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

Titanic Survivors Book Club by Timothy Schaffert

As an apprentice librarian for the White Star Line, Yorick’s job was to curate the ship’s second-class library for the passengers of the Titanic. He decides to populate it with books that are considered ‘banned’ but that he recognizes as great literary works. When he is found out, he is discharged without ever having boarded the Titanic.

 After he learns of the ship’s sinking, he takes this twist of fate as a sign to follow his lifelong dream of owning a bookshop in Paris. It’s at his shop that he receives an invitation to a secret society of survivors where he encounters other ticket-holders who didn’t board the ship. Haunted by their good fortune, they decide to transform their group into a book society, where they will read the books that were banned on the Titanic, and also forge deep emotional bonds with each other that reveal their inner selves. Isn’t that what true friends do? A very enjoyable read—bonus! You get to see Yorick’s list of books to inspire your own reading.Historical Fiction, Fiction, LBGTQ+

The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard

Not fairy tales but a historical novel about the people who told them. This novel is set in the Parisian salon of Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy during the reign of Louis XIV, where intellectuals gathered to share literary stories, primarily literary elaborations of folktales and sometimes, their own inventions. What an interesting way to poke fun at the Sun King and perhaps the safest way to express your opinions, cleverly disguised as ‘fairytales’. Clever and fascinating, this novel represents the court at that time as well as the stories. Loved it! Historical Fiction, Fiction

Karin’s Picks

Is A River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

To answer his question, Macfarlane endures hard  travel to these beautifully still-wild places to experience them before they are lost forever. He explores three vastly different rivers: the Rio Los Cedros in the Ecuadoran Cloud Forest, the  creeks and estuaries near Chennai, India, and the Magpie River, six hundred miles northeast of Montreal. In each location, along with fellow adventurers and residents, he ponders his essential question: Is A River Alive? These expeditions provide a resounding answer!

Becky’s Picks

North of Tomboy by Julie Swanson

Very local, as the author Julie Swanson grew up in Leelanau County, the setting for this Young Adult story. Through the voice of a nine year old girl, Jess Swanson recreates her life as a tomboy who often felt out of place and misunderstood by adults. Jess is determined to make the world see her as she really is. The gift of another dreaded doll for Christmas turns out to be just the answer, as Jess transforms the doll into the brave boy she has always wanted to be. As her doll, Mickey, becomes her alter ego, Jess struggles to find her own identity. 

Wendy’s Staff Picks

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

A mysterious but affable stranger lands in the charming southern town of Golden. Upon arrival, he visits the local coffee shop and discovers nearly 100  framed portraits on display – each one depicting a local resident. Theo is inspired to purchase each of the portraits and gift them to the rightful owner. He meets with individuals to pass the portraits along and friendships are formed, and good works are initiated. This lovely, beautifully crafted story reminds us of the importance of human kindness, quiet generosity and the power of paying it forward.  This is the feel-good read you need right now.  

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!

Wendy’s Pick

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
This was undoubtedly one of my tops reads of 2025 – a solid FIVE star. This intense story takes place on a remote island near Antarctica, more than 1500 miles from civilization – and the location of the world’s largest seed bank. Dominic and his 3 children are caretakers of the island and are its only inhabitants. Rising ocean levels threaten the stability of the island and the cadre of researchers who once lived and worked in the island’s research center are now gone. The novel begins as a woman mysteriously washes up on shore after an epic storm. Who is she? How and why did she possibly come to be in the vicinity of this extraordinarily isolated part of the world? If you are like me, you will find yourself compelled to look up various plants and animals woven into the narrative – fascinating. This is an un-put-downable tale with clever twists and turns and themes of climate change/earth science, relationships, personal choices, and the lengths we will go to, to protect those we love.

Tina’s Picks

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger
We’re all thinking about how A.I. will impact our lives and author Holsinger takes us there in this tightly paced novel. The plotline revolved around a car crash while a teen-age boy is at the wheel of a car with an automated assistant. This raises all those questions of who is really liable, morally or financially? Who was really driving? Who is responsible? Adding to this drama is the fact that the family’s vacation house, which is where they are when the accident occurs, is next door to a tech billionaire, which unleashes all kind of madness. Plenty of drama and thought provoking questions!

Is a River Alive by Robert MacFarlane
MacFarlane is best known for his books on landscape, nature, place, people and language and this focus on rivers is no exception. Written in a travelogue manner, he explores three different rivers in Ecuador, India, and Canada and asks if a living thing, such as a river, be regarded as having legal rights, similar to corporations. He stresses the importance of rivers to our environmental sustainability and human health. This is a fascinating book that will make you think in different ways about our rivers’ and waterways’ importance to our humanity.

Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik
Valosik is editorial director at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, but she is also a master synchronized swimmer. She’s the perfect choice to show how women have fought for equality, one of which has been in the pool. Swimming for women first became popular in Britain in the mid 1800’s and one Australian woman became famous as a swimmer but also as an advocate for equal rights. Esther Williams made her professional and well known ‘splash’ through Hollywood and in 1984, synchronized swimming was finally acknowledged as an Olympic sport. Synchronized swimming is demanding, complex and becoming increasingly dangerous. This historical narrative makes for a fascinating read and you’ll certainly look at this sport differently. Enjoy!

Isola by Alegra Goodman
This is an incredible true story of power and greed, but also of cultural biases and history during the 16th century as countries vie for slices of the wealth that is found in the ‘new world’. Using the wealth of a young Marguerite de la Rocque, a French noblewoman, her guardian seeks to become an adventurer and win wealth through establishing a colony in what is now known as Nova Scotia. Marguerite was marooned on an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence after her guardian discovered her romance with his secretary while sailing to the “new world”. Formerly a young lady of privilege, she must learn to survive the harsh cruelties of being stranded with her lover and ladies maid. The story is riveting, all the more so as it is based on historical events. You’ll love it!

Skye’s Pick

Some Days Are Yellow by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Michelle Lee
A great book for introducing reading! “Some days are yellow” is focused on how some days may not be the best, but a new day is a new start. Sometimes we may have big feelings but we can work through them to find calm. A cute short book that can help children understand everyday emotions and everyday life that both children and even adults can relate to. This story features beautiful illustrations and is perfect for story time!

Becky’s Picks:

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The story of an ambitious young woman finding her voice and her passion as she
strives to become one of the first female NASA astronauts in the early ‘80’s.
Author’s note: “I hope very much that you enjoy this story. But I hope, even more, that
Jean Goodwin can convince you to go outside tonight, after the stars have come out,
and look up. I hope, with all my heart, Joan can convince you to be open to wonder.”

The Names  by Florence Knapp

One name – three different lives. How can the choice of a name shape the course of
one’s life?
When Cora goes to register her new son’s name, she hesitates — and what follows are
three very different versions of her son’s life. The author takes us on three journeys of
the son, which includes his mother, his sister and his grandmother.
What if…?

Guest Review by Grace, age 13

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Avery Grambs is an average teenager whose goal is to survive high school, but when
billionaire Tobias Hawthorne leaves his fortune to her on the one condition that she
moves into his mansion that is filled with riddles and secret passageways, everything
changes. Avery will have to encounter Tobias Hawthorne’s children and grandchildren,
who were all raised believing that they would one day inherit his fortune. In this book
filled with romance, puzzles and danger, Avery isn’t playing this game for fun. She’s
playing the game to survive.

This book is amazing for readers who love plot twists and family drama. The adventures
of Avery and the Hawthornes continue in the Hawthorne Legacy, The Final Gambit and
The Brothers Hawthorne. Enjoy them all!

Send us an email if you’d like to be a guest reviewer.

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!

Becky’s Pick

Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Join Stephen Colbert’s book club with this meditation on space — a moving elegy of our
humanity, environment and planet. This is a snapshot of a day in the life of six astronauts and cosmonauts, from America, Japan, Russia, Britain and Italy, as they travel over seventeen thousand miles an hour over earth. The reader travels with them as they experience sixteen sunrises and sunsets, float in gravity-free sleep and communicate with their far away families. They record the silent blue planet below and the marks of civilization. Winner of the Booker Prize in 2024, this is a small but mighty read. Enjoy!

Tina’s Picks

Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Pavlac Glyer
Not only do you get to read the reflections and observations of this collegial group of talented writers, but you’ll receive tips on how to develop functional (and happy) writing groups yourself. Emphasizing collaboration and intrapersonal skills, it draws focus on the writing and thinking NOT the ego. Each chapter starts with a charming drawing, almost like a woodcut, in which there is a dragon hidden. This makes turning the pages even more delightful. This is a must read for those who are in writing groups now, thinking about starting one, or just want to enjoy reading more about the lives of these intelligent authors who have given us so much joy.

The Puzzle Box by Danielle Trussoni
This is the second book in the Puzzle series but you don’t have to read the first one, “The Puzzle Master”, to enjoy this one, although don’t be surprised if you definitely want to do so! Well written, it follows the story of Mike Brink, a good guy who suffers a head injury that gives him acquired savant syndrome, particularly in the area of mathematics, logic, eidetic memory and of course, puzzle solving. But there are folks who want to use him for evil, and some who might want to use him for good. The puzzle in this case is The Dragon Box and was designed by a sadistic constructor who wishes more to defend its secret with poisons, booby traps and the like rather than have it solved. But what is hidden that is so wanted? A riveting story that will keep you enthralled and inform you as well. Enjoy!
Notes from the Porch: Tiny True Stories to Make You Feel Better About the World by Thomas Christopher Greene.

What a beautiful, comforting book of short essays that make you appreciate the good things in your life. If you want the perfect, feel-good book to give someone, this is it.

Wendy’s Pick

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
Fans of Wally Lamb waited a long time for his latest work, and it was undoubtedly worth the wait. This gripping novel drops us into the lives of a young couple in crisis. Corby, a young husband and father, is trying to cope with the loss of his job, his new role as a stay-at-home dad of toddler twins, and some weighty emotional baggage from a dysfunctional relationship with his father. All of this has culminated in a serious alcohol and addiction problem, which he keeps hidden from the love of his life – wife, Emily. Corby is responsible for a tragic accident that rips their family apart and forces him to face his life in new and profound ways. This is a heart-wrenching read – a tremendously impactful, un-put-downable story, crafted expertly by an iconic author in American fiction.

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 Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed
A society matchmaker realizes she’s in danger when her clients’ weddings are sabotaged in increasingly disturbed ways — an utterly original mystery and who doesn’t love a good mystery while lounging on the beach? Not this girl!

North of Tomboy by Julie A. Swanson
Anybody who has ever grown up, or wanted to, in the rough and tumble, never ending summer of Northern Michigan, will immediately identify with preteen Jessica, someone who doesn’t feel like she’s in the right body because ALL the things she loves to do, boys get to do, and she doesn’t. She doesn’t like to wear dresses but makes a bargain with her mother that she will wear them twice a week during the school year and she wants to cut her long, blonde hair but she can’t. But things change when she once again receives a doll for Christmas, which she names ‘Mickey’ and who will say all the things that she can’t seem to say. A fantastic growing-up story, finding out who you are, and helping others to understand as well.

The Cornish Princess (The Goldenchild Prophecy, #1) by Tanya Crosby
I started reading this before I went to work and was riveted! I couldn’t wait to get home to read it and did until the wee hours of the morning. This is historical fiction with fae characters as well, and each character is so vividly portrayed that you truly become invested in the story and in them. I’m looking forward to reading the next two in this series. Based upon a real Warrior Queen, you will feel her situation and emotions deep in your bones. And who doesn’t love Scottish Highlanders?

Becky’s Pick

The Martha’s Vinyard Beach and Book Club By Marth Hall Kelly
As a former librarian and current book lover, this book spoke to me.
2016, as Mari grieves the death of her mother, she travels to Martha’s Vinyard, in
search of a name and address she found on a scrap of paper while going through her
mother’s belongings. Mrs. Devereaux turns out to be a rather famous artist living on a
stunning waterfront farm on Martha’s Vinyard. As they share stories over the weekend
visit, Mari learns of the Smith sisters who once lived on the farm.
1942, the Smith sisters, 19 year old Cadence who is an aspiring writer, and 16 year old
war obsessed Briar are trying to hold their family farm together when the US Army
arrives. Briar is certain there are German U-boats just off shore and Candance falls into
an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy. As their simple, quiet lives are upended, and
their brother is sent off to war, a mysterious man washes ashore. How to keep a secret
on such a small island? In an attempt to create some normalcy, the girls start a book
club and find ways to share books with the soldiers. 2016, Mari learns her relationship to the island is even deeper than she thought possible. A great read, based on the author’s family history.

Wendy’s Pick

The Sirens by Emelia Hart
Set across 3 distinct time periods (1800, 1999 and 2019), we follow the interconnected stories of a group of young women and their unique, inexplicable and ultimately life-saving connection to the sea. The novel begins in Australia, 2019, as Lucy, a young woman with a rare skin condition, is experiencing disturbing dreams that begin to manifest into alarming and violent actions, against her better judgement or understanding. This drives her to flee college and seek respite with her older sister. Upon arrival at her sister’s seaside home, she finds it vacant and neglected – sister is nowhere to be found…but her dairy is! Lucy delves into her sister’s story and within it finds answers to many questions about her own life. In 1999 we meet Jess, a lonely Australian teen with a rare allergy to water, who finds acceptance and validation through an inappropriate relationship with one of her high school teachers. The year 1800 introduces us to two twin sisters who have been snatched from their home country of Ireland and are suffering aboard a slave ship headed for Australia. Though they both have a deep fear of water because of their mother’s drowning – as the voyage turns increasingly perilous, they feel that the sea may be their only salvation. This is an engrossing read with themes of fantasy/myth, female sisterhood across time and space and individual strength and resilience. Fans of Emilia Hart will not be disappointed!

Karin’s Picks

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for this novel about a fictional Ireland that descends into autocracy. Readers like us enjoy horror stories, fantasy fiction, or dystopian novels. We sit in the safety of our seats immersed in a world an inventive author creates, happily being caught up in the unreality of the tale. But what happens when the horror story or the dystopian novel suddenly seems all too plausible? When, instead of happily suspending disbelief, we instead wonder if the book’s action could “actually happen here?” Without being unrealistic or overwrought, this disquieting novel poses that all-important question. Read it to decide for yourself!

 This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

If you’re looking for a great summer read, look no further than this novel set in rural Ireland in the 1950’s. Its warm, funny, sweet, and exasperating characters come to life in a tale told with wry humor and love. Beautifully evocative in its description of the Irish countryside and just as specific and detailed about the strengths and the foibles of the village denizens, you will truly be happy you came to this place!

More Bay Books

• 

  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Robert Downes

  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Staff Picks

  October Staff Picks

  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Featured New Arrival

  October New Arrivals

  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Featured New Arrival

  September New Arrivals

  September 3, 2025September 3, 2025
• 

  Staff Picks

  September Staff Picks

  September 3, 2025September 5, 2025
• 

  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Bryan Gruley

  August 22, 2025August 22, 2025

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 Staff Picks

The Friends by Fredrik Backman

This book. How does Backman do it? After doing the Beartown series, which he says took everything out of him, he has come back with a book that is sure to touch your heart in a different way. Showing the value and worth of friendship, Backman drives this plot forward with incredible lyrical and descriptive language through the relationship between a painting, friendships against all odds, and a feisty, quick witted foster child of 17—wait, 18! That part is significant. Small things in our lives can become big things and worth far more through the lens of friendship rather than through temporal earthly definitions.

You won’t want to put this down and you WILL fall in love with Louisa!

The Women’s Room by Marilyn French

Although this was first published in 1977. It was until a girlfriend quoted from the book after the birth of my first baby, that I really thought to buy it and read it. I had just graduated from university with honors, married and had a baby. As I rocked my newborn with my foot and made an apple pie, she commented “Life turns out to be just sh*t and green beans”.

The Women’s Room also addresses wider social, political, and cultural issues of the time, such as the civil rights movement, sexual liberation, and the Vietnam War and how these larger societal forces intersect with the everyday lives of women through the eyes of Mira, as we travel with her through the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s, ad 1970’s. She begins as the somewhat independent daughter to the dutiful housewife and then to self realizations about her whole being. The character development of each character is incredible, and it is left up to the modern day reader whether this has had the massive influence on feminism that it claimed to have had in the late 1970’s. I was once again enthralled and read it just as hungrily now as I did then.

Becky’s Staff Pick

Weyward by Emilia Hart

What might happen when the real world collides with that of witchcraft? Emilia Hart weaves the stories of three women, over five centuries, celebrating female resilience.
Altha is accused of murder in 1619.
Violet is trapped in her family’s crumbling estate in 1942.
Kate is living under cover in her family cottage in 2019.
All three women find solace in powerful connection with nature and the need to combat life changing power of very bad men. Hart has created a work of historical fiction and modern feminism taking the reader on a journey of family secrets as the women seek to extricate themselves from dire circumstances to discover their secret strengths. And yes, there is a Bookshop!

Wendy’s Staff Picks

I Took the Moon for a Walk by Carolyn Curtis

This charming and lyrical tale accompanied by beautiful illustrations is currently my favorite book to read to my little grandson! At the end of the day, A young boy and his friend, the Moon, venture together on a magical journey throughout their town. Full of nature and sweet observations, this is the perfect bedtime story, and one you will enjoy with your special little one – over, and over again.

Wild Hope by Donna Ashworth

Most of us are experiencing some form of angst right now – whether your concerns are for a loved one, your own physical or mental health, the planet or world politics, there is certainly plenty to be worried about. This collection of lovely and relatable poems is the perfect balm – in turns uplifting and grounding, like a great conversation with a wise friend. Everyone can find a message here that brings serenity, validation and inspiration.

Skye’s Pick

The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook by Food Network Magazine 

The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook by Food Network Magazine is a lively, easy-to-follow guide that makes cooking exciting for kids. With colorful photos, step-by-step recipes, and fun extras like games and trivia, it turns the kitchen into a place of creativity and learning. Perfect for young chefs, the book offers a great mix of simple meals and sweet treats that kids can make with minimal help. Overall, The Big, Fun Kids Cookbook strikes an excellent balance between education and entertainment. It’s a great gift for budding cooks and a fun way for families to bond over food. Even college level students who struggle with finding quick meals could enjoy this fun cookbook!

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!

Friends of Bay Books Picks

Review written by Karin J.

All Fours by Miranda July

Have you ever had the feeling that parts of your life are humming along fine and at the same time other parts are spinning out of control? In All Fours, July’s protagonist, a 45-year old Angelena, a “woman who had success in several mediums at a young age.” tries desperately to discover who she is at this stage in her life. She finds herself veering off what she thought was her path in ways that surprise and amaze her, almost as if she were a character in one of her works. But because she is a writer, she is unflinching about describing her confused state of mind, and her clarity about being confused (amazingly) allows us, as readers, to be swept up in her tumult.

This book is frank about sexuality and desire, belonging, and finding one’s own idiosyncratically-patterned path. Its willingness to look at self-becoming in all of its messiness engages us if we are willing to look with open eyes.

Tina Staff Picks  

Can’t we talk about something more Pleasant? by Roz Chast

This wonderful book details, in Chast’s signature visual style, her struggles dealing with her aging parents and their end-of-life issues. Yes, her writing is humorous and the topic is heart wrenching but her practical ways of looking at this subject make this an engaging and valuable book. Highly recommend it!

10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte

Set in Modern-Day London, elderly heiress and landlady Celeste van Duren is determined to prove that she has vetted each apartment dweller carefully and cautiously but when a murder occurs within the small residential square, she knows she may have made a mistake allowing one tenant in with his nasty ways. So with her faithful butler, and two chosen tenants, she investigates on her own. Well, of course, we soon see, everyone is hiding something! 

Tell Them You Lied by Laura Leffler

What a beginning! Pranking a friend with a mugging attack, accidently on the same day as the 9-11 attacks, comes about and where have the main characters planned this prank to take place? Near the Twin Towers and when Anna and her friends don’t hear from Willow, they don’t know if this is a prank gone badly wrong, one that really happened, or is she a victim of 9-11? Beneath this is some serious emotional and obsessive angst. Figuring out who dunnit, as well as what was done, makes this a fast and fascinating read. How do people think up these plots that are so nerve wracking and nail biting?!!

 Wendy’s Staff Pick

City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim

Former prima ballerina, Natalia Leonora, returns to her home city of St Petersburg and the complex world of Russian ballet that was her ticket out of poverty to fame, her personal passion, and quite nearly her very un-doing. Natalia left ballet after an accident that ended her career, leading her to turn to pills and alcohol to numb the pain of her past. Now, she has an opportunity to dance again – if her body and her mental health will allow it. Natalia must face her past – her complicated relationship with her mother, the father who abandoned her, her former lovers, rivals and friends. The author transports us to the world of professional ballet, with all of it’s inherent glamor, politics and pain. This is a stunning commentary on personal strength, love, forgiveness, and the sacrifices required to work as an artist at the top of your craft. 

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!

Friends of Bay Books Picks

Odder by Katherine Applegate
(review written by Charlotte Mills, age 9)
If you like otters, you should read Odder by Katherine Applegate. It is a great book for
most ages, with lots of suspense. My teacher read it to our class in second grade and I
have read it twice since then.
Odder is a young otter who is separated from her family and goes on a journey to find
them. It is a great adventure, including meeting a great white shark!
If you like this book, the author Katherine Applegate has many more, also very good! (Fiction)

Tina’s Staff Picks

Tilt by Emma Pattee

Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing debut about a pregnant woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety. Set in the Pacific Northwest, our main character is in an IKEA when “The Really Big One”, the Cascadia Earthquake, hits. As Annie tries to make her way home through the aftermath, all the while addressing her unborn child, Bean, she experiences humanity and realizations that are at once thought provoking and funny. This is a knock premise with enough moving adrenaline that you will finish it in one seating. I sure did! (Speculative Fiction)

By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl

Do you enjoy a good legal thriller? I certainly do and found a new series that I became absolutely hooked and therefore binged my way through all three books of this series, eager for the fourth one to show up at Bay Books. By Way of Sorrow is an original and enthralling legal thriller that showcases how diverse voices enliven and refresh well-worn genres. With non-stop action and legal twists, as far as the case goes and aside from Erin’s insistence on correct terminology to describe her and Sharise’s gender status, they are merely lawyer and client caught up in the flaws in the American legal system which gives politicians power over the judiciary. And we love that. The ending is a surprise and will leave you wanting to read the next legal thriller starring Erin McCabe. (LBGTQ+)

Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn’t Food by Chris Van Tulleken

In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. He explores the origins, science, and economics of Ultra-Processed Food to reveal its catastrophic impact on our bodies and the planet. This is a light read, by any means, but it does shed light on the way food is being produced faster and faster to feed a widening, global appetite. Also, and that it might have addictive traits built in. Truly an interesting and informative read. I appreciated the humor in it once in a while! (Science, Non-Fiction)

Becky’s Staff Pick

Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
Sports journalist and former professional basketball player, author Kate Fagan tells the
story of a reclusive best-selling author who finally decides to come forward with her
identity. In doing so she shares her life’s story – choosing between relationships and
the pursuit of a dream. She is not proud of all her actions but in telling her story she is
finally ready to accept the truth.
Along the way, Fagan explores complex relationships between women and the limits of
ambition.
How do we balance our public and private selves?
It’s a well written and insightful page turner. (Adult Fiction)

Skye’s Staff Pick

A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Seraphina was born in a shroud, the maiden who’s supposed to be untouched and unknown. She’s also the one who was promised, the one who’s to be the consort to the Primal of death. A plague has been taking its toll on the land and people, killing crops and brining sickness and starvation and there’s only one way to stop it. KILL THE PRIMAL OF DEATH. That’s what Seraphina has been trained to do her whole life, seduce and make him fall in love with her then kill him and the rot stops…or so they thought. Nothing would be that easy in a world of gods and mortals…and not quite mortals too. Nothing is as what it seems and more trouble is awakening. The Flesh and Fire series was a great read as a fantasy lover! I liked the smoothness of the storytelling and the storyline kept things interesting! (Fantasy Fiction)

Wendy’s Staff Pick

The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil. E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg 

Claudia is a bored, frustrated, very bright and somewhat bossy 11 year old, looking for an adventure! She is the mastermind of a plan to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and convinces her younger brother, Jamie, to join her. The two resourceful siblings cleverly avoid being discovered by museum staff, sleep in dusty, ancient beds, bathe in the restaurant fountain, educate themselves about the various exhibits, AND uncover a secret! They very helpfully set out to prove that the museum’s newest acquisition is the work of Michaelangelo! This mission introduces the kids to a unique new friend who has an unexpected family connection. 

When asked what my favorite childhood book was, this charming classic is always at the top of my list. After being recently gifted with a copy of this book by a friend, I can say that now re-reading it many decades later, it did not disappoint. This Newbery Award Winner is a wonderful story to read to a 6+ aged child, and a great chapter book for mid to later elementary readers. 

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!

Becky’s Staff Pick 

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Rachel Kong weaves three generations, from three different perspectives, into a story of how we become who we are in a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance. Lily, an American born to two Chinese immigrants, is struggling in her career pursuits after college when she meets and falls in love with a white American pharmaceutical heir who is trying to live independently of his family’s wealth. The two struggle with cultural, racial and socio-economical differences in a twisted tale of complicated relationships. Can two people from such different backgrounds make a relationship work? What part do their parents play? And what about children? Along the way you get a taste of Maoist China and the cultural revolution, ethics in science research and an exploration of class and cultural differences. The question is: what does it mean to be a real American? Well worth the read, especially in this time when we look closely at cultural differences.

Tina’s Staff Picks

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

This story follows one family on their annual Cape Cod vacation, during which sandwiches are made, secrets are revealed, and the matriarch, Rocky, must face the realities of her future. Catherine Newman’s writing is so funny and sharp; I loved her insights into motherhood, marriage, and the passage of time (menopause, etc.!). Although it’s set during summertime, this would be the perfect feel-good read for any season.

Dark Laboratory: On Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis by Tao Leigh Goffe

​In this roving, erudite debut study, Goffe, a professor of literary theory and cultural history at Hunter College, traces the attitudes and beliefs that undergird today’s climate crisis back to the racist, extractive systems of thoughts developed by European colonizers in previous centuries. Beginning with Jamaica and Hong Kong, the ancestral homes of her parents, she ruminates on the relationship between capitalist exploitation, racist hierarchies, Indigenous knowledge, and the land. In poetry and associative prose, which leaps from one idea to another in an ever-widening gyre, she surfaces searing details from around the world that exemplify how the landscapes of colonized countries became ‘primitivized” in the same measure as the inhabitants became ‘otherized’ and how these new racial hierarchies were embodied in one of the colonial ear’s most important extractive industries: the harvesting of bird guano as fertilizer. Much of Goffe’s narrative involves pointing out how deep these systems of thought run in foundational Western texts and ideas: for instance, in a canny reading of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s lyrical writing on how guano could bring agricultural abundance to the Great Plains, she notes that Emerson naturalized the fact of guano’s importation, thus ‘exemplifying how nature writing is often about colonial ambition.” This scintillating study bursts with keen insights and connections. This is another very cool perspective on why these things happened and are still happening. 

How to Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

If you’ve ever read Grady Hendrix, be prepared for the bizarre turn on the normal. Be prepared to start feeling uncomfortable as details unfold. In this book by Hendrix, a woman returns home to bury her parents only to find a spectacularly terrifying blast from the past waiting for her. Puppets. Yes, their parents were puppeteers, and the house is full of them and they seem to be looking back and looking for something. Read this horror story with a big, fluffy blanket! 

Wendy’s Picks

Odder by Katherine Applegate

This poignant tale from New York Times best selling author, Katherine Applegate is about a free-spirited otter, and was inspired by a real-life program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in CA, that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers. Readers follow Odder’s journey through daredevil playfulness, struggle, bravery and resilience. Written in free verse and enhanced by scientific facts and sweet black and white illustrations, this is a wonderful juvenile fiction story that is accessible and engaging for young animal lovers who are reading at the 4th grade – early middle school level. 

More Bay Books

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  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Robert Downes

  Author Robert Downes has been a respected journalist and historian for over 30 years. He writes books of travel and adventure and lives the life he writes about. He has backpacked through more than 70 countries and Bay Books is proud to carry his books. You can find his most recent one “Raw Deal” next to […]

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  Staff Picks

  October 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 […]

• 

  Featured New Arrival

  October New Arrivals

  October’s new arrivals feel like a harvest table laden with stories—each one rich, varied, and waiting to be savored. Science and biography mingle with history and memoir, exploring the lives and struggles that shaped our world. Adventure and mystery push us to the edge of discovery, while women’s studies and LGBTQ+ voices remind us of […]

• 

  Featured New Arrival

  September New Arrivals

  Cozy up with our newest shelf of reads! This season brings a mix of thrilling mysteries, sweeping adventures, heartfelt fiction, and imaginative tales for every age. From chilling fantasies to inspiring stories of resilience, our latest arrivals are brimming with page-turners you won’t want to put down. Whether you’re hunting for a suspenseful escape, a […]

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  Staff Picks

  September 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 […]

• 

  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Bryan Gruley

  Bryan Gruley is the author of the thriller BITTERFROST, which tells the story of Jimmy Baker, the Zamboni driver in the fictional northern Michigan town of Bitterfrost, who is accused of a brutal double murder. Gruley is a lifelong journalist who shared in The Wall Street Journal’s Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. […]

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!

Skye’s Picks

The Knight Owl By: Christopher Denise

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise is a charming children’s book about a  young owl named Sir Cedric, who dreams of one day becoming a brave knight. Despite being small and inexperienced, Sit Cedric is determined to make his dream a reality. He sets out to prove himself in knight school, facing challenges that test his bravery and wit. Along the way he finds that strength doesn’t always come to us by sheer muscle or build but by our own character and determination. Facing fears, helping others, and not judging a book by its cover is what this story is all about!

I Love You All Year Round  By: Sam McBratney

This classic story follows the lives of Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare, as they share tender moments throughout the seasons, from winter’s chill to the warmth of summer. With beautiful illustrations the book highlights the enduring year-round love between them reinforcing the message that love is constant and unwavering, no matter the time or season.This story is sweet and heartwarming, and would be a perfect children’s book for Valentines Day!

Frostfire By: Elly MacKay

Frostfire is a beautifully illustrated story of two fox sisters, Big sister Miriam and Little sister Celeste. As they set out for a fun day in the snow, Miriam starts telling young Celeste about the beautiful and mysterious snow dragons and how they’re all around us. Celeste isn’t quite convinced of her big sister’s stories until she wanders off alone… in the end both sisters realize they’re may be more magic in their world than they thought. This is a gorgeously illustrated book and the story is really sweet. I can say this has now become one of my favorite children’s books and I’m happy to have read it!

Becky’s Pick

Be Ready when the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

Be Ready When the Luck Happens is a warm and down to earth memoir. It is also a
business guide in the preparation it takes to create a business empire, one that fulfills
your life’s dreams, one step at a time.
If you like to cook, and maybe like Paris too – well sit down with a cup of tea or a glass
of good wine and enjoy Ina Garten’s memoir. (You might have to take a break to make
Coq au Vin (I did!) as she shares a few of her favorite recipes between chapters.
Her life was not always easy, and it was not all luck that landed her where she is today;
she worked hard and asked the right questions along the way. From a difficult childhood
to meeting the love of her life at age 19, from a bureaucratic job in Washington DC to
buying a food store in the Hamptons, from becoming the Barefoot Contessa to writing
best-selling cookbooks and becoming a television host, Ina blazed her own trail and
figured out how to share her journey with millions. “Do what you love because if you
love it, you’ll be really good at it.”

Tina’s Picks

The Three Lives of Kate Cay by Kate Fagan

Three names, three lives. But Cate Kay is finally ready to tell you who she really is.
And when the truth is out, will everyone’s favourite novelist hold on to her place in our hearts or are some betrayals impossible to forgive? She has so much in her past built on so many lies that are not even her own but what she does have to own up to is an unintentional reaction when her best friend is injured. Her life continues on in ways she never expected. You’ll enjoy the ride with Cate Kay…..whoever she is.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed. Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future–age 103!–and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all. … If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny? This book will prompt some deep and reflective questions about how we view our place in the world, and in the future. 

Wendy’s Pick

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, by Grady Hendrix

Ever wondered, “How to Become A Groove Witch?”  A group of pregnant teens have been banished by their families to Wellwood House, a home for unwed mothers deep in southern FL. Here they will wait out the last months of their pregnancies under the punative and manipulative supervision of the owner and staff at Wellwood. The girls are depressed, traumatized, angry and scared. A chance meeting with the bookmobile librarian offers them a special book of spells that might provide hope…or maybe revenge? Magic, of course, always comes with a price. The author (middle aged man!) captures the personalities of the 1970’s era teens girls accurately and empathetically. A great read. 

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch

Penny, a middle-aged teacher and mother of a troubled young girl, has never forgotten her beloved childhood pony. Pony, however, has carried a life-long grudge against Penny! When Penny finds herself accused of murder and the outlook is hopeless, help comes from the unlikeliest of sources. This creative and quirky novel is a completely different spin on the mystery genre, and will have you thinking about how we treat animals – and the lengths we will go to for those we love. 

More Bay Books

• 

  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Robert Downes

  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Staff Picks

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  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Featured New Arrival

  October New Arrivals

  October 2, 2025October 2, 2025
• 

  Featured New Arrival

  September New Arrivals

  September 3, 2025September 3, 2025
• 

  Staff Picks

  September Staff Picks

  September 3, 2025September 5, 2025
• 

  Author’s Corner

  Reading with Bryan Gruley

  August 22, 2025August 22, 2025

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 Staff Picks

The Seven Circles: Indigenous Teachings for Living Well by Chelsey Luger and Thosh Collins

The teachings in this book represent a diverse swatch of Indian Country which reflects the makeup of the authors’ families. Luger, a Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and Collins, a Seneca-Cayuga and Osage, bring their wealth of indigenous insights into healthy behaviors and mindsets. They do this through focusing on seven circles, or interdependent topics, while including anecdotes and lessons from their own life journeys. Well worth the read and informed, accessible guidance for lifestyle changes are always helpful.

American Vikings by Martyn Whittock 

Who isn’t fascinated by the Vikings? This vivid and illuminating new history separates fact from fiction and myth from legend and also explores the early Vikings settlements in North America. Loved it!

Winter Homes: Stylish Living for Cool Climates with introduction by Jeanette Walls

I loved looking through this book. It gave me all kinds of feels of warmth, security, refuge, and comfort and the illustrations are just beautiful. It’s no secret that I love winter and the snow, but even those who may not be as fond of it as I am will enjoy this. It will leave you with a Hallmark kinda feeling—so relaxing!

Skye’s Picks

Walk: For A Calmer You by Becky Dickinson

This is the perfect little book to help you get a little more motivated and start your journey in taking the next steps. Its small size really helps with getting the key information about the benefits and the facts to support how such a small day to day activity can really benefit your life. If you liked this book the author has also written other titles like “Tidy” and “Sleep” and their benefits and impacts on your life as well. If you want to start treating your mind and body better and don’t know where to start I definitely recommend these books!

The Half King by Melissa Landers

The young acolyte Cerise is living in a dangerous world. The high houses long ago betrayed and offended their goddess and she had seen fit to punish each noble firstborn with a curse whether it be madness, wynorrific beauty, or even vanishing into shadow when the sun sets. Since the King’s old emissary died it’s now fallen on Cerise who holds no power, but must help King Kian break his curse before he fades to complete shadow. So they set out on a quest to break the curse facing enemies of the land and within their own midst as well as having to pass tests the goddess has laid out to judge who is worthy. With curses, magic, a little romance, as well as blood that may not be what it seems, will they be able to break the curse before her new friends fall into the madness and darkness of their curses? Or will their enemies finally triumph? Great read for any fantasy-romance reader!