It's the week after Christmas, which can only mean one thing: our annual post-Christmas sale is on! Get 50% off the used books with promo code Stan Lee at checkout on our website. Here are 3 used books we recommend.
1. Cradles of the Reich, by Jennifer Coburn
Cradles of the Reich centers around one of the lesser known parts of WW2: German maternity homes. Essentially, the Nazis selected pregnant girls who they deemed desirable and the perfect German girl to get the best pre-natal care in special homes, then either had them marry the fathers or adopted the babies out. I've been interested in historical fiction for about 25 years now, so I was interested and excited when I heard about Cradles of the Reich. It didn't disappoint. I really liked Gundi, the Aryan beauty who is secretly a member of the Aryan resistance and her boyfriend who ends up at a German maternity home. I was decidedly less impressed with Hilde, another pregnant German girl who ends up at the maternity home; I found her snobby. Used, $13. Buy it here.
2. Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler
I fell in love with Kindred the first time I read it, for my American Lit class junior year of high school. I've reread it several times in the almost 20 years since I read it the first time. Kindred is the story of an African-American woman named Dana in 1970s California who is repeatedly pulled back in time to antebellum Maryland to save the life of Rufus, her white ancestor. At the beginning of the story, Rufus is an innocent little kid, but his father is a scary motherfucker who points a gun at Dana. Rufus eventually grows into a man who is also scary like his father. Dana witnesses white patrols beat her ancestor for trying to visit his wife, Rufus forcing the free African-American he loved into slavery, and the suicide of that woman after being raped by Rufus. I found Dana relatable and interesting, even though the only thing we had in common was a love of books. Used, $8. Buy it here.
3. Must Love Books, by Shauna Robinson
I picked up Must Love Books earlier this year while on vacation, and was immediately hooked. Nora is an underworked, underpaid editorial assistant at Parsons Press. The books starts out with her attending a farewell party for her friend and favorite coworker and another coworker. Both coworkers are leaving for better jobs, but aren't being replaced, leaving Nora to deal with their caseloads. To add insult to injury, she finds out her already unlivable salary is being cut. Nora ends up taking a second job at a rival publisher while still working at Parsons to make ends meet. I found Nora, and especially her 3 on the happiness scale, relatable. We both loved Kindred, we've both worked jobs we hated and were miserable at, and I've been where she was at on the happiness scale. Used, $7. Buy it here.