Constantin Verhout, The Sleeping Student, 1663
Dust off those lazy summer bones, book lovers! School is back in session, and we have no shortage of wonderful in-store events to get you back into the studious swing of things. Read on:
- On Thursday, September 13th at 7PM we'll celebrate the release of Elliot Reed's debut novel, A Key to Treehouse Living, with an in-store appearance by the author himself! Reed will be joined in conversation by Chicago's own Jenny Boully. A Q&A and book signing will follow the discussion.
- We're thrilled to welcome Evan Fallenberg to the shop to read from his new novel The Parting Gift, a book Ed calls "the gay, literary equivalent of Fatal Attraction!" Fallenberg will appear in the shop on Monday, September 17th at 7PM.
- It is our pleasure to welcome poets Robert Siek and David Trinidad to the shop for an evening in celebration of Robert's new collection We Go Seasonal! Siek and Trinidad will read selections of their poetry at the shop on Thursday, September 20th at 7PM. A book signing will follow the reading.
- It's finally here! On Monday, September 24th at 7PM Tommy Orange will join us to read from his bestselling debut novel There There! A Q&A and book signing will follow Orange's reading. Please note: We are expecting a large turnout for this event! Seats are first come, first served, so get here early if you'd like one.
- September's book club selection is Daniel Gumbiner's The Boatbuilder! We'll meet to discuss this gorgeous debut novel on Monday, October 1st. The discussion will start promptly at 7PM, but swing by a little early for wine and sweets compliments of Vanille Patisserie.
All in-store events are FREE and open to the public. Can't wait to see what we've got brewing in months to come? As always, you can find our full events listings by visiting
our website.
Simply looking for a new book? Scroll down to peruse our latest recommendations.
See you soon!
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We're always eager to hear how we can be the best neighborhood bookstore we can be. We're super nice and very approachable and LOVE talking about books. Pick your favorite technology to contact us or stop by today!
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This month's newest titles are picked, as always, from the fevered minds of the employees at Unabridged. Comments always appreciated. Email the store at
[email protected] or call us at 773.883.9119.
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SEPTEMBER'S BOOK CLUB SELECTION
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The Boatbuilder by Daniel Gumbiner
"The Boatbuilder is a gorgeous debut about addiction, aspiration, and art on the California coast. It's radiantly imagined, often moving, always funny, and teeming with life. Daniel Gumbiner isn't a writer to watch-he's one to read."
-Anthony Marra
Our book club will meet to discuss The Boatbuilder on Monday, October 1st at 6:30PM. Join us!
In paperback, fiction, 18.00; McSweeney's.
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A KEY TO TREEHOUSE LIVING by Elliot Reed
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"A Key to Treehouse Living is the adventure of William Tyce, a boy without parents, who grows up near a river in the rural Midwest. In a glossary-style list, he imparts his particular wisdom on subjects ranging from ASPHALT PATHS, BETTA FISH, and MULLET to MORTAL BETRAYAL, NIHILISM, and REVELATION. His improbable quest takes him on a journey down the river by raft (see MYSTICAL VISION, see NAVIGATING BIG RIVERS BY NIGHT). He seeks to discover how his mother died (see ABSENCE) and find reasons for his father's disappearance (see UNCERTAINTY, see VANITY). But as he goes about defining his changing world, all kinds of extraordinary and wonderful things happen to him. Unlocking an earnest, clear-eyed way of thinking that might change your own, A Key to Treehouse Living is a story about keeping your own record straight and living life by a different code." - Tin House
Elliot Reed will appear in conversation with Jenny Boully on Thursday, September 13th at 7PM.
In hardcover, fiction, 19.95; Tin House Books.
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THE PARTING GIFT by Evan Fallenberg
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The Parting Gift is an extremely erotic AND VERY GAY tale of sexual obsession, jealousy and revenge by an unnamed narrator (hence, every man?) set in Israel, a story driven by lust that descends into a disturbing viciousness. Suffused with the rich setting (and spices!) of Mediterranean Israel, and with its animalistic, almost uncontrolled sex, this savagely sexual story is magnetic, riveting, seamlessly propelled-- to be read in one setting, if possible, for full impact! THINK, the gay, literary equivalent of FATAL ATTRACTION!
Ed loved and highly recommends!!
Evan Fallenberg will read from The Parting Gift on Monday, September 17th at 7PM. A Q&A and book signing will follow Fallenberg's reading.
In hardcover, fiction, 22.99; Other Press.
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THE FARM by Héctor Abad
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Pilar, Eva, and Antonio Ángel are the last heirs of La Oculta, a farm hidden in the mountains of Colombia. The land provides the setting for the siblings' happiest memories, but it also reminds them of their struggle against the siege of violence and terror, restlessness and flight. In
The Farm, Héctor Abad illuminates the vicissitudes of a family and a people, as well as the voices of these three siblings, recounting their loves, fears, desires, and hopes, all against a dazzling backdrop. We enter their lives at the moment they are about to lose the paradise on which they built their dreams and reality." - Archipelago Books
Héctor Abad will appear in conversation with Poetry Magazine's Don Share on Tuesday, September 18th at 7PM. A Q&A and book signing will follow the discussion.
In paperback, fiction, 20.00; Archipelago Books.
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WE GO SEASONAL by Robert Siek
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"On the cusp of a midlife crisis, Robert Siek turns to poetry as pagan ritual in order to find solace in the recurrent passing of the seasons. And as the parable goes, the struggle to remake what's old into something new is akin to a dog making a meal out of its own vomit. So much for sainthood and all its illusory promises, vertical transcendence eschewed for the horizontal mundane, however lamented, embodied." - Timothy Liu
Robert Siek will read from We Go Seasonal on Thursday, September 20th at 7PM. Siek will be joined by fellow poet David Trinidad. A book signing will follow the reading.
In paperback, poetry, 18.00; Sibling Rivalry Press.
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THERE THERE by Tommy Orange
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We were struck from the first page of this electric debut novel, throughout which Orange brings together and tears apart an unforgettable cast of characters. Each successive voice embroiders and illuminates the experience of the "urban Native American." As the cast is drawn together toward the Big Oakland Powwow, each character reveals their aches, loves, fraught histories, and inescapable legacies. Orange tempers the violence of this book with great beauty, and even the most troubling characters are not denied their humanity. Pick up a copy of There There today and bear witness to the beginning of an illustrious literary career!
Tim and Katharine loved and highly recommend!
Tommy Orange will read from There There on Monday, September 24th at 7PM. A Q&A and book signing will follow the reading. PLEASE NOTE: We anticipate a large turnout for this event! Seats are first come, first served. We recommend arriving by 6:30PM if you would like a seat.
In hardcover, fiction, 25.95; Knopf Publishing Group.
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THE THIRD HOTEL by Laura Van Den Berg
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This is such a strange, haunting, and ultimately, unforgettable novel - one that is difficult to describe, but here goes! We follow Clare, recently widowed, arriving in Cuba to attend a horror film festival that her critic husband was meant to attend. Numb, but also hyper-aware in her grief, Clare's sense of reality is put into question when she sees her husband in Havana, appearing very much alive. If that makes this book sound like a mystery, that's because it is! But it's more a mystery on the human condition: how a spouse can be a stranger, how grief can be all-encompassing and can feel like nothing at all. The writing is crisp and darkly funny - the references to the tropes of horror fascinating. I could go on, but I don't want to spoil this for you. You have to experience this yourself!
Tim recommends!
In hardcover, fiction, 26.00; Farrar Straus and Giroux.
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THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS by Pat Barker
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Who gets to tell the story? In the legend of the Iliad and the Trojan War, the victors (the men) tell the story, they drive the narrative, but in Pat Barker's masterful retelling,
The Silence of the Girls, the story is told by Briseis, a woman, Achilles's (then Agamemnon's) concubine. All of Homer's "heroes" are here-Odysseus, Achilles, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Ajax, and Nestor, as well as Priam, Hector, and Paris on the Trojan side-but their stories are now seen and told through the eyes of a woman. Through Briseis we see the heavy price women have had to pay for male violence and vainglory, the true horror of war's atrocities, the sexual enslavement of women, all in the name of "male" honor, courage, everlasting glory. Profound and imaginative! For fans of Madeline Miller's
Circe and
Song of Achilles.
Ed recommends!
In hardcover, fiction, 27.95; Doubleday Books.
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THE MERMAID AND MRS. HANDCOCK by Hermes Imogen Gowar
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Available Tuesday, September 11th!
The Mermaid and Mrs. Handcock, the stellar debut novel by Imogen Hermes Gowar, is historical fiction at its finest! Set in 1785 Georgian London and featuring a prosperous (but unpolished) ship merchant, a mysterious sea creature, and a beautiful, down-on-her-luck prostitute, Gowar has succeeded in creating a fully-realized world that you want to get lost in-one filled with prostitutes and rakish gentlemen, stinking docks and chintzy bordellos, and lots of romance, bawdy intrigue and social climbing. There is much to savor here, presented with wit and showmanship-- the cast of colorful characters and searing working-class descriptions are reminiscent of Dickens, and the Jane-Austen-worthy-dialogue of polite society brings much humor to the book. Gowar has a marvelous gift for delighting in our capacity for wonder while at the same time subtly providing astute social commentary (with our modern eyes we see the sexual power imbalances of Georgian London, where a woman's means to get ahead was to be either a wife or whore, and prostitutes struggled to achieve some-kind-of pre-feminist autonomy.)
The Mermaid and Mrs. Handcock will delight fans of Sarah Perry's
The Essex Serpent (which I loved!); it was a joy to read, from start to finish, a sheer delight!
ED LOVED AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
In hardcover, fiction, 28.99; Harper.
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THE MERE WIFE BY Maria Dahvana Headley
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When I heard about this book being a reinterpretation of the epic tale, Beowulf, "resetting" this in American suburbia, I was skeptical. Thankfully, Maria Dahvana Headley more than delivers with this ferocious book. We follow the "monsters" of this tale, Grendel and his mother, the army veteran, Dana Mills, and their escalating conflict with the gentrifying residents of the Herot Hall, a suburban paradise secluded in the mountains. Her son, "Gren," yearns for a normal life and forms an unlikely friendship with Dylan Herot, the young son of Roger and Willa Herot, the most powerful family in these suburbs. But Dana wants to protect her son from this dangerous world, and this leads to devastating results. I loved this strange, brilliant take of this classic - and Headley's writing is superb - with different perspectives, and a playful, poetic voice, this novel feels like it's crackling with energy!
Tim recommends!
In harcover, fiction, 27.00; MCD/Farrar Straus and Giroux
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THE DEEPER THE WATER THE UGLIER THE FISH by Katya Apekina
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Available Tuesday, September 18th!
I've come to expect work of a certain psychological depth from scrappy, Ohio-based publisher Two Dollar Radio, and Katya Apekina's
The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish delivers the goods. This prismatic novel opens in 1997 on Edie and Mae, teenage sisters recently removed from the care of their mother, Marianne. An obscure, Louisiana-based poet who suffers from depression, Marianne is committed to a mental health institution for an indeterminate period of time following an attempted suicide. In the aftermath, Edie and Mae are placed in the care of their estranged father, Dennis, a celebrated novelist based in New York City. Dennis's illustrious career is predicated on a series of novels inspired by his relationship with (then-underaged) Marianne in the late-'60s. The ramifications of Dennis and Marianne's fraught romance ripple outward, slowly poisoning his relationship with his two daughters. Told polyphonically by an ensemble cast of characters,
The Darker the Water... explores the vast disparities between separate perspectives and the moral implications of the artist/muse relationship.
Katharine was captivated by this accomplished debut.
In paperback, fiction, 16.99; Two Dollar Radio
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THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Paul Tremblay
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Most customers are looking for something light, a diversion from the chaos of our modern world. I would not recommend this book to them. In fact, this book is bleak.
Very bleak. But it's also a thrilling, thought-provoking horror story that turns the home invasion narrative on its head, taking on the paranoia, fear, and bewilderment and housing them together with Eric and Andrew, and their adopted daughter, Wen, in a cabin with four fanatical strangers, who promise that only they can prevent the end of the world. But at what cost? I can't write that here (I wouldn't dare), but if you're looking for something dark and terrifying, this may just be the book for you!
Tim recommends!
In hardcover, fiction, 26.99; William Morrow & Company
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THE COMPLETE STORIES by Clarice Lispector
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Finally in paperback!
Beloved Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector is (in)famous for her exhilarating, breathtaking prose and her wily feats of metaphorical revelation. This glittering collection of 86 stories follows her writing career from her satyric teenage beginnings through her winking middle age to the poignancy of her last years.
The Complete Stories is a perfect place to start for those unfamiliar with Lispector's existential charms as well as a beautiful addition to any season Lispector fan's library.
Mandy loves!
In paperback, fiction, 21.95; New Directions Publishing Corporation.
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AGAINST THE COUNTRY by Ben Metcalf
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Finally in paperback!
Against the Country is fierce and explosive in its refutation of the notion that all good derives from the rural and all our sins are born of the town. Quite the opposite here, and Ben Metcalf is fired up and pugnacious in his condemnation of the false idealization of the country. The narrative most resembles an essayistic family memoir, and the NYT review called Metcalf's "virtuoso spray of words" the "country cousin of David Foster Wallace." and reader, be forewarned: The sentences are long and complex and winding and grammatically challenging. (I LOVED this!) Just like the NPR reviewer, I "fell hard for the book on page 1, wanted to throw rocks at Metcalf by the middle, and back around to a deep affection by the end."
Ed loved and highly recommends!
In paperback, fiction, 17.00; Random House Trade.
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ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FREEDOM by Deray McKesson
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"Hope is not magic; hope is work"-DeRay Mckesson
This astute collection of related essays tackles the pervasive problem of systemic racial inequality in our country, and the importance of protest and community organizing. Mckesson left his job as a school administrator to attend the protests of Michael Brown's killing in Ferguson, Mo, soon becoming a prominent Black Lives Matter organizer known for his extensive documentation on social media. Always thoughtful and passionate (but never didactic), Mckesson explores police violence, the "uncontested narrative" of truth from those in power, historical erasure, and the significance of social media for political activists. He also delves into his own life, discussing his childhood and education and how it informs his current political philosophies. Both lucid and eloquent,
On the Other Side of Freedom is as moving as it is inspiring. We need more people like him in the world.
Shane recommends.
In paperback, non-fiction, 25.00; Viking.
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CALL THEM BY THEIR TRUE NAMES by Rebecca Solnit
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Reading Rebecca Solnit feels like you're in a long, intimate conversation with a friend. From economic justice to climate change, CALL THEM BY THEIR TRUE NAMES speaks of gentrification and police violence, women and power, the ideology of isolation, the danger of naïve cynicism, the status quo bias in reporting, voter disenfranchisement, and anger and rage in the public sphere. Rebecca Solnit champions the idea of truly participatory government, and gives agency to our power to shape that government. She urges us to come together and stand up to injustice, to challenge dominant narratives, to question cultural assumptions, to think critically, to avoid thinking in binaries, and reminds us that we are citizens first, not consumers. She argues for thoughtful analysis over easy over-simplification in understanding and exploring the full complexities of our current situation. She has an intellectual rigor and precision of language she uses to elucidate, not obfuscate, and we are better able to comprehend the world after having read her. She offers us hope. I admire her own relentless pursuit of the truth, and after reading Rebecca Solnit we all better able to "collectively speak sharp truth to bloated power."
ED LOVED AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDS!!
In paperback, non-fiction, 15.95; Haymarket Books.
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NEW DARK AGE by James Bridle
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This is a fascinating/terrifying book about he new technologies that are shaping our lives in ways we can't possibly fathom. It's not just our reliance on "Big Data" but the fact that so much is
bad data. James puts it a lot better, stating that the extraction, refinement, and use of data "enforces computational thinking upon us, driving deep divisions in society caused by misbegotten classification, fundamentalism and populism, and accelerating inequality." James doesn't just sound the alarm, he presents compelling, thorough evidence from financial markets, military programs, social media, ride shares, and so much more. An important read for our times!
Tim recommends
In hardcover, non-fiction, 26.95; Verso.
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GIVE PEOPLE MONEY by Annie Lowrey
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Annie Lowrey poses the question: What if the government deposited $1,000 into your bank account every month - no strings attached, nothing expected in return? As fanciful as that may sound, with the rise of income inequality, the failings of our complex welfare state, and the upcoming "jobs apocalypse," not to mention our continuing racial and gender disparities, the idea of the Universal Basic Income has slowly but surely gained traction with activists, politicians, and economists. I found this fascinating, and loved that Lowrey looked at this issue seriously, with data and proposals to accompany the book's bigger ideas. I also liked that she addressed the issues that could arise, and how we would have to rewire our thinking on work and money. Very thorough and compelling!
Tim recommends!
In hardcover, non-fiction, 26.00; Crown Publishing Group.
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HUNGER: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
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Now in paperback!
Time and again, Roxane Gay has described
Hunger as the book she "wanted to write least." Having climbed into the trenches with this harrowing memoir, it's easy to understand why.
Hunger recounts Gay's horrific gang rape at age 12 and the coping mechanisms she developed in the aftermath. The book focuses on Gay's struggle to navigate the world as a person who is super morbidly obese, simultaneously rendered highly visible and unseen.
Hunger builds on the groundwork Gay has established in her previous writing about feminism and rape culture to examine her personal experience of the world. The book describes "hunger" not only as a physical phenomena, but as an immeasurable yearning. This generous, unflinching memoir will make you a more generous and unflinching human being.
Katharine recommends.
In paperback, non-fiction, 16.99; Harper Perennial.
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LITTLE MAN, LITTLE MAN by James Baldwin and Yoran Cazac
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 Now available for the first time in nearly 40 years! James Baldwin's only children's book follows the day-to-day life of 4 year old TJ and his friends in their Harlem neighborhood as they encounter the social realities of being black in America in the 1970s.
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