The Staff Shelf: Papercuts J. P.
What are booksellers reading?
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 Papercuts J.P. Books what they recommend.
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SLIDESHOW: Papercuts J.P. Staff Shelf
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- JOHN (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: For nearly forty years, Project Censored has been compiling the most important under-reported stories of the year, stories that have been buried because they reveal ugly truths about the systemic injustice, environmental catastrophes, corporate malfeasance, and routine violation of civil rights by our own government. This year’s volume includes stories about the real depth of worldwide wealth inequality, government cell phone tapping and restrictions on freedom of expression, resistance movements in the middle east, privatization of water, the rising number of environmental activists being murdered, and many other stories that may challenge the narrative formed by corporate media.
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- KATIE (MEDIA + EVENTS COORDINATOR) RECOMMENDS: This biography of the iconic Joan Didion is a superbly written work of research. Of course you know Joan from her provocative essays on culture, her careful novels, and her pieces that, as Daugherty says, “teach us how to live.” Now, through this magnetic story of her life, know her fascinating western background and her reflections on writing her work. This stunning book is, I promise you, not your dry and merely factual biography. Daugherty traces Didion’s intellectual and creative growth, which is an opportunity that those who love to read and write would be remiss to forego.
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- KATIE (MEDIA + EVENTS COORDINATOR) RECOMMENDS: Compared to the work of the breakbeat poets, the poetry you’re reading is outdated. The poetry in this book is not “modern” in the sense of being more highly evolved, but rather a true and accurate reflection of a large part of our world that’s often neglected in publishing, especially in poetry. These pieces, with sound and rhythm that will move you (at least have your foot tapping), are not hindered by the expectations of structure or form. The poems in this collection are some of the most honest works of writing I’ve read this year—they read like a beat in the chest of the poet—raw, spontaneous, and simply written because it needed to be. The world needs more books like BREAKBEAT POETS.
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- KATIE (MEDIA + EVENTS COORDINATOR) RECOMMENDS: Chris Irvin’s first collection of short stories is an impressive body of work. In each story, Irvin masterfully brings to the center of the narrative those who could otherwise be left out, allowing the reader to experience crime noir fiction from the perspective of the most anxious, and from those characters who feel the most genuine. If violence is a storm, this collection focuses on the eye of it–yes, the reader is safe inside of it, but only for another moment.
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- KATE (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: I discovered the genius of Clarice Lispector a few years ago and am elated that this gorgeous book—with perhaps the most stunning cover of the year—is finally with us! All you gotta know is Elizabeth Bishop says, “Better than Borges.”
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- KATE (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: Reading this I wrote down these two sentences. The first sums up the plot. The second, my feelings while reading it. “A story with two beginnings and no ending.” “My heart dilates with a pleasure that is pure and undiluted.” Don’t miss this book—if you don’t trust me, it’s got blurbs from James Salter, Phillip Pullman, and Margaret Mead.
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- KATE (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: Much more than a glorified field guide, this brilliant book shows us how to engage with the natural world around us and with the objects that so often find their way into pockets. It’s beautifully designed and the perfect instruction manual for the naturally curious.
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- KATE (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: This gorgeous book out from one of my favorite publishers, Flying Eye Books, is a treasure. It beautifully illustrates the complex set of emotions that a young girl faces when she’s inspired by her ideas, gets overwhelmed with the possibilities and doesn’t know where to start, then eventually finds her way by reading a book! It’s a joyful celebration of the power of books and the ideas they contain and the color palate makes this book feel timeless.
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