Gretchen's Picks

Gretchen joined the Snowbound crew in the summer of 2020, and has a very handsome dog named Rosie Cotton.

Do you judge a book by its cover?
ALWAYS. I dare you to find one book on this page with a bad cover. It's not possible.
Dogear or bookmark?
Now I am become death, the destroyer of books--dogear all the way.

Monogamist or polygamist reader?
I consider myself a read-onist--the more the merrier.

Your mission as a bookseller?
To share some nasty books with some fellow freaks!

Staff Pick Badge
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology By Shane Hawk (Editor), Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. (Editor) Cover Image
By Shane Hawk (Editor), Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr. (Editor)
$17.00
ISBN: 9780593468463
Availability: Backordered
Published: Vintage - September 19th, 2023

This is a top-tier horror anthology!! Each story feels like a stand-out, which makes perfect sense when you look at the impressive roster of authors within. Haunting, visceral, and OH SO GOOD!


Staff Pick Badge
Rouge: A Novel By Mona Awad Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781982169695
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books - September 12th, 2023

I found it surprisingly hard to put this down. Awad conjures a fog of gothic mystery that is wonderfully easy to get lost in. Mother/daughter dynamics! Grief! An obsession with skin! All the right stuff.


Staff Pick Badge
The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century By Olga Ravn, Martin Aitken (Translated by) Cover Image
By Olga Ravn, Martin Aitken (Translated by)
$14.95
ISBN: 9780811234825
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New Directions - February 7th, 2023

Beautiful, smart, & disconcerting--The Employees oozes with unexpected humanity. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this is literary sci-fi that transcends the genre. Gorgeous!


Staff Pick Badge
Maeve Fly By CJ Leede Cover Image
$26.99
ISBN: 9781250857859
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Tor Nightfire - June 6th, 2023

If you love unapologetically evil women, you'll love Maeve Fly. This is my top pick for a nasty beach read for the summer of 2023. Gory, fun, and a little bit chaotic--this is a tough one to set down!


Staff Pick Badge
Big Swiss: A Novel By Jen Beagin Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9781982153083
Availability: Not in-store, but we'd be happy to order one for you.
Published: Scribner - February 7th, 2023

A manic black comedy absolutely bursting at the seams with outlandish & horny energy. Great pick for fans of The Last Taxi Driver and Touch of Jen. I can already tell this will be one of my top reads of 2023. Fantastic!


Staff Pick Badge
A Touch of Jen By Beth Morgan Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780316704274
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Back Bay Books - February 21st, 2023

An instagram-fueled obsessive fantasy turns two millennials into monsters. Sharp & funny, Morgan slowly ensnare you in a web of psychedelic horror... this book features some of the most delightfully unlikeable characters I've read. Repulsive, deviant, & wonderful!!


Staff Pick Badge
Disorientation: A Novel By Elaine Hsieh Chou Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593298374
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - March 21st, 2023

A zany satire of academia, racial politics, and just about everything else. Funny, scathing, & full of surprises; you'll love to read this heroine's "coming of consciousness." -Gretchen


Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir By Kid Congo Powers, Chris Campion (With) Cover Image
$29.00
ISBN: 9780306828027
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Hachette Books - October 18th, 2022

Staff Pick Badge
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror By Joe Vallese (Editor), Carmen Maria Machado (Contribution by), Bruce Owens Grimm (Contribution by) Cover Image
By Joe Vallese (Editor), Carmen Maria Machado (Contribution by), Bruce Owens Grimm (Contribution by)
$25.95
ISBN: 9781952177798
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Feminist Press - October 4th, 2022

This exploration into the queerness of horror is absolutely fantastic--and just as off-kilter as the genre deserves. Devastating, beautiful, funny, and smart; this is a must-read for horror fans!


Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk By Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780802125361
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Grove Press - August 9th, 2016

Staff Pick Badge
The Houseguest: And Other Stories By Amparo Dávila, Matthew Gleeson (Translated by), Audrey Harris (Translated by) Cover Image
By Amparo Dávila, Matthew Gleeson (Translated by), Audrey Harris (Translated by)
$14.95
ISBN: 9780811228213
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New Directions - November 27th, 2018

This book is a must for fans of classic darkness à la Poe, Kafka, & the like. Dávila is a master of fear, obsession, paranoia, & terror. Deeply unsettling. Five stars.


Staff Pick Badge
Slug and Other Stories By Megan Milks Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781952177842
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Feminist Press - November 9th, 2021

Absolutely disgusting! Bizarro body horror & hyper-sexuality; this book is truly nasty, and I loved every second of it!


Staff Pick Badge
This Thing Between Us: A Novel By Gus Moreno Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780374539238
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: MCD x FSG Originals - October 12th, 2021

This book--woah. Beautiful. Awful.
A man processes the sudden loss of his wife... darkness & cosmic horror slowly unspool. I've never read anything quite like this. A truly stunning read. Transcendent.


Staff Pick Badge
I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories By Laura van den Berg Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781250798664
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - July 27th, 2021

Wow!! I loved this one. What a beautiful collection of short stories. All tinted with dreamy, bizarre, and unsettling hues. Good read for fans of Her Body and Other Parties.


Staff Pick Badge
Lapvona: A Novel By Ottessa Moshfegh Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780593300282
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Penguin Books - June 20th, 2023

Are you a fan of filth & depravity? Please, please, please read this sadistic and fevered black comedy. Best Moshfegh yet. Holy shit!!!