Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward
National Book Award–winning author Jesmyn Ward’s third novel is a Southern odyssey set in rural, 21st century America. “Sing, Unburied, Sing” reveals the mythic in the mundane, the past in the present, and the home we inhabit in history. It pivots upon the living, the dead, and the many forms they embody. It conjures its characters and setting so well you will feel that Mississippi moisture clinging to your skin as you make your way through the story. A must-read.
— Melissa Hohl, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “Time Travel” by James Gleick
James Gleick’s “Time Travel: A History” is both the history of a genre and a history of ideas. From H.G. Wells to Einstein and beyond, Gleick examines our evolving relationship to time as a concept and as a narrative vehicle. His book makes knotty physics problems as accessible as comic books, and places pulpy sci-fi serials in a place of honor among time-bending modernists like James Joyce and T.S. Eliot. Through a series of cleverly interwoven anecdotes, Gleick compellingly makes the case that the relationship between art and science has long been a two-way street.
— Samuel Partal, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
Word’s pick: “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex” by Jillian Weise
The newly reissued poetry collection “The Amputee’s Guide to Sex” is a florid, heavy-handed portrayal of medical isolation, even within the world of disability rights and women’s health. Every single poem Weise writes will cause the reader’s jaw to drop. “Cur” and the coda “Body as Argument” solidify this as a monster collection of verse that can be read again and again.
— Sarah Page, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbookstores.com].
