Kar recommends Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Emma Copley Eisenberg's debut collection is a masterclass in the short story, taking up the mantle of the likes of Lucia Berlin, Carmen Maria Machado, and Grace Paley.
Scenes are deftly filled with attention to sights and sounds — the stuck latch of a screen door; an exotic fish with one fin — that make real the words on the page. These stories are populated by queer characters, trans characters, and fat characters who I have never seen granted so much dignity in a book before: the dignity to be beautiful, the dignity to be wrong, the dignity to be whole people beyond their identity and appearance. —Kar Johnson, events coordinator, Green Apple Books on the Park (1231 9th Ave.)
Stacey recommends Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area by Rae Alexandra
Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area by Rae Alexandra, and illustrated by Adrienne Simms, is the ideal book to clear the fog in your head — and the dreariness of a cold summer in San Francisco — as you read and get inspired by women who truly made a difference in the Bay Area. —Stacey Lewis, Vice President and Director of Publicity, Marketing and Sales, City Lights Booksellers & Publishers (261 Columbus Ave.)
Pete recommends The Plover by Brian Doyle
The Plover is a whimsical and profound story about a solo voyage and some unexpected companions. It dwells at the intersection of nature and humanity. I found it both poetic and funny. The perfect summer read. —Pete Mulvihill, co-owner of Green Apple Books (506 Clement St.)
Kevin recommends My Mother's Boyfriends by Samantha Schoech
This debut short story collection by a native San Franciscan brims with humor, heart, and complexity. This book is as unsettling as an earthquake, yet utterly enchanting. It features flawed characters with big hearts and packs surprising twists and turns. —Kevin Ryan, co-owner of Green Apple Books
Jax recommends Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky
A peek into the darkly charming mind of Celia, 19 years old in the '70s Bay Area. She takes the train into SF to her stuffy phone hotline job. It’s dawning on her that her husband is cruel “even though he doesn’t leave bruises.” She finds herself purchasing a hunting dirk, not street legal. I was as interested in seeing what Celia did next as I was seeing how Oshetsky would tell it. Unrelenting pace + utterly precise = easy access to the reader’s high. —Jackson Tejeda, co-owner of Christopher’s Books (1400 18th St.)
Camden recommends Even The Good Girls Will Cry by Melissa Auf der Maur
Icon, legend, muse, perennial cool girl Melissa Auf der Maur soundtracked the '90s as the seminal bassist of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins. Her memoir tracks her story from her beginnings as a ticket girl to the meteoric success of the bands she worked with and cements a new cornerstone to the same inimitable shelf occupied by Kim Gordon and Patti Smith. —Camden Avery, co-owner The Booksmith (1727 Haight St.)
A version of this story ran in Gazetteer San Francisco issue 3.
