Politics and Prose

So many booOOoOks, so little time!

Phantasms and Phobias, DC’s premier haunted bookstore, presents a selection of Halloween staff picks ranging from slightly spooky to downright scary.

“It’s funny except when it’s horrifying; it’s horrifying except when it’s oddly comforting.” - Jonathan W. on Ling Ma’s Severance

“Diana is a witch, though she prefers to live her life without magic. A professor of history, she wants to conduct her research in peace and is successful until a lost alchemical text finds its way into her hands.” - Allison W. on Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery of Witches 

“Witness the tale that traumatized all your favorite artists when they were children.” - Adam W. on Go Nagai’s Devilman

“From the creative mind behind the Doctor Strange film comes a collection of short stories that by turns thrills, chills, and fascinates.” - Aron on C. Robert Cargill’s We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories

“The narrative burrows into your mind and nips off tiny chunks of it until you are not quite sure who is telling the truth. Best read on a gray night with a hot drink.“ - Anton B. on Colin Winette’s The Job of the Wasp

“Three kids realize to their horror that their orphanage is being harvested by monsters. Can they escape?” - Adam W. on Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu’s  The Promised Neverland Vol. 1

“Foe is an unsettling blend of a psychological thriller with an examination of the structure and support of a marriage, all the while set in a creepy near-future with hazardous advances of technology.” - Keith V. on Iain Reid’s Foe

Memoirs and mystery seem to be the genres we gravitated towards this week. Part biography, part memoir on becoming who you are, an intimate portrait of courage, an homage to the great mystery writers of the past, the dynamic mystery involving a plane crash, a mystic vision and political intrigue and a cookbook/comic book that tells a story of authors life are just a little spoilers we hope will get you interested in one of our picks.      

Hiking with Nietzsche - John Kaag

Part biography of one of the most influential philosophers of 19^th century, part memoir, Hiking with Nietzsche is an exploration, of Nietzsche’s work and life, his relationships, thoughts and his search for meaning. It is, also, the author’s self-exploration and a thorough insight into his own life, his marriage, fatherhood and himself. John Kaag followed in Nietzsche’s footsteps, like Mann, Adorno, Jung, Levi, Hesse and many other of his pilgrims did, on the hills of Sils – Maria in Switzerland, where he wrote Thus Spoke Zarathustra. And, he did it twice. First time as a nineteen-year-old young man, almost killing himself on the verge of anorexia and the second 18 years later visiting the same place with his wife and young daughter, retracing the same steps and paths but coming to different conclusions and contemplating different questions. Marija D.  

Letters from Max - Sarah Ruhl, Max Ritvo

This collection of letters (and poems, songs, dreams, fears, and jokes) packs a tremendous emotional and intellectual punch. Ritvo’s cancer was gaining on him throughout the period he and Ruhl, the playwright, corresponded (during which he nonetheless graduated from Yale, earned an MFA at Columbia, got married, published a chapbook and a book), and this adds poignancy to the already moving account of a vital friendship. The depth of affection these two felt for each other lives and breathes in their writing and their passionate curiosity. Letters from Max is an intimate portrait of courage on both sides (it surely takes as much courage to lose a friend as it does to endure the relentless rounds of radiation and chemo Ritvo did), it’s also a spirited writing workshop and philosophical debate. Laurie G.

An Unwanted Guest - Shari Lapena 

You know the formula: Put a bunch of couples in a beautiful country bed and breakfast, but then add a snowstorm, subtract the power, and kill someone. Yet Shari Lapena executes it flawlessly, building the tension steadily as we learn more about each of the guests, and the storm increases intensity. Is it someone already present at the inn? Or is there an intruder that no one knows about yet? Who is next? An homage to the great mystery writers of the past, An Unwanted Guest will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat until the killer is finally revealed. Keith V.  

Cook Korean - Robin Ha 

They say you eat with your eyes. In that case, Robin Ha’s vibrant illustration style presents readers with a feast to savour in this comic book cookbook. Readers are guided along a delicious journey in Korean cuisine through a series of fluid (and often humorous) cartoon recipes narrated by Dengki, Ha’s hanbok-clad host character. Not merely a collection of practical recipes, Cook Korean also tells the story of Ha’s immigration to the U.S, and her reconnection to Korean culture through the process of learning and cooking family dishes with her mother. Jade L.  

Desolation Mountain - William Kent Krueger 

If you’re looking for a good mystery for fall, look no further than Desolation Mountain. William Kent Krueger weaves a dynamic mystery involving a plane crash, a mystic vision and political intrigue, all against the beautiful backdrop of a northern Minnesota autumn. Krueger’s portrait of an indigenous community combined with his almost reverent depiction of the forests and hills of Minnesota leave me feeling warm and nostalgic, while the energy of the story keeps me on the edge of my seat. This is a perfect book for a rainy fall day with a cup of warm apple cider in your hand. Aron

Looks like summer decided to stick around for a while longer, and this would be a perfect time to find a bench, a spot by the river, or just bring a blanket to the park and enjoy some time in the sun with a good book by your side. Our booksellers made sure you have a good selection, and just in time—when you’re done with a book you can meet some of the authors we’re hosting at two of our locations. This week choose between a music memoir, a history on piracy off the American coast, a collection of short stories, a novel, and a graphic novel. Enjoy the weather and some good reads!

Night Moves - Jessica Hopper

Upcoming Event Monday, October 8, 2018 - 7 p.m. at 5015 Connecticut Ave

As a longtime fan of Jessica Hopper’s vigilant, fearless music criticism, Night Moves is the book I’ve been pining for. A series of vignettes about her coming of age in the Chicago music scene, the pieces are as shaky with youth as a Ferlinghetti poem, and they come together to form one jagged love poem to a city and a way of life. There’s something markedly elegiac about the life Hopper describes, a roiling, breathing cityscape where the escape from the robotic crawl of gentrification seemed still possible. Can young adults still live like this in a city? Riding bikes through electric summer nights? God, I hope so. Night Moves made me feel very young and very old at the same time: a painful, singular elation. Liz H.  

Black Flags, Blue Waters - Eric Jay Dolin

Upcoming Event Thursday, October 11, 2018 - 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose at the Wharf

You may be thinking you’ll want to read this book with a ‘Yo Ho Ho! And a Bottle of Rum, for it’s a Pirate’s Life for Me!’ But you’ll reconsider after reading this epic retelling of the Golden Age of American piracy in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s. Black Flags, Blue Waters is a definitive history on piracy off the American coast, as well as by Americans over in the Indian Ocean. Filled with colorful biographies of all the famous pirates, such as Captain Kidd and Blackbeard, this book also examines the social, political and economic reasons so many men turned to piracy in those days. This is a fascinating look at how piracy was encouraged by many Americans, so long as it didn’t affect their pockets, and how the tide then turned against the buccaneers after a prolonged government campaign and crackdown. You’ll never look at Captain Jack Sparrow the same way again. Keith V. 

Your Duck is My Duck - Deborah Eisenberg 

With her first new collection in 12 years Your Duck is My Duck, Eisenberg gives us a true, funny, and troubling picture of our world. “Merge” is an indelible close-up of the 1%, focusing on the son of a corporate despot who’s been cut off but gamely follows in dad’s footsteps with impressive displays of self-justification. In the title story art strikes back with a puppeteer’s “simple moral fable” of a grasping monarch oblivious to the fact that “the serfs and donkeys are already inflamed with rage.” Sure enough, the island explodes. In the magnificent “The Third Tower,” a woman prone to spells of “words heating up, expanding, exploding into pictures of things,” is sent to a hospital/prison. Her bad case of imagination can be cured if she learns cooperation. Laurie G. 

A Kind of Freedom - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton 

A Kind of Freedom, multi generational story focuses on three generations of family members that come from the first black doctor in Louisiana. We are introduced to Evelyn, her daughter Jaclyn, and Jaclyn’s son, T.C. who all have to find their own kind of freedom. Much changes over the years while other things stay much the same. Some of the topics brought up in this novel include class, colorism, and the toll drugs and addiction can take on one family. Morgan H. 

Home After Dark - David Small 

Few can blend lines and words into heartfelt storytelling like David Small. In his latest work Home After Dark readers follow thirteen year old Russell Pruitt as he grows up in the 1950s. Abandoned by his mother, Russell is forced to live with his emotionally abusive father. His circumstances only deteriorate from there for this isn’t a story of a teenager boldly overcoming life’s obstacles. This is a tale of a boy struggling to tread the murky waters of an uncertain and tragic adolescence. Beautifully rendered, masterfully told, this is a book you won’t be able to resist reading when you’re home after dark. Michael T. 

This week we are excited to announce a highly anticipated science fiction début, a spellbinding thriller, and a novel that’s a darkly comic shadow version of our own turbulent world. And for those who prefer non fiction, our science pick is a collection of 33 marvelous essays on the history of astronomy and a political read gives an answer to what White House Chiefs of Staff actually do and how big of a role they play. We hope you enjoy our picks!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - Hank Green

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing contains many absolutely remarkable things, from the delightful characters to the unexpected, exciting plot. Hank Green uses his intimate knowledge of perks, hazards, and peculiarities of Internet fame to paint a fantastical yet surprisingly plausible portrait of his protagonist as she endures the fallout of making one of the most remarkable discoveries in the history of humankind. In accordance with his belief to “imagine others complexly,” Green never oversimplifies his plot or his characters, trusting readers to come to their own conclusions. (P.S. Be sure to take the book out for a quick flip-through and a delightful surprise!) Katie W. 

Dispatches from Planet 3 - Marcia Bartusiak 

Dispatches from Planet 3 is a collection of 33 elegant essays. Bartusiak gives a thorough grounding in the history of astronomy, tracing its revolutions from heliocentrism to the discoveries of double stars, supernovae, spiral galaxies, black holes, dark matter, and the whole expanding universe. Each discussion traces the science and charts the impact of the ideas, showing how our evolving understanding of affected our sense of our place in the universe and led to subsequent forays into the unknown. As she traces the evolution of cosmology, Bartusiak chronicles the major questions scientists asked and how they answered them, details the necessary technological advances, summarizes the debates surrounding revelations that were often as unsettling as they were thrilling, and profiles the key thinkers involved—many of whom were women, only now getting their due. Laurie G.  

Foe - Iain Reid 

Foe is an unsettling blend of a psychological thriller with an examination of the structure and support of a marriage, all the while set in a creepy near-future with hazardous advances of technology. Junior and Henrietta live isolated on a rural farm, when a stranger, Terrence, shows up to announce that Junior is being considered for an involuntary mission into space aboard the Installation. As Terrence burrows into their quiet domestic life, and Junior is ever closer to departure, the real reasons for Terrence’s intrusion into their marriage become cloudy and creepy as the thriller builds to a climax flipped on its head. Keith V.

The Gatekeepers - Chris Whipple 

What do White House Chiefs of Staff actually do? How important are they really? What makes a good Chief of Staff? Chris Whipple’s highly informed and deeply engrossing book The Gatekeepers answers these questions and many more. Beginning with Richard Nixon’s first Chief of Staff, H. R. Haldeman, Whipple chronicles the tenures of every White House Chief up until John Kelly. His detailed account reveals the incredibly significant roles that the Chiefs have played in influencing events as major as Watergate, the Iran-Contra scandal, the Lewinsky affair, the invasion of Iraq, and the DACA rollout. Lew G. 

Dog Symphony - Sam Munson 

When Sam Munson’s new novel Dog Symphony opens, our protagonist Professor Pushkin, a specialist in prison architecture, is travelling to an overseas conference in Argentina, all with the ulterior motive of meeting up with the fellow academic he has a crush on. When he arrives, she’s nowhere to be found, and the town is crawling in roving packs of dogs by night and sinister blue-clad workers by day. Borges and Cortazar get name-checked toward the end, but Dog Symphony is much more than a tribute to their mind-bending stories (not to mention those of Bruno Schulz, Thomas Bernhard, and—of course—Franz Kafka). It’s a darkly comic shadow version of our own turbulent world, with its embattled humanities, student uprisings, and hope that a better existence might live on in our dogs. Jonathan W.  

This week’s round up of staff pick has something to offer for everybody’s taste. A couple of brilliant fictional débuts, one set in the present the other in the past, and the final installment of an internationally celebrated series will have you occupied for hours not wanting to put them down until you finish. You will learn, as we did, of actual physical violence on the floor of the U.S. Congress, and how our immune system works in protecting us from harm. With so many great new titles we can safely say that autumn is off to a good start. 

Crudo - Olivia Laing

Upcoming Event, Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - 7 p.m. at Politics and Prose at Union Market

Crudo, Laing’s fictional début, is a read in one sitting kind of book you won’t be able to put down. It’s 2017. The American president is tweeting the world towards nuclear war, Britain has decided to leave the EU, and the world has turned upside down. Kathy is 40, about to get married, obsessed with the daily news and worried about everything going on in the world. She is a loner who learns how to love. The narration is frantic and fast, at moments almost dizzying, but then you realize hers are exactly your thoughts, her feelings exactly your feelings and you keep on turning the pages. Marija D.  

The Field of Blood - Joanne B. Freeman

Upcoming Event Thursday, September 20, 2018 - 7 p.m. at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW

Though today’s Congress seems combative, all the filibusters and name-calling are nothing compared to when Congressmen actually stabbed and shot one another. From the infamous caning of Charles Sumner to endless duel challenges, in The Field of Blood historian Joanne Freeman shows that these frayed tensions were practically destined to erupt into Civil War. Remembering the Congress of the past solely as hallowed halls and dignified men is dangerous, she argues, as the real history reveals uncomfortable yet necessary truths about a union on the brink of collapse. Written with wit, flair, and a hint of cheek, Freeman presents these Congressmen as petty, triumphant, stoic, and vengeful—or, as she puts it more simply, human. Katie W.  

Whiskey When We’re Dry - John Larison

From a fantastic new voice in literature, Whiskey When We’re Dry is a historical adventure novel that redefines the typical American Western epic. Growing up on the frontier with her father, Jessilyn is a gifted shooter used to being fiercely independent. So when her father dies, rather than succumb to life as a wife and mother, Jessilyn becomes Jessie, and sets off west in search of her outlaw brother, Noah. Told in three parts, and exploring issues of gender identity, sexual identity, family and alcoholism, the novel has themes that are quite timely, yet is also still made mesmerizing by Jessilyn’s unique voice and complex character. Her quest takes on America as a whole, and the history that has stayed with this country all along. Keith V.   

The Beautiful Cure - Daniel M. Davis

Science began to realize the complexity of how the body fights disease only in 1989, and this fascinating book tells both the story of the science at work and what the research has revealed. In The Beautiful Cure Davis takes us into the minds and labs of the pioneering biologists, highlighting what led to various discoveries, from the initial puzzle of how immune cells know what foreign particles to attack (germs, not food) to whether, and then how, the immune system can fight cancer. Emphasizing that “no scientist is an island,” Davis follows the achievements that have led to reinterpretations of how the immune system works. His explanations are detailed and clear: as he recreates the revelatory moments, he puts the reader right there, on the edge of discovery. Laurie G.  

My Struggle: Book Six - Karl Ove Knausgaard

This sixth most challenging and ambitious volume of My Struggle, begins with the fallout following publication of Book One. We are then plunged headlong into the nature of self, with juxtapositions between Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the writings of Jack London, Paul Celan, Karl Marx and others – as well as dense commentary on the Old Testament. The third, harrowing and deeply moving part of this book deals with his wife’s nervous breakdown. But “Sacrifice is never merely a loss. For something is always gained by sacrifice,” Knausgaard writes about Abraham and Isaac.  He might be writing about himself. “What he gained,” Knausgaard observes, “was the innermost meaning of life.” Amanda H.D.  

This week our science fiction pick takes us to medieval China, and the fiction one reunites us with professor Jason Fitger. We discovered that sand is fascinating and found a manifesto that amused us but still left us pondering on the world we live in. And who would have thought that a book about economic matters could be so entertaining? Hope you enjoy this week’s picks.

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy - Tim Harford 

Award-winning journalist Tim Harford is a master at writing clear and entertaining prose about the economy. With his new book, Harford details the history of economic change since the invention of the plow in China 2000 years ago. He focuses on 50 seminal inventions – from the passport and the bar code to paper money and intellectual property. In short, very  readable chapters, Harford brings all 50 inventions to life, placing them in their proper historical contexts and explaining their significance today. Along the way, he entertains us with fascinating anecdotes and a great sense of humor. Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy is a delight to read and a great gift book for just about everyone! Lew G. 

The Poppy War - RF Kuang 

Fantasy enthusiasts looking for their next epic need look no further. The Poppy War, set in a fantastical version of medieval China invites readers to follow the trials of Rin, a war orphan. Despite her meager existence she aces an Empire-wide test propelling her into the ranks of an elite military school. While studying, she begins to unlock the mysteries of her past and of magic thought long lost. Never too far away is the rumble of renewed war with the Empire’s ancient enemy. Based on Chinese history and filled with pulse racing action, this is an excellent addition to any shelf. Michael T.  

The Chapo Guide to Revolution - Chapo Trap House 

First thing’s first - if you know any internet-addicted young men who you think are prone to being scooped up by the alt-right: here’s the antidote. The quickest and easiest way to describe The Chapo Guide to Revolution - the first book to come out of the leftist comedy podcast Chapo Trap House - is to imagine MAD Magazine if it was edited by Noam Chomsky. Part of the broadly-defined ascendant left, which includes publications like Jacobin and candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chapo’s gleefully nihilistic humor offers barbs in the direction of the monstrous right-wingers who control our government and the paltry technocratic liberalism being offered as an alternative. Beneath the internet humor, however, lies a genuinely thoughtful meditation on the role of social welfare amidst the current crisis of late-stage capitalism and looming environmental disaster. Isaac S.  

The Shakespeare Requirement - Julie Schumacher

If there’s ever a time when a comic novel should be in your “to read” pile it’s now, and I’ve got just the book for you. In The Shakespeare Requirement by Julie Schumacher we return to some characters you will recognize from Schumacher’s hilarious novel, Dear Committee Members. Professor Jason Fitger is now  the besieged head of the English Department at Payne University. His fellow faculty, students and university administrators are undoubtedly recognizable, whether you are an academic or not. Clever, smart and good for giggles, this novel is sure to be one you come back to again and again when a good laugh is in order. Nancy R.

The World in a Grain - Vince Beiser

The World in a Grain is full of surprises, the main two are that sand is fascinating—and frightening. The fascinating part is the science: some sand is round, some angular, and different types have different uses, from bridges and roads to skyscrapers, bottles, and iPhones. Over the last century we’ve poured some 1.5 billion tons of sand and gravel into U.S. highways. This is the scary part: world use of sand has intensified sand mining, sparked sand disputes, and caused environmental degradation. Aside from desert sand, which doesn’t lend itself to modern uses, sand, like oil, is running out, though our need for it is only increasing—concrete may seem solid and permanent, but most concrete structures have a lifespan of about fifty years. Laurie G. 

Hope you will forgive us for being away for a while. We were busy getting the store in order for the busy season and we were at the National Book Festival— Politics and Prose serving as the official bookseller for the fifth time—and we are getting ready for the member sale this upcoming weekend. Picks of the week are back and we can’t wait to share with you amazing new titles we come across every day. Hope you enjoy this week’s selection.

Flights - Olga Tokarczuk

Upcoming Event, Monday, September 24, 2018 - 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Politics and Prose at The Wharf  

Tokarcuk’s wunderkammer of a novel is structured by themes rather than plot lines, and in place of character development, she builds collections—of travellers, places, bodies, and ideas. Flights is a constant surprise, moving from history to modern airports, from fables to myths to stories within stories. “Am I doing the right thing by telling stories?” Tokarczuk asks, and as if expressing her own ambivalence, she completes some tales, serializes others, and leaves others incomplete. Even open-ended these narratives support her belief that “what makes us most human is the possession of a unique and irreproducible story,” all the better to defeat the tyrants who want “to create a frozen order…to pin down the world with the aid of bar codes.” Laurie G.   

Cherry - Nico Walker

Cherry is advertised as a novel. It’s not a novel.  The inside cover tells you it’s a work of fiction. It’s not. If it was, it would be called “well researched” “highly imaginative” and “ripped from the headlines”. It’s just an incredible memoir. From the long and bizarre acknowledgment section you may infer that this book is heavily edited. I doubt that too. This raw and occasionally, morbidly, and even sickeningly humorous book tells the story of an Iraq vet turned opioid addict turned bank robber turned prisoner. Through each of these roles Walker gives a uncomfortably casual look into caustic masculinity. Jack B.   

The Wreckage of Eden - Norman Lock

When Lutheran minister Robert Winter proposes to Emily Dickinson she replies that she fears her muse would balk. Then the two begin a long correspondence, as he pursues his career as army chaplain, travelling the continent from the Mexican War, to the Mormon Rebellion and the Raid on Harper’s Ferry. Winter loses his faith, but he encounters various historical figures of the day: Abe Lincoln, a young Sam Clemens, John Wilkes Booth and others. The Wreckage of Eden is a beautifully written novel that provides a new perspective on the 19^th century and it’s charming to imagine the character of Emily Dickinson as Norman Lock has written her. Amanda H.D.

Cræft - Alexander Langlands

Langlands’ tenacious curiosity about the Old Ways gains eloquence and momentum in Cræft a deft, engaging meditation on utterly misunderstood but once critical pursuits such as hay-making, weaving, and fence-mending, pursuits that continue to leave their mark on our language, culture, and landscapes, if no longer our bodies and minds. Craeft should not be understood as some commodified, heirloom mark of human hands for which you pay more at the farmer’s market stall, but is itself power and agency, traditionally understood. Not to be missed are Langland’s thoughts on skep bee-keeping and their similarities to modern day obstetrics. Lila S.   

Praise Song for the Butterflies - Bernice L. McFadden

Bernice L. McFadden is a writer who needs more credit. In her latest novel  Praise Song for the Butterflies, she discusses the trokosi, who are slave girls in Africa handed over to a ‘priest’ in order to clear their families of bad luck. We follow Abeo Kata and see how she deals with her unfortunate fate.  Even while writing about a seemingly hopeless situation, McFadden restores our faith by showing how there is life after hardship and forgiveness. Morgan H.   

We learned about whales and Puerto Rico in two nonfiction selections, felt dread and horror with a debut novel and short-story collection, and ended the week on a sweet note with a cookbook. We hope you’re just as captivated by these staff favorites!

Spying on Whales - Nick Pyenson

Upcoming Event, Friday, August 17, 2018 - 7 p.m. at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW

“Reading whale bones is what I do,” Pyenson, a paleontologist, says. “Their bones all tell stories…about where whales came from.” Translated into human language, these tales are full of superlatives: whales outweigh dinosaurs and are the largest creatures ever to have lived on Earth; their songs can travel 900 miles underwater, making them “the most acoustically powerful sound made by any organism.” In Spying on Whales, Pyenson takes us through the Smithsonian’s collection of fossil mammals, the world’s largest, with attendant lessons on whale anatomy, feeding habits, migratory range, and the mysteries particular to different species of whales, as well as on field trips to Panama, Alaska, the Hvalfjörður whaling station, and the amazing Cerro Ballena site in Chile. Laurie G.

The Battle For Paradise - Naomi Klein 

The Battle for Paradise is essential reading for every American. Into this nearly pocket-sized book, Naomi Klein packs a thorough account of Puerto Rico’s struggle to recover after Hurricane María; her report is simultaneously deep enough for those who are familiar with the island’s history and politics and accessible enough for those who aren’t. Illustrating the visions and strategies of disaster capitalists as well as of grassroots Puerto Rican activists, Klein connects the reader to individuals and organizations doing work on the ground that will almost certainly shape the island’s future. Expect to finish more informed, better equipped, and with a keener outlook on justice. Sarah C.  

Severance - Ling Ma 

If Ling Ma’s debut novel seems at all familiar, she’s carefully calibrated that feeling: it’s an apocalypse novel that could be happening right now. (It’s not for nothing that it’s actually set in the recent past.) The “fevered” zombies’ routines are commonplace: setting dinner tables, folding shirts, wandering name-brand stores, but with the added benefit of quicker-than-average bodily decay. It’s funny except when it’s horrifying; it’s horrifying except when it’s oddly comforting. That ambivalent tonal mixture is just one piece of what makes Ma’s writing so unique and captivating. Severance rushes forward on information overflow—on the ins and outs of collector’s edition Bible production, on the lives of Chinese immigrants in late-80s Utah, and on the name brands we all know and love-hate—because if that rush stopped, would we all fall into zombified oblivion too? Jonathan W. 

We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories - C. Robert Cargill 

From the creative mind behind the Doctor Strange film, comes a collection of short stories, We Are Where the Nightmares Go. By turns it thrills, chills, and fascinates. From a mine that belches tortured souls, to a serial killer of angels, to a story about zombie dinosaurs, Cargill keeps the reader enthralled with his macabre humor and mastery of dread. Aron

The Pretty Dish - Jessica Merchant

I have way too many cookbooks but The Pretty Dish by Jessica Merchant is one of my new favorites. Merchant started the website “how sweet eats” more than 10 years ago. Her recipes are easy to follow with ingredients that are readily available. Not only does she have 150 everyday recipes but she’s also got ideas for throwing a fun party from music playlists to creative ideas such as build your own s’mores bars with Nutella, caramel and strawberries. Her philosophy is to feed your loved ones with joy, even if it is not perfect. And if that’s not enough of a reason to love this cookbook, she has a whole chapter nourishing your body with DIY beauty recipes like sugar scrubs and homemade lip balms. Robin K. 

Have we got some exciting things to share with you this week! In anticipation of upcoming events at two of our locations, we learned about the struggles of people addicted to opiates and got lost in one of the summer’s most talked-about books. We enjoyed skillfully combined speculative sci-fi, historical fiction, and an unconventional romance in a tale of artificial intelligence. We were astounded by themes of parenting, loss, heartbreak and love in fiction. And in the rare moments of sun gracing us with its presence this summer, why not take up the 111 challenge and explore the city like never before?

Dopesick - Beth Macy

Upcoming Event at Politics and Prose Thursday, August 9, 2018 - 7 p.m. at 5015 Connecticut Ave NW

At this point some 2.6 million people are addicted to opiates nationwide. Overdoses are the leading cause of death for those under age 50, and in a decade the total deaths from opiates exceeded all deaths from HIV/AIDS. But Macy’s Dopesick, close-up of the opiate crisis in western Virginia tells you more than these devastating statistics can. With compassion and outrage she traces the wrenching downward trajectory of several young people, showing how their lives were taken over by the drugs, how hard they struggled to get clean, and how many times they failed. While new programs are slowly replacing policing with medical care, it’s too soon to gauge their impact. Laurie G.  

The Incendiaries - R. O. Kwon

Upcoming Event at Politics and Prose at Union Market Friday, September 14, 2018 - 7 p.m.

True to the book’s title, R. O. Kwon has crafted a fiery debut that announces her arrival as a new singular voice in American literature. Her first novel The Incendiaries, told through three different perspectives, is an interrogation on the nature of love, faith, and identity. The book reminded me of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair as both books tackle a character’s investigation into the driving force behind the faith of a beloved in order to shed light into the mystery of why the beloved did the things that she did in the course of the novel. Compelling narrative matched with an eloquent writing style, you can’t go wrong with that. Bennard F.  

Plum Rains - Andromeda Romano-Lax 

Andromeda Romano-Lax’s Plum Rains skillfully combines speculative sci-fi, historical fiction and an unconventional romance into something emotionally satisfying and hopeful. In Japan’s near future, where artificial Intelligence is replacing human health care aides, nurse Angelica’s livelihood is at risk. A prototype healthcare AI, nicknamed “Hiro”, threatens to push out Angelica while it forms a bond with her client, an unhappy centenarian named Sakoyo. Hiro’s presence brings Sayoko’s repressed memories back to the surface, and then each character must struggle to reconcile the past, learn to trust, and pursue future happiness as each sees it. This book is a joy that defies genre and should just be shelved under “terrific book”.  Bill L.  

A Place for Us - Fatima Farheen Mirza 

A Place for Us is an unforgettable novel about an Indian couple who comes to America and raises their three children in California. They are part of a devout religious Muslim community where being practicing believers is more important than just about anything else. Their way of life sustains and shapes them and also tears them apart. Told from multiple view points and over decades, the novel’s themes of parenting, loss, heartbreak and love will grab you on every page and leave you astounded. Fatima Farheen Mirza is a writer to watch. I can’t wait to see what comes next from this extraordinary talent. Nancy R. 

111 Places in Washington That You Must Not Miss - Andrea Seiger 

Although I’ve lived in D.C. for six years, there were many places in 111 Places in Washington That You Must Not Miss that I had never even heard of before. Even when writing about famous sites like the National Air and Space Museum, Seiger points out artifacts that many of us would normally pass by. The sites vary widely, including outdoor parks, performing venues, restaurants, locations where seasonal events take place, and memorials in every quadrant of D.C.  In addition, the Tips section typically features other nearby sites—so really, you get to choose from almost 222 places! Even if you can’t get to all the sites, you’ll definitely discover at least one new favorite spot! Katie W. 

This week we traveled with our books both through space and time. We covered great distances discovering the deserts of the world. We went back to World War II and then a bit further back, 60 some million years, to learn about the magnificent creatures rummaging the earth before us. We thought about what it means to keep those you love safe and found a perfect spot for imagination and self-creation inside a hospital. These are the picks for this week.

The Mere Wife - Maria Dahvana Headley 

The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley is dark and gorgeous and absolutely devastating.  It is a retelling of Beowulf that hits you hard whether you know every line or have never read the original. It is a beautiful fable about war, trauma, and what it means to keep those you love safe, a book as deep and layered as the mere within it. Anton B. 

The Immeasurable World - Will Atkins 

Interested in “the axis where the absolute coexists with the infinite,” in The Immeasurable World Atkins reports from deserts worldwide, focusing on nature, native culture, history, explorers, and new rituals, like Burning Man. Overall, his emphasis is spiritual. He stays in monasteries, delves into China’s Caves of the Thousand Buddhas and writes poignantly about the nuclear tests that left the Great Victorian Desert a radioactive wasteland, robbing Indigenous peoples of a landscape so sacred they made no distinction between desert and Ancestors. This chapter alone is worth the price of the book, but Atkins leaves many indelible moments: an eagle blinded by an atomic flash, the stages of dehydration, an evaporated lake like “an eyeless socket,” the untold numbers of migrants lost in the Sonoran Desert. Laurie G.  

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs - Steve Brusatte

Like many other former 7-year-olds, I was once a dinosaur obsessive. With Jurassic Park roosting in the VCR, I would give any grown-up in earshot a rundown of my favorite dinosaurs (this changed daily) and what periods they lived in. If you’re anything like me, a page or two into Steve Brusatte’s prehistoric masterpiece The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs will be enough to bring back the kid in you. Brusatte presents the Mesozoic in vivid detail and with an immediacy not often reserved for a period that ended 65 million years ago. From spindly, cat-sized lizards at the beginning of the Triassic to thundering giants at the end of the Cretaceous, dinosaurs were a highly diverse, sophisticated species whose millions of years of earthly dominance help put our world and lives in far greater perspective. Isaac S. 

The Hospital - Ahmed Bouanani 

Upcoming Event at Politics and Prose at Union Market with translator Lara Vergnaud, Wednesday, September 5, 2018 - 7 p.m.

All readers should rejoice at the sudden burst of writing newly available from Moroccan master Ahmed Bouanani, a long-neglected (and long-reclusive) late writer and filmmaker with a beautiful ear for the active mind’s poetic streams. In The Hospital, a man finds himself in a hospital ward with other male invalids of all ages and backgrounds. While it might sound like a sad place, and while it does inspire many surreal nightmare visions, it’s also revivifying in other ways—a perfect spot for imagination and self-creation, and full of wonderful characters with equally wonderful names: the Guzzler, the Rover, and many more. And it’s all brought into lovely English by phenomenal D.C. based translator Lara Vergnaud. Jonathan W.  

Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin - Timothy Snyder 

In Bloodlands, Timothy Snyder argues that the Holocaust is just one part of a larger tragedy: that of the deaths of 14 million–not one a result of combat–in the vast area between Berlin and Moscow. Snyder not only provides an excellent account of World War II on the Eastern front but illuminates the humanity in the countless lives lost due to Hitler’s and Stalin’s cruel policies. Snyder asks each of us not just to condemn but to understand the motivations behind these14 million deaths–so that we make sure we neither forget nor repeat these horrors. Katie W.