Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “Well-Read Black Girl,” edited by Glory Edim
In this collection of essential reading, Glory Edim consolidates the celebration, contemplation, and joy she fostered in her book club-turned-online community. Authors including Tayari Jones, Jesmyn Ward, and Jacqueline Woodson discuss their childhoods, their memories, their work, and the books and writers that shaped them. This anthology is an exploration of the power of literature — whether it reflects or changes the reader, how its effects morph with time, and why the perspectives it highlights matter. Through this lens, you will learn what has frustrated and inspired these extraordinarily well-read women, and be encouraged to drift into your own literary daydream.
— Ben Hoffman, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].
Word’s picks: “Blue Horses,” by Mary Oliver
The phrase “life is about the little things” comes to mind whenever I read a Mary Oliver poem. This collection of honest and gentle poems takes your hand and ushers you to find serenity in the stillness of nature. Her poetry serves to remind you of the sweet whimsy in simplicity, the serendipity of daily life and, ultimately, helps to heal a weary mind.
— Jasmine Romero, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbookstores.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “Tentacle,” by Rita Indiana
The award-winning Caribbean novelist’s latest confabulation offers up a vision of the post-apocalyptic near future in the vein of Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin. Our heroine, Acilde, must travel back in time to save civilization from itself, with the help of a sentient sea anemone. A heady work of science-fiction that draws on traditional Yoruban and Voudon myth. A gem.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
