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River Bend Booksellers Staff Picks

Audrey: Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

"Stars has all the aching beauty of Orange's award-winning first novel. Picking up long before and immediately after the events of There There, Orange gives context to characters we fell in love with six years ago. The Red Feather family has taken up permanent residence in my heart and will forever impact how I look at the world. Required reading!"

Meghan: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

"A sentient sex robot starts to believe there may be more to life.  

You will devour this book in a single sitting, and think about it for a long time after. 

Annie Bot has layers and layers to explore. 

A great pick for book clubs."

Jillian: Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

"A perceptive, compelling story of friendship among three girls spanning '80s NYC to a dystopian 2040. Exploring careers in performance art, activism and technology they use memory as a tool of empowerment.

Ko’s writing here is electrifying and astute, a great choice for fans of Celeste Ng and R.F. Kuang. "

Ernio: Martyr by Kaveh Akbar

"This debut novel by poet Akbar follows an aspiring writer in recovery — lost and lingering in life after college — when he discovers a fellow Iranian artist who is sharing her finals days with terminal cancer as a performance art installation. He ventures to New York to speak with her and hopefully find meaning in his own life. 

Deep and unexpectedly touching."

Kaitee: Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

"This book sucked me in by the end of the prologue. I mean... I was ALL IN - the world, the characters, the mythology. The book blurb will do a better job than I can of telling you the story quickly. But Kissen is the best, deadly-with-a-sword grump. I would go to battle for her. Disability rep is spot on. Just... read it. Listen to it.

A must-read for any fantasy lover."

David: Watership Down by Richard Adams

"On one level: a fun, tale of adorable rabbits in search of a new home. 

On another level: a rich meditation on human nature, society (examples of communism and capitalism in rabbit world), nature vs nurture, old vs new, and several other philosophical themes. 

Watership Down is a wonderful allegory filled with beauty, awe, fear, and courage."

Deb: Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck

"Lidey Heuck, NYT Cooking superstar, does not disappoint with this collection of inventive recipes.

You will find familiar ingredients and surprising flavors inside--and ways to turn single recipes into complete meals with ease.

Hooray!"

Mary: Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto

"I didn't realize how badly I needed someone to say 'doing nothing is ok' until I read this book. Shoji Morimoto has a chill factor that I can only dream of.

Please read this book if you're like me and only have a horrendously busy setting. It might give you the grace you need to stop for a minute."

Taryn: Green Frog: Stories by Gina Chung

"This is some of the best writing I’ve read since college, and that was a little over a decade ago.

Gina’s stories are inventive and memorable.

Definitely a collection to take your time with and savor!"

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