Need to give a unique gift? A book to someone who seems to have read everything? Look no further, this list includes gems for which your recipient will thank you. I love Skylight Books, everything about it, except the location, it is just too far away from me. At least it’s close enough for an occasional foray. My next trip will be to visit one of their monthly Literary Salons that highlight small presses. Monica organizes the Salon and Emily contributes as a fan of small presses. I knew Skylight Books was the perfect store to ask for recommendations and Emily was kind enough to send along her favorites and the best picks from some of the other staff members at Skylight. (Note: the link from the book title leads to the review of the book from Skylight Books, the link on the publisher leads to its website.)
1. Mopus — Counterpath Press
2. The Musical Illusionist – Hotel St. George Press : Emily says the book reminds her of the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City.
3. A Happy Man – Les Figues - Until December 7th, Les Figues is offering a holiday sale, free shipping and buy two books and get a third book for free. An extra bonus – the books are long and slim, the perfect stocking stuffers.
4. The Waitress Was New – Archipelago – I love this publisher, so much so that I subscribed to their fall series. Not only is the content great, they are lovely physical books. Here’s my interview with Dave Lievens of Archipelago Books and my review of The Waitress is New.
5. Hard Case Crime Mysteries - This publisher specializes in hardboiled crime fiction. The Skylight Books blog posted about the publisher.
6. Sometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs — MuuMuu House Jade of Skylight Books writes: “This is the most innovative poetry book out right now. Kennedy’s poems are semi-surrealist narratives — dry, but beautiful; witty, but intense. Kennedy was born in 1989, and the speaker of her poems is generally very young and in touch with modern culture. The characters range from a generic young female to Woody Allen and Norm MacDonald. It’s semi-ridiculous, it’s (sort of) sexy, it’s post-modern-ish, it’s funny — in a way, it’s kinda cool, and it’s completely fantastic. Read it!”
Emily has also shared that she has really been enjoying stuff from Two Dollar Radio. She hasn’t featured them at the salon (yet), but their whole collection is worth checking out.
Interested in learning about more small, independent publishers, check out our list of recommended books from last year and the list at Bread and Bread.
Claire
Kim
