30 ideas to help you answer the question of what to read next .... click here to see a list of our most eagerly anticipated books of the season.
Last updated October 7.
Signed copies available
Shortlisted for the National Book Award! Deliciously unsettling, Leave the World Behind is best approached without any foreknowledge of the plot. Just flip to the first page and let the author take you on a finely observed journey from banality to horror. --Elese
Anna Tromedlov is a temp--she spends her days sorting data, she struggles to pay her rent, and more than anything, she wants to lock down a full-time gig. Oh, and her employers are all supervillains. In this brilliant, hilarious deconstruction of the superhero genre, Walschots lays bare a system that relies on average people believing in the extraordinary without really looking. Hench is unafraid to dig deeper, and its world is one of collateral damage, biting wit, and baddies gone...good? A delicious, uproarious super(villain) story that you won't be able to put down. --Talia
Since moving to rural Japan, Asa spends her long summer days waiting for her husband to come home from work. In his absence she naps, cleans, cooks, and listens to the cicadas. Succumbing to restlessness, she decides to explore the town and is faced with an assortment of surreal goings-on. A wonderfully bizarre tale of the insanity of daily life, The Hole is both unbelievable and relatable. --Lucia
What a delectable read! After a scathing review from a food critic, Aubrey's bakery is in serious trouble. The salt in the wound? The critic is none other than the man she spent all ultra sweet and sexy night with - Landon. Equal parts sweet, steamy, and savory - with a dash of bitterness - A Sweet Mess is the perfect recipe of a romance novel. --Genni
Loosely based on Palahniuk's Fight Club, Lara Williams constructs a group of women who refuse to shrink themselves to accommodate others. Instead of beating each other up in a basement, they host secret all-night feasts with decadent foods, drugs, and freedom. This book will make you ball your hands in frustration and then immediately fist pump the air in excitement. Most importantly, Williams makes you ponder: What are you afraid of? --Lucia
I love this book! An adorably spooky, laugh-out-loud graphic novel that will warm even the coldest of undead hearts. -Zach
A mortician by profession, Caitlin answers children's (often bizarre) questions about death. (Can we give grandma a viking funeral? Can I be buried with my pet?) A delightfully fun book for children and adults that may even alleviate some fears of death. --Jen
This one's for the introspects, the overthinkers, the empaths... Say Say Say is a slow-burning, thoughtful meditation on relationships, self-hood, and caregiving of many kinds. It's so easy to get lost in Lila Savage's beautiful language and main character Ella's swirling, intoxicating thoughts. --Talia
Enter the Aardvark is one of the most bizarre books I have ever read, and I loved every minute of it. It feels like watching a Wes Anderson film, but with the satisfying layer of Jessica Anthony's biting sociopolitical commentary and strong satirical voice. A fast read, a fun read, and a deeply thought-provoking read - I can't wait for everyone else get their hands on it so we can talk! --Gage
Never have I read a book that so deeply spoke to my sense of self like Spoiler Alert. This sexy rom-com follows April, a self-identified fat woman who catches the eye of Hollywood dreamboat Marcus. Not only will April and Marcus’ chemistry blow you away, but so will their honest and open communication that serves as the foundation of their relationship. Olivia Dade gracefully tackles anxiety, fat phobia, and internalized shame in an accessible way that left me in tears, as well as peals of laughter. Spoiler Alert is a tour de force that I implore everyone to read, romance reader or not. --Genni
(Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award - It must be good!) Against the bleak, rain-slick backdrop of 1980’s Glasgow, Douglas Stuart delivers a powerful family drama pulsating with heartache and desperation. Even at their lowest moments—when Agnes drinks away her family’s meager food money, when she and her son Shuggie stumble over attempts at reinvention—the Bains maintain an unflinching sense of dignity and strength, a hidden supply of resolve that makes us believe in better days to come. --Ben, Former Flyleaf Bookseller
A newly updated edition of Birds of the Carolinas
If you loved The Spy and the Traitor, check out his latest.
Shortlisted for the National Book Award in Nonfiction.
A new book of poetry from Ross Gay.
The Orange County Community Reads selection! We offering 20% off all orders of this book. (Discount applied manually after order is placed.)
Now a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick! I credit this novel for breaking me out of pandemic-related reading slump! Afi and her mother have had to rely on the goodwill of family to get by after the untimely death of her father. All of this changes when she accepts a proposal to marry a man she doesn’t know, the extremely wealthy and handsome Elikem, who doesn’t even attend their wedding. Afi soon finds herself in a fancy Accra apartment ready to begin her marriage. Before too long, Afi does find herself in love - but is it with the Eli or with Accra, the city where her dreams have begun to blossom? A sparkling debut. --Elese
Perfect for fans of Scandinavian crime fiction and gritty detective fiction, this story of a Danish serial killer was my favorite mystery of 2019! Beware--not for the faint of heart--this book is quite graphic. If you find one, he's already found you! --Jen
