Ella's Top Recommendations
Memoir and literary fiction to contemplate the world
Meet Ella! One of our newest employees, Ella's favourite books to recommend are now available on our Staff Picks wall in store. Here's what you can expect if you ask her to tell you what her favourite reads are!
Just Kids by Patti Smith
“It occurred to me looking around at all of your things and your work and going through years of work in my mind, that of all your work, you are still your most beautiful. The most beautiful work of all.”
Just Kids is a love letter to art, to New York City, to friendship forged through fierce loyalty, and to a decades long devotion. Patti’s phenomenal prose captures the beating heart of the bohemian scene of downtown 70s New York . At the core of this memoir is a deeply intimate portrait of love and what it means to be truly seen by someone.
Open Throat by Henry Hoke
“I watch their hands as they walk away, hands that could be grabbing bottles and throwing but instead are wrapped together and connected.”
Open Throat is as witty as it is fast paced, a sly work of fiction told through the unforgettable perspective of a mountain lion living under the Hollywood sign. Hoke weaves together meditations on the housing crisis, treatment of wildlife, and the weight of climate change into a story that is deeply human.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
In her first nonfiction collection, Didion details the landscapes and tensions of 1960s America. With meditations on growing up in California to the dark underbelly of the counterculture movement, Slouching Toward Bethlehem covers a lot of ground. Her writing is introspective and scrappy, cutting through the haze of the era with an eye that misses nothing, often leaving you with more questions than answers.
The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall
The Book of Hope offers a window into Jane Goodall’s life beyond her time with the chimpanzees of Gombe, reflecting on the experiences that shaped her and the reasons she continues to believe in humanity’s capacity for change. It’s a thoughtful read for anyone feeling discouraged by the state of the world.
Ella