08/15/2026
Hey! It’s a Staff Pick Saturday!
🦊”The Future” by Naomi Alderman is Eleanor Catton’s “Birnam Wood” meets “The Social Network” with apocalyptic aftertaste and a q***r love interest. This story is an unputdownable, fast-paced mysterious thriller. The weaving in and out of each character’s perspective coupled with the back and forth in time was well done. Alderman makes you like or at least empathize with every character. The use of internet forums to tell parts of the story was neat, too! We love reading fiction that helps us to imagine better worlds.
🌸Kirsten recommends ”Excellent Women” by Barbara Pym
I find Pym’s novels to be a little bit cozy and comforting. Her wry observations of life — work, relationships, community — point out the pettiness and pleasures of the mundane. 1950s England comes to life through the protagonist, Mildred Lathbury. It’s funny and it made me read all of Pym’s other novels! Highly recommend.
🏺Abby recommends Hesiod’s “Theogony and Works and Days”
Did you miss the presence of the Greek gods in Nolan’s Odyssey adaptation? Look no further than Hesiod’s Theogony! This slim volume provides the genealogy of the Greek pantheon in all its quirky, complicated glory. Paired alongside his Works and Days, Hesiod prepares you for life as a Greek in the 8th century BCE.
🕊️mik recommends “Ghost Forest” by Pik-Shuen Fung
A novel told in vignettes of the life and deaths of one family. I loved the audiobook for the Cantonese pronunciations. With the physical book you get to sit with the sparse prose that plays with space, mirroring temporality. Grief, memory, and emigration culture are centered here. I really felt for the protagonist and was tickled at moments of comedic relief. I’m still processing her relationship with her dad. This one might make you cry!
