November Staff Picks!
"No one is without fear. There will be times in your life when you will be very afraid. Maybe as afraid as you were with your grandmother. But the brave take action in spite of that fear." --Kathleen Grissom, Crow Mary
For November, we're celebrating nonfiction--well, some of us are! Check out our wide-range of staff picks for this month, and maybe you'll find the perfect gift for someone there as well!
Recommended by Alisa
The Deeper the Water the Uglier the Fish by Katya Apekina
Beautiful, gothic, and depressing. The prose is what drew me in initially, but the quick-to-unravel plot had me finishing the book in one sitting. Despite the focus of the plot revolving around abuse and mental illness, this is also a story about survival and catharsis.
Recommended by Andrew
Regeneration by Pat Barker
More recently acclaimed for her Greek mythology re-imaginings, Barker was first renown for her Booker Prize winning Regeneration Trilogy about soldiers during WWI convalescing in the Craiglockhart asylum. This anti-war book, the first in the trilogy, details the relationships between the psychologist, Rivers, and his patients suffering from war’s ravages. A beautifully written and topical book.
Recommended by Anna
The Healing Season of Pottery by Yeon Somin, Clare Richards
Sometimes burnout is inescapable. And sometimes all you need to get through it is a new hobby and some new friends.
Recommended by Ben
This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving by David J. Silverman
This book thoroughly explains and debunks the thanksgiving myth. In its place, Silverman offers a comprehensive history of the Wompanoag people, the dynamics of pre-colonial America, and the evolution of native-colonizer relations from the supposed first thanksgiving through King Philip's War
Recommended by Chloe
Apartheid Israel: The Politics of an Analogy edited by Sean Jacobs and Jon Soske
This book will wake you up! It features some heavy hitters from the realm of African studies, raising their powerful voices in a call for Afro-Palestinian solidarity. Speaking on the stark similarities between apartheid South Africa and modern-day Israel, the collection of essays is the perfect accompaniment to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Message.
Recommended by Elisabeth
The Mushroom at the End of the World: One the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing
In tracing the global commodity chain of the matsutake mushroom - the most valuable mushroom in the world, and a weed that grows in human-disturbed forests across the northern hemisphere - Tsing trains her eye on our ecological crisis, its history, and capitalism’s part. This is a tale of resilience told in fascinating detail, singing prose, and maximum originality. Big recommendation, will be a classic.
Recommended by Jordan
The Coworker by Freida McFadden
Two women. An office filled with secrets. One terrible crime that can't be taken back.
Recommended by Kaite
Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom
Inspired by true events, Crow Mary tells the epic story of Goes First, a woman from the Crow tribe in Montana in the mid-late 1800s who marries a white fur trader and must leave her family for his trading post in Canada. She is a hero and a badass and you will not want to stop reading her incredible story.
Recommended by Kris
The Phoenix Keeper by S. A. MacLean
Aila works with magical birds and loves every second. Well, not the public-facing parts—in fact, if she could just work with her birds, that would be great. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity means ssving her beloved endangered phoenix, she becomes public speaking enemy number one to save the day—sort of! (Cue sapphic stubbornness and chaos!)
Recommended by Liora
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month by picking up this thrilling debut by Ojibwe author Angeline Boulley–and immerse yourself in mystery, indigenous culture, community resilience and a bit of hockey romance.
Recommended by Llalan
Amphibian by Tyler Wetherall
In girls there is an aching eagerness to become a woman and also the terror of it all. Wetherall portrays two friends on the cusp of womanhood so precisely and beautifully I was transported back to the 90s myself, wanting to play dolls but wanting to kiss the boys, too. Absolutely adored this book
Recommended by Sara
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkole Estes
“If you don’t go out in the woods, nothing will ever happen, and your life will never begin.” Learn how to balance taking care of your pack while preserving your own boundaries from the master storyteller herself. This book is absolutely fascinating and beautifully affirming; you’ll never see yourself the same way again.
Recommended by Aly
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Single mom Olivia McAfee balances her beekeeping with raising her son, Asher, far away from the abusive husband she left behind. Things aren't idyllic but for them, life is enough. That is, until Asher's girlfriend, Lily, is found dead in her home. When it comes to light that Lily was trans, Asher becomes the sole suspect. Torn between her community and son, Olivia must find a way to stay sane and hopeful. It's hardly the first time.
Recommended by Author's Corner*
Distance Sequence by Luke Sutherland
"With prose that thrills and aches like poetry, Distance Sequence invites us into a rich world of embodiment and wild longing that I won't soon forget." -Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, author of Big Girl
*The Inner Loop's Author's Corner supports local authors' independently published books by spotlighting them across all our programming and through community collaborations.
Recommended by Kris
The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton
Breaking into a spaceship that was once bound for the stars and now sits abandoned after its entire crew disappeared shouldn't be that bad, right? Well, now Cleo and friends are hurtling through space—this was not the plan—and have even more questions, like who created the holograhic captain? And did someone just shoot an icicle out of their hands?
Recommended by Jordan
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath
Live, laugh, shed blood. Dexter meets Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town in this twisted debut graphic novel!
Recommended by Chloe
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
“Desahogar: to undrown, to cry until you don’t need to cry no more.” If you’ve ever wanted to see the world through the eyes of your immigrant mother (for better or for worse), this book is for you. Pertinent, personal, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Cara Romero comes to life.
Recommended by Anna
At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails by Sarah Bakewell
Bakewell writes like old friends catching up over tea debating the ideas of “What are we?” and “What should we do?” as it relates to freedom. A simple but captivating read that explains why existentialist philosophy is still relevant today.