Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “Prince of Cats” by Ronald Wimberly
Recently re-released by Image Comics, Ron Wimberly’s “Prince of Cats” is: a graphic novel version of Shakespeare set in 1980s Brooklyn; a “ninajaupera” in iambic pentameter; the hip-hop B-side of “Romeo and Juliet” with Tybalt as its center; epic in scope, raucous in word, tender in palette, a love story that ruptures in petals and guts. Wimberly captures a feeling in this book: being on top of the Wonder Wheel and seeing Coney Island and all of Brooklyn laid out before you, holding your breath, and letting go.
— Stephanie Bartolome, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246–0200, www.greenlightbookstore.com].
Word’s pick: “Scrappy Little Nobody” by Anna Kendrick
If you love the sparkling personality and wit of adorable “Pitch Perfect” actress Anna Kendrick, then this is the book for you. Part show-biz memoir, part personal diary entry, this is a quirky, entertaining, and highly enjoyable book. I had a giant smile on my face the entire time I was reading “Scrappy Little Nobody.”
— Christopher Perez, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbrooklyn.com].
Community Bookstore’s pick: “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin
Since November’s nightmare, finding the right read has been something of a challenge, but the solution for this reader has been gay ex-pat fiction. The Black Lives Matter era has given James Baldwin something of a recent renaissance, and his small wonder, “Giovanni’s Room,” is a supple, beautiful book about a Parisian love affair, complete with long, drunken nights, a scandal, and murder. But it is Baldwin’s brilliant rendering of a closeted gay man’s interior life that pushes this small novel into the sublime.
— Hal Hlavinka, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].
