February Staff Picks!
"It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness." --Leo Tolstoy, The Kreutzer Sonata
We're a month into 2025, so how's your reading goal going? We have quite the range for our staff picks this month ranging from fantastic voices to celebrate Black History Month and some romances to enjoy Valentine's Day!
Recommended by Alisa
Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano
This book’s anecdotal accounts interspersed with gender theory make it a great foundation in understanding the intersection of trans and feminist studies. Serano’s thorough examination of society’s deep-rooted distaste for femininity will have you noticing it in contexts you may have never before considered.
Recommended by Andrew
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis by Lydia Davis
This collection of Davis's short stories is a treasure. Her concise, direct prose and topical subjects are a treat to read. She is the only author to have won the prestigious Booker Prize for a collection of short stories. Have a look inside!
Recommended by Anna
Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane
A fast-paced sci-fi romance, this book was a wild ride I did not expect. A humorous take on a life crisis story featuring sea monsters that evolve like pokemon
Recommended by Ben
Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World by Mary Beard
Instead of looking at what happened during the Roman Empire, Mary Beard looks at how it all happened. Instead of a chronology of events that happened during their lives, this book describes what life was really like at the top of the roman government.
Recommended by Charley
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
Including dynamic imagery, secrecy, and a murder trial – this novel creatively depicts writer W. Somerset Maugham as a fictional character and the social change happening in Penang during the decline of the British Empire
Recommended by Chloe
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
As a Black American, I feel a rush of reactions when asked the question “where are you from?”, all the possible expectations and explanations pulling me in different directions. In her stunning opus, Yaa Gyasi offers a short, 300-page answer, recounting the sweeping history of her people through the lens of a single lineage. With each generation facing its own unique struggles, this book is heart-wrenching, personable, and real.
Recommended by Daniel
The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy, Isai Kamen, Doris Lessing
What do you do when your wife falls in love with her duet partnet under the romantic spell of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata? Here is Tolstoy at the height of his ability to penetrate and reveal the inner life of his subject. A love story about love in its most depraved form that caused so much outrage after publication that its distribution was banned by the US Postal Office.
Recommended by Elisabeth
Room to Dream by Kristine McKenna, David Lynch
RIP to one of the greatest artists, period, whose joy in the everyday and singular vision has inspired and sustained so many of us! We were really lucky to have him. Here’s his memoir.
Recommended by Jordan
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. This book is both heartbreaking and thrilling. I shed many tears while reading this.
Recommended by Kris
The Crime Brulee Bake Off: Volume 1 by Rebecca Connolly
Donut worry, they don't loaf around with this baking competition--someone was even murdered! Join Claire, a baker contested whisking away the competition, and Jonathan, the lord of the manor the competition is at, as they make cute eyes at each other and solve a murder at the same thyme! Bread times never last, but tough bakers do--the proof is in the pudding.
Recommended by Liora
Little Fires Everywhere: Reese's Book Club: A Novel by Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s punchy bestseller takes place in a suburb where everything is planned, and the newcomers have secrets. Combining suburban town drama with social commentary and captivating characters, you’ll be hard pressed not to finish it in one sitting.
Recommended by Llalan
The Burrow by Melanie Cheng
The dynamics of a family shift drastically if quietly in this novel of small, meaningful moments. Like a rabbit itself, the novel is delicate and careful; the prose is spare, every word packed with purpose. I loved this quick read for its very human characters and understated insights.
Recommended by Sara
The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia's Quest for Wealth by Michael Schuman
If you’re at all interested in how Asia came to be a global economic powerhouse within a half-century, this is a must read. As informative as a textbook and readable as a novel, this book brilliantly explains the role of government policy and individual people in creating such wild success stories for countries like China, India, Indonesia, Korea, and Malaysia.
Recommended by Anna
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Snuggle up with the first in this cozy fantasy series! The perfect whimsical tale of magical mystery to warm your heart during these winter days.
Recommended by Ben
The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination by Stuart A. Reid
In 1976, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905, which banned political assassinations by U.S. government employees. Now, why was a ban like this needed…?
Recommended by Jordan
Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall
In this beautifully dark and enthralling story, four sisters with unusual talents investigate a mysterious disappearance in their secluded Appalachian town.
Recommended by Kris
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Follow the thread linking each of these strange stories together as the bigger picture forms a horrendous murder that started it all.
Recommended by Llalan
Calling a Wolf a Wolf by Kaveh Akbar
The author of the popular novel Martyr! started his writing life as a poet. This book about addiction, recovery, and the struggle of being human is piercing--both familiar and revelatory. "So much of everything is dumb / baffle: water puts out fire, my diseases can become / your diseases, and two hounds will fight over a feather.”