Dana's Picks
Dana is the shop owner, and has been a bookseller for over twenty years.
Plotline pet peeves?
1. _________ had the perfect life, then _______ happens & everything goes to hell.
2. Dad/mom/grandparent dies & the main character returns home, where long buried secrets... blah blah blah...
Both are just plain lazy and formulaic.
Dogear or bookmark?
Bookmark--I have a stash and match them to the mood/subject of the book.
Any classics you refuse to read?
This isn't going to make me popular, but Austen & Dickens. Tried 'em. We didn't get along.
First book that made a big impression on you?
The Talisman by Stephen King when I was 11--it was the fattest book I had ever read; what a sense of accomplishment.
Then, at 15, Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut taught me how truly original and unconventional literature could be. It changed everything.
What's your most terrifying book experience?
I discovered I hated my book 30 minutes into a 4hr flight and didn't have a back-up.
Your mission as a bookseller?
To connect people to books that surprise them & open new words/avenues of reading.
Anything else of note??
1. There needs to be an 8th day of the week where nothing is expected of anyone except reading. The world would be a better place. Libroday?
2. I will always have a soft spot for the people who 1st introduce me to books I fall in love with.
If Fredrik Backman and Sy Montgomery ever had a literary love child, this is it. A novel of outcasts and octopuses (octopi?), it delves into loss and creating community in an utterly charming manner. I usually run from a book described as "charming", so I was really surprised how much I loved this one. ~ Dana
If H.P. Lovecraft wrote a screenplay for Jason Statham, it might come close to this. High-octane gore with a relentless pace. I absolutely loved it. ~ Dana
Reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, Gallant is a haunting tale, beautifully rendered in both words and images.
I'll read anything Schwab puts out - I don't even read the jacket copy to see what it's about & instead just dive right in. She's that reliable. This is technically YA, but will appeal to her adult fans as well.
One of the best superhero/supervillain books I've read. Walschots flips the whole superhero narrative and tells it from a unique POV - it's funny, clever, and smart as hell. ~ Dana
Backman once said that he makes his settings very small so readers can really get to know the characters. And this setting is very concentrated indeed - much of it takes place during an open house in a little apartment after a botched bank robbery. (In fact, some of my favorite scenes happen in the closet.) He loves his characters and the reader does too. Even when - or especially when - they're at their most infuriating. Maybe because this is when they're most human and relatable. This is one of my absolute favorites of the last few years. ~ Dana
