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Anita Kelly
[isbn]
This book is perfect if you love: reality TV cooking competitions, non-binary and bisexual representation, and a good spicy romance!
Recommended by Jessica M.
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Anita Kelly
[isbn]
This is one of those books that feel like it's giving your soul a hug. Anita Kelly crafts such wonderful and healthy romances and this one, set on the Pacific Crest Trail, is no different! Alexei and Ben have my heart and I know that this book is one that I'll enjoy reading over and over again.
Recommended by Jessica M.
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Sabda Armandio, Lara Norgaard
[isbn]
In this incredible twist of genres, Armandio combines futuristic science fiction, crime thrillers, and surreal fiction. In the distant future, Indonesia’s crowded capital city is underwater and a novelist searches the remains of the vast city for the story of an old, infamous crime. Hunting for any trace at all of Gaspar, a private-eye-turned-criminal-mastermind plans a seemingly simple robbery of a jewelry store; however, the heist reveals a... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Bernardo Zannoni and Alex Andriesse
[isbn]
Archy is a beech marten, born into poverty, maimed by an accident, and sold into servitude by his mother. His master Solomon, a pawn-broking fox, teaches him to read and write based on knowledge he got after a bible fell on his head while he was distracted feeding on a hanged man. Unable to forget what he now knows about God, life, and death, Archy feels torn between intellect and instinct, despite desperately longing to be a “real animal.”
This... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses
[isbn]
This collection of nineteen short stories is exactly what you would expect from the author of Tender is the Flesh, and I mean that in the best way. Once again, Bazterrica drags our darkest fears to light with tales of dystopia, alienation, and violence, but in her vivid and clever style, she also manages to make you laugh. This collection is witty, disturbing, and an absolute must-read. In many ways, reading these stories gave me that... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Edith Pattou
[isbn]
A wonderful folktale retelling inspired by the oft-forgotten fairy tale, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," infused with wit, romance, and adventure!
Recommended by Grace B
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Susanna Clarke
[isbn]
This book is simple and stunning, elegant and totally engrossing. The author of the famous Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has once again created something brilliant and memorable, and I was captivated with Piranesi from the start. A perfect read for any season!
Recommended by Marianne T
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Emily Dickinson
[isbn]
What I learned from Emily — is larger than this Store* / More vivid than the Sunset Sky — and whimsical galore!
Seriously, she gave me my poetic license (and no street is
since safe).
*Powell's City of Books on Burnside
Recommended by Marianne T
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Toni Morrison
[isbn]
This is the legendary Toni Morrison’s first novel, set in her own home town of Lorrain, Ohio, in 1941. It presents the pain and consequences of racism, but also of societal notions of beauty and ugliness. Written in a variety of voices, it tells a heartbreaking and unforgettable story. If you have already read this book, then share it with a friend, and if you haven’t, now you must.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Chelsea G. Summers
[isbn]
Deliciously horrifying, A Certain Hunger is not for the faint of heart. Dorothy Daniels unapologetically recounts her murderous culinary history (à la eating her ex's organs); this is not a novel where the protagonist will attempt to justify her actions, but she sure will share the juicy details! Truly, who thought a cannibalism novel would be so enjoyable while also offering such a satirical take of food snobbery and gender? Yay for... (read more)
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Bora Chung and Anton Hur
[isbn]
What a delightfully strange short story collection! Each story is so original — often unnerving, sometimes gut-wrenching, and all in their own way a critique of capitalism and the patriarchy.
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Rebecca Yarros
[isbn]
I am absolutely obsessed with Fourth Wing in all its brutal beauty. Dragons, death, betrayal, and enemies-to-lovers spice, I really couldn't ask for more. Violet is an amazing protagonist, and her chronic illness is based off of the author's own experiences with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Reading this gave me that elusive feeling of exhilaration I'm always looking for in a book. I can't wait for the sequel!
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Amy Hempel
[isbn]
Amy Hempel was one of the first authors recommended to me by a coworker when I started at Powell's almost twenty years ago. I remember coming to work the day after I finished At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom and grabbing a copy of every other Hempel book from the Blue Room. Her writing is a feat, a marvel, a gift, and The Collected Stories — which combines all of her published work from 1985–2005 — will save you the inevitable... (read more)
Recommended by Tove H.
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Katherine Center
[isbn]
Hannah Brooks is probably the last person you'd expect to be a bodyguard. That's why, when action star Jack Stapleton needs someone to protect him from his stalker, she's the perfect choice. The two agree to enter into a fake relationship to spare Jack's mom's fragile state of mind. Hilarity ensues. I mean, how can you be afraid of cows? This book gave me the giggles and I really needed the giggles.
Recommended by Rose H.
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Sharon Olds
[isbn]
Once I rode the bus with Sharon Olds, and she was as her poems are — friendly, conversational, painstakingly honest, and wisely humorous too. Her work gave me permission to tell whoever would listen that I had something to say, just an ordinary human on an ordinary day. And so I wrote and published poems and now I can say, thank you, Sharon. Read her poetry and you too will be changed.
Recommended by Marianne T
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Sara Desai
[isbn]
After reading The Marriage Game series, I was far too excited for another title by Sarah Desi. And she did not disappoint. The protagonist, Simi Chopra, doesn't have a lot of things. But she does have a mountain of student loan debt, a flooded apartment, and willingness to commit a crime to keep her best friend out of jail. Millennial girlies can relate, right? This book has so much to offer — from the instant chemistry the protagonists have to... (read more)
Recommended by Lindsay P
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Stephen King
[isbn]
The first true horror story I ever read and it's stuck with me ever since. For a good reason. Read with the lights on and NOT before bed.
Recommended by Addison H
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