Starling House (Hardcover)

By Alix E. Harrow

$26.09

There are many reasons to read Alix E. Harrow’s Starling House, for it is both resoundingly entertaining and profound. The psychological underpinnings of haunted houses and cursed communities are dealt with powerfully without veering into allegory. The book’s monsters are tethered to forces that strongly echo within and surprising narrative choices will keep the reader on their literary toes.

 

Lost But Found: An Upcountry Life (Hardcover)

By Robert Kimber

$24.26

No local writer embodies the experience of living in central Maine quite like Bob Kimber. His wry, self-effacing depth, his warmth, his kind, yet penetrating humanity, and his elegant style are everywhere evident in this fine retrospective. Lost But Found makes fresh our own familiar landscapes through Bob’s skilled and knowing writing.

 

I Must Be Dreaming (Hardcover)

By Roz Chast

$25.19

Comic artist Roz Chast is at her best in I Must Be Dreaming!  This exploration of the somnolent landscape is filled with Chast's humor, insight, and imagination.  Will reading this book affect your own dreams? It's so worth finding out!

 

The Last Ranger: A novel (Hardcover)

By Peter Heller

$24.30

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller is a stand-alone novel set in Yellowstone National Park. Heller—as readers of his previous books such as The Guide, The River, and The Dog Stars are aware—combines engrossing wilderness survival narratives with exceptionally appealing characters. His books engage the heart. The Last Ranger is filled with unexpected moral nuance and a deeply likeable lead character. I believe it is his finest novel since The Dog Stars and a great starting point to experience this terrific writer.

 

The Probability of Everything (Hardcover)

By Sarah Everett

$17.99

You'll never find a book harder to discuss without spoilers than The Probability of Everything.  But here goes:  It makes brilliant and novel use of an unreliable narrator, who is also insightful and resilient.  By tightly maintaining focus on this extraordinary young narrator, the story extends from the personal to the cultural and communal. This is a rare, exceptional and memorable story.

 

Ten-Word Tiny Tales: To Inspire and Unsettle (Hardcover)

By Joseph Coelho, Various (Illustrator)

$17.09

This book is pure genius. It is also a fantastic writing and illustrating prompt! Author Joseph Coelho crafted ten tiny tales, each one being a ten-word story. Here are three examples: 1.  "Invite me in," she says outside my tenth-story window. 2. The second giant came crashing out of the white cliffs. 3. We buried her on Wednesday, again on Thursday, and Friday. The author then challenged his children's book illustrator friends to render each tiny tale in a single illustration. Readers cannot help but be inspired to write and illustrate their own. What could be more fun? 

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels (Hardcover)

By Beth Lincoln, Claire Powell (Illustrator)

$16.19

The Swifts is one of those rare and unlooked for manifestations, a wholly original middle grade novel, that will be enjoyed by word lovers of all ages!  If you yearn for something novel in your novels, you will be very glad for The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels.  The story is built around a family for whom words and etymology are a determining force of character, except that young Shenanigan Swift will have none of it.

 

Very Good Hats (Hardcover)

By Emma Straub, Blanca Gómez (Illustrator)

$17.09

This illustrated children’s book by an acclaimed novelist, appears to effortlessly traverse an often fraught transition between writing adult fiction and writing children’s picture books!   Novelist Emma Straub serves up an absolutely delightful book for children that is happy in every sense of the word.  Come have a look -  it is a perfect holiday gift. 

 

I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel (Hardcover)

By Rebecca Makkai

$25.20

Yes, Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You has all the best qualities of an immersive literary thriller, untangling a long-past boarding school murder replete with professors, podcasters, and overlooked suspects.  Yet, what carries this book beyond its well-crafted characters and gripping plot is the murky undercurrent of questions that it poses. How does imperfect memory guide the hand of the present? What is the instinct that lures us towards tragedy, the impulse to insert ourselves into the story, how far will we go to satiate our hunger for resolution? The echoes of this book ring out long after the final page. (meg)