Mike's Staff Picks

Mike is a former coordinator at TCTV2, community activities director in Uraga, Japan and longtime bookstore veteran. Check out that dedication!

Book List

The Thin Man (Paperback)

By Dashiell Hammett

$13.95

ISBN-13: 9780679722632
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Vintage, 7/1989

Other Editions of this Title

MAY 2012

The new biography of Lillian Hellman (which I can't afford so I can't read it yet) got me pulling out my old copies of Dasiell Hammett's books. I had forgotten how much fun Nick and Nora are to read. This is Hammett when he owned the genre. I have long been fascinated by Hammett, not only for his writing but for his life and politics as well. I think this book is well worth re-reading.

The Wise Man's Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two (Paperback)

By Patrick Rothfuss

$19.00

ISBN-13: 9780756407124
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: DAW Trade, 3/2012

Other Editions of this Title

APRIL 2012

This is the second in a series (be sure to read The Name of the Wind first) that is just the right mix of great storytelling and fantasy (and I am not a big fan of most fantasy anymore). Most of the recent fiction I have picked up is small in scope and mean-spirited and selfish in tone, but this is an epic tale of great ambition, and the prose and pacing makes it a wonderful read.

The Tassajara Bread Book (Paperback)

By Edward Espe Brown

$18.95

ISBN-13: 9781590308363
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Shambhala, 9/2010

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FEBRUARY 2012

I make the homemade bread at our house. When the bread machine stopped working, I decide to just make bread the old-fashioned way instead of buying a new bread machine. The Tassajara Bread Book is one I remember fondly from my misspent youth when I used to make bread from scratch. I bought the new version of the book and jumped right back in to bread-making.

Brown treats the process of making bread with an appreciation and respect that is fun to see, yet encourages experimentation and variety. His book takes you through the process from start to finish so that you have confidence, even if you are new to breadmaking.