Staff Picks

We take great joy in picking out what we hope is an appealing selection of books.  And we love making recommendations to customers.  If only we had time to read them all!

Here are some of our recent staff favorites. 

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Leave the World Behind: A Novel Cover Image

Leave the World Behind: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Rumaan Alam
$27.99
ISBN: 9780062667632
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - October 6th, 2020

Wow.  First, you're reading a satire of an upper middle class Brooklyn family on vacation, then it becomes something else when a couple knocks on the door of their air bnb in the middle of the night, claiming to be the owners, then it becomes something even more disturbing, and you've read all 241 pages without being able to put it down!

Carol

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Norwegian by Night (A Sheldon Horowitz Novel) Cover Image

Norwegian by Night (A Sheldon Horowitz Novel) (Paperback)

By Derek B. Miller
$15.99
ISBN: 9780544292666
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Mariner Books - May 6th, 2014

Crime Writers Association John Creasey Dagger Award winner An ECONOMIST TOP FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A GUARDIAN BEST CRIME AND THRILLER OF THE YEAR
A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR

“A soulful, humane, and sparklingly funny novel.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood Cover Image

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Paperback)

By Trevor Noah
$18.00
ISBN: 9780399588198
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: One World - February 12th, 2019

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed

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This Tender Land: A Novel Cover Image

This Tender Land: A Novel (Hardcover)

By William Kent Krueger
$28.00
ISBN: 9781476749297
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Atria Books - September 3rd, 2019

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

“If you liked Where the Crawdads Sing, you’ll love This Tender Land...This story is as big-hearted as they come.” —Parade

A magnificent novel about four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression, from the bestselling author of Ordinary Grace.

Virgil Wander Cover Image

Virgil Wander (Paperback)

By Leif Enger
$17.00
ISBN: 9780802147127
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press - August 20th, 2019

The first novel in ten years from award-winning, bestselling author Leif Enger, Virgil Wander is a sweeping story of new beginnings against all odds that follows the inhabitants of a hard luck town in their quest to revive its flagging heart.

The Library Book Cover Image

The Library Book (Paperback)

By Susan Orlean
$16.99
ISBN: 9781476740195
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster - October 1st, 2019

Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries.

The Great Believers: A Novel Cover Image

The Great Believers: A Novel (Paperback)

By Rebecca Makkai
$16.00
ISBN: 9780735223530
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - June 4th, 2019

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BOOK OF 2018
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE WINNER
ALA CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER
THE STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER

Soon to Be a Major Television Event, optioned by Amy Poehler

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Once Upon a River: A Novel Cover Image

Once Upon a River: A Novel (Paperback)

By Diane Setterfield
$17.99
ISBN: 9780743298087
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Atria/Emily Bestler Books - July 2nd, 2019

From the instant #1 New York Times bestselling author of the “eerie and fascinating” (USA TODAY) The Thirteenth Tale comes a “swift and entrancing, profound and beautiful” (Madeline Miller, internationally bestselling author of Circe) novel about how we explain the world to ourselves, ourselves to others, and the meaning of our lives in a univ

Little Faith: A Novel Cover Image

Little Faith: A Novel (Paperback)

By Nickolas Butler
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062469724
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - October 29th, 2019

In this moving new novel from celebrated author Nickolas Butler, a Wisconsin family grapples with the power and limitations of faith when one of their own falls under the influence of a radical church 

Lyle Hovde is at the onset of his golden years, living a mostly content life in rural Wisconsin with his wife, Peg, daughter, Shiloh, and six-year old grandson, Is

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The Genius of Birds Cover Image

The Genius of Birds (Paperback)

By Jennifer Ackerman
$18.00
ISBN: 9780399563126
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - April 11th, 2017

A good resource to keep next to your binoculars and learn about the behaviors of birds.  Did you know a chickadee can stash thousands of seeds and remember where it stashed them?!

Kathy

The River: A novel (Vintage Contemporaries) Cover Image

The River: A novel (Vintage Contemporaries) (Paperback)

By Peter Heller
$16.00
ISBN: 9780525563532
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - March 3rd, 2020

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

EDGAR AWARD NOMINEE

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR:
THE OBSERVER (LONDON) • KIRKUS REVIEWS

The Night Watchman Cover Image

The Night Watchman (Hardcover)

By Louise Erdrich
$28.99
ISBN: 9780062671189
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Harper - March 3rd, 2020

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WASHINGTON POST, AMAZON, NPR, CBS SUNDAY MORNING, KIRKUS, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOK OF 2020

Nothing to See Here Cover Image

Nothing to See Here (Hardcover)

By Kevin Wilson
$26.99
ISBN: 9780062913463
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Ecco - October 29th, 2019

A New York Times Bestseller  •  A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Cover Image

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (Paperback)

By David Grann
$16.95
ISBN: 9780307742483
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - April 3rd, 2018

Another horrifying chapter in the treatment of Native Americans, about which I had never heard. Engaging and constructed as a good mystery.

Carol

The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel Cover Image

The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel (Hardcover)

By J. Ryan Stradal
Email or call for price
ISBN: 9780399563058
Availability: Special Order is possible. Currently unavailable or possibly out of stock indefinitely. Please contact us before ordering.
Published: Pamela Dorman Books - July 23rd, 2019

A National Bestseller!

“The perfect pick-me-up on a hot summer day.” 
—Washington Post
 
“[A] charmer of a tale. . . Warm, witty and--like any good craft beer--complex, the saga delivers a subtly feminist and wholly life-affirming message.”
—People Magazine
 

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The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Tales from Ivy Hill #1) Cover Image

The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Tales from Ivy Hill #1) (Paperback)

By Julie Klassen
$15.99
ISBN: 9780764218132
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bethany House Publishers - December 6th, 2016

This is the first of a trilogy that transports the reader to the time of horses & carriages and to the lives of women making their way in an unwelcoming business world.  You'll hate to say goodbye to the well-developed characters.

Cindy

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Women Talking Cover Image

Women Talking (Paperback)

By Miriam Toews
$16.00
ISBN: 9781635574340
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - March 3rd, 2020

Because of the troubling story on which this novel is based, I probably wouldn't have read it if someone hadn't put it in my hands.  What a powerful and beautiful read.

Carol & Eva

The Dutch House: A Novel Cover Image

The Dutch House: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Ann Patchett
$27.99
ISBN: 9780062963673
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Harper - September 24th, 2019

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

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Ayesha at Last Cover Image

Ayesha at Last (Paperback)

By Uzma Jalaluddin
$16.00
ISBN: 9781984802798
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Berkley - June 4th, 2019

A fun take on Pride & Prejudice, set in the Muslim community in Toronto.

Carol

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The Half-Drowned King: A Novel (The Golden Wolf Saga #1) Cover Image

The Half-Drowned King: A Novel (The Golden Wolf Saga #1) (Paperback)

By Linnea Hartsuyker
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062563705
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Paperbacks - June 26th, 2018

If you're interested in the Vikings and just want a good story, this is the series for you.  Half-Drowned King is the first book in the Goden Wolf Saga.

-Heidi

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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Cover Image

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Paperback)

By Yuval Noah Harari
$24.99
ISBN: 9780062316110
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Harper Perennial - May 15th, 2018

Absolutely fascinating.  And puts our time on earth in perspective.

Carol

Writers & Lovers Cover Image

Writers & Lovers (Hardcover)

By Lily King
$27.00
ISBN: 9780802148537
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Grove Press - March 3rd, 2020

I loved this book not just from the first chapter or the first page but from the first paragraph... The voice is just so honest and riveting and insightful about creativity and life. --Curtis Sittenfeld

#ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today

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Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss Cover Image

Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss (Hardcover)

By Margaret Renkl
$24.00
ISBN: 9781571313782
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Milkweed Editions - July 9th, 2019

Beautiful writing...you'll find yourself wanting to share little nuggets with others.

Carol

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The Book of Longings: A Novel Cover Image

The Book of Longings: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Sue Monk Kidd
$28.00
ISBN: 9780525429760
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Viking - April 21st, 2020

I have so much going through my mind after finishing this book!  The author imagines Jesus' life and gives voice to women during that time through Ana, the wife of Jesus.

Kathy

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Dance Away with Me: A Novel Cover Image

Dance Away with Me: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
$28.99
ISBN: 9780062973054
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: William Morrow - June 9th, 2020

This book made me laugh and cry--and want to throw it!  So many feelings in one book.

-Heidi

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All My Puny Sorrows Cover Image

All My Puny Sorrows (Paperback)

By Miriam Toews
$16.00
ISBN: 9781635574975
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - October 15th, 2019

Miriam Toews is a brilliant writer.  She can take a difficult subject and write with humor and love.  I was sad to finish it.

-Carol

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Dairylandia: Dispatches from a State of Mind Cover Image

Dairylandia: Dispatches from a State of Mind (Hardcover)

By Steve Hannah
$26.95
ISBN: 9780299324506
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: University of Wisconsin Press - October 15th, 2019

A new pick from Kathy

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Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel Cover Image

Daisy Jones & The Six: A Novel (Paperback)

By Taylor Jenkins Reid
$17.00
ISBN: 9781524798642
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ballantine Books - February 4th, 2020

Love, love, love this novel, featuring a 1970's rock 'n' roll band--written in a fascinating interview style!

Denise

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Migrations: A Novel Cover Image

Migrations: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Charlotte McConaghy
$26.99
ISBN: 9781250204028
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Flatiron Books - August 4th, 2020

Migrations is an entrancing, yet unsettling novel.  Set in a near future of climate change and mass species extinction, Franny decides to follow the last migration of the Arctic Tern.  I found myself wondering if we have waited too long to do anything to stop what may be inevitable.

Carol

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City of Girls: A Novel Cover Image

City of Girls: A Novel (Paperback)

By Elizabeth Gilbert
$17.00
ISBN: 9781594634741
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - April 7th, 2020

A 1940s story of adventure and glamour of life behind the scenes of show girls and theater in NYC.

Denise