The Indie List
Local and small-press books from the shelves at Greenlight Bookstore (686 Fulton St), picked by the staffers who know them best.
A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both
By Ben Greenman
MacAdam Cage
Eleanor says: The introduction to this collection is written by one of the author's former substitute teachers, and begins with an arresting story that he composed in response to an essay topic she assigned to his tenth-grade class. The following stories have more developed characters and plot lines, but retain the same haunting style of his high school work.
By Miriam Toews
Counterpoint
Eleanor says: Not only is this book by one of my favorite authors (check out A Complicated Kindness if you enjoy this), it also contains one of the best characters I've ever met in a book. Her name is Thebes, and she is a wonderful, precocious preteen with purple hair. She refuses to shower, is permanently coated in a layer of glitter, and is unfailingly kind and understanding. Thebes alone is reason to read this book.
By Peter Hopkirk
Kodansha International
Alexis says: From 1992, an excellent and engaging history of British and Russian rivalry and competition in Central Asia. Beginning with a grim execution in Bokhara, Hopkirk takes us on a journey covering 150 years of brinkmanship and illuminating the history of an embattled region.
