Staff Picks: 9 Books We’re Loving Lately

Emily’s Pick #1: I’m someone who sticks to the seasons while picking books to read, so with September officially here I’m finally diving into some moody thrillers I’ve been waiting all year to read. THE FAMILY REMAINS was at the top of my list after I read THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS—my very first Lisa Jewell—last year, and this one does NOT disappoint. With her expert weaving of multiple perspectives, Jewell once again plunges us into a mysterious family plagued by obsessions, cults, and deaths. Lucy Lamb is in the midst of reconnecting with her brother, Henry, and daughter, Libby, when she learns the location of Phin Thomsen—Libby’s birth father. Henry has developed an intense obsession with Phin (the three of them lived as teens in the same house together), and when he inevitably sets out to find Phin, we’re taken for a ride around the world to Botswana, and once again into the psyche of one of the most intriguing, eerie character I’ve read. For any Lisa Jewell newbies, this book can be read as a stand-alone!

Emily’s Pick #2: I prefer to read paperbacks over hardcovers, so sometimes, when I’ve heard rave reviews about a certain page-turner, I’ll wait until the paperback release to finally pick up a copy. If I’m going to be spending the whole day reading, it’s essential that I have a light book in my hands. Just in time, A HISTORY OF WILD PLACES came out in paperback this August, and I immediately dove in. It takes place inside Pastoral, a commune in Northern California, and weaves multiple mysteries into one thrilling ride. We have one plot of a private investigator who goes missing himself while searching for a missing person as his path takes him to Pastoral. Then, we have another plot from the perspectives of key players stuck in Pastoral, exploring its true horrors involving a psychopathic leader, a fatal disease, and medical emergencies. Sprinkled within are clues about what might’ve happened to the missing people. This is the perfect read for a rainy fall day!

Lauren’s Pick: I devoured KISS & TELL: STAND-UP & STORIES ABOUT LOVE, SEX, ETC. in just one weekend. As a fan of The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, when I saw that Rachel Bloom was cohost to this original comedy audiobook, I knew I had to download it. And it did not disappoint! SNL alum Jay Pharoah cohosts with Bloom as comedians including Atsuko Okatsuka, Morgan Jay, the Sklar Brothers, Zach Noe Towers, and more talk about modern love through a range of performances including everything from stand-up and storytelling to original songs and impressions. At just under four hours, it’s the perfect pick-me-up listen when you need a good laugh.

Sara’s Pick: I am here to readily admit I do not typically read romance—it's never been a genre I've gravitated to, as I prefer the spooky to the sappy (or even spicy). So when I say I couldn't put down HUSBAND MATERIAL, you know it's got something special. A sequel to BOYFRIEND MATERIAL, the book follows Luc and Oliver, two men who went from faking dating to a real relationship, surrounded by weddings and deciding if they're looking to get hitched. Author Alexis Hall has written two realistic, flawed, and endearing characters, on top of a fabulous supporting cast. But what I adore above else is the dialogue in this book, with endlessly witty banter and moments of pure poetry. If you're looking for something to distract and delight, I couldn't recommend this book any more highly!

Heather’s Pick #1: You may not guess it from the title, but THE DEAD ROMANTICS is a romance, and a delightful one at that. Ashley Poston’s first adult novel mashes up tropes and vibes from supernatural tales like CASPER and JUST LIKE HEAVEN, with a dash of the morbid humor and family drama from SIX FEET UNDER for good measure. The story revolves around successful ghostwriter Florence Day, whose life is turned upside down in a matter of hours. First, she has a rocky meeting with her annoyingly handsome new editor, Benji “Ben” Andor, and then she gets a heartbreaking phone call that sends her home to her family’s funeral parlor after years away. That’s when things get really weird, because she realizes she’s being haunted, and not just by any ghost but…by Ben?! All of this is to say, THE DEAD ROMANTICS is for every paranormal romance fan, but especially for the ’90s kids who grew up swooning to Devon Sawa whispering “Can I keep you?”

Heather’s Pick #2: I’ve followed Nicole Chung on Twitter since her days as managing editor of The Toast, so I have no idea why it took me so long to start her memoir, ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW. Once I picked it up, though, I couldn’t put it down. Chung writes beautifully and movingly about what it was like to grow up as a transracial adoptee born to a Korean couple but raised by two white parents in an overwhelmingly white (and often casually racist) community in Oregon. When she becomes pregnant with her own child in her 20s, the author sets out to meet her birth family, eventually forging a life-changing relationship with one of her biological sisters, Cindy. No matter what your own childhood was like, the book’s universal themes of searching for identity and what it means to be a family will resonate.

Sharon’s Pick #1: I finished SEVERANCE back in May, and it is one of those rare books that I think about every single day. What resonated with me most was Ling Ma’s brilliant, multifaceted exploration of routine and ritual. Candace Chen, the book’s protagonist, finds comfort in her job as a production manager for a publisher of Bibles after the death of her parents. A virus known as Shen Fever causes victims to continuously repeat actions until their death. Virus survivors band together and pray before conducting raids on the homes of the infected. At once a coming-of-age novel, an apocalypse story, and a takedown of late-stage capitalism, SEVERANCE is essential reading.

Sharon’s Pick #2: THE NOVELIST is my current read, and it is one of the most original slice-of-life explorations I have ever read. Set over the course of a single morning, the book follows our unnamed narrator as he struggles to make progress writing his autobiographical novel. All the while, his morning rituals, such as making yerba mate tea and scrolling through Twitter, prompt extensive anecdotal and philosophical tangents. Humorous yet thought-provoking, THE NOVELIST exceptionally explores the pitfalls of attempting to complete goals while outside distractions (i.e.: social media) lurk.

Sharon’s Pick #3: One genre I have particularly loved reading this year has been translated fiction. Every time I have picked up a work of translated fiction this year, I have been floored by the sheer talent and ingenuity of both the author and the translator. The latest addition to my list of translated reads is THE LONESOME BODYBUILDER, a short story collection from Japanese author Yukiko Motoya and translated by Asa Yoneda. Whimsical and reflective, the stories in this collection blend the ordinary with the surreal, as boys, saleswomen, and newlyweds confront situations bordering on the supernatural in their daily lives. My personal favorite in the collection is the titular story, where a housewife seeking personal fulfillment as well as the attention of her workaholic husband takes up bodybuilding.