The Staff Shelf: Trident Booksellers & Cafe

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 Trident Booksellers & Cafe what’s on their shelves.

SLIDESHOW: Trident Booksellers & Cafe Staff Shelf

: BERNIE FLYNN (OWNER) RECOMMENDS: It’s over 40 years later and I still pull it off the shelf to read and reread. Try finding a quiet spot where no one is listening, and randomly choose a poem to read out loud to yourself.

: MATT LABOMBARD (EVENTS COORDINATOR) RECOMMENDS: Andy Cohen’s encounters with both the famous and not-so-famous Average Joe show that at the end of the day we’re all pretty much the same.

: RILEY FOSTER (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: In sharing her personal experience with such a serious topic, Brosh strikes the right balance of humor and honesty that makes it poignant and accessible to all readers.

: MICHELLE BETTERS (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: Didion’s keenly analytical prose attempts to make sense of the senseless.

: MICHAEL LEMANSKI (GENERAL MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: A dreamlike, somewhat surreal comedy of manners. Funny, sad, hopeful, disturbing, insightful.

: HOLLY SULLO (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: One of my favorite graphic novels to date, it is deeply touching and incredibly unique story.

: COURTNEY FLYNN (MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Be prepared for a heartbreaking story that will push the envelope of comfort. . . The writing is graceful and elegant, while the story is completely magnetizing.