Bookshop Customer Reviews from our 2017 Summer Newsletter

Donovan Hohn was teaching English in New York City when a student tipped him off to the tantalizing story of a shipping container lost at sea that “liberated” 28,800 bath toys into the Pacific Ocean. Hohn left his teaching job to embark on a hysterical series of adventures—to Alaska, China, and the Arctic Circle—to track down the origins and fates of these plastic duckies (and turtles and beavers and frogs). His investigation unfolds as an accessible introduction to oceanography and the serious issue of plastics in our oceans. Hohn is a lovingly literary narrator with a self-deprecating sense of humor. This book contained some of the most fun and informative science journalism I’ve read.—Emily

Protagonist 560-year-old “ancient mariner” Daniel Defoe’s gritty storytelling travels from an unmoored drop-out narrator in present-day Key West, then leaps to an enslaved Pirahao girl in 1560 Granada, then to three other questing youths in the years 2200 and 1750 and in the 2500s, in repeatedly rotating versions of America. There be greed and colonialist corruption along these edges of ruin, but smidgeons of love and grim humor also. Meta-fictional and psycho-economic glimpses of climate disruption are revealed in five diverse epochs.—Steve Lawton

I’ve been taking resistance flexibility classes and have enjoyed reading Bob Cooley’s book to learn how these stretches correlate to particular Chinese meridians and thus affect not only the health of the muscles but other aspects as well, like increased circulation, improved immunity, and muchmore. He describes the psychological effects of the stretches too. A fascinating read for a great modality that has been improving my flexibility and strength!—Rachael Shishido, yoga teacher  

I’m a sucker for crime novels and in my opinion, Tana French is the best of the best. Everything she writes is pure gold, and The Trespasser is no exception. The characters are richly developed, the plot is dark and twisty, and the writing is so good you’ll have a hard time putting it down.—Kathleen Fitzpatrick