         Staff Picks Owen's
Picks
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.
This book is more than a book and more than a gift. It is a testimony to a way of living that asks the reader to be more engaged with humanity and the things we share. Like an anthropologist, Hyde follows the tradition of gift giving through ancient folktales and cultural practices and applies the lessons learned to what it means to be a modern human with something to give, whether that gift is talent, wealth, or insight. The existence of this book is a gift in itself, and reading it may unwrap a gift within you that you've been waiting to recognize and pass along.
David Lasky (local!), Jillian Tamaki, and Kevin Huizenga are my picks for the new geniuses of graphic art. In this year's collection they're right alongside new work of ol' timers such as Jaime Hernandez, Chris Ware, and Joe Sacco. A terrific and entertaining mix.
A superbly stirring and creepy tale about two girls, Constance and Merricat, who are the only survivors of a family that's been mysteriously poisoned. Aloof and morbid, they become outcasts and disdainful of the rest of the town. Shirley Jackson does an excellent job of getting under your skin; the whole time I was reading, I couldn't decide if I was tenderly empathetic for Constance and Merricat or if I thought they should be locked up for good.
A different sort of back-to-school book. Gaiman graces readers with wonderful, poetic, life lessons for the fantastic adventurer in all of us, young or old. Remember them well in your day-to-day adventures.
From the wonderful mind that brought us the Moomin series, The Summer Book is a novel that is more mature than the Moomins but no less of a treat. A six year old girl, Sophia, and her grandmother, spend the summer together on a remote island in Finland. As the summer weather prompts Sophia to discover the joys of sleeping outdoors and collecting insects, it also prompts her grandmother to make discoveries of her own as she nears the end of her life. A real gem of a book.
Holy smokes, what a thrilling read! The carnage and wild landscape are what first drew me in, but the mixture of mystery, psychology, politics and ecology at work in Vaillant's writing are eloquentally presented and equally absorbing. The characters that make up this lush but desolate part of the world, many of whom subsist on scavenging for pine nuts and who cling to a fragile but spiritual relationship with the wild animals that could reap them great profit or consume them mercilessly, are unforgettable.
The Littlest Pirate King June is the perfect month for daydreaming about being a pirate king, but if you're tired of Johnny Depp and his eyeliner stealing the show, then I invite you to take a journey through David B.'s wonderful and haunted world. Y'arr!
Aah, spring (well, sort of!). It's that time of year when some of us feel the pull of wanderlust, while others are content to simply spend more time going on long walks in the sunshine. Whatever your inclination, it's a time of motion. In this classic and stunningly thoughtful work by a true gentleman of the road, Chatwin examines Aborigine culture and his own propensity for travel. When you finish the book and put it down you will have made a journey of your own, the ending of which is a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and on the move.
A fantastic and beautiful novel that feels like it's been chipped away from the hardscrabble history of Newfoundland. The tale follows a lonely fishing village in the 1800s as it receives an unexpected guest in the form of a strange man found alive in the belly of a beached whale. Compared by many to One Hundred Years of Solitude, this new novel by a native Newfie is both mystifying and heartbreaking.
This book is the bees knees! Dominic the dog is one of the most heroic characters I've ever read about. Humble servant to his passions, champion of freedom and a simple life, disdaining of wealth, and no reservations about howling at the moon. Three cheers!
The River Cottage Bread Handbook
If Moby Dick had been written about a small green accordion rather than a gigantic white whale, it would have been this book. Annie Proulx manages to achieve the same sense of sprawling magnificence as Melville's portrait of the whaling industry. The focus here is on American immigrants and their relationship with music as one accordion is passed through many hands over hundreds of years. The lush details and smart dialogue put Ms. Proulx in the ranks of America's big literary guns, and the unique focus of this novel won't have you listening passively to an accordion ever again.
The latest work from the queen of graphic memoir is a grand and psychedelic journey through the art of drawing. Barry's drawing style and humor packs a punch, managing to be dark and adorable while imparting powerful lessons on life and art between the lines. A superb gift for an art student or anyone with a creative or inquisitive mind.
I'm not sure how he's done it, but somehow David Mitchell has written a novel that is subtly adorned with haikus that are so subtle and descriptive that his writing comes off as effortlessly rich. Here's an example: Uzaemon looks away. To stop and think would be to abort the rescue. And I don't even have enough room here to mention the thrilling plot or the deftly researched historical dialogue.
An adventurous history of Halloween a la Bradbury. His prose here is playful, poetic, and more of a roller-coaster ride (actually a kite ride) than anything else he's written. After reading this wild romp you'll find yourself appreciating the deviant spirit of this treasured holiday more than ever.
This classic novella follows the strange and beautiful foray of two unlikely renegades as they shake the quirky balance of Southern small town society. Sometimes fantastical, other times plain spoken, this is some of Capote's finest work. A great summer read
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.
Bats at the Beach The beach is always much more fun
I like to think of Daniel Pinkwater as Richard Brautigan or Tom Robbins for kids -- his novels are delightfully goofy, artfully clever, and always off the beaten path. The Neddiad (think 'Iliad') puts our hero Neddy on an adventure that will expose him to the wilderness of Los Angeles in the 1950s and have him fulfilling mythological prophecies that put Percy Jackson to shame.  Shutter
IslandDennis Lehane 'Cause the book's always bettah, bub! While I'm no mystery buff, I thoroughly enjoyed the spooky atmosphere that Lehane drops us into. There are some very thought-provoking conversations about the philosophy of psychology here, and some of the twists and turns had me guessing (and over-guessing) right up to the end. And don't fah-get yah Boston accent!
Good book, Chinook! -Reviewed by Owen
Jason's comics are like wry haiku -- crisp and masterful with a good dose of humor. Here he explores the notorious characters of Joyce, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald as they live in Paris -- as broke cartoonists. As with most of Jason's work, you'll want to start right over again as soon as you finish reading.
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Man in the Woods
The Gift 
The Best American Comics 2011 
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Instructions 
The Summer Book 
The Tiger
The Songlines 
Galore 
Dominic 
Accordion Crimes
Picture This : The Near-Sighted Monkey Book
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
The Halloween Tree
The Lost Cyclist
The
Left Bank Gang