Michael Chabon Recommends . . . .

"This was the year I discovered the glory of Edward St. Aubyn's "Patrick Melrose" sequence, the concluding volume of which, At Last, was published last spring. Read in order, all together--as I think they ought to be--they tell the story, in elegant, biting, unsparing and witty prose, of the painful, disastrous and hilarious growth of a single human consciousness over the course of forty years of (self-) abuse, grace and gross misbehavior. I loved them, and the last is a deeply worthy finale."

Michael Chabon's most recent novel is Telegraph Avenue. He last visited Rakestraw Books in October 2012.

Lev Grossman Recommends . . . .

"My favorite book of the year was John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. It's a love story about two teenagers who have cancer. They're not idealized, they're not sentimentalized, they're just two smart, funny, real people who stare death in the face every day. Sometimes they blink, sometimes they don't. This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love novels. Don't read it anywhere where you'd be embarrassed to weep openly."

Lev Grossman's most recent novel is The Magician King. He last visited Rakestraw Books in June 2012.

Jonathan Evison Recommends . . . .

"Well, I haven't stopped crowing about it all year, so I'm not gonna' stop now! Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is the best novel I read this year, and maybe in the past five years. Fountain tackles huge themes -- the war in Iraq, consumerism, patriotism, class, to name a few -- and delivers big time, with an intimate portrait of one soldier, spectacularly written."

Jonathan Evison's most recent novel is The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving. His last visit to Rakestraw Books was in March 2012.

Those of you who follow the newsletter know how much I love the art of Jane Mount. It's a treat to have such a remarkable collection of her work.

You can browse the shelves of all sorts of interesting people -- and, let's face it, isn't that what you want to do the first time you enter a reader's room?