|
|
FICTION we love at WORD
|
|
    We Sinners by Hanna Pylvainen
This debut novel is a spare yet fascinating read about a fundamentalist couple and their nine children living in the modern day midwest. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character so it's a unique glimpse of the family as a whole, and how some of them struggle with their day-to-day life and beliefs, how some struggle to stay within the church, how some struggle with their decisions to leave, and how their relationships change because of it. I think it's a refreshing look at the subject, different from the many recent 'escape-from-the-crazy-religion' stories. (Christine)
Daniel Fights a Hurricane by Shane Jones (also available as an ebook)
If you're familiar with Jones's first novel, Light Boxes (which was briefly optioned by Spike Jonze), that should be reason enough to check out his latest. This book will also appeal to fans of Steven Hall's The Raw Shark Texts, Rivka Galchen's Atmospheric Disturbances, and any other fiction that lives in that hinterland where reality, imagination, hallucination, and coping with loss swirl around like wind, like the ocean. (Emily)
Love Slave by Jennifer Spiegel
This one is for fans of Girls in White Dresses, A Fortunate Age, and other girl-in-the-city novels. Sybil Weatherfield has a name made for bylines and the neuroses to match. She's 30 years old in New York, dating the wrong guy, not-dating the guy who could be the right one, and living at the mercy of her own snarky apathy. It sounds like it would be really irritating, right? But somehow the genuine moments balance out the snark, and even the snark is entertaining. (Jenn)
How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti (also available as an ebook)
This "novel from life" had me thinking about it long after I read the last page. I finally gave in and flipped it over to read once again. A charming, deeply strange, and ultimately thought-provoking meditation on female friendship. (Angie)
   
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (also available as an ebook)
Our narrator, Julia, is 11 years old when the world changes forever. It's October, and time suddenly becomes elastic. One day, for no apparent reason, a day is suddenly 25 hours long. Three days later, 25:37, and they continue to stretch. This novel has the feel of an apocalyptic To Kill a Mockingbird or a more sober True Grit, with a knowing, worldly voice-over guiding the reader through the moment in her childhood that everything changed. Understated, odd, and haunting. (Jenn)
Mother, Come Home by Paul Hornschemeier
This is the most beautiful and heart-rending graphic novel I've ever read. It's been in my top 3 for years. But a warning: be careful reading it in public, unless you want people to offer you Kleenex on the subway. (Emily)
Until the magical The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, this was my favorite Valente, and I suspect it of being unfairly overlooked. Palimpsest is a magical city, but you can only get there by sleeping with someone who's already been - and each visitor winds up in a different place, depending on the map-shaped tattoo that appears on her skin. Dreamy, eerie and bittersweet, Palimpsest is like a year's worth of dreams shaped into one magical novel. (Molly)
You may not think you want to read a novel about the 2008 bank collapse, but you'd be wrong. Lanchester's examination of the lives of families on one street in London is smart, witty, and may even make you feel better about the crazy state of economics today. (Jenn)
|
|
NONFICTION we love at WORD
|
| |
   
Crossing the Borders of Time by Leslie Maitland (also available as an ebook)
This family history follows the author's mother when, as a young girl, she fled across Europe with her family while the Nazis conquered country after country. Maitland portrays, in visceral prose, the confusion on the ground and the terrifying consequences of not making the right half-informed decisions. After the family eventually lands in the U.S., the fallout from their war-torn lives and choices continues to echo for generations. (Simone)
Consider the Oyster by MFK Fisher
If you enjoy reading about food, look no further than MFK Fisher. This is my favorite. I guarantee you'll lap it up in just a few blissful hours. Be prepared for a great craving for oysters afterward. (Angie)
More Baths Less Talking by Nick Hornby
My only complaint about Hornby's collections, which pull together his columns for The Believer, is that they are never long enough. The columns are ostensibly about the books Hornby buys and reads in a month, but they're really about life, the universe and everything - football, family, vacations, aging, writing and more, all so witty and wry that I wind up wishing I could talk about all these things with Hornby, down at some very British pub. (Molly)
The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean (also available as an ebook)
Sam Kean is great at making the science of genetics accessible while bringing out the stories that litter the history of scientific discovery. He tells of the sexual scandals that led to important work being ignored, and of the "hibakusha," or survivors of both atomic bombings in Japan (who helped us learn about genetic damage and, more amazingly, how chromosomes can heal themselves). He offers lots of literary references and I've laughed out loud several times -- exactly what makes science writing awesome. (Emily)
|
|
Kids' books we love at WORD
|
|
   
King Arthur's Very Great Grandson written and illustrated by Kenneth Kraegel
What is King Arthur's great-great-great-great-great-grandson to do on his sixth birthday but go off in search of adventure? He sets off on his trusted steed, Knuckles the donkey, to do battle! There are fell beasts to fight and monsters to challenge -- except the monsters and beasts have other challenges and amusements in mind. This is a really fun read aloud ("BEHOLD, VILE WORM!") with an irreverent illustration style. And we haven't even mentioned the cheerful leviathan... (Molly & Jenn)
Brother From a Box by Evan Kuhlman and illustrated by Jacopo Bruno (also available as an ebook)
Matthew Rambeau comes home from school one day to find a box containing an incredibly realistic robot that looks a lot like him. Turns out, Matthew's computer scientist dad has created a prototype for an "artificial genetically enhanced, cybernetically engineered, bionically modified lifeform" named Norman who has been programmed to recognize Matthew and his parents as his family. Will Norman be able to pass as human? Will he become like a real brother to Matthew, or just drive him crazy? And why are there spies in weird disguises following them everywhere? I loved this middle-grade novel -- it's a fantastic combo of science fiction, mystery, adventure, and everyday life. (Jenny)
Benny's Brigade by Arthur Bradford and illustrated by Lisa Hanawalt
Two sisters discover a pocket-sized walrus who longs to return to the sea. With the sisters' help, and that of some swarthy slugs, he just might make it there...or somewhere even better?? Another stellar McSweeneys/McMullens release. (Simone)
The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss
I think people forget about Seuss's great short stories sometimes. Sneetches with Stars upon thars! Too Many Daves! And those eerie pale green pants! He teaches us so much about conflict, and how so often, there is really no need for it. (Emily) |
|
|
|
|
This has been another production of the book-lovin' fools at: WORD (126 Franklin St Brooklyn NY 11222) Open for your reading needs from: 10am to 9pm, seven days a week Available during those hours at: 718.383.0096 And always open at: www.wordbrooklyn.com |
|
|
