Word’s picks: “Hard to Do” by Kelli Maria Korducki
Kelli Maria Korducki’s book, subtitled “The Surprising Feminist History of Breaking Up” is a knowledge bomb for anyone living in a fantasy world where politics and relationships have not always been intertwined. And this knowledge bomb comes in a delightfully small package. She analyzes women’s economic and ritualistic domestic partnerships, including pop culture characters and members of the British monarchy, with the searing gaze of a philosopher holding nothing back. Korducki brings the strength and radical act of choosing to break up to light.
— Hannah Oliver Depp, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbookstores.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “Some Trick” by Helen DeWitt
From the author of the under-read masterpiece “The Last Samurai” comes a collection of 13 stories that survey the absurdities that arise when the life of the mind collides with the runaway train of commerce. Whether in the art world, academia, publishing, or public stock offerings, every earnest attempt to follow one’s muse into the labyrinthine kingdom of the dollar is brought low in unexpected, and often hilarious, fashion.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “Less” by Andrew Sean Greer
In Greer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, now available in paperback, self-proclaimed “middling” author Arthur Less travels the world in an attempt to outrun reminders of failed relationships and his approaching 50th birthday. Dodging a former lover’s ex-wife at a conference in Mexico City, accepting his very first literary prize in Italy from a judging panel of teenagers, teaching a class in Berlin in his terribly, unknowingly broken German — everything is a reminder of past trips, old humiliations, decades reflected in the eyes of new admirers and critics alike. In the hands of a funny, mysteriously omniscient narrator with a knack for metaphor and flashback, Less is more than just a hapless victim of his experiences — he is an unwitting hero, bearing the torch of uncertainty, surprise, and occasional delight that an accumulated life can bring.
— Ben Hoffman, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].