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Staff Picks September 2026 |
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The Faculty Lounge
by Jennifer Mathieu
When an elderly substitute teacher at Baldwin High School is found dead in the faculty lounge, the teachers spontaneously scatter his ashes on the school grounds, setting in motion a year that can only be described as wild, bizarre, tragic, mundane, beautiful and humorous all at once. Ultimately, at the heart of this unconventional workplace novel is a story of the power of human connection and of the joy of finding purpose in what it is we do every day.
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Squire
by Nadia Shammas
Born a second-class citizen, Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire and, as a member of the recently colonized Ornu people, it's her only way to full citizenship. Bayt-Sajji finds itself on the brink of war, and Aiza enlists in the Squire training program, but it's not how she imagined it. Hiding her Ornu status in order to better blend in, Aiza realizes that the greater good Bayt-Sajji's military promises might not include her. She will have to choose loyalty to her heritage or loyalty to the Empire.
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Open, Heaven
by Seán Hewitt
James, a sheltered, shy sixteen-year-old, is alone in his newly discovered sexuality, full of an unruly desire but entirely inexperienced. He also realizes how his feelings threaten to separate him from his family and the rural community he has grown up in. Then, in the autumn of 2002, he meets Luke, a slightly older boy, handsome, unkempt, who comes with a reputation for danger. James is immediately drawn to him, but underneath Luke's bravado is a deep wound. Open, Heaven is a novel about desire, yearning, and the terror of first love.
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The Bookseller
by Tim Sullivan
When the body of a bookseller is discovered lying in a pool of blood in his Bristol bookshop, the police have one question: How did the man meet such a violent end in this peaceful place? Detective George Cross has a knack for dismissing red herrings, but with a concerning development in his personal life, Cross is distracted. Bookselling is full of passionate, ambitious characters who know the value of a rare book. Their extensive reading means they also know how to get away with murder. But is that enough to fool the tenacious DS George Cross?
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Brigands & Breadknives
by Travis Baldree
Fern has weathered the stillness and storms of a bookseller's life for decades, but now transplants herself to the city of Thune to hang out beside a long-absent friend's coffee shop. But it turns out that fixing your life isn't as easy as a change of scenery. A drunken and desperate night sees the rattkin waking far from home in the company of a legendary warrior, an imprisoned chaos-goblin with a fondness for silverware, and an absolutely thumping hangover. Fern may finally reconnect with the person she actually is when nothing seems inevitable.
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Fabulous Bodies
by Chuck Tingle
Poppy Stringer was born to be a star. An aspiring fashion influencer by day, Poppy moonlights as a grave robber to make ends meet, wheeling and dealing dead bodies across Palm Springs. When her hero, the flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar Eddie Michaels, unexpectedly dies, Poppy gets a call to retrieve his body from the medical examiner's office for a lucrative sum. It could be the last job she'll ever need, if everything goes to plan. But the night's delivery quickly veers off course when Eddie wakes up. Now Poppy must fight for her life if she hopes to survive this blood-soaked joyride of carnage and extravagant entertainment.
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V for Vendetta
by Alan Moore
The date is November 5th, 1997. War has ravaged England, the entire British populace is under constant surveillance, and the absolute power is corrupt. On this historic day, a man with a strong resemblance to Guy Fawkes blows up Parliament. The bomber, a masked character named V, saves a girl named Eve from a violent crime and takes her under his wing. Moore's dystopian, fascist version of England is systematically dismantled by the enigmatic V. Readers must decide if V is a mad anarchist/terrorist or a freedom-fighting avenger for good.
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Fan Service
by Rosie Danan
The only place Alex Lawson fits in is the online fan forum she built for a long-running werewolf detective show. Her dedication has made her internet-famous, even if she harbors a secret disdain for the show's star, Devin Ashwood. Ever since the show went off air, Devin has spiraled, but waking up naked in the woods with no memory of the night before is a new low. It must have been a coincidence that a Wolf Blood Moon occurred last night. The claws, fangs, and howling are a little more difficult to explain away. Desperate for answers, Devin must convince Alex to stop hating his guts long enough to help...
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Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love
by Marianne Cronin
Eddie Winston is 90 years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed. A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop and it is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who has just lost the love of her life. When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help him finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life.
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Sky Daddy
by Kate Folk
Linda is sexually attracted to planes, and a round-trip flight from San Francisco makes her feel like no human lover could. But when coworker Karina invites her to brunch and Linda’s life becomes unbalanced, she must choose normalcy or her dream of “marrying” a suitor by dying in a plane crash.
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Copaganda
by Alec Karakatsanis
Copaganda is a special kind of propaganda employed by police, prosecutors, and news media to stoke fear of police-recorded crime and distort society’s response to it. Readers will discover how mass media manipulates our perception of what keeps us safe, why fear of poor people, strangers, immigrants, unhoused people, and people of color is deliberately cultivated, and the ways this fear leads to authoritarian repression, inequality, and massive profits for the punishment bureaucracy.
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Baking for Two
by America's Test Kitchen
America's Test Kitchen takes the guesswork out of baking on a smaller scale by reengineering all your favorite baked goods. Think four biscuits, two small tarts, or a 6-inch snack cake. Whether you have an impromptu craving or want a recipe for pizza night, an intimate celebration, or a lazy Sunday morning, this collection rises to the occasion.
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A Long Game
by Elizabeth McCracken
Writer and teacher Elizabeth McCracken reflects on the practice of writing fiction, drawing on more than three decades of teaching and professional experience. The book addresses topics such as character development, plot, revision, and commonly cited writing conventions, incorporating examples from the author's own creative work. Blending practical guidance with personal reflection, the volume examines both the technical and experiential aspects of sustaining a life as a working writer.
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How about Now
by Kate Baer
Renowned poet Kate Baer returns with a collection that confronts the march of time in a shifting world. Baer explores what it means to grow older, to release children into the wildness of their own lives, and to reclaim the ever-evolving self. Raw, luminous, and urgent, these poems channel Baer's own journey to middle age into poems that are profoundly intimate, yet resound universally, identifying the beauty, resilience, and fragility that arrive in every stage of life.
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Primal Intelligence
by Angus Fletcher
In 2021, researchers at Ohio State's Project Narrative announced that they had discovered the neural power at the root of human genius. They named it Primal Intelligence. Intrigued, US Army Special Operations developed Primal Intelligence training for its most classified units. The training succeeded. The Operators saw the future faster. They healed quicker from trauma. In life-and-death situations, they chose wiser. The revolutionary training is now available for the first time in this book. It is a different way of using your brain, simple, but not easy.
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