Part love story, part volleyball tournament, part Instagram Live, all genius. This is the kind of satire that sticks to your bones. Nguyễn manages to describe our uniquely awful, vaguely post-pandemic online world without sacrificing loveable characters who never stop trying their best. I’m not one for sports, but I raced through this novel like …
After years of separation from their parents and relying on one another for support, teens Viola and Wilmur leave home and are swept up in an epic, pirate-y adventure. The world-building is immersive and there are lots of exciting characters to meet in the first book of a planned duology. Just a fun time all-around. …
I love reading. I love language. I love reading about language and there are few people whose thoughts on language I’d rather read than Yoko Tawada’s. She writes in both Japanese and German and I’ve long been a fan of her fiction, which uses language creatively and often explores it thematically. To me, these essays …
This is a spectacular graphic novel. The plot and characters are fully developed, and it’s a romance that pushes them to grow even further. A road trip, science, love AND a heist-what better way to start 2026? Perhaps, I don’t know, draw me some chibis, and I’m one hundred percent a fan. –Blanca, King’s Books, …
Palaver centers on the relationship between a queer Black man living in Japan and his mother, who unexpectedly visits from the US. The book explores the hurt we accumulate and carry with us as adults. It looks at the difficulties of tending to that hurt while living our day-to-day lives and the hard work of …
Sally Mann delivers a candid look at what it means to be human and an artist. The day to day living, the life incidents, and everything in between are part of the package. She brings her experiences, an exhaustive number of metaphors, and plenty of photographs and snapshots of her typed letters to encourage, to …
A charming story about how new friends can change the way you see the world and yourself, with lots of fun magical elements from Korean folklore. Learning about the world of dream magic alongside the main character feels like walking through a candy shop. I want all of it, especially the “dreampanions” which are basically …
What an absolutely beautiful book and way of thinking about the world. Kaishain shows us the value of applying queerness to more than just sexuality and gender, by using it as a lens to find wisdom from the creatures often maligned by (especially white) humans. The reader is invited to listen to learn from slugs, …
Do you love Korean food? Do you like eating small plates and snacks, even as your whole meal? Me too! While most often served as a side, Choe’s Banchan gives these dishes the star treatment they deserve. It’s been a joy to create familiar, beloved dishes in my small apartment kitchen (like kimchi jigae, pajeon, …
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ballast Book Co. (@ballastbookco) Independent Bookstore Day 2025 is Saturday, April 26. Washington’s South Sound bookstores are hosting the South Sound Bookstore Crawl April 26th through May 4th. It’s a worthy quest! If you visit all 11 stores on the South Sound Book Crawl and get …
