Short Stacks

We've all got that niche genre we can't get enough of, right? Well here go with staff's niche picks in a little series called Short Stacks!

Scroll below for Josh's list of cookbooks featuring pie, Emily's favorite campus fiction, Gracie's top myth retellings, Steph's selection of Queer Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Becca's most beloved Soul Soothers. Want more recs from our staff? Check out our staff picks and current reads

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A Man Called Ove: A Novel By Fredrik Backman Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781476738024
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Washington Square Press - May 5th, 2015

If you are just discovering the beauty that is Fredrik Backman's work because of his latest novel ANXIOUS PEOPLE, I highly encourage you to go back and read his debut novel, A MAN CALLED OVE. I read this book many years ago and I'm still trying to sell it to everyone looking for approachable yet delectable fiction. A story of friendship and community and finding reasons to give it another go when you've all but given up. - Becca 


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Writers & Lovers By Lily King Cover Image
$27.00
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9780802148537
Published: Grove Press - March 3rd, 2020

In a world full of manicured social media posts of seemingly perfect lives, I found WRITERS & LOVERS to be a welcomed reminder of the tragedy and torment mixed within the joy and wonder of finding one's self in the messy transition to 30-something adulthood. King's honest and tender depiction of what it is to fumble through life in the post-college, pre-"adulting" years is heartwrenching and heartwarming all in one quick and cathartic read. - Becca 


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Americanah: A novel By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780307455925
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Vintage - March 4th, 2014

No "review" would do this book justice. My advice? Open your mind and your heart to it, and let Adichie's Ifemelu do the rest. - Becca 


Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: Reese's Book Club (A Novel) By Gail Honeyman Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780735220690
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Penguin Books - June 5th, 2018

Take one woman, slogging through a life that is perfectly "fine," add an IT guy, an elderly gentleman, a chance accident, and a cat of course, and suddenly you have an un-put-downable story of people's ability to find hope, friendship, and self-compassion in the fight for an existence that is more than just fine. - Becca


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Nothing to See Here: A Read with Jenna Pick By Kevin Wilson Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780062913494
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Ecco - September 1st, 2020

Told from the perspective of Lillian, the new nanny (with no prior experience) to two kids that spontaneously combust when agitated, "Nothing to See Here" is magic from the start. A somehow realistic and tender look at child-rearing, home-making, and acceptance, this story meant so much to me as a clueless and "I'm just going to wing it and hope for the best" mother of two young kids. 

— Becca


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The Scapegracers By H. A. Clarke Cover Image
$17.95
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9781645660002
Published: Erewhon Books - September 15th, 2020

Just thinking about this book fosters a productive spark of anger that lights up my creativity. It contains elements of Heathers and The Craft which are then deeply cemented with found family and revenge. This queer coven of women see and accept one another in a way that everyone strives to be accepted: no hesitation, thorns and all. -Steph


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The House in the Cerulean Sea By TJ Klune Cover Image
$28.99
ISBN: 9781250217288
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Tor Books - March 17th, 2020

Hop on the ferry and head to a small island in the cerulean sea where you'll find woods begging to be explored, an old building that might just be home, love that most certainly is, and a six-year-old boy who happens to be the antichrist--but we don't use that word in this family. Linus, our unlikely hero, believes strongly in following rules and regulations. This is especially true when it comes to his job as a caseworker for magical youth, until he is forced to question everything he knows when he arrives at Marsyas Island and meets six children who defy all expectations. This book is brimming with joy and tenderness as Linus learns to truly see and understand the people around him, and the love that blooms there is sure to warm you up from the inside out. Steph


The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea By Maggie Tokuda-Hall Cover Image
$19.99
ISBN: 9781536204315
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Candlewick - May 5th, 2020

This was the first book in a long while that I was thinking about constantly and couldn't wait to get back to reading. A fantasy adventure with pirates and mermaids and magic, wrapped around a multi-cultural LGBTQ+ love story, draped in themes of colonialism and classism, get ready to raise anchor and sail right in. - Steph


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Elatsoe By Darcie Little Badger, Rovina Cai (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Darcie Little Badger, Rovina Cai (Illustrator)
$18.99
ISBN: 9781646140053
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Levine Querido - August 25th, 2020

There is a lot of our own world to be found in Elatsoe's life, in-between teleporting with fairy circles and summoning the spirits of long dead animals and vampires, that is. Namely, when a Lipan Apache man is found dead in a mostly white and wealthy Texan town the police don't seem interested in investigating all the things that don't make sense. Ellie takes it upon herself to uncover what happened to her cousin and ensure his spirit finds rest, but this mystery leads far deeper than she could ever have expected. - Steph


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Pet By Akwaeke Emezi Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780525647072
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Make Me a World - September 10th, 2019

Jam knows the monsters are gone, the angels of her parent's generation rooted them all out and changed the laws to prevent them from ever gaining power again. Happily ever after. Until a dark and twisted creature climbs out of her mother's painting and tells Jam that monsters still exist in Lucille and one of them is living in her best friend's home. It's easy to close your eyes and believe that once an evil is stopped the fight is over, if you can't see it is it even really happening? In this slim novel, Akwaeke Emezi's poetic prose peels away the veneer and dives straight to the heart, exposing what is hidden in every corner. - Steph


The Song of Achilles: A Novel By Madeline Miller Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9780062060624
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Ecco - August 28th, 2012

this was a touch pick, since I also adore Circe, but Song of Achilles is overwhelmingly brilliant. A love story, a war story, a story told from a new perspective - Patroclus's point of view is one that I have always wanted to hear and Madeline Miller doesn't just deliver it, she reinvents the myth around it. - Gracie


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Orpheus Girl By Brynne Rebele-Henry Cover Image
$18.99
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9781641290746
Published: Soho Teen - October 8th, 2019

The retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice but set against a conversion therapy story in a present-day conservative Texas town. Such a riveting and devastating story that brings this myth into a whole new perspective. - Gracie


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Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1) By Rick Riordan Cover Image
$8.99
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9780786838653
Published: Disney Hyperion - April 1st, 2006

In a list of retold Greek myths you can't include this hysterical and brilliant middle grade series. While not a retelling of a particular myth, Rick Riordan breathes new life into the entire canon. This is one of my all-time favorite series. The bonus? He has even more series as well as an entire imprint dedicated to the reinvention of mythology systems so you will never get bored! - Gracie


House of Names: A Novel By Colm Toibin Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781501140228
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Scribner - March 6th, 2018

A tri-narrative that deals with the strife at home following the Trojan War. I knew about Iphigenia's death preceding the Trojan War, but the fallout and effect it holds over the entire family is delved into with such drama and authenticity in this fantastic novel. - Gracie


The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley: A Novel By Hannah Tinti Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9780812989908
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Dial Press Trade Paperback - January 30th, 2018

While not technically a strict retelling, the twelve labors of Hercules are alluded to in the story of a wayward father and his curious daughter. This is a book that has genius craftsmanship behind it as well as being a thriller of a read. - Gracie


The Idiot: A Novel By Elif Batuman Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9780143111061
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Penguin Books - February 13th, 2018

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Ghosts of Harvard: A Novel By Francesca Serritella Cover Image
$27.00
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9780525510369
Published: Random House - May 5th, 2020

Rocked by the death of her older brother, Cady accepts her admission to Harvard University to try to determine what led to her brother's (a brilliant physics undergrad) apparent suicide. -Emily


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Real Life: A Novel By Brandon Taylor Cover Image
$26.00
ISBN: 9780525538882
Availability: Backordered and/or In Reprint - May Not Be Available for Some Time
Published: Riverhead Books - February 18th, 2020

This novel got tons of critical acclaim early this year, but I fear many missed it due to the pandemic.  Hands down, it's one of the best books I read this year.  Wallace, a young gay, black man from the south moves to the midwest for graduate school, a lifelong dream fulfilled.  Except, when he gets there, nothing is how he hoped it would be.  While yes, this is fiction, it gives a very in-depth look at microaggressions and systemic racism in graduate programs (and undergraduate programs and well, everywhere).  It's heartbreaking and necessarily uncomfortable reading. -Emily


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Catherine House: A Novel By Elisabeth Thomas Cover Image
$27.99
Currently Unavailable.
ISBN: 9780062905659
Published: Custom House - May 12th, 2020

This book is a delicious modern day Gothic mystery about an elite college whose students may or may not be willingly participating in a mind-control experiment.  Fascinating characters and if you like that feeling of eeriness and existential dread in your mysteries (it's fine in fiction, not so much during election season), give this book a try! - Emily


Skippy Dies: A Novel By Paul Murray Cover Image
$22.00
ISBN: 9780865478619
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Farrar, Straus and Giroux - August 30th, 2011

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Special Topics in Calamity Physics By Marisha Pessl Cover Image
$19.00
ISBN: 9780143112129
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Penguin Books - April 24th, 2007

Structurally, one of the most interesting books of the aughts.  Each chapter, named after a famous work of literature, mirrors the themes and/or plots of said work.  A fun, psychological murder mystery set on a prep school campus. -Emily


The Secret History (Vintage Contemporaries) By Donna Tartt Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781400031702
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Vintage - April 13th, 2004

The Book On Pie: Everything You Need to Know to Bake Perfect Pies By Erin Jeanne McDowell Cover Image
$37.50
ISBN: 9780358229285
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Harvest - November 10th, 2020

Pie Camp: The Skills You Need to Make Any Pie You Want By Kate McDermott Cover Image
$35.00
ISBN: 9781682684139
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Countryman Press - October 6th, 2020

Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life By Kate McDermott, Andrew Scrivani (By (photographer)) Cover Image
By Kate McDermott, Andrew Scrivani (By (photographer))
$35.00
ISBN: 9781581573275
Availability: At Our Partner Warehouse - Arrives in 2 to 5 Days
Published: Countryman Press - October 4th, 2016

Sister Pie: The Recipes and Stories of a Big-Hearted Bakery in Detroit [A Baking Book] By Lisa Ludwinski Cover Image
$25.00
ISBN: 9780399579769
Availability: Recently On Our Shelves
Published: Lorena Jones Books - October 2nd, 2018