Jenna's Picks

The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman

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Jenna
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The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction By Neil Gaiman Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062262271
Availability: Not in stock. At Our Partner Warehouse: Usually Ships in 4-7 Days
Published: William Morrow Paperbacks - May 16th, 2017

I would read Neil Gaiman’s grocery lists. That’s not what this book is, I’m just establishing a baseline. No, this book is a collection of Gaiman writing about things he loves from books to music to libraries to art itself. His empathy, interest, and insight shine and honestly inspire in this collection--I’ve picked up many of the books whose forwards are in this collection, my play hours of Tori Amos went way up, as do my serotonin levels whenever I read from this collection. Truly great. 


The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

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Jenna
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The Hollow Places: A Novel By T. Kingfisher Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781534451124
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Published: Gallery / Saga Press - October 6th, 2020

Is this a horror novel? Yes. Is it scary? Yes! But is it also immensely witty with one of the funniest narrative voices I’ve read in a while? Also, yes! The oddball protagonists of this chilling tale had me rooting for them from the jump all the way to a finale I adored and am not likely to forget soon.


Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

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Jenna
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead By Tom Stoppard Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780802126214
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Published: Grove Press - April 11th, 2017

“We have not been picked out simply to be abandoned… we are entitled to some direction I would have thought!” 

A brilliant exercise in putting tertiary characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet center stage!

This is what I read whenever I’m overwhelmed with existential dread--so I’ve read it quite a few times. It’s an all time favorite. Humor and profundity hold hands throughout in a way I so distinctly remember blew my mind the first time I encountered it. Let this play make you laugh and make you think.


Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

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Jenna
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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear By Elizabeth Gilbert Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781594634727
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Published: Riverhead Books - September 27th, 2016

This book was a revelation, especially to someone who usually keeps anything vaguely "self help"-y away from me with a ten foot pole. I used some of Gilbert's points from here in my creative pursuits and in my everyday life: being open to new ideas, debunking the link between depression and art, being kind to your fear. This is a joyful, insightful read that I recommend to any and everyone.


When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill

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Jenna
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When We Lost Our Heads: A Novel By Heather O'Neill Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780593422908
Availability: Not in stock. At Our Partner Warehouse: Usually Ships in 4-7 Days
Published: Riverhead Books - February 8th, 2022

The Gilded Age but make it socio-economic gender politic.  It’s fabulous and sapphic and full of female rage, desire, and ambition. In turns about opulence and squalor and striving, the writing is lush and the characters are so compelling! A favorite for sure.


Planet Funny: How Comedy Ruined Everything by Ken Jennings

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Planet Funny: How Comedy Ruined Everything By Ken Jennings Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781501100604
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Published: Scribner - July 9th, 2019

Two of my great loves: comedy and jeopardy collide in this fascinating read about how humor has infiltrated every part of our lives and culture. Ken Jennings' wit and intellect are a delight! If you've ever exhaled through your nose at a tweet or wondered why adverts are more and more often striving for comedy, this is the book for you.
 


My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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Jenna

Grady Hendrix writes female characters and their relationship in all their wondrous complexity! Sure, this is a delightfully 80s tale of demonic possession, but what stuck with me is one of the most tender depictions of the tribulations and growing pains of teenage friendship, as well as the fierce commitment and love therein.

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My Best Friend's Exorcism: A Novel By Grady Hendrix Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781594749766
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Published: Quirk Books - July 11th, 2017

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