Staff Picks

Peter Malae is a writer who is not afraid to write about the 21st Century and its many ugly truths: discrimination, poverty, pop culture, suburbia, and the people who are lost at the edges of it all. This book is about one of those lost people, and he chants in his muscular voice all the way through “I don’t care because you don’t care. I don’t care because you don’t care!” I promise that you will care, though. I also promise you won’t forget What We Are. -Beth

Owner and chef of New York’s Prune Restaurant, Hamilton also happens to be an accomplished writer. This memoir follows her journey from the romance of a rural childhood to the brutal and delectable world of the professional chef. Hamilton draws you in with rich descriptions of a French mother who was a wizard in the kitchen, and a father with a flair for entertaining—two talents she has inherited. Revealing and full of insight, Blood, Bones, and Butter has serious heart and backbone. -Sylla

This is a book about work. And when Crawford writes about work, he means gritty, sweaty, coverall-wearing word: the sort of work that makes and fixes all of those things we use unthinkingly every day. Part manifesto for the revival of physical work and its skills, part philosophical inquiry into finding fulfillment in modern life, this fabulous little book is sure to make you think. -Beth

Design*Sponge is one of my favorite blogs, and I couldn’t wait for this book to come out! Design*Sponge at Home is packed full of DIY projects, flower arrangement how-to, toolbox suggestions, and (my favorite part) sneak peeks into tons of beautiful homes. So inspiring! -Beth

Glaciers by Alexis Smith is a 175 page wonder of a novel. Smith's prose reads like a breath of fresh Alaskan air; her main character Isabel's wandering thoughts and emotions feel as if they are your own; and the weaving together of past and present is so tenderly and delicately rendered that this slender volume will linger in your thoughts for days. Savor this one. -Beth

Madness and Civilization is a fascinating history and philosophy of what it means to be mad in our society. Foucault's investigation is fantastically detailed, connecting medical, religious, and economic ideas and conditions from the 1500s to the present. It is dense and dry but very rewarding. -Gordon

Voodoo Vintners is a fascinating and often entertaining introduction to a new movement in Oregon wine-making: biodynamic farming. Often dismissed as witchery or voodoo, biodynamic principles often seem a little nutty. What Cole discovers though is (1) these practices make some amazing wine and (2) there does seem to be something special happening in the vines. Join Cole as she explores history and Oregon in search of these astonishing biodynamic growers and their wines. -Beth