Staff Favorites 

Addy M.

1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

   The House in the Cerulean Sea is a novel that has stuck with me since I read it in 2017. The writing style is witty, warm, and absolutely wonderful! The characters are well established, and I found myself caring immensely for each of them! If you want a cozy read for a rainy day, then this book is perfect!

2. Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat
3. Shades of Magic Trilogy by V. E. Schwab
4. The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi
5. Bunny by Mona Awad

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Annie M.

1. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

   This was one of the first books I fell in love with as a bookseller rather than just a reader, getting to read it early and knowing I was encountering something truly special. I remember exactly where I was reading *that* scene, thinking “this might be the best book I’ve ever read.” So smart, so dark, so funny, so challenging, so irreverent, The Sympathizer is required reading for anyone keeping up with American fiction, and I’m proud to say it’s been a bestseller at Magers & Quinn for almost a decade. 

2. Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Séamas O'Reilly
3. American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
4. Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan, translated by Labodalih Sembiring
5. Mayumi and the Sea of Happiness by Jennifer Tseng

See More of Annie's Staff Picks Here!

Catherine H.

1. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

   I will literally always recommend this to anyone. A memoir about a woman in science and her unique friendship with her lab partner.

2. An Immense World by Ed Yong
3. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
4. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
5. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

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Char P.

1. Saint Catherine by Anna Meyer

   Cool art and an intriguing story. Follows Catherine, who is being followed around by a demon. She believes it is because she has gone against her catholic mother's wishes and skips mass one sunday (Gasp) and has a BOYFRIEND (DOUBLE GASP), but the reality is much less serious and damning as that. A winding and ultimately heartwarming read, Saint Catherine was one of my favorites this year.

2. Into the Bewilderness by Gus Gordon
3. Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
4. Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
5. The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz

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Chris B.

1. Oye by Melissa Mogollon

   Told in a series of hilarious one-sided telephone conversations, this coming-of-age novel depicts the dramas big and small of heroine Luciana's loving and exasperating family. Let her snarky narration transport you back to the joy, the heartbreak, and the self-righteous angst of teenhood.

2. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
3. Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt
4. The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
5. Chlorine by Jade Song

Conrad M.

1. Till the Wheels Fall Off by Brad Zellar

   Record collections, family (re)connections, roller rinks and reminiscences of small town Midwest life in the 70s and 80s. Nostalgic and comforting from front to back, with surprises and excellent recommended listening!

2. Speedboat by Renata Adler
3. Black Wave by Michelle Tea
4. The Apple in the Dark by Clarice Lispector
5. The Vorrh by Brian Catling

Corra T.

1. Watership Down by Richard Adams

   This is such a beautiful, well-researched, and engaging book—don’t let the fact that it’s about rabbits throw you off! I’ve read it many times and the ending still makes me cry. Adams strikes a perfect balance between basing the characters’ behaviors off of real rabbit behavior while also giving them distinct and interesting personalities. I highly recommend for any nature lover who also enjoys adventure with a touch of darkness.

2. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
3. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
4. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
5. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

Greg H.

1. Outline by Rachel Cusk

   There is nothing quite like realizing a book's structure has everything to do with its narrative. Every personal encounter reads like a short story, a mirror and an inverted eye on a nearly absent narrator.

2. The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan
3. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
4. Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
5. Spell of the Sensuous by David Abrams

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Jack S.

1. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

   Taz Muir can literally do no wrong. She's golden, in my book. I've brought in the illuminators to see to it. The Locked Tomb series is for stubborn, tawdry readers with no backbone and zero morals. It's the best series I've ever had the misfortune of reading. I'm giving it a lifetime achievement award, 'cause there's no contest to be had. Pick it up, STICK IT OUT, and be prepared to be confused, angry and laughing. Must love mean gay girls. (I highly recommend an audio-book read-along of this one - Moira Quirk has The Best Voice.)

2. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
3. Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
4. Skip and Loafer, Vol. 1 by Misaki Takamatsu
5. Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo

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James W.

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

   To help a young man cope with the grief of his lost mother, he is given charge of a book from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. After he reads the book, he looks for more, only to find that someone is going all through Barcelona burning every book by this mysterious, long deceased author. Add an infatuation with an older, but still quite young, blind woman, and an amazing character who is worldly, brotherly, and dangerously in love with life. This book truly has it all.

2. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
3. Mort by Terry Pratchett
4. The Indispensable Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson
5. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

Jessi B.

1. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
2. History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
3. The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
4. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift
5. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Johanna P.

1. Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez

   Mariana Enriquez brings cemetaries to life with her riveting, humourous, and passionate stories about the graveyards she has visited throughout her life. Pour one out for the dead and dig in!

2. The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
3. Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
4. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
5. A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

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Mary W.

1. Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

   Not my favorite book of all time (that’s The Lord of the Rings) but definitely my favorite of those I’ve read in the past year or so. I loved Margo, her creative mind and sass, her relationship with her pro wrestler dad (whom I also loved), and her solution to her money troubles, which involves OnlyFans and aliens.

2. Pin-Up Grrrls by Maria Elena Buszek
3. Stand Facing the Stove by Anne Mendelson
4. Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn
5. The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola

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Michael P.

1. The Dwarf by Par Lagerkvist

   A very strange book about a misanthropic medieval court dwarf. It is funny and caustic and entirely weird. One of the lesser-known Nobel winners, Lagerkvist has a cult following and this book is the shibboleth  Why not join today? Our fury makes us stronger.

2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
4. The Discarded by Colin Hamilton
5. Ariel: The Restored Edition by Sylvia Plath

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Neil W.

1. Kokoro by Natsume Soseki
2. The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
3. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
4. The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
5. Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges

Olivia W.

1. The Anthropologists by Ayşegül Savaş
   

   A perfect bite-sized beauty of a book that I devoured in a day. Lyrically written and compulsively readable, Savas' writing captures the quiet thoughts trait come in moments of transition.

2. Less by Andrew Sean Greer
3. Stay True by Hua Hsu
4. Ties That Bind by Tiya Miles
5. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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Rachel D.

1. Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
   

   Disgusting, horrible, deranged, gory. I loved it. This book is dripping with darkness and cynical wit. What's the most unhinged book you've read? It's this now. You're welcome.

2. Monsters by Claire Dederer
3. Confessions by Kanae Minato
4. So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan
5. The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller

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Sarah M.

1. Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler
2. Remina by Junji Ito
3. Frankenstein by Junji Ito
4. Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
5. The Lamb by Lucy Rose

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Sawyer H.

1. Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, Book 8) by Seanan McGuire

   Narnia walked so that this eclectic lil series of novellas could run. And then sprint. And then fly to the moon.

2. Ryan & Avery by David Levithan
3. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
4. Something is Killing the Children, Volume 7 by James Tynion IV
5. The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

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Syne B.

1. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

   A queer coming of age love story set in the 1950's. This book is brave and romantic with historical themes.

2. The How by Yrsa Daley-Ward
3. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
5. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

See More of Syne's Staff Picks Here!