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What to read this week

What to read this week

Greenlight Bookstore’s pick: “My Struggle: Book 3” by Karl Ove Knausgaard

The third book in the sometimes excruciatingly-detailed six-volume account of Knausgaard’s life focuses on his boyhood. Readers will discover a literally warts-and-all portrait of his Norwegian upbringing, including his aching need to impress peers and family, his interest in soccer and reading, and his father’s malicious dominion over his every move. Yet among the furious entrapment of firsts — love and school especially — are poignant scenes of boys being boys, listening to Outlandos D’Amour in the shower and singing loudly and carefree.

— Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, 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: “The Little Town Where Time Stood Still” by Bohumil Hrabal

By most accounts, Bohumil Hrabal was the greatest Czech novelist of the twentieth century. He was a raconteur of the beer halls, where he held court with intellectuals and workers alike, and his books — banned by the Soviets and published illegally — ramble from anecdote to anecdote like a drunken uncle. This book collects two of Hrabal’s best novels, covering Czech history from Austria-Hungary through the Nazi occupation and into Communist rule. Pour a pint of pivo or two and settle in for quite a story.

— Hal Hlavinka, Community Bookstore [43 Seventh Ave. between Carroll Street and Garfield Place in Park Slope, (718) 783–3075, www.communitybookstore.net].

Word’s pick: “Kitchens of the Great Midwest” by J. Ryan Stradal

Chef Eva Thorvald is the focal point of this novel, but readers get to watch her grow through the eyes of people she affected at different stages in her life. Stradal captures the push and pull of family dynamics, the awkwardness and good intentions of a Midwestern adolescence, and the unique kind of drive that comes from an obsession with good food. The balance of flavors is just right.

— Emily Pullen, Word [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordbrooklyn.com].