July Staff Picks

Every month we let you know what we’ve been reading and our monthly recommendations. You’ll get to see new titles with fabulous reviews from the Bay Books team. We’re sure you’ll love these fantastic books just as much as we do. We recommend a wide range of genres and themes. So get ready to explore more books!

Tina’s Picks

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He (YA)

There were so many pieces of science and moral questions that at first I thought TOO much going on. But when you’re thinking about a book after you have finished, it must mean something and it does, of course. It’s difficult to call this novel dystopian when the elements of climate change they mentioned are happening around us: mega storms and quakes more violent and closer together than ever, as well as tsunamis and severe air pollution, enough to make thousands upon thousands seek treatment and also drought. ‘The One We’re Meant to Find’ takes it one step further by introducing immigration to the mix. Immigration as in, those still on earth by choice, to an eco-skycity where folks who have plenty have it at the expense of those who chose to stay on the polluted earth and now want out. There is resentment between those who have done the right things to reduce their carbon footprint to those who chose to remain on earth and continue to despoil it. Some innovative ideas are within the pages of this book but at what price? Secret agendas, ecowarrior activists, governmental covert interventions, and life itself rests on one computer program developed by a brilliant girl. It leaves you thinking will the cycle of destruction begin again once the earth is cleansed? Can it be cleansed? A truly intriguing read.

River of the Gods: Genius, Courage and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile by Candice Millard (Historical Fiction)

I love historical fiction, I cannot lie, and as a historian, Millard shines in this historical fiction! Exploring the Nile are explorers with god-like egos (of course!), and their belabored local guides, as they fight to map the second largest continent and find the source of the Nile. These are not like Shakleton’s group of Antarctic adventurers, these explorers rely heavily on their local guides to save, teach and cook for them and we in turn, learn from them as well. The part about the beetle burrowing into Speke’s was totally repugnant and the source of many horror and science fiction flicks. I loved it! I think you will too. She writes magnifically and I’m looking forward to reading her other books that were published before this one.

Let’s Get Criminal by Lev Raphael (LBGTQA+, Murder Mystery)

Nick Hoffman is one of those ‘Bob Newhart’ kind of guys who seems to watch things going awry about him while being in the middle of a maelstrom—-this time, murder. If you’re not familiar with Bob Newhart, think “Will” from Will and Grace. Nick’s partner, Stephan, has a somewhat mysterious past, as it turns out, as well as several members at the University where both teach. The story centers around who killed Perry Cross, a fellow professor, and apparently there are many people who had motives. Secrets are unveiled, which lead to incredible intersections in each other’s lives. Very entertaining as well as well as great recipes. Nick and Stephan love good food and the descriptions are fantastic. This book will feed your mind and your tummy.

Autumn’s Picks

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

This book is to mycology as Braiding Sweetgrass is to botany. Entangled Life fed my hyperfixation on fungi with enthusiastic, informative writing that is supplemented with beautiful illustrations made using ink made from shaggy ink mushrooms. Sheldrake’s passion for mycology is palpable and contagious. Almost every time I sat down to read this book, I had to stop and call my mom or text a friend to share what I had learned. Zombie fungi! The complex symbiosis of lichen! Mycorrhizal relationships! I have always loved mushrooms but they are just the tip of the iceberg: fungi might just save the world. Reading this book is like eating a magic mushroom of knowledge.

Lady Killers by Tori Telfer

This compendium of female serial killers throughout history is compelling, entertaining, and downright rad. The author notes that this book was partially inspired by the following statement made by an FBI profiler in the 1990s: “there are no known female serial killers”. Telfer presents 15 biographies of murderesses from the 1300s to the 1950s that prove otherwise. These cases are fascinating studies of unlikeable women and the ways that society demonizes, dismisses, and erases female aggression.

To Night Owl From Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

This book hits like a queer Parent Trap – the perfect middle grade summer read! Two tween girls on opposite sides of the country begin corresponding over email after learning that their dads fell in love at a work conference and are secretly dating. Both girls conspire to break them up because they like their lives the way they are, that is until the girls become friends. Told through email correspondence, To Night Owl From Dogfish is a wholesome, funny, heartwarming book about chosen families.

Want More Books?

Check out our online book selection. If you don’t see something you’re looking for, please let us know. We will be happy to let you know if we have it in the store or we can order it for you. Happy reading!