Over the years, I’ve developed relationships with the folks who work at my local bookstore, the Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury. I’ve never actually introduced myself and couldn’t pick any of them out of a lineup — we book nerds are notoriously shy, after all. But thanks to an always-excell ent staff picks shelf and sage recommendations on cards sprinkled throughout the store, I feel like I know them — and, sometimes, like they know me. Meadow, for example, is always up on the coolest new speculative fiction, especially horror (my wheelhouse) and fantasy (my fiancée’s). When I’m stuck on what to read next or what to get my fiancée, she often comes through. If I’m in the mood for something lighter, I’ll turn to Amy, whose tastes trend a little breezier and who shares my affinity for Richard Osman mysteries. For thrillers and crime fiction, I look for a Linda pick. For something more highbrow and literary, that’s Becky. Something offbeat, Carol. Point is: Whether you’re shopping for yourself or someone else, bookstore staff picks are indispensable. So we asked staffers at three of Vermont’s many excellent indie bookstores for their favorite recommendations this year. Their choices include hard-nosed journalistic nonfiction, moving literary character studies, epic fantasies and at least one possible future kids’ lit classic. In other words, as at every great bookstore, there’s something here for every reader. The Eloquent Page 70 N. Main St., Saint Albans City, 527-7243, theeloquentpage.com Dinner With King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-Creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells and Tastes of Lost Civilizations by Sam Kean, Little, Brown, 464 pages. $32.50.A fascinating exploration of how professional archaeologists and passionate amateur historians are using experimental or living archaeology to research ancient technologies and how they worked. Kean joins these people in flint-knapping, tanning, making and tasting garum, building scaled-down models of the pyramids and ramps to see if the stones could be moved, trepanning with stone tools, and more. Interspersed with fictional vignettes putting those technologies into practice and depicting the sensations they evoked, this book entertains as it informs. Now I want to try some of those techniques! — Donna Howard Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell by Gabe Henry, Dey Street Books, 304 pages. $28.This breezy history of English and its eccentric spelling covers the history of our many attempts to simplify our orthography — from Benjamin Franklin and Noah Webster through George Bernard Shaw and Upton Sinclair — nearly all of which failed. Webster’s book on simplifying English destroyed his reputation, but he restored it and partially succeeded in his goals when he published the iconic An American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828, by sneaking some of his simplified spellings into the book. Will the computer age and texting achieve what centuries could not? A great gift for teachers, librarians and anyone who loves language. — D.H. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, Simon Schuster, 320 pages. $28.99.I was instantly invested in the characters of this beautiful and heartbreaking story of love and loss set in the British countryside during the 1950s and 1960s. It explores the complexity of love and the past relationships that haunt us, layered with a mystery that keeps the pages turning. — Annie Fournier The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces by Seth Harp, Viking, 368 pages. $30.Harp’s riveting exposé on the dark dealings carried out in Fort Bragg, N.C., in recent years and the corruption of top-ranking U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers. Drug dealing, murders, illegal weapons — a culture of corruption that started in Afghanistan and came back to the U.S. — are subject matter that demands to be read. This book will shock you! — Alicia Mercure The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Crown, 304 pages. $28.A thoroughly enjoyable read by a debut author. Sybil Van Antwerp’s letters to family and friends are far from a meandering opus. Rather, they reveal a true development of her feelings of grief, guilt, forgiveness of self and others, and kindness. In this epistolary novel, you’ll recapture the familiar or learn for the first time the satisfaction of connecting with another via pen and ink. — Erica Tamblini The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers, Redhook, 384 pages. $29.Cass, a book thief, returns to the magical bookshop where she was raised when she inherits it upon the murder of her former mentor. Now the bookshop is nearly empty and its magic failing, and nearly everyone wants to take the store and its remaining power for themselves. A twisty tale of deceit, corrupting power, choices made and prices paid, in which everyone has a secret and a past. As Cass navigates the treacherous world of magical bookselling, she must decide how much she is willing to pay to discover who killed her mentor — and to restore the bookshop she still loves. — D.H. The Bookstore 8 Conant Sq., Brandon, 465-8009, thebookstorevt.indielite.org Twice by Mitch Albom, HarperCollins, 320 pages. $26.99.Working at a bookstore, I find that enjoyable reads come with the territory. Sometimes books land in my hands; other books “nudge” me as I walk by. Albom’s novel Twice did the latter. The plot centers on Alfie, accused of a crime he did not commit. To prove his innocence, he offers as evidence his life review written in a notebook. He discovered as a child that he had the ability to go back and relive any event in his life — but only once — and had to live with the consequences. The only exception to this is love. Although I rarely find myself on the edge of my seat while reading, this story of second chances, human connection, hope, regret and love was spellbinding to the last sentence. — Dorothea Langevin The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice by Margaret Killjoy, Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness, 102 pages. $17.By turns haunting, hopeful and a badass romp, the much-awaited third installment of Margaret Killjoy’s Danielle Cain series will knock your socks off. Readers will love anarchist, demon-hunting Danielle’s adventures across the country alongside her friends. If you’ve ever gathered around a fire and told spooky stories, this book will feel like home. Think Scooby-Doo and his pals all grown up and hunting actual cryptids! Buy all three installments for the reader in your life who loved the TV show “Supernatural” and believes in prison abolition. — Eli Fox Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ballantine Books, 352 pages. $30.A beautifully written celestial novel that enlightens readers on the significance of love in an unthinkably large universe. In the 1980s, our characters face misogyny and homophobia while persevering toward careers at NASA. While they train, they form unforgettable relationships that are written with such truth and complexity you’ll start to feel bonds with them yourself. From the book’s beginning to its emotional ending, Reid draws you into this world and never lets go. This tale of sacrifice, self-discovery and how love can change everything deserves to be your next read. — Sienna Many Entwined: Dispatches From the Intersection of Species by Bridget A. Lyons, Texas AM University Press, 224 pages. $22.I cannot say enough about loving this book. It’s a collection of 14 essays from Lyons’ lifetime of outdoor adventure and personal reflection. She weaves her own story into her research and insights about the natural world, ranging from surfing among bull kelp off the California coast to desperately seeking ibex while running the high Alps of Switzerland. A true naturalist and scholar, Lyons learns and teaches beautifully, never preaching, never spending too much time navel-gazing. She’s earned the praise of heavy-hitting science writers Sy Montgomery, Carl Safina, and Vermont’s Leath Tonino and Bill McKibben. In paperback, with original black-and-white block-printed artwork by the author, it should be on everyone’s bookshelf. — Barbara Ebling Flying Pig Bookstore 5247 Shelburne Rd., Ste. 102, Shelburne, 985-3999, flyingpigbooks.com Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All by Mel Allen, Earth Sky + Water, 320 pages. $20.For a healing dose of humanity and community, dip into Here in New England by Yankee magazine’s longtime editor Mel Allen. A Studs Terkel for the Northeast, Allen seeks out hidden histories that might otherwise get overlooked. Here he collects 45 short, vivid true stories of people, places and events that exemplify what makes New England unique, rendering both extraordinary and ordinary lives with respect and warmth. Packed with surprising, courageous, deeply individual stories, this is a love letter to our region and a wonderful gift. — Elizabeth Bluemle Bog Queen by Anna North, Bloomsbury Publishing, 288 pages. $28.99. Two stories weave together in this truly entertaining, hard-to-categorize novel. Is it a thriller? A ghost story? A beautifully researched feat of historical fiction? Yes, yes and yes! A young forensic scientist discovers a two-millennia-old body in a peat bog, and readers are taken back and forth between past and present. A perfect gift for fans of historical fiction with a little bit of mystery. — Emily Copeland Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino, Celadon Books, 288 pages. $27.99.Best Offer Wins spins a dark, thrilling story of a young woman named Margo who will do whatever it takes to get her dream home so that she can live her dream life. However, the D.C. housing market is beyond intense, and she will have to take it to a new level for her offer to be accepted. I became almost as obsessed with this story as Margo was with this house. Obsession drives people to do crazy things, but how far is too far to get everything you’ve ever dreamed of? — Cait Tschida The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow, Tor Books, 320 pages. $29.99. I had the best time being repeatedly heartbroken by this book. By the end of the first chapter, I knew this was going to be one of my top reads of the year, and the rest of the book did not disappoint. I recommend going in as blindly as possible because it’s so fun being dragged headfirst into this story, come what may. But what I can tell you is that it’s about a lady knight, fascism and propaganda, love, loss, and a little bit of magic. Buckle up and enjoy — you won’t regret it! — Emily Bowers Afia in the Land of Wonders, written and illustrated by Mia Araujo, Scholastic Press, 304 pages. $24.99.Araujo takes a well-known story — Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — and completely transforms it into something modern and exceptionally beautiful. It’s about a girl who leaves her village and gets whisked to a fantastical court in which nothing is what it seems. I have no doubts that Afia in the Land of Wonders will go down as a modern classic. Between the lyrically woven mythology and the vibrant full-color illustrations, this story should enthrall readers of all ages. — C.T. Lost Evangeline by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, Candlewick, 160 pages. $17.99.“Hansel and Gretel” meets “Thumbelina” in this new fairy tale in which a kindly shoemaker takes in a tiny girl he finds nestled in a boot in his shop. He raises her as his daughter until, in true fairy-tale fashion, the cobbler’s wife becomes jealous of the tiny girl and casts her out into the big, wide world. Lost Evangeline finds her way in this whimsical tale of courage and wonderful characters (including a sassy, self-involved cat). Another magical, timeless, read-together treasure from DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Puppets of Spelhorst). — E.B. C.T. The original print version of this article was headlined “Next on the Nightstand | Vermont booksellers offer recommendations for your next great read” The post Vermont Booksellers Pick Your Next Great Read appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less