The Staff Shelf: Magers & Quinn

When we walk into a bookstore, the first place we go is the staff recommendation shelves—it’s how you get a quick sense of the personality of the store. The very best bookstores are merely a reflection of the eclectic, deeply felt opinions of the book-lovers who work there. As part of our Interview with a Bookstore, we asked the staff at Magers & Quinn what they recommend to their patrons.

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SLIDESHOW: Magers & Quinn Booksellers Staff Shelf

: GARY (COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND B2B SALES DIRECTOR) RECOMMENDS: This book has taken my faith life to a whole new level.

: AARON (BOOKSELLER, BUYER) RECOMMENDS: In this follow-up to JUST KIDS, Patti Smith channels W G Sebald as she wanders through the world writing and taking pictures and looking back upon her life.

: ANN (EVENTS COORDINATOR) RECOMMENDS: see above

: DEREK (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: The guy’s a beast: renowned as a ground-breaking lyrical essay-maker, revered -possibly feared- as a poet. Albert is jazzy, rhythmic, wordy, prose-y, extremely well-read. He loves life and sex and his dead parents and, GOD, does he write well about all of the above. Plus retro toys, and strippers, and you’ll-be-surprised-what-else (Rembrandt! Nancy Drew! Van Gogh!). In

: BETH (ASSISTANT MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Incredibly sacrilegious. Biff, Jesus’ boyhood best friend who has been written out of the Bible for being unsuitable, tells the story of growing up with the Savior. He can do lots of things that Jesus (being the Son of God and all) can’t, such as have sex. Biff gamely describes this first time experience with his friend while in the moment. Funny and provocative.

: DAVE (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: The first philosopher to take on the topic of Gagnam Style.

: EMILY F. (bookseller) recommends: If you don’t mind having your entire foundation challenged, please read this book. There is no way I could adequately summarize it– Dillard sifts through varied expertise, somehow finding a way to tie cases of rare birth defects to cloud formations and the history of sand. This book has become an annual read for me.