Cambridge Day wondered what the staff at our local bookstores have been reading. When we asked, the MIT Press Bookstore sent us some staff picks. Head over to 314 Main St., Kendall Square, to continue the conversation. – John Summers
“The Salt Grows Heavy,” by Cassandra Khaw
Tor Nightfire, 2023
A ravenous mermaid who has just escaped her husband after her children devoured his kingdom and a plague doctor made of stolen parts struggle for survival in a grim folktale world. The pair finds strength and meaning in each other’s company, but will that be enough to get them through?
The “Salt Grows Heavy” will appeal to readers familiar with fairytale and fantasy tropes; much of the fun comes from following the author, Cassandra Khaw, as she refreshes and inverts well-worn tropes. Khaw’s writing is as beautiful as it is raw, and it goes a long way toward making the atmosphere believable in this strangely cathartic, hopeful horror.
A word of warning: This is a book about pain and cruelty. Khaw knows how to make the gore drip off the page. The narrative is creative and specific in its brutality, inflicting violence on named characters whether they deserve it or not. I don’t mean to imply that “The Salt Grows Heavy” is unbearably bleak. The cruelty highlights the beauty in each small act of kindness and lends urgency to the romance at the center of the story. Still, the book has teeth—and it bites. If body horror is a no-go for you, skip this title. — recommended by Rae
“Feminism in the Wild: How Human Biases Shape Our Understanding of Animal Behavior,” by Ambika Kamath and Melina Packer
MIT Press, 2025
Why do we talk about animals as though they have gender roles from the Victorian era? Are worker bees “sterile females” or a third sex? When scientists observe intersex anatomy and homosexual behavior in frogs, does that mean their pond is poisoned? Or are some frogs just like that? Kamath and Packer, tackling such questions, demonstrate how cultural assumptions dictate what research gets done, and how that research is interpreted. The authors pull off the magic trick I crave most from nonfiction: they made me rethink the phenomena of nature and our place within it.
I recommend “Feminism in the Wild” to anyone curious how beautiful and strange the natural world may become when approached it on its own terms. The book is also an excellent demonstration of the importance of including a diverse range of people in the scientific investigation. If cultural assumptions are steering research, it’s better when someone in the lab doesn’t share the same views. I devoured this fascinating, important book and wish it success. — recommended by Rae
“Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey Book,” by Lynda Barry
Drawn and Quarterly, 2010
“What makes us start drawing? What makes us stop?” With “Picture This,” Barry has made something much more than a guide to artmaking or a philosophy of art. Many children draw. Most adults do not. Some long to try it again, yet worry they won’t be any good, or that their drawings won’t mean anything. Here comes a nearsighted monkey and a chicken, smoking and leaving banana peels all over this lushly beautiful book, gently but inexorably leading us through art prompts and memories of childhood creation, encouraging us to get your brush wet and to try again. Even if you don’t want to make anything (yet), you can learn a lot about seeing from a nearsighted monkey. — recommended by Rebecca
“A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing: a Novel,” by Alice Evelyn Yang
William Morrow, 2026
Qianze has unsettling visions when her father reappears on her doorstep after vanishing eleven years before. Chronicling three generations, remembering a half-forgotten prophecy, and telling tales of Chinese history from the Japanese invasion of Manchuria to the Cultural Revolution, this novel is probably the best fiction I’ll read all year. If you liked “The Poppy War,” by R. F. Kuang, or if you like family sagas—or even if you like good stories—you’ll love this one. The novel has been longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction.— recommended by Rebecca
“Attention is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt,” by Anna Von Mertens
MIT Press, 2024
How does one measure the scope of a galaxy? Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (1868-1921), working as a human computer at the Harvard College Observatory, found a way. Biographer Von Mertens presents Leavitt’s life, work, and legacy in a richly illustrated volume that draws some of its images from the observatory’s breathtaking Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection. This is a book for anyone who cares about the history of science, of photography, or who gazes into a clear night sky. — recommended by Rebecca
“White Cat, Black Dog,” by Kelly Link
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2023
This is the book that made me love short stories—and prompted me to read everything else Kelly Link has ever written. These retellings of fairy tale are unlike any we’ve read before. A group of talking cats operates a weed farm. A troupe of musicians stages a fake funeral every night. Link’s surrealist prose makes us think, if only for a moment, that magic might exist after all. — recommended by Tabitha
“Atlas of Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena,” by Andy McGrillen
Ivy Press, 2025
This survey of alien abductions, bizarro military encounters, and other episodes of some seriously weird happenings around the world is accompanied by maps, flight plans, contemporary reportage and photographs. If you’re planning a summer road trip, pack this book, read a page, and then look up. You might see something looking back. — recommended by Rebecca
“The House of Dr. Koolhaas,” by François Fromonot
Park Books, 2025
The inaugural entry in the Gumshoe Series of Architectural Mysteries, “The House of Dr. Koolhaas” is a surreal pop investigation full of swimming pools and movie stars, giraffes and eyeballs in wincing close-up. Taking the Villa dall’Ava for its subject, it treats architectural history and theory as steps in unraveling a delightful mystery. Fun for novices and scholars alike, it’s perfectly sized to stuff in a back pocket and to enjoy in commute-sized snippets. — recommended by Rebecca
A stronger
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