Recommendations and Reviews

Highlights of what we've been reading and loving.

Book Bites: Reading With Pride

Step into our shop these days, and it will take you about two seconds to find the perfect book for summer reading — three of the new releases we're featuring below have waterfront covers, for goodness' sake. So grab your bingo card (or print one out at home) and join us for a summer full of great books for readers of all ages. We've got YA, romance, literary fiction, and lots more to share with you this week — including a few great picks to help you usher in Pride Month in style. Make some space on your bookshelf and come see us. We've got cool air, a smile, and some opinionated recommendations to share with you all.

Hats Off to Grads and Dads!

Have you heard that books make the best gifts? It's true... and we know that many of you have called or stopped in recently looking for gifts for a couple of specific late-spring occasions: High school and college graduations, and Father's Day. Here, we’ve compiled a few of our favorite in-stock recommendations for each occasion. So if you’re seeking words of wisdom, inspiration, or helpful college cooking tips, check out our grad section below. Scroll past those picks, and you’ll find an assortment of dad-approved titles from picture books to nonfiction. Stop in or give us a call, and we'll even take care of the gift-wrapping — leaving you more time to celebrate the dads and grads in your life. Hooray!

Book Bites: Summer Reading is Here!

In case the upper-90s heat we’re staring down hasn’t tipped you off, we have it on good authority that summer is just around the corner. Just take a look at our shelves, which are packed with new releases that perfectly fit the “summer reading” mold. Just in time, too — we’ve dusted off our annual summer reading challenge, which kicks off on June 1. So peruse the list of stories below, including tales of sleepaway camp, cats in space, time travel, historical fiction, and more, and make some room on your TBR pile. We’ve even included a cookbook to help you plan your summer get-togethers. Dig in!

Book Bites: New Favorites Await!

Is there any better feeling than walking into a bookshop? We do it all the time, and it still gives us a little thrill. There's something about the feeling of possibility, the sense of discovery as you wander down a shelf knowing that the perfect book is waiting for you in plain sight. Of course, we're more than happy to help steer you in the right direction, which is exactly what we've done in choosing our latest staff picks. No matter whether you're looking for a picture book, graphic novel, mystery, poetry, fantasy, romance, or capital-L Literature, there's something for you below. Read on!

Book Bites: Hugs, Bugs, & More

We'll just cut to the chase here: There have been an incredible number of great books publishing this spring, and more than one of them probably deserves a spot on your shelf. Here, we're highlighting a few of our most recent favorites, covering all kinds of ages and interests. Picutre books? Of course. Middle grade from an award-winning Texan author? Don't mind if we do. Literary fiction? Romance? Memoir? Please and thank you. It's a veritable feast, y'all. Which means there's only one thing left to say: Bon appétit!

Book Bites: April Showers

It's April already, and the store is being showered by boxes and boxes of new books! It's been a wonderful spring in publishing, with instant classics and fast favorites coming out in droves. We've asked the staff to round up a few of their most recent recommendations, and they did not disappoint — below you'll find books for every age level, and every type of reader. Graphic novel? Historical fiction? YA thriller? Throwback mystery? We've got all that and more. Dig in!

Book Bites: Feast!

How have you been lately, friends? Spring is here in Houston, and we're looking ahead to Easter, April showers, and peaceful days spent reading on the porch. Here at the store, we've been reading more than ever. If you know our staff, you know that they're a thoughtful and opinionated bunch, and they're so excited to share some of their favorite new releases with you when you come in to see us. Below are just a few of their recent picks for readers of all ages and interests. With so many great options sitting on our shelves, the real question is: How to choose?

Books to Celebrate Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month, and this woman-owned-and-staffed indie bookstore is celebrating in our usual style: By reading, reading, and reading. We’d love for you to join us, so we’ve collected a list of some recent staff favorites that celebrate women and their stories. Some of these stories are true; others are fiction. Some are historical; others contemporary. Each of them provides a glimpse into the lives of inspiring women and girls, throughout time, and across the world. We’ve included all ages in our list, as well as reviews from our merry band of booksellers. So whether you’re looking for yourself, for a friend, or for the young readers in your life, you’ll find just the right thing. Read on!

Book Bites: Desperately Seeking Shelf Space

We know from over 25 years selling books that something amazing — a life-changing, world-enlarging, all-time-favorite of a book — can sometimes come out of nowhere, at any time of the year. Generally speaking, though, publishing tends to ebb and flow, with certain seasons or weeks set aside for a pile-up of incredible new releases. Lucky for you, we're in the midst of such a pile-up right now, as the world gets ready for spring and summer reading. So many great books have been coming into the store over the last few weeks, spanning all ages and all interests. The hardest thing about it was figuring out which titles to highlight for you here! We finally settled on eleven great reads, which you can find below. Give one a try — we know you're going to love it.

Book Bites: Mostly Middle Grade

If you’ve ever been by our store, you know how much we value kids’ books — they take up half of the available real estate in our pint-sized happy place. There’s good reason for that: Children’s books create tomorrow’s readers. And great children’s books are great books, plain and simple. In fact, we believe that readers of all ages should read a kids’ book or two every now and then. And by happy accident, our latest roundup of reviews is decidedly kid-centric. So whether you’re looking for the young reader in your life, or for something to remind you of the magic of children’s stories, dive in. 

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