Bryson's Staff Picks

I enjoy mystery, sci-fi & fantasy, horror and range of non-fiction. I am also a huge reader of graphic novels of all kinds, with graphic novel biographies being a particular favorite.

Showing 41 - 59 of 59  There are a total of 59 valid entries on the list.
Book cover for "Opposable thumbs"
Star rating for Opposable thumbs
Author:
Description:
"Matt Singer eavesdrops on [Siskel & Ebert's] iconic balcony set, detailing their rise from making a few hundred dollars a week on local Chicago PBS to securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a syndicated series (a move that convinced a young local host named Oprah Winfrey to do the same). Their partnership was cut short when Gene Siskel passed away in February of 1999 after a battle with brain cancer that he'd kept secret from everyone outside...
Book cover for "Paper girls"
Star rating for Paper girls
Series:
Paper girls volume 1.
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
In the early hours after Halloween on 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and supernatural mysteries collide in this series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood -- back cover.

43. Passage

Book cover for "Passage"
Star rating for Passage
Average Rating:
3.3 stars
Description:
One of those rare, unforgettable novels that are as chilling as they are insightful, as thought-provoking as they are terrifying, award-winning author Connie Willis's Passage is an astonishing blend of relentless suspense and cutting-edge science unlike anything you've ever read before.
It is the electrifying story of a psychologist who has devoted her life to tracking death. But when she volunteers for a research project that simulates...
Book cover for "Persepolis"
Star rating for Persepolis
Average Rating:
4.3 stars
Description:
The great-granddaughter of Iran's last emperor and the daughter of ardent Marxists describes growing up in Tehran in a country plagued by political upheaval and vast contraditions between public and private life.
Book cover for "The phantom of the opera"
Star rating for The phantom of the opera
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Description:
A classic French thriller about a terrifying and legendary figure who emerges from the depths of the Paris Opera House and manifests the mythic 'opera ghost' in terrifying reality. At the heart of the Phantom's obsession is the lovely Christine Daae, who, after a brilliant performance, disappears suddenly and mysteriously.
Book cover for "Pinball"
Star rating for Pinball
Author:
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
"In this dynamic, nonfiction graphic novel, Jon Chad illustrates the little-known story of pinball--how it works and why it all matters in an age of special effects and on-screen gaming."--Provided by publisher.
Book cover for "The plain Janes"
Star rating for The plain Janes
Series:
Description:
When Jane moves to the suburbs and thinks her life is over, she and three new friends form a club to make public art but are soon distracted by romance.
Book cover for "Redshirts"
Star rating for Redshirts
Average Rating:
4.1 stars
Description:
Enjoying his assignment with the xenobiology lab on board the prestigious Intrepid, ensign Andrew Dahl worries about casualties suffered by low-ranking officers during away missions before making a shocking discovery about the starship's actual purpose.
Book cover for "Remote control"
Star rating for Remote control
Average Rating:
4.6 stars
Description:
"The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From here on in she would be known as Sankofa--a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past. Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks-alone, except for her fox companion-searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers. But is there...
Book cover for "Richard Stark's Parker"
Star rating for Richard Stark's Parker
Series:
Average Rating:
3 stars
Book cover for "Saga"
Star rating for Saga
Series:
Average Rating:
4.2 stars
Description:
When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to raise their child in a dangerous world.
Book cover for "Seconds"
Star rating for Seconds
Average Rating:
4.7 stars
Description:
Twenty-nine-year-old chef Katie runs a restaurant called Seconds; it's successful, but she dreams of starting a restaurant of which she can be part-owner. Katie is frustrated in her love life, having lost her boyfriend, Max, and construction of the new restaurant is moving slowly, with many setbacks and added expenses. In a desperate state, Katie discovers the house spirit of Seconds, a crouching sprite who lives off scraps who unwillingly gives her...
Book cover for "The secret history of Wonder Woman"
Star rating for The secret history of Wonder Woman
Average Rating:
4.5 stars
Book cover for "Sherlock Holmes"
Star rating for Sherlock Holmes
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Description:
"All four legendary Sherlock Holmes novels, collected in a unique Graphic Deluxe Edition with an introduction by Michael Dirda Though endlessly reinterpreted, reinvented, and imitated, the Sherlock Holmes stories have never been surpassed. Sporting his signature billowing coat and pipe in hand, the genius investigator Holmes captivates readers with his alluring melancholy and superhuman intuition, while his partner, Dr. Watson, remains ever the perfect...
Book cover for "Superman smashes the Klan"
Star rating for Superman smashes the Klan
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
When Dr. Lee moves his family to Metropolis, his son Tommy adjusts to the new neighborhood while daughter Roberta feels out of place, so when the evil Klan of the Fiery Cross begins a string of terrorist attacks on the city, Superman fights them, and Roberta and Superman soon learn to embrace their own unique features that set them apart.
Book cover for "Understanding comics"
Star rating for Understanding comics
Average Rating:
5 stars
Description:
Provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. In comic book format.
Book cover for "We have always lived in the castle"
Star rating for We have always lived in the castle
Average Rating:
4 stars
Description:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.
Book cover for "A wealth of pigeons"
Star rating for A wealth of pigeons
Description:
"I've always looked upon cartooning as comedy's last frontier. I have done stand-up, sketches, movies, monologues, awards show introductions, sound bites, blurbs, talk show appearances, and tweets, but the idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me. I felt like, yeah, sometimes I'm funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny. You can understand that I was deeply suspicious of these people who are actually...
Book cover for "World War Z"
Star rating for World War Z
Author:
Average Rating:
3.9 stars
Description:
An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of dozens of survivors who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival.