Staff Picks

20% off all staff picks through the end of the month

Kim
Rudyard Kipling

Before Tintin, there was Kim. The orphan son of an Irish soldier, Kim lives on the streets of Lahore, India during British rule. Kim befriends a Tibetan Lama and joins him on a quest to find the River of the Arrow and free himself from the Wheel of Things. During his travels across India, Kim is enlisted as a spy in the conflict between Britain and Russia around the time of the Afghan wars in the late 1800s. Kipling's masterpiece is a great adventure story for adults and children alike. -Andrew

This one is so much fun and one of my favorite Vonnegut novels. The richest man in the world is swept up and led all over the universe, but by who? God? Fate? Aliens? Another rich guy? In this tale of money, religion, humanity and war (between Mars and Earth), Vonnegut reveals the meaning of life. -Shana

Roy "Big Country" Cady is having a very bad day. First he is diagnosed with terminal cancer, and then his boss tries to have him killed. He decides the best thing to do is run, but trouble always manages to catch up wtih Roy Cady. This time it finds him in Galveston. An impressive crime debut by Pizzolatto. -Mark

Daytripper
Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba

I'm convinced that, usually, life is very long. Long enough that, knowing that I'm going to have to live with the decisions I've made for the rest of my life prevents me from doing some impulsive, enjoyable things. But this is with the knowledge that it could be over at any moment. So how to walk the line between living every day to the fullest as though it could be the last and at the same time living responsibly and dependably? Who knows. I do know this: some of the most important aspects of life are those that take a lifetime to build. And perhaps the impulsive thing that we should do every day is love. Without being able to answer these questions directly, Daytripper tries to hit on them from the periphery and ends up being a beautiful meditation. My biggest criticism would be that the layout can be a bit stagnant at times. I like it when an artist plays with the storyboarding format and this doesn't happen often here. -Stephen

You Know When the Men Are Gone
Siobhan Fallon

These spare, haunting stories will burn a hole in your heart. Set mostly on the Army base at Fort Hood, Texas, Fallon writes about the lives of soldiers and their loved ones whose lives have been put on hold, upended, and in some cases destroyed. You won't soon forget these stories and for those who say they don't like or read short stories, I say make an exception for this book. You won't regret it. -Michael

Man in the Woods
Siobhan Fallon

A simple tale that's thrillingly told. Spencer is a crisp and intelligent storyteller and he knows how to inject a haunting yet irresistible sense of dread into a novel. Fans of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter will not be disappointed. -Owen