CUTTING FOR STONE  by Abraham Verghese ($15.95)  This extraordinary first novel had me in thrall from chapter one—it’s a rare author who can plumb the horrors of civil war and the operating theatre one moment, the vagaries of the human heart the next moment, all with equal deftness, but Verghese rises to the challenge with grace. With surgical precision he limns his characters, treating even their flaws with compassion and a true generosity of spirit, adroitly interweaving medical techniques and philosophy into this sweeping story of family & fatherland, love & loyalty. This is undeniably the best book I have read in several years. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available)

HOTHOUSE FLOWER AND THE NINE PLANTS OF DESIRE by  Margot Berwin ($14.95) A woman recovering from a divorce reluctantly gets involved in helping a friend search the Yucatan peninsula for nine plants with a collective mythical power. Along the way she encounters an ethereal orchid grower, a mystical marijuana cultivator, and a man who will stop at nothing to get the nine plants first.  In this delightfully distracting read, the author takes us for a romp that is equal parts romance, adventure, magical realism, and self-discovery.  It’s a colorful, frothy, well-paced novel perfect for summer escapist reading. ~ Emily Crowe.

HONOLULU by Alan Brennert ($14.99) This beloved author of Moloka’i takes a sweeping and probing look at a little-known period of US history.  In 1915, Jin is a young Korean “picture bride” who risks everything to leave her homeland for Hawai’i in order to marry a man she has never met.  When his bitter cruelty drives her to run away, she makes her way to Honolulu, finding support and friendship in the most unlikely sources. Brennert takes a discerning look at the hardships of being a woman in the early 20th century and at the racism that almost destroyed what is now one of the most thriving and harmonious multicultural metropolises in the world.  A very satisfying read. ~Emily Crowe

THE ANGEL'S GAME by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ($15.95)  This Faustian story follows David Martin, a young writer burning to make his mark on the literary world, through a series of twists that mimic the shadowy Barcelonian underworld where much of the story takes place.  Not until the very end does the reader discover whether Martin is being driven by dark, supernatural forces or something more mundane but equally evil.  A compelling read. ~Emily Crowe

BEATRICE AND VIRGIL by Yann Martel ($24.00) As with his previous book Life of Pi, Martel puts animal allegory to good use again, layered under a very postmodern meta-fiction structure. Ostensibly about a writer who has lost his creativity, the book is actually an exploration of how inadequate words are to describe the Holocaust. This novel is so haunting and provocative that I could not stop thinking of it for days. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available)

THE LONLEY POLYGAMISTMby Brady Udall ($26.95) When I first heard about this book, I thought, “Why on earth should I care about a husband who cheats on his four wives and is loathe to face the aftermath?” But very soon after picking it up, I realized that I did care, such is Udall’s skill.  This book is a sweeping, insightful narrative of human nature, tapping into our collective neuroses, joys, fears, frustrations, and needful things, our darkest as well as our brightest moments.  Told with warmth and generosity, this is a rewarding read, especially if you are initially a skeptic like I was!  ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available)

THE SINGER'S GUN by Emily St. John Mandel ($24.95) In her second novel, Mandel shows that the critical success in her debut book was no fluke. She hits the literary trifecta of compelling prose, utterly convincing characterizations, and a universally appealing story. Having grown up along the periphery of New York’s underworld, Anton’s final attempt to break free from his family’s business becomes far more complicated and disastrous than even an accomplished liar like him could anticipate. Mandel’s taut but nuanced prose carries the reader forward and backward through Anton’s timeline to a conclusion dappled with menace and her trademark ambiguity. Quite the fine read. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available in June)

WHAT IS LEFT THE DAUGHTER  by Howard Norman ($25.00) This latest offering is a quiet novel about the sometimes-harsh realities of life in an economically depressed small town in Canada during and just after WWII, with all of the attendant yearnings, prejudice, small-mindedness, and dreams of escape associated therein.  When a local daughter falls in love with a German scholar, it sets the expected tragedies in motion, leaving the rest of the town to pick up the broken pieces. Norman’s deceptively simple prose is poignant and fitting, as is the conclusion, reminding us that life doesn’t often come with a Hollywood ending. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available in July)

I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD by Pete Nelson ($23.95) Dante may have had his Beatrice, but Paul Gustavson has Stella, a venerable pooch who is his guiding light for matters of the mind and heart.  Their ongoing dialogue is smart, sweet, and poignant, and together they take on their fears of thunderstorms and seedy bars (hers) and normal, loving relationships without the buffer of alcohol (his), each bringing out the best in the other.  This book is clever, heartwarming, and thoroughly engaging. It’s also set in Northampton, so there are plenty of familiar landmarks for local readers. ~Emily Crowe (signed copies available)

THE WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY by Jennifer Steil ($26.00)  What starts as a 3-week course teaching journalism to a group of greenhorn reporters in Yemen quickly evolves into a year-long stint as editor-in-chief of the English language newspaper, The Yemen Observer.  Bewildered and smitten in equal measure with her new surroundings, Steil faces obstacles running the gamut from stampedes & suicide bombings to teaching her charges how to write without religious bias.  But what intrigues this intrepid journalist most is her status as  “third gender”—as a Westerner, she is free to mix with either men or women in a country where the sexes are strictly segregated. A fascinating read. ~Emily Crowe