Michael's Picks

Michael is co-owner of Split Rock Books. He leads the history book club and is the only person here who reads sports books. He also reads a lot of great graphic novels, literary fiction, cultural studies/current affairs. (Biography by Heidi)

The Sky is Blue with a Single Cloud By Kuniko Tsurita, Ryan Holmberg (Translated by) Cover Image
By Kuniko Tsurita, Ryan Holmberg (Translated by)
$29.95
ISBN: 9781770463981
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Drawn and Quarterly - July 7th, 2020

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Wendy, Master of Art By Walter Scott Cover Image
$24.95
ISBN: 9781770463998
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Drawn and Quarterly - June 16th, 2020

The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation By Brenda Wineapple Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9780812987911
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Random House Trade Paperbacks - May 19th, 2020

Michael Kohlhaas By Heinrich von Kleist, Michael Hofmann (Translated by) Cover Image
By Heinrich von Kleist, Michael Hofmann (Translated by)
$14.95
ISBN: 9780811228343
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New Directions - March 31st, 2020

The Corner That Held Them By Sylvia Townsend Warner, Claire Harman (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Sylvia Townsend Warner, Claire Harman (Introduction by)
$18.95
ISBN: 9781681373874
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics - September 10th, 2019

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches By Tyler Kepner Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781101970850
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Anchor - March 3rd, 2020

Ghost Wall: A Novel By Sarah Moss Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781250234957
Availability: Available to Order - shipping times vary
Published: Picador - December 31st, 2019

The Man Without Talent By YOSHIHARU TSUGE, Ryan Holmberg (Translated by) Cover Image
By YOSHIHARU TSUGE, Ryan Holmberg (Translated by)
$24.95
ISBN: 9781681374437
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New York Review Comics - January 28th, 2020

Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World By Anand Giridharadas Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781101972670
Availability: Available to Order - shipping times vary
Published: Vintage - October 1st, 2019

The Long Ships By Frans G. Bengtsson, Michael Chabon (Introduction by), Michael Meyer (Translated by) Cover Image
By Frans G. Bengtsson, Michael Chabon (Introduction by), Michael Meyer (Translated by)
$19.95
ISBN: 9781590173466
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: NYRB Classics - July 6th, 2010

A Journal of the Plague Year (Modern Library Classics) By Daniel Defoe, Jason Goodwin (Introduction by) Cover Image
By Daniel Defoe, Jason Goodwin (Introduction by)
$11.00
ISBN: 9780375757891
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Modern Library - November 13th, 2001

Underland: A Deep Time Journey By Robert Macfarlane Cover Image
$27.95
ISBN: 9780393242140
Availability: Available to Order - shipping times vary
Published: W. W. Norton & Company - June 4th, 2019

That Time of Year By Marie Ndiaye, Jordan Stump (Translator) Cover Image
By Marie Ndiaye, Jordan Stump (Translator)
Pricing may vary
ISBN: 9781931883917
Availability: Out of Print
Published: Two Lines Press - September 8th, 2020

From #Blacklivesmatter to Black Liberation By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781608465620
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Haymarket Books - February 23rd, 2016

Telephone: A Novel By Percival Everett Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9781644450222
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Graywolf Press - May 5th, 2020

No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us By Rachel Louise Snyder Cover Image
$18.00
ISBN: 9781635570984
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - June 9th, 2020

Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil By Susan Neiman Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781250750112
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Picador - September 8th, 2020

Please Don't Step On My JNCO Jeans By Noah Van Sciver Cover Image
$14.99
ISBN: 9781683963752
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Fantagraphics - November 3rd, 2020

Vesper Flights By Helen MacDonald Cover Image
$27.00
ISBN: 9780802128812
Availability: Available to Order - shipping times vary
Published: Grove Press - August 25th, 2020

The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War By David Nasaw Cover Image
$35.00
Difficult to find
ISBN: 9781594206733
Published: Penguin Press - September 15th, 2020

This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving By David J. Silverman Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9781632869258
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - October 13th, 2020

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Dog Biscuits By Alex Graham Cover Image
$34.99
ISBN: 9781683965527
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Fantagraphics - June 21st, 2022

The debut graphic novel by one of the most exciting new artists out there, Dog Biscuits is able to faithfully depict the lives of several young (and not so young) characters doing their best to get by in the summer of 2020 in Seattle. Graham is able to create a fully addictive, immersive work with a blend of humor, pathos, and just a little social commentary. A real treat!


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Song for the Unraveling of the World By Brian Evenson Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781566895484
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Coffee House Press - June 11th, 2019

Brian Evenson's horrific short stories are guaranteed to get under your skin. He can burn a terrifying image into your brain in a story two or three pages long, and then slowly push dread to the breaking point for page after page in the next story. Read any one of his books and you will definitely be back for more. Song for the Unraveling of the World is an excellent jumping on point, best read before bed to ensure high quality nightmares. Fun fact: Evenson's work is so disturbing, his first short story collection got him excommunicated from the Mormon church.


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My Phantoms By Gwendoline Riley Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781681376813
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: New York Review Books - September 13th, 2022

A new novel about difficult family dynamics by an English author who is so good I can’t believe she isn’t more widely known. It’s remarkable how much emotion Riley can convey in such spare, stark language. I couldn’t put it down.


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Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America By Pekka Hämäläinen Cover Image
$40.00
ISBN: 9781631496998
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: Liveright - September 20th, 2022

In this monumental work, Hämäläinen completely reframes American history by centering the indigenous societies that occupied North America before the Europeans arrived. Upending the traditional American narrative highlighting unenforceable territorial claims by European colonial powers, Hämäläinen shows how the indigenous societies were not backwoods savages but fully formed powers themselves, forcing the Europeans (and later the Americans) to ally and negotiate with them to survive. One of the best new history books in years.


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Shuna's Journey By Hayao Miyazaki, Alex Dudok de Wit (Translated by) Cover Image
By Hayao Miyazaki, Alex Dudok de Wit (Translated by)
$27.99
ISBN: 9781250846525
Availability: On Our Shelves Now
Published: First Second - November 1st, 2022

This dazzling graphic novel (translated into English for the first time by Alex Dudok de Wit) is a fascinating look into iconic filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s early career, as well as a stunning, fully formed work in its own right. Perfect for the graphic novel or Miyazaki lover in your life, or anyone who wants to embark on a beautiful adventure.