Staff Picks

20% off all staff picks through July 31st

The Daydreamer
Ian McEwan

Did you know Ian McEwan wrote a book for kids? Well, he did. It's eerie and fantastic and, like any book written by someone who really knows what he's doing, it can be enjoyed by those of us who are no longer technically kids. If you've ever wondered what it'd be like to trade places with your cat... Or what you would do if you found a jar of invisibility cream in your kitchen drawer... -Reviewed by Julia

The Tunnel :Selected Poems
Russell Edson

For this surreal, wildly funny book of prose poems Edson chose his personal favorites from his 7 previous collections. Many read like fables, some beg to be read aloud (even if only to yourself).

A man accuses his ape of being liquid.
Deep in the woods a woman and her kitchen hide from each other.
Dark forests abound. -Reviewed by Shana

Welcome to Hard Times
E. L. Doctorow

E. L. Doctorow's debut is a short, intense novel of the early frontier. The small town of Hard Times is attacked by outlaws, but the citizens rebuild, always with a wary eye out for the return of the outlaws. Welcome to Hard Times shows us the early promise of Doctorow's award winning career. -Reviewed by Mark

Booze Cakes
Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone

Booze? Check.
Cakes? Check.

Delicious. -Reviewed by Annie

The Lost Cyclist
David Herlihy

A pure delight for any cyclist or history buff, Herlihy's prose explores the days when cyclist-adventurers (called 'wheelmen') were modern-day Magellans. There were many bicycle expeditions made in the late 19th century, and Herlihy gives us a sampling of each, but the most invigorating of all is the tale of Frank Lenz, who abandoned his desk job in Pittsburgh for enlightenment-attainment and record-setting purposes. His disappearance somewhere in Central Asia prompted a national fever of speculation, one that I was easily swept up in as I read. -Reviewed by Owen