Staff Picks

This isn’t an unbiased account. There is a bias here that announces itself early and often: The First World War was an unnecessary one, and the leaders who led their nations to slaughter were at best, foolish and irresponsible and at worst, sadistic and unforgiveable. Also, the men and women who followed their consciences and said no to war were heroic in their convictions and often paid a heavy price for their stance. What makes this such a compelling book, though, is not generalities. Rather, it’s the specifics of the individual stories that make it so compulsively readable. People like Charlotte Despard, the Pankhursts-- suffragette Emmeline and her daughters, Sylvia and Christabel, the socialist MP Keir Hardie, and the philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell are just a few of the people who figure prominently and animate this extraordinary retelling of one of the formative and most destructive events of the 20th century. - Mark

Michael Farr, the leading British expert on all things Tintin, gives us a book by book companion to Hergé’s comic masterpiece. With a wealth of information from Hergé’s archives, prepare yourself for a slew of reference photos, facts, anecdotes, and the real-life antecedents to Tintin’s adventures. Hergé was a keen observer (and strange predictor) of both world events and human drama, and this companion will undoubtedly reaffirm why Tintin remains one of the greatest comic creations ever. - Adam

As with his dazzling debut Natasha: and Other Stories (Picador, $14), David Bezmozgis's first novel The Free World focuses on the immigrant experience. In Natasha, it was that of the Berman family recently emigrated to Canada adjusting to their new lives. In The Free World, the Krasnansky family — three generations of Russian Jews — is stuck in bureaucratic limbo in Rome. Bezmozgis's strength lies in his compassion for his characters, their meditations on imperfect pasts and unsure futures told with black humor and keen insight. - Sarah

The latest installment in the career of His Grace, the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, Blackboard Monitor etc., Snuff, has the old copper ordered off to a vacation in the countryside, ostensibly for some rest and relaxation. Of course, he ends up up to his neck in the action—this time, there’s a little fuss involving goblins. Sir Terry Pratchett, no doubt Blackboard Monitor etc., has been doing this for so long that you’d think it would pall, but the Discworld series is as fresh and funny as ever, despite its creator’s 2007 Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Long may it continue. - David

This series of lectures by Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki is considered a classic of Western Buddhist literature. Suzuki's Buddhism has been called 'ordinary' – his teachings are not about trying to attain enlightenment. Instead, they are about keeping an open mind ('beginner's mind') and the right attitude in order to maintain a practice of meditation. Read this book if you are just starting on the Zen path, or if you've been practicing for years, or even if you are not a Buddhist at all – everyone can find something in Suzuki's teachings (it's also a book that stands up very well to re-reading). - Ellie

Gabrielle Hamilton gives an uncensored, rather brutal, look behind the closed kitchen doors of the life of a restaurant chef. It is, at times, both heart-achingly sad and wickedly funny. Despite Hamilton’s short temper and acid tongue, I found myself cheering her on, pulling for her success. Or maybe it is exactly this candidness in her own portrayal of herself that is so comforting. Either way, Blood, Bones & Butter is a fast-paced, enthralling read, and a must for anyone who has ever dreamt of opening a restaurant. - Kathleen

Past and present merge in Jonathan Evison’s fictional town of Port Bonita. West of Here tells two parallel stories set about a century apart, one the formation of Pont Bonita as a thriving community and the other its present day slide into irrelevance. Compelling characters from both periods must decide how their lives will develop and evolve as the place they call home changes around them. Evison’s two narratives feed off each other and create a wonderful whole. - Bill

- Jenny

Name of the Wind is a classic trickster tale, except that the trickster gets to tell the story. We first meet Qvothe, a surprisingly likable rogue, as an unassuming innkeeper; but as he relates the astonishing events of his past we begin to wonder who he really is. The world that unfolds as he tells his story is full of adventure, magic and music. The magic (which is more like alchemy than wand-waving) somehow feels as real as science, while still maintaining its wonder. In the sequel, A Wise Man’s Fear, the stories of the past and the present begin to merge. Now, I am eagerly awaiting the final volume of the trilogy. - Anna

So you think Pevear & Volokhonsky's translations have introduced you to Russian literature? Think again, and meet your contemporaries. A Werewolf Problem in Central Russia: And Other Stories, by Victor Pelevin and There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya will introduce you to the rough impact on ordinary citizens during the transition at the end of the Soviet period to the failures of the new economy. In classic yet shockingly current Russian style, Pelevin plays with the surreal and absurb; Petrushevskaya explores the realm of strange occurences and fantasy; throughout their stories, there is a relentless hope and longing for a better, more deeply meaningful existence. Aren't these elements what make everyday reality so shockingly brutal and harsh, but also bearable? Because if we can't laugh at bizarre twists of fate and escape into dreams, what else does the world have to offer? - Andrew