Each week, when available, a local bookstore or library will recommend a selection of books available for check out or purchase.

These reviews are brought to you by The Common Good’s lead bookseller, Beatrice Wedd. Based in Kerhonkson, Beatrice is a local writer, a Bard College and Columbia University alum, and a former English teacher.

To learn more, swing by The Common Good bookstore Wednesday through Sunday, at 119 Canal St. in Ellenville – across the street from the Shawangunk Journal! You can reach out to Beatrice by following her bookstagram, @beatriceandthebook, where she reviews books and shares her writing, or by emailing her at beatrice.wedd@gmail.com. You can reach The Common Good’s owner, Matthew, by emailing matthew@thecommongoodny.com.

How to Be Eaten

by Maria Adelmann

For The Common Good’s inaugural book club, we read award-winning author Maria Adelmann's feminist horror, How to Be Eaten. Darkly ironic, twisted, and provocative, her debut peels back the curtain of “reality” for its audience. Here, in a subterranean trauma support group for fairytale heroines, with an abundance of cookies and coffee, we are introduced to five women and one mysterious man, the facilitator. I was hooked from beginning to bloody end.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Readers, in honor of Native American Heritage Month, consider this national bestseller and treasure. For Native teachings on how to create a gift economy, with an abundance (not scarcity) mindset, and with a deep respect for the reciprocity of nature. Kimmerer’s book changes perspectives on both the history and present moment in America, rebuilding bridges demolished by late-stage capitalism and colonialism, and teaching us to look first to the natural world for answers. I look forward to the release of her next book, The Serviceberry, which hits bookshelves in December!

No One Is Talking About This

by Patricia Lockwood

Lockwood’s debut novel was a finalist for the 2021 Booker Prize, a New York Times Top 10 Books of 2021, and winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize. Its protagonist, a woman who has risen to fame following the success of her social media posts, travels the world to meet with adoring fans. But the unnamed woman’s world begins to spiral as she grapples with modern-day issues like the rise of dictatorships, loneliness, climate change, economic precariousness, and abortion access. With dark, wry humor, a healthy dose of satire, and unexpectedly touching emotional depth, Lockwood’s novel is an experiment done well.