Episode 15: To Read, or Not To Read (The Classics)!

Staff Pick Badge
Disney's Land: Walt Disney and the Invention of the Amusement Park That Changed the World By Richard Snow Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781501190810
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Scribner - December 1st, 2020

A propulsive and “entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) history chronicling the conception and creation of the iconic Disneyland theme park, as told like never before by popular historian Richard Snow.

One day in the early 1950s, Walt Disney stood looking over 240 acres of farmland in Anaheim, California, and imagined building a park where people “could liv


Staff Pick Badge
Pride: A Pride & Prejudice Remix By Ibi Zoboi Cover Image
$11.99
ISBN: 9780062564054
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Balzer + Bray - December 17th, 2019

In a timely update of Jane Austen's Pride and PrejudiceNational Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.


Staff Pick Badge
The Unwilling By Kelly Braffet Cover Image
$27.99
ISBN: 9780778309406
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Mira Books - February 11th, 2020

"Fantasy at its most sublime "--Erin Morgenstern, New York Times bestselling author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS

"Suspenseful, magical, wonderfully written... An essential addition to all epic-fantasy collections." --Booklist, STARRED review


A penetrating tale of magic, faith and pride...


An Unkindness of Magicians (Unseen World, The #1) By Kat Howard Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781481451208
Availability: Backordered
Published: Gallery / Saga Press - June 5th, 2018

“A remarkable writer.” —Neil Gaiman, bestselling author of American Gods

An Alex Award Winner

There is a dark secret that is hiding at the heart of New York City and diminishing the city’s magicians’ power in this fantasy thriller by acclaimed author Kat Howard.

In New York City, magic controls everything.


Little Weirds By Jenny Slate Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780316485364
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books - November 24th, 2020

Step into Jenny Slate's wild imagination in this "magical" (Mindy Kaling), "delicious" (Amy Sedaris), and "poignant" (John Mulaney) New York Times bestseller about love, heartbreak, and being alive -- "this book is something new and wonderful" (George Saunders).

You may "know" Jenny Slate from her Netflix special, S


The Phantom Tollbooth By Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer (Illustrator)
$8.99
ISBN: 9780394820378
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Yearling - October 12th, 1988

With almost 5 million copies sold 60 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever. 


Now on Netflix as a 4-part documentary series!

“Pollan keeps you turning the pages . . . cleareyed and assured.” —New York Times

A #1 New York Times Bestseller, New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2018, and
New York Times Notable Book 


My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: A Memoir By Jenn Shapland Cover Image
$22.95
ISBN: 9781947793286
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Tin House Books - February 4th, 2020

Winner of the Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction, Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award, and a Lambda Literary Award

Finalist for the National Book Award

Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction


Fresh Water for Flowers By Valérie Perrin, Hildegarde Serle (Translator) Cover Image
$25.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781609455958
Published: Europa Editions - July 7th, 2020

A 2020 INDIES INTRODUCE PICK


A POIGNANT RUNAWAY BESTSELLER full of French charm and memorable characters, Fresh Water for Flowers is Val rie Perrin's English debut.


Enter the Aardvark By Jessica Anthony Cover Image
$26.00
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780316536158
Published: Little, Brown and Company - March 24th, 2020

In this “blisteringly innovative and outrageous” (The Observer) novel that the Los Angeles Times describes as "somewhere between Nabokov's Pnin and Veep,” a young politician discovers a mysterious stuffed aardvark on his doorstep and sets out on a journey to find out what it means.

Ea


Survivor Song: A Novel By Paul Tremblay Cover Image
$27.99
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9780062679161
Published: William Morrow - July 7th, 2020

A propulsive and chillingly prescient novel of suspense and terror from the Bram Stoker award–winning author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts.

“Absolutely riveting.” — Stephen King


A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel By Paul Tremblay Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062363244
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - May 10th, 2016

WINNER OF THE 2015 BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends psychological suspense and supernatural horror, reminiscent of Stephen King's The Shining, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist.


The Cabin at the End of the World: A Novel By Paul Tremblay Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062679116
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - July 2nd, 2019

Paul Tremblay’s terrifying twist to the home invasion novel—inspiration for the upcoming major motion picture from Universal Pictures

“Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.” — Stephen King


Disappearance at Devil's Rock: A Novel By Paul Tremblay Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9780062363275
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - March 14th, 2017

A family is shaken to its core after the mysterious disappearance of a teenage boy in this eerie tale, a blend of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and supernatural horror from the author of A Head Full of Ghosts.


Bird Box: A Novel By Josh Malerman Cover Image
$15.99
ISBN: 9780062259660
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Ecco - February 10th, 2015

Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, and Rosa Salazar!


You Let Me In By Camilla Bruce Cover Image
$25.99
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781250302045
Published: Tor Books - April 21st, 2020

You Let Me In delivers a stunning tale from debut author Camilla Bruce, combining the sinister domestic atmosphere of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects with the otherworldly thrills of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Cassandra Tipp is dead...or is she?


Who Is Vera Kelly? (A Vera Kelly Story #1) By Rosalie Knecht Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781947793019
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tin House Books - June 12th, 2018

Winner of the 2021 Edgar Award – G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards


Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery (A Vera Kelly Story #2) By Rosalie Knecht Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781947793798
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tin House Books - June 16th, 2020

Winner of the 2021 Edgar Award – G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award

Finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards


Staff Pick Badge
Splintered (Splintered Series #1): Splintered Book One By A. G. Howard Cover Image
$10.99
ISBN: 9781419709708
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Amulet Paperbacks - February 18th, 2014

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before.


Spinning Silver: A Novel By Naomi Novik Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780399180996
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Del Rey - May 7th, 2019

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of the year’s strongest fantasy novels” (NPR), an imaginative retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale from the bestselling author of Uprooted.


Winterspell By Claire Legrand Cover Image
$13.99
Likely available, but must be ordered by email/phone
ISBN: 9781442465992
Published: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - October 27th, 2015

Darkly romantic and entirely enchanting, this reimagining of The Nutcracker from Claire Legrand brims with magic, love, and intrigue—and “includes a Victorian mob princess/warrior heroine, an alternate New York City, steampunk faeries and an epic multigenerational battle” (Kirkus Reviews).

After her mother is brutally murdered, seventeen-year-old Clara


Egg and Spoon By Gregory Maguire Cover Image
$12.99
ISBN: 9780763680169
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Candlewick - August 4th, 2015

“A beautiful reminder that fairy tales are at their best when they illuminate the precarious balance between lighthearted childhood and the darkness and danger of adulthood.” — School Library Journal (starred review)


Staff Pick Badge
The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet: A Novel (Lizzie Bennet Diaries  ) By Bernie Su, Kate Rorick Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781476763163
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
Published: Gallery Books - June 24th, 2014

Based on the Emmy Award–winning YouTube series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Twenty‑four‑year‑old grad student Lizzie Bennet is saddled with student loan debt and still living at home along with her two sisters—beautiful Jane and reckless Lydia.


Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen Cover Image
$5.95
ISBN: 9780553213102
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bantam Classics - December 1st, 1983

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read


The Catcher in the Rye By J. D. Salinger Cover Image
$9.99
ISBN: 9780316769488
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Little, Brown and Company - May 1st, 1991

The "brilliant, funny, meaningful novel" (The New Yorker) that established J. D. Salinger as a leading voice in American literature--and that has instilled in millions of readers around the world a lifelong love of books.


The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition By F. Scott Fitzgerald Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780743273565
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Scribner - September 30th, 2004

The only authorized edition of the twentieth-century classic, featuring F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

The Great Gatsby, F.


Frankenstein By Mary Shelley, Maurice Hindle (Editor), Maurice Hindle (Introduction by), Maurice Hindle (Notes by) Cover Image
By Mary Shelley, Maurice Hindle (Editor), Maurice Hindle (Introduction by), Maurice Hindle (Notes by)
$10.00
ISBN: 9780141439471
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Classics - May 6th, 2003

The world’s most famous work of horror fiction: a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read


Little Women (Vintage Classics) By Louisa May Alcott Cover Image
$10.00
ISBN: 9781984898852
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage - November 12th, 2019

A Vintage Classics edition of Louisa May Alcott's beloved and influential story of the March sisters, which is once again a major motion picture.


Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library) By William Shakespeare, Dr. Barbara A. Mowat (Editor), Paul Werstine, Ph.D. (Editor) Cover Image
$6.99
ISBN: 9780743477116
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Simon & Schuster - January 1st, 2004

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare creates a violent world, in which two young people fall in love. It is not simply that their families disapprove; the Montagues and the Capulets are engaged in a blood feud.

In this death-filled setting, the movement from love at first sight to the lovers’ final union in death seems almost inevitable.