 |
The Concubine: A Novel
by Norah Lofts
Touchstone
Our Price: $15.00
|
Alan H. suggests...
The Concubine, by Norah Lofts, long overdue for reissue, is my own ideal of what a historical novel ought to be. As someone with a passionate interest in Tudor history in general and the dramatic story of Anne Boleyn in particular, I’ve been gritting my teeth at the plot absurdities of Philippa Gregory’s inexplicably best-selling The Other Boleyn Girl. (Basic fact: Mary Boleyn was the experienced ‘bad girl’ elder sister, NOT the innocent younger one — this has always been known !). Now at last I can offer people a better — and better-written — alternative. Lofts here does full justice to the mercurial and flamboyant personality of Anne Boleyn, as well as the complex true relationship between the sisters. Best of all perhaps is the way the author conveys the terrible vulnerability of what it meant to be Henry VIII’s queen. To say that the final chapters are profoundly poignant despite every reader’s already knowing how the book will end is a measure of Loft’s success.
Read all of Alan H.'s recommendations
|
 |
Robert Frank: The Americans
by
Steidl/National Gallery of Art, Washington
Our Price: $39.95
|
Alex M. suggests...
At last, The Americans is back, with this fiftieth anniversary edition, supervised by Frank himself. It baffles me how quickly art books go out of print.... Frank’s legendary series of photos from his Guggenheim-funded cross-country exploration, originally published in 1958, has gone in and out of print for years. As of 2008, it had been unavailable to bookstores for far too long. This is the photography book of all time—and I am so pleased to finally have it in my personal library.
Read all of Alex M.'s recommendations
|
 |
Vermeer's Milkmaid And Other Stories
by Manuel Rivas
Our Price: $21.95
|
Amanda N. suggests...
This is a collection of beautiful and poetic stories depicting rural life in northwest Spain by Galician author Manuel Rivas. Three of the tales contained within [Butterfly’s Tongue, Saxophone in the Mist and Carmiña] were the inspiration for the 1999 film, The Butterfly’s Tongue, which tells of the Spanish Civil War. The human element is powerfully and touchingly present throughout this book.
Read all of Amanda N. 's recommendations
|
 |
Cowboy Bunnies
by Christine Loomis
Putnam Juvenile
Our Price: $6.99
|
Ann M. suggests...
I sent this book to my nephew Nathaniel when he was one, and it was his top bed-time choice for quite a while. Here is what Nat’s father said about it: “My favorite book used to be Anna Karenina; now it is Cowboy Bunnies.” A unique and charming volume!
Read all of Ann M.'s recommendations
|
 |
Tangerine
by Edward Bloor
Harcourt Paperbacks
Our Price: $6.95
|
Ariel R. suggests...
Paul Fisher may be considered legally blind, but he sure can see things that others can’t. He can see that something is very wrong in Tangerine County, where lightning strikes at the same time every day and sinkholes open up without warning. Paul can see the truth about his older brother, who most people see as the local football star, but who Paul knows is nothing but the local bully. If he can see these things, AND play soccer better than anyone in the county, why exactly is he considered blind? Tangerine is great for soccer fans, and anyone who enjoys the story of an unlikely hero. Beautifully written, you won’t be able to put it down.
Read all of Ariel R.'s recommendations
|
 |
Wall and Piece
by Banksy
Random House UK
Our Price: $22.95
|
Ben N. suggests...
Self-effacingly clever and brave, Banksy’s Wall and Piece is—well, it’s different. It’s graffiti, it’s performance art, it’s an essay. Banksy takes aim at social constructions, “normal” ideas, propriety, culture. This book is full of powerful thought. Whether or not you agree with any of the statements Banksy paints into existence and shapes into form, the stuff makes you think (and then re-think).
Read all of Ben N.'s recommendations
|
 |
Infinitely Demanding: Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance
by Simon Critchley
Verso
Our Price: $16.95
|
Ben R. suggests...
Most political and cultural writing in America is too theoretically impoverished to do more than inform. Our "liberal" and even "radical" thinkers merely shine light on repressed and ignored stories and data—as such they can anger and appall but rarely inspire and never re-envision. And so we have a Democratic party that has become complacent, reactionary, and unoriginal, unable to challenge the dichotomies and vocabularies thrust upon it and us from the right. Critchley, a leading philosopher from the continental tradition, offers here the beginnings of a systematic reconceptualization of how we might view ethics and politics in a liberal democracy that so often leaves us disappointed.
Read all of Ben R.'s recommendations
|
 |
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer
by Tracy Kidder
Random House
Our Price: $14.00
|
Carole H. suggests...
Like John McPhee, Kidder can interest me regardless of his topic. Finally he has a subject whose importance matches his considerable talents: Dr. Paul Farmer, infectious-disease expert, anthropologist, winner of a MacArthur grant, founder of Partners in Health, brilliant and tireless worker in brining health care to the world's poorest people. Farmer understands the political economy of disease and poverty, he believes that radical change is possible and he has proved it with his work in Haiti. The story is fascinating -- awe-inspiring, engrossing, funny and yet deadly serious.
Read all of Carole H.'s recommendations
|
 |
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary Schmidt
Our Price: $16.00
|
Carter H. suggests...
It is 1967 and Holling Hoodhood has just started the seventh grade. He is convinced that his teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates him because as a Presbyterian, he ruins her Wednesday afternoons by staying behind when all the other students have gone to Catechism class or Hebrew school. So she has him read a number of Shakespeare's plays (which he really enjoys despite Mrs. Baker trying to bore him to death). All Holling has to do is get through the year alive. Never mind the yellow-toothed giant rats that are out to get him, or the costume he has to wear for the Shakespeare extravaganza (yellow tights and feathers covering his butt), or the fact that Vietnam is going on and Martin Luther King, Jr. is trying to make the world a better place. As the world seems to tumble down around him, Holling struggles to make his way through it, to find his own voice.
You can list some things that "The Wednesday Wars" seems to be about, but I think it's more than the list. It has that instant timeless/classic appeal. Or as Mrs. Baker says on Shakespeare, "'It is about the abundance of love. It is about the weakness of armies and battles and guns and.…' She stopped. Her mouth worked back and forth. 'It is about the endurance of love,' she whispered."
Read all of Carter H.'s recommendations
|
 |
The Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories
by Nicholas Gurewitch
Dark Horse Comics
Our Price: $14.95
|
Churchill P. suggests...
Nicholas Gurewitch’s comics are hilarious, clever and tragic. But mostly they are tragic. Tragic and hilarious. His illustration style is simple and reminiscent of “Little Golden Books,” if they were written for adults. I realized his genius when I first read “Sun Love” on the Perry Bible Fellowship website (pbfcomics.com). Tragic and hilarious.
Read all of Churchill P.'s recommendations
|
 |
Grow Organic
by DK Publishing
DK ADULT
Our Price: $25.00
|
Clare M. suggests...
As a novice gardener, I have been overwhelmed by the hundreds of available books ranging in complexity and scope. I want a garden that includes flowers and edible plants, but that is not going to cost a fortune or increase my carbon footprint and use of hazardous fertilizers and pesticides. Grow Organic addresses these questions and more. It's a practical and thorough guide to creating your own sustainable garden from start to finish, with lots of beautiful pictures to illustrate and inspire. And thanks to DK Publishing, the book itself is made from sustainable materials!
Read all of Clare M.'s recommendations
|
 |
Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
by Joelle Hoverson
Harry N. Abrams
Our Price: $24.95
|
Frances H. suggests...
So you had 9 months to make some awesome booties for your roommate's sister's new baby...9 months ago. Now that baby's putting on a pound a day and if you don't think fast she'll be graduating highschool just as you're getting the final bobbles finished. So now what? Good thing for you, Joelle Hoverson's got you covered with her beautiful collection of last minute gift patterns. Arranged by approximate knit-time and paired with some delicious photos, these will be your go-to patterns for the upcoming holiday season, and all year round. Also of note in this book Ms. Hoverson's illuminating essay on color and her excellent tips for combining yarns to get simple yet beautiful effects. Just make sure you check for the online correction guide, since the edition went to print with some minor mistakes. And while we're at it, I highly suggest visiting the website for Ms. Hoverson's yarn store in Soho, Purl (www.purlsoho.com, www.purlbee.com).
Read all of Frances H.'s recommendations
|
 |
Without a Map
by Meredith Hall
Houghton Mifflin
Our Price: $14.00
|
Frank K. suggests...
Appalling and infuriating, yet uplifting and inspiring, Without A Map pulls you into Hall’s personal experience of sudden rejection and expulsion from her only sources of sustenance and connection. As an adoptive parent I cried and cheered for her through her exile and return to a very different home. Meredith Hall is a hero of awesome courage and eloquence.
Read all of Frank K.'s recommendations
|
 |
Cosmicomics
by Italo Calvino
Harvest Books
Our Price: $14.00
|
Jane D. suggests...
Cosmicomics is one of my favorite books of all time. Each section takes place in a different point in the evolution of the universe. Calvino places human characters there, before the Big Bang, in the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life, his protagonist always falling in love. These remarkably imaginative tales are coupled with some of the most intelligent and beautiful writing I’ve read.
Read all of Jane D.'s recommendations
|
 |
An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives -- How to Buy Them, Keep Them Razor Sharp, and Use Them Like a P
by Chad Ward
William Morrow Cookbooks
Our Price: $34.95
|
Jen C. suggests...
If you want a book that will help you improve your knife skills (such as chopping faster, avoiding accidents, or getting a better edge on your knife), An Edge in the Kitchen is best, most readable book on the market, and I’ve read through several books and websites for information. There is an in-depth primer to knife honing and sharpening, and well as the standard full-color photos of cutting up all the vegetables and meat you could possibly be expected to encounter in your kitchen adventures. More importantly, it’s also a “knife book” as well as a “knife skills” book for your inner materialist or consumer junkie (like me). If you wondering about (1) what kitchen knives to buy for a first kitchen or a registry, or (2) looking to upgrade your current kitchen, or (3) if you simply appreciate good food/tools/gadget writing, this is the best, most up-to-date source of information out there. Even if shiny, sharp objects scare you, and you’re not too handy in the kitchen, this is a fascinating read. Have you ever seen those beautiful, pricey German or Japanese knives in a specialty store or Williams-Sonoma, but you were afraid to commit to a purchase, because you were unsure how to decipher the jargon (high-carbon stainless? VG10 steel? drop-forged? full-tang?), and how to separate the facts from the sales pitches? This book explains everything you might want to know about knives (and debunks many consumer myths) in an easy-to-understand, engaging way, and arms you with knowledge as a consumer. A good knife is an extension of a cook’s hands. Ideally, buying a good kitchen knife is an investment in a tool that will last a lifetime and that you will use on a near-daily basis. I would recommend this book to anyone who uses knives in a kitchen.
Read all of Jen C.'s recommendations
|
 |
Robert Polidori: Havana
by
Steidl
Our Price: $75.00
|
Julia M suggests...
On a trip to Cuba in 2001 I was struck by the tragic beauty of a city in the midst of decay and I decided that if I were to be a professional photographer, Havana would be my subject. Before 1959, Havana was a thriving urban area where brightly painted yet minimalistically designed art deco high-rises lined the block next to ornate baroque-style edifices. Though they were built at every stage since the island was colonized by the Spanish, all of these buildings started crumbling at the same time: 1959. This image, of diverse architectural styles decaying at the same rate has a startling photogenic quality that speaks to the sorrows and struggles of the Cuban people who are also pictured in these photographs. Polidori has captured that beauty with incredible power.
Read all of Julia M's recommendations
|
 |
The Letter Home
by Timothy Decker
Front Street Inc
Our Price: $16.95
|
Kari P. suggests...
I am aware this book is a tough sell. First, this is a picture book about war. More specifically, this is a picture book set firmly in World War I. Rather than miring the book in history and rendering its message obsolete, the very humanity of it makes Letter’s message universal. Decker’s pen and ink illustrations are a beautiful complement to the sparse text of a letter from a medic in the trenches home to his son near the end of the war. They capture the loneliness, despair, horror, and boredom of warrnso intricately, and, more importantly, they remind us that there is hope, even in the darkest hour. While we may be growing unfamiliar with the images of trench warfare, we are still bombarded daily with images of armed conflict. On the surface, this might appear to be a book for children that is stuck in the past. Look closer, my friend. This, this is a book for any age.
Read all of Kari P.'s recommendations
|
 |
Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways To Incorporate Whole and Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking
by Heidi Swanson
Celestial Arts
Our Price: $20.00
|
Katie L. suggests...
This book is a staple in my kitchen for a few reasons. Unlike much of the recent inundation of literature on whole foods, Swanson’s approach doesn’t center on alarmism: fears of chemicals, corporatism, or corpulence. She lets her love of food speak for itself. The recipes in this collection are straight-up crowd pleasers. They consistently wow my dinner guests, vegan, vegetarian, and dilemma-plagued omnivore alike. Check out pages 62 and 151 for some of my go-to’s. Finally, let’s be honest: one of the best parts about buying cookbooks is looking at the pictures. And Swanson happens to be a pro photographer. (Her award-winning recipe blog, 101cookbooks.com, is utterly addicting.) SNC can essentially moonlight as a coffee table book, notwithstanding the olive oil stains it’s bound to accumulate with use.
Read all of Katie L.'s recommendations
|
 |
Nixon Agonistes: The Crisis of the Self-Made Man
by Garry Wills
Mariner Books
Our Price: $15.00
|
Mark L. suggests...
At a 1980’s White House reception for former presidents, Bob Dole saw Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon standing together and said, “Look: See no evil, speak no evil, and evil.” Dole came to regret the remark, and, weeping at Nixon’s funeral, called his own political lifetime “The era of Nixon.” In Nixon Agonistes, Garry Wills had brilliantly elaborated the same point nearly 15 years earlier. Wills’s Nixon epitomizes American political culture at its imperially mawkish, striving, air-conditioned, resentful peak. Wills the classicist smooths the style of the (then) New Journalism, but never misses the needs and cruelties (et tu, Ike?) that propelled Nixon to the head of the Silent Majority. There is no brighter illumination of the politics of the period than this, now finally returned to print.
Read all of Mark L.'s recommendations
|
 |
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
by David Wroblewski
Ecco
Our Price: $25.95
|
Megan S. suggests...
The tears and whiskey that stain my copy of Edgar Sawtelle attest to how great this book is. I’d be hard pressed to name a more masterful debut novel. If you had told me that a story about a family that raises dogs, with elements of Hamlet, would make me sob, I would have said you were crazy. But it happened, and I want to run out and force everyone I know to read this amazing book.
Read all of Megan S.'s recommendations
|
 |
A Photographic Guide to Seashore Life in the North Atlantic: Canada to Cape Cod
by J. Duane Sept
Princeton University Press
Our Price: $19.95
|
Melissa H. suggests...
This book could be the field guide to my childhood on the shores of Southeastern Massachusetts. Now I know that the seaweed varieties most useful for flinging at my brother and dad have names (rockweed and sea staghorn), that toenail shells are also called jingles, that the burrowing creatures I dug out of the sand with my toes in the surf of Horseneck Beach are called (aptly) mole crabs, and that the unavoidable thousands of small pink shells that toughened my feet over the course of a summer belong to the elegantly named slippersnail. The bright, clear photos and concise and informative text make this the perfect little book to take to the shore, whether you are an old salt or a novice clamdigger.
Read all of Melissa H.'s recommendations
|
 |
The Boat
by Nam Le
Knopf
Our Price: $22.95
|
Mike C. suggests...
Nam Le’s debut short-story collection is a tour-de-force of a tour-du-monde, taking readers from Iowa to Iran, from Vietnam to Australia, from Manhattan to Medellín. What’s impressive about this incredibly imaginative and talented young writer is the way he inhabits the life of a character, whether it’s an aging artist, a young Colombian assassin, an American woman in Iran, or a Vietnamese-Australian student at the Iowa Writers Workshop named Nam Le. This is a perfect debut; it’s satisfying on its own, but it whets one’s appetite for whatever Mr. Le will do next.
Read all of Mike C.'s recommendations
|
 |
Novels in Three Lines (New York Review Books Classics)
by Felix Feneon
NYRB Classics
Our Price: $14.00
|
Rachel B. suggests...
The beautiful, funny and sometimes shocking news items contained in this volume are early examples of the recently popular miniature genres such as micro-fiction and memoirs-in-six-words. Although they appear here in translation from the French, the careful choice of words and labyrinthine sentence structure come through, illuminating the most poetic form of journalism you’ve ever read.
Read all of Rachel B.'s recommendations
|
 |
It Happened in Boston? (20th Century Rediscoveries)
by Russell H. Greenan
Modern Library
Our Price: $12.95
|
Stef G. suggests...
First published by Random House in 1968, Russell H. Greenan’s It Happened in Boston? is the story of a brilliantly talented, unbalanced artist who strives to meet God face-to-face in order to destroy Him. Greenan’s hilarious and disturbing debut novel—now an underground cult classic—is ripe for rediscovery. “It’s excellently written, has an entertaining, tricky plot, and is fun to reread.”
Read all of Stef G.'s recommendations
|
