The Staff Shelf: WORD

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 WORD what they recommend.

SLIDESHOW: WORD Staff Shelf

: KATELYN (EVENTS COORDIANTOR, JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: There is a catastrophic event over San Francisco Bay. No one has taken the blame. In one of the most interesting styles I have ever read, Hrbek tells the story of a young man coming to terms with the loss of his sister and the strange world events happening all around him. For any post-apocalyptic fan this one really sparkles. It’s one that takes us into the future to make us dwell on the present.

: LYDIA (CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST, BROOKLYN & JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: I love these Penguin books! Each story diligently follows him to new places and explores how he meets new friends. You can read any of them in any order BUT THIS TIME Penguin’s going where no penguin has ever gone before: The North Pole!

: JASPER (BOOKSELLER & INVENTORY COORDINATOR, JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: It’s been four years since McGonigal taught us what it means to be “gameful” — learning new skills, tackling challenges, building friendly competition — and in doing so, helped make us happier and healthier people. In SuperBetter, she expands on that philosophy, this time exploring the ways we can use that same gameful mindset to boost our confidence to reach our goals, build our resilience against negativity, and altogether brighten our outlook of the future. If you’re interested in the “whys” of human behavior/psychology, don’t miss out on this one.

: ALLY-JANE (EVENTS DIRECTOR, BROOKLYN & JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: Nathaniel P. is a book I can’t stop recommending. It’s the story of a young intellectual in Brooklyn who is both charming and frustratingly self-absorbed. He’s terribly unromantic for someone who loves literature so much. The reader is privy to his crass observations about the women he dates, the publishing industry and what it means to be alive in the modern world. This is Adelle Waldman’s debut novel and her observations about women as told through the male gaze are sickeningly funny and insightful.

: ASHANTI (INVENTORY DIRECTOR, JERSEY CITY & BROOKLYN) RECOMMENDS: Rushdie’s new novel spins our currently national predilection for disaster tales into something fanciful and delightful. Let’s be real, this is Rushdie’s prime strength, and in this book, he’s flexing his magical realism muscles to the extreme. While his befuddlement with Snapchat may have been the apotheosis of his novel’s development, Rushdie adeptly weaves together everything from comic books to medieval Iberian life to gardening to theories of the jinn. Hint: 2 years, 8 months, and 28 nights works out to 1,001 Nights. Anything more would be a spoiler.

: KERRY (BOOKSELLER, JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: Theodore Roosevelt craved adventure. After his presidency, at 54 years old, he decided that he and his son Kermit would go to Brazil and map an unexplored river in the Amazon. It very nearly kills them. Jaguars, unfordable rapids, alligators, piranha, hordes of mosquitoes, unknown diseases, hostile natives, starvation, and the unending heat are there enemies as they struggle to get out of the jungle alive.

: JAYE (INVENTORY MANAGER, BROOKLYN) RECOMMENDS: Oliver Sacks has told the stories of many intriguing, eccentric minds throughout his life as a neurologist and writer. He applies the same curiosity and compassion to himself in On the Move, a self-portrait that comprises hardships, hard work, and profound love. And who knew he was a competitive weight lifter?!

: CHRISTINE (OWNER) RECOMMENDS:  I have not yet found one person who didn’t want to talk endlessly about this book with anyone else who has read it. It’s the kind of book that requires a support group. It packs such a powerful emotional punch that you’re not quite the same when it’s over. Centered around four male college friends and following them into their fifties, A Little Life is anything but little: in length, in breadth, in impact. It’s not for the weak of heart; you will be reduced to tears at several points but don’t let that deter you. It’s quite literally a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.

: ZACH (MANAGER, BROOKEN & JERSEY CITY) RECOMMENDS: Yuknavich’s third book brings all of her major concerns together in a single novel: the consequences and necessities of art as communicative and creative work; girlhood and womanhood; the threats and comforts of men against and for each other and those around them (especially but not exclusively including war); families; memories. And it does so with characteristic skill, bluntness, and candor. Highly recommended.