Caide's Picks
Hello and welcome to my staff pics!
I enjoy reading a wide range of fiction, political and social analysis, and graphic novels. As a dyslexic, easily distractible person, I actually listen to most of my books through libro.fm. Reading for fun is only something I have started up again in the last few years of my adult life, and I'm all about making reading of fun and fulfilling experience for those of us who haven't always considered ourselves "readers".
Always happy to supply further recs through room.bookstore@gmail.com
A lyrical and meditative journey through faith and what connects us to each other. Anything AQB writes is a must read.
A horny, queer, midwestern romp of the 90s. I can't get over Lawlor's the spot on descriptions of different queer spaces we get to enter through Paul's misadventures.
A validating and hilarious journey of fluctuating self discovery. If you have ever asked yourself if you are "queer enough", read this book.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
Cutting, refreshing, and nuanced, I am blown away by Busby's unflinching authenticity. This book rips away the façade of virtue signaling and leaves bare Busby's experiences navigating her expected social scripts as a queer black woman with Instagram micro-fame. Perfect for fans of Roxane Gay and Claudia Rankine.
Tense, tragic, and tender portraits of young twenty somethings struggling to find intimacy and safety, right here in Madison! Taylor's second book does not disappoint.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
An engrossing novel to read slowly and digest thoroughly. Yun not only exposes the realities of misogyny, racism, and poverty in the North Dakota oil boom, but pulls you through the raw alienation and rage that comes with it.
Obviously I had to read this book because the main character's name is Cade. Obviously you have to too because it's hot and hilarious.
Did certain corners of the internet say "lesbian necromancers in space!?" Count me in. What has struck me most about this book (and series) is not just the genre bending, plot twisting, many layered nature of this book, but how incredibly, irreverently hilarious it is! Gems like this: "Gideon said, “Did you know that if you put the first three letters of your last name with the first three letters of your first name, you get ‘Sex Pal’?” Please please read this book so we can talk about it.
A provocative and nuanced novel packaged inside a gossipy, almost confessional writing style that will translate well to the mini series. Peters' articulates complex emotional depth in imperfect, at times infuriating characters. She asks questions about motherhood, womanhood, and chosen family that I still reflect back on. This is not an easy book with all positive trans representation, but the character's flaws feel real and valuable.
Devastatingly beautiful. Emezi traces the delicate interpersonal webs of grief and intimacy with a rawness that left me feeling ripped apart and whole at the same time.
I had a whopping book crush on this book! I couldn't wait till we were together again, the characters showed up in my dreams, I couldn't stop talking about this giddy, campy, nostalgic, clever, thrilling romp!
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
A soft and utterly human novel. Everyone in the book fucks up, sometimes big time, but the characters still handle the mess with sweetness and care. I would especially recommend for anyone who wants non-preachy fiction about alcoholism in the family.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
A unique historical fiction novel. The slow building anger from racial trauma and casual exploitation makes the explosion all the more satisfying. Perfect for fans of Parasite.
Sometimes chosen family chooses you! A sweet, magical, queer fairytale.
A slow, pent up build over the course of a single weekend in Madison. Taylor depicts the fraught nature of human connection across divisions of lived experience with staggering grace.
Disturbing, devastating, satisfying. I was obsessed, and I never choose horror.
I find myself thinking back to this book all the time and shoving it in all my friend's faces when their birthday rolls around. A frolicking, compelling coming of age novel that should really be a mini-series already. Thank you thank you AQB!!
Summer Spirit follows the difficult cusp of tweenhood for Louise as her older sister and cousins leave her and their childhoods behind. Without peers to relate to, Louise slowly befriends the ghost of her grandmother's sister, trapped forever at Louise's same stage of life. Sinister yet sweet, Summer Spirit is your perfect beach read to devour in an afternoon.
A werewolf and a witch going on three consecutive tinder dates? What more could you ask for?
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
What struck me most about this book was the mixture of tragic and bizarre with the mundane. Characters fall in and out of love, question their faith, and struggle with their parents all in the midst of an alien invasion to the Virgin Islands. Turnbull explores the impact of colonialism and violence through the perspectives of overlapping characters in both the past and present, ending with different and difficult "lessons". Also a beautifully read audiobook with Libro.fm!
Just reading the introduction to this book filled me with a love and understanding I didn't know I needed. Such a beautiful and thought provoking series of essays that has changed the ways I show and practice love with those around me.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
A must read for anti-assimilationist revolutionary queer politics!
I've read this book twice cover to cover and then again as individual essays. Clare traces the intersections of disability, working class rural identity, whiteness, queerness, and intimacy in beautiful and powerful prose. Read this book and then read it again!
You know a YA book holds up when you can read it at any age and still become deeply invested in everyone’s storylines. Literal Black Girl Magic as main characters Tavia and Effie struggle to come into their own magical identities and find power in themselves. Reading this book has sparked many rants with my friends on why standard high school reading can’t be as fun and politically relevant as this book.
Sweet without being sappy, political without being moralistic, authentic without leaving out the fantasy, there's a reason this book has gotten so much hype. Read it and weep tears of queer joy.
Beautiful, political, and packed!
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
Cuddle up with this book and your IRL fur nugget on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and sigh.
So sweet! We can celebrate witchcraft without being essentialist about gender! Hooray!
A gorgeous story that incorporates elements of Nigerian folklore and shows off the powerful magic that comes with self exploration and acceptance.
This item is out of stock with our warehouse. Some recently published books may be in stock @ Room. Email to check.
