Autumn's Picks

How to Change Your Mind

“Pollan brings his humor, lyricism, and love for deep research to the admittedly taboo field of psychedelics. This book is an exhaustive exploration of these mysterious substances, in which he balances skepticism of the culture that surrounds them with optimism for their potential therapeutic use.”

Kevin, Parnassus Books

If you enjoyed Daisy Jones & The Six, then you’ll love Utopia Avenue.

“Fans of David Mitchell will not be disappointed with his latest masterpiece! Ostensibly a novel about a band coming together in England in the late 1960s, Utopia Avenue is so much more! Mitchell goes deep into the backstories of the band members to explore grief, alcoholism, sexuality and schizophrenia (just to name a few) in his own unique style. Historical events, like Viet Nam protests and the proliferation of drug use, also make appearances giving the novel gravitas and authenticity. On a more light hearted note, cameos by actual artists are scattered within the novel to great effect: making small talk with David Bowie, meeting Brian Jones backstage, partying with Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin, taking acid with Jerry Garcia. Utopia Avenue is a big story comprised of hundreds of little gems—a great read!”

Phyllis, Wellesley Books

Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.

"A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell." -- New York Times

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch... Read more »

The Nazi regime preached an ideology of physical, mental, and moral purity. But as Norman Ohler reveals in this gripping new history, the Third Reich was saturated with drugs.

On the eve of World War II, Germany was a pharmaceutical powerhouse, and companies such as Merck and Bayer cooked up cocaine, opiates, and, most of all, methamphetamines,...

Invisible Women

“This book is as utterly fascinating as it is frustrating and eye-opening. I blew through it in a day and a half because I simply could not stop listening to it and appreciating with rising vexation Perez's breakdown of the data at every level of the world we live in today. This is a book I wish I could share with everyone and talk about to get the ball rolling on change.”

Jane, Rediscovered Books

Mostly Dead Things

“After her father commits suicide, Jessa is tasked with saving her family’s taxidermy business from going bankrupt. She also has to take care of her family’s strange problems — including her mother’s affinity for turning their taxidermy into risqué works of art. Mostly Dead Things is a fun, eccentric book with a steamy lesbian romance, ongoing sibling rivalry, and dark confessions of a family that is willing to go the mile in order to make ends meet. Stuffed with humor, heartfelt moments, and some gritty bits, Arnett’s writing will make you laugh, cry, and wonder how an author’s first novel can be so engaging and well-written!”

Sage Cristal, UC San Diego Bookstore

AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW

From the bestselling and Booker Prize winning author of Never Let me Go and The Remains of the Day, a stunning new novel - his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature - that asks, what does it mean to love? A thrilling feat of world-building, a novel of exquisite tenderness and impeccable restraint, Klara and...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions

"Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a... Read more »

A searing, surreal novel that bleeds fantasy and reality—and Beatles fandom—from one of literature’s most striking contemporary voices, author of the international sensation City of Bohane

It is 1978, and John Lennon has escaped New York City to try to find the island off the west coast of Ireland he bought nine years prior. Leaving behind...

A witty, heartfelt novel that brilliantly evokes the confusions of adolescence and marks the arrival of an extraordinary young talent.

Isidore Mazal is eleven years old, the youngest of six siblings living in a small French town. He doesn't quite fit in. Berenice, Aurore, and Leonard are on track to have doctorates by age twenty-four. Jeremie... Read more »

Humankind

“Lengthy, but fascinating book delving into the resiliency and nature of humankind, and how are beliefs about that shape our society. Great for a book club conversation or dinner table discussion. Stories and research woven throughout keep the book moving.”

Tina, Leaves Book and Tea Shop

A Best Book of 2020 NPR
A Best Book of 2020 The Economist
A Top Ten Best Science Book of 2020 Smithsonian 
A Best Science & Technology Book of 2020 Library Journal
A Must-Read Book to Escape the Chaos of 2020 Newsweek
Starred review Booklist
Starred review Publishers Weekly

An historically unprecedented disconnect between humanity and the heavens... Read more »

Why Fish Don't Exist

“I've followed Lulu Miller's audio stories on public radio for years and I found Why Fish Don't Exist absolutely absorbing. Part memoir, part scientific deep dive into the life of David Starr Jordan (a taxonomist who discovered one-fifth of the fish known to humans), Why Fish Don't Exist examines order and chaos in the world with humor and deep personal insight.”

Rachel, Avid Bookshop

White Tears/Brown Scars

“This book could not have come at a better time as a vital contribution to antiracist and intersectional feminist literature. Hamad is extremely thorough in her examination of white feminism and its long history of weaponization against BIPOC. This work is accessible to newcomers to these topics, and illuminating for those who have some background in these discussions. Hamad shows us how deep the betrayal of white feminism goes, into politics, the media, and our interpersonal relationships, so that we might call it out and stop it in its tracks.”

Nikki Siclare, Newtonville Books

The Deep

“Solomon is perfectly suited to expand the concept of a civilization of merfolk whose origins were born in the violence of pregnant African women sent to the depths from the vessels of white slave traders. The Deep focuses on Yetu, whose role as historian is to be individually burdened with six centuries of memories of all the wajinru (merfolk), and the consequences when she abdicates her responsibility. With shades of Hans Christian Andersen, Ursula Le Guin, and Lois Lowry, plus inimitable explorations of difficult social interrelationships, Solomon’s short tome is, indeed, a deep read.”

Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Creating Conversations

Putney

“Putney reads as if Lolita had been written by a 21st century woman at the height of the #MeToo zeitgeist, only better. Balancing three points of view - victim, abuser and witness - Putney is a stunningly thought-provoking novel, sometimes uncomfortably so. It's also beautifully well-written, thoroughly human and obsessively compelling. Highly recommended.”

Carol Schneck Varner, Schuler Books

'An immensely engaging writer: wry and witty, and insightful.' Sunday Times

'A vivid and meticulous writer.' Observer

From the widely renowned author Andrew O'Hagan, a heartbreaking novel of an extraordinary lifelong friendship.

Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend who defines your life.

In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, James and...

“Dear Readers: This is one wild book! . . . No holds barred.” —Margaret Atwood via Twitter

“Mind-blowing. Equal parts brilliant and hilarious.” —Heather O’Neill, bestselling author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel and Lullabies for Little Criminals


From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny, a darkly funny novel about a theatre professor suffering... Read more »