Kenn's Staff Picks

“A masterpiece of supernatural horror.”—The Washington Post
“An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK • ONE OF TIME AND ESQUIRE’S BEST BOOKS OF 2023 (SO FAR) • A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic... Read more »

Getting Lost is the diary Annie Ernaux kept during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger married man, a Russian diplomat. Her novel, Simple Passion, was based on this affair, but here her writing is immediate, unfiltered. In these diaries, it is 1989, and Annie is divorced with two grown sons, living outside of Paris,... Read more »

Amina Cain's unique wandering sensibility, her attention to the small and the surprising, finds a profound new expression in her first nonfiction book, a sustained meditation on writers and their work. Driven by primary questions of authenticity and freedom in the shadow of ecological and social collapse, Cain moves associatively through a... Read more »

Tell Me I'm Worthless

“The haunted house at the center of the novel is old. It carries a history of violence that has painted its walls both literally and metaphorically with blood. In the contemporary moment of the novel, Alice and Ila are torn—struggling to live their lives while still haunted by the brutally traumatic experience they shared a few years before. In her forward, Rumfitt states the novel is about two things: trauma and fascism. Do not take this warning lightly. It is exacting and precise in its critique of contemporary anti-trans discourse—of rhetoric that is as saturated with hatred and fear as the house at the novel’s center is with blood. TW: Racism, anti-semitism, trans-phobia, sexual assault, self harm, suicide”

Jenni, Mysterious Galaxy Books

Leah is changed. Months earlier, she left for a routine expedition, only this time her submarine sank to the sea floor. When she finally surfaces and returns home, her wife Miri knows that something is wrong. Barely eating and lost in her thoughts, Leah rotates between rooms in their apartment, running the taps morning and night. As Miri... Read more »

An embittered dog walker obsessed with a social media influencer inadvertently puts a curse on a young man—and must adventure into a mysterious dimension in order to save him—in this wildly inventive, delightfully subversive, genre-nonconforming debut novel about illusion, magic, technology, kinship, and the emergent future.The year is 20__, and... Read more »

This program is read by the author.

"Nevada is a book that changed my life: it shaped both my worldview and personhood, making me the writer I am. And it did so by the oldest of methods, by telling a wise, hilarious, and gripping story." —Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

A beloved and blistering cult classic and finalist for the Lambda... Read more »

*LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE*
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 BC AND YUKON ETHEL WILSON PRIZE*

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

An urgent first novel about breaching the prisons we live inside from one of Canada’s most daring literary talents.

An unnamed narrator abandons his unfinished thesis and returns to northern Alberta in search of what... Read more »

Yerba Buena

“Printz Award-winning author Nina LaCour’s debut adult novel, Yerba Buena, is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. It’s the story of two lost women who find each other against all the roadblocks and barriers they’ve each surrounded themselves with. It’s also Nina LaCour at her best, her command of the English language is on full display here-I honestly believe there is nothing she can’t do.”

Kathleen, A Great Good Place for Books

If you enjoyed Now Is Not the Time to Panic, then you’ll love Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

“I absolutely loved listening to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. As a Gen X-er, the reference to old school video games like Donkey Kong, Pac Man and Oregon Trail, brought about nostalgia and kept me engaged, even though I don't consider myself much of a gamer. If you love a character-driven story you will love this novel! While I didn't always like these characters, I absolutely understand them as the author does a beautiful job of showing us how we are each made up of and impacted by our experiences. This story captures the love between friends and reminds us that while we think we know how the world sees us, our truest friends always see us for exactly who we are and they love us anyway!”

Melody, Park Books

“Every decent friendship comes with a drop of hatred. But that hatred is like honey in the tea. It makes it addictive.”

Charismatic Marie Antoine is the daughter of the richest man in 19th century Montreal. She has everything she wants, except for a best friend—until clever, scheming Sadie Arnett moves to the neighborhood. Immediately united by... Read more »

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE SELECTION * A MALALA BOOK CLUB PICK * AN INDIE NEXT PICK * A FAVORITE BOOK OF 2022 BY NPR AND BOOK RIOT * A MUST-READ MARCH 2022 BOOK BY TIME, VANITY FAIR, EW AND THE CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS * A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY GOODREADS, NYLON, BUZZFEED AND MORE

A Taiwanese American woman’s... Read more »

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST, VOGUE,  MARIE CLAIRE, READER'S DIGEST, AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

“A gripping read…Unabashedly queer, probing and unafraid…Exceedingly engaging.” –USA Today

“Sublimely weird, fluently paced, brazenly funny and gayer still, and it richly deserves to find readers.” –New York Times

From the author of the... Read more »

We Keep the Dead Close

“As much a journey for the writer as it is for the reader, this book solves a murder but leaves us with many unanswered questions. We Keep the Dead Close challenges us to question our assumptions as well as the paths we use to arrive at those assumptions. Delving into the academic culture of Harvard, the misogyny of the 1960s, and the burgeoning women’s rights movement, the story follows several threads, all of which have a significant impact on the life of Jane Britton, whose story is told with empathy, compassion, and five decades of curiosity.”

Camille Kovach, Completely Booked

The Idiot

“Batuman's voice is bitingly original and her protagonist, Selin, brings vitality to the pages through her odd, serious, and slightly sardonic naivete. The honesty of Selin's self-exploration during her first year at Harvard struck a chord with me. Her frank sense of observation as she navigates first love, friendship, and freshman year are a breath of fresh air. I have not read anything quite like The Idiot and I doubt I will again. I loved it.”

Kisky Holwerda, Astoria Bookshop

"Queer, dirty, insightful, and so funny" (Andrea Lawlor), this coyly revolutionary debut story collection imagines new origins and futures for its cast of unforgettable protagonists—almost all of whom are named Sarah.

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021 BY THE MILLIONS * OPRAH MAGAZINE * ELECTRIC LITERATURE * REFINERY29

In Sarahland, Sam Cohen... Read more »

In the Dream House

“In the most inventive memoir I've read, Machado uses narrative tropes in a series of fragments and vignettes to break down the ways in which she, herself, was breaking down in an abusive same-sex relationship. A book about 'archival silence,' about inventing a language to tell a story.”

Bryn, Bookstore1Sarasota

If you enjoyed The Power, then you’ll love The School for Good Mothers.

“This book was absolutely wild. Chan really makes you examine motherhood and how subjective it can be. With her fictional school and its excessive tactics, you wonder how you can judge mothers - is it possible to learn how to be a 'good' mother and what does 'good' even mean. Every moment of this book will stress you out a little (in a good way) and get you thinking.”

Kimi, Buttonwood Books and Toys

Best Book of 2021 by Esquire
Book You Need to Read in 2021 by Harper’​s Bazaar

“Darkly funny and glitteringly satirical, The Atmospherians unforgettably takes aim at wokeness, wellness, and toxic masculinity.” —Esquire

This “edgy, addictive” (Kirkus Reviews, starred) satire about two best friends who form The Atmosphere—a cult designed to... Read more »

Devil House

“Playing with form, voice, and the reader's expectations of how a novel should operate; Devil House is a thrilling, bracing, and unmissable reading experience. Darnielle's latest novel begins straightforward enough - a true crime writer moves into a house where brutal murders took place to research his next project. With each passing chapter, the story morphs and expands; masterfully carried along by Darnielle's incredible writing and nuanced characters. Come for the satanic murder but stay for the fascinating exploration of what it means to the truth about the past.”

Caleb, Bookmarks