Staff Picks: 25 for our 25th Anniversary (2018)

We turned 25 in 2018, and we've picked our top 25 reads of the past year to celebrate our 25th anniversary!

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Lincoln in the Bardo: A Novel By George Saunders Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780812985405
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - February 6th, 2018

Our of our top reads--we've never read anything quite like it.  Lincoln visits the crypt of his son Willie, while the ghosts converse.

Carol & Eva


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Exit West: A Novel By Mohsin Hamid Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780735212206
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - February 27th, 2018

A spare book that is packed with ideas.  An important read for our times.  It is about refugees and what might make them leave their homeland and about how they make a new life.  It is also about how a relationship evolves through such momentous changes.

Carol


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Educated: A Memoir By Tara Westover Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9780399590504
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Random House - February 20th, 2018

A fascinating glimpse into a survivalist family.  One member wants something else for herself and risks being shunned by her family to get it.

Heidi


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There There By Tommy Orange Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780525436140
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - May 7th, 2019

A powerful debut novel about urban Native Americans living in Oakland, California.

Carol & Kathy


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A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel By Amor Towles Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780143110439
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - March 26th, 2019

After the Russian revolution, Count Rostov is sentenced to life in the Hotel Metropol.  I was fascinated by the life he makes for himslf and how he grows emotionally, as the decades go by in Russia outside the hotel.

Carol


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The Great Alone: A Novel By Kristin Hannah Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781250229533
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - September 24th, 2019

A father damaged by the Vietnam War moves his family to a small town in Alaska in an attempt to start a new life.

Carol


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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel By Gail Honeyman Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780735220690
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - June 5th, 2018

Sad but incredibly funny.  Another psychological thriller where the main character makes you laugh out loud, even when you should be crying.

Eva


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The Italian Party: A Novel By Christina Lynch Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250151421
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: St. Martin's Griffin - March 5th, 2019

What appears at first to be a fizzy book about newlyweds in 1950's Italy turns out to be full of secrets and Cold War intrigue.

Carol


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The Almost Sisters: A Novel By Joshilyn Jackson Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062105721
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - May 29th, 2018

This may be my favorite of Jackson's books.  There is always an unexpected twist in her books, and I am hooked.

Kathy


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The Woman in the Window: A Novel By A. J. Finn Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062678423
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - March 5th, 2019

As in Hitchcock's Rear Window, the woman of the title is unable to venture outside.  You will be quickly turning pages to unfold the events ouside her window in this intense thriller.

Denise


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The Dying Game: A Novel By Asa Avdic Cover Image
$16.00
Not available
ISBN: 9780143131793
Published: Penguin Books - August 1st, 2017

A closed-room mystery that takes place in the nar future.  Fun, creepy, and well written (and translated).

Eva


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The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy #1) By Katherine Arden Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781101885956
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey - June 27th, 2017

The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower are the first two books of the Winternight Trilogy.  An enchanting story set in Russia in the middle ages.  It is full of magic, Russian folklore, and the shift from pagan beliefs to Christianity.  It also features a marvelous, strong heroine in Vaslisa.

Carol & Heidi


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Norse Mythology By Neil Gaiman Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9780393356182
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - March 6th, 2018

Odin, Thor, Loke, and the rest of the Norse pantheon of gods and goddesses interact with each other in these stories that range from humorous to thoughtful to gruesome.

Heidi


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Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel By Celeste Ng Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780735224315
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - May 7th, 2019

A suburban mother believes she has the perfect family, when a free-spirited single mom and her daugher enter their lives.  Brilliant writing in this highly acclaimed novel.

Carol


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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear By Elizabeth Gilbert Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781594634727
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Riverhead Books - September 27th, 2016

An honest read about the creative process from Elizabeth Gilbert--it changed my life!

Denise


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A Small Death in the Great Glen: A Novel (The Highland Gazette Mystery Series #1) By A. D. Scott Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781439154939
Availability: We can order this for you!
Published: Atria Books - August 3rd, 2010

My new favorite mystery series, set at a weekly paper in 1950's Scotland.  A great setting and excellent character development.

Carol


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The Death of Mrs. Westaway By Ruth Ware Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781501156250
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Gallery/Scout Press - April 30th, 2019

A suspenseful thriller complete with tarot cards, family drama, and a murder mystery.  I think it's her best yet.

Denise


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South Pole Station: A Novel By Ashley Shelby Cover Image
$21.00
ISBN: 9781250112811
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
(This book cannot be returned.)
Published: Picador - July 3rd, 2018

A fun "beach" read set at the South Pole.

Carol


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The Bookshop on the Corner: A Novel By Jenny Colgan Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062467256
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - September 20th, 2016

Nina changes her life when she buys a mobile bookstore in rural Scotland.  A fun read that brightened my day.

Heidi


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A Sister in My House: A Novel By Linda Olsson Cover Image
$16.00
Not available
ISBN: 9780143131694
Published: Penguin Books - April 17th, 2018

Two sisters spend time together after Emma accepts an invitation made years ago by Maria--an invitation Maria thought her sister would never accept.  From the author of Astrid & Veronika.

Kathy


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Beowulf By Seamus Heaney (Editor) Cover Image
By Seamus Heaney (Editor)
$15.95
ISBN: 9780393320978
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - February 17th, 2001

The original adventure story!

Heidi


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All Our Wrong Todays: A Novel By Elan Mastai Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781101985151
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Dutton - February 20th, 2018

A funny, mind-bending time travel story.  It is also a romance and a story about choices we make in life.

Carol


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Glass Houses: A Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #13) By Louise Penny Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781250066299
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Minotaur Books - May 1st, 2018

The newest Armande Gamache from Louise Penny may be one of her best.

Carol


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Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel By Fredrik Backman Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781501142543
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Washington Square Press - February 7th, 2017

Quirky Britt-Marie moves to a new town after leaving her husband.  She is initially hard to like, but eventually weaves her way into the hearts of the youth.

Kathy


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Vampires in the Lemon Grove: And Other Stories (Vintage Contemporaries) By Karen Russell Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780307947475
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - January 14th, 2014

An imaginative, quirky, and sometimes dark collection of short stories--they kept me reading!

Denise