Brittany

Photo of store manager Brittany

Two truths and a lie: 

  1. Once, at an event before she worked here, Brittany asked Joyce Carol Oates a question that made her frown. 
  2. In the twelfth grade, a classmate misquoted Harry Potter. Devastated, Brittany cried.
  3. Both of her feet are the exact same size.
 
She loves picture books, fiction (especially books that are family-centric), non-fiction essays, memoirs, Mary Oliver and Billy Collins. When she’s not at Kepler’s, she teaches and directs children’s theatre. When she’s not at the theatre, she’s likely at Trader Joes.
Favorite Genres: 
Children's Lit
Essays
Fiction
Memoirs
Young Adult
Book Recommendations: 
Staff Pick Badge
Shark Heart: A Love Story By Emily Habeck Cover Image
$28.00
ISBN: 9781668006498
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books - August 8th, 2023

I loved it! I’ve never read anything like it! I have not stopped singing its praises! I want you to take it home and read it!

But seriously: this is a remarkable novel. It’s like reading a play written in novel form, where each scene unfolds delicately and intentionally, and the blank space on the page says as much as the written word. I had to slow myself down, because I didn't want it to end, nor did I want to stop reading. Cannot wait for you to dive in. 

~Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Marisol and Other Plays By José Rivera Cover Image
$19.95
ISBN: 9781559361361
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Theatre Communications Group - April 1st, 1997

When I woke up on the morning that Roe was overturned, I felt like I was living in the world of this play. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an important one.

The playwright says it best: “Marisol was written in despair. I was living in a city that seemed to be falling apart. When June says “Visigoths are climbing the city walls” that was literally how I felt. That golf club was literally swung at my head one night on the subway. That ice cream cone was literally jammed into my face. I felt displaced in my own home, seeking emotional rescue – “protection” as Marisol herself says. ~Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
High-Risk Homosexual: A Memoir By Edgar Gomez Cover Image
$17.95
ISBN: 9781593767051
Availability: Usually Arrives at Kepler's in 3-14 Days
Published: Soft Skull - January 11th, 2022

I originally picked this book up because I lived in Orlando from 2017-2020. My time there was fine; I made it out, and now I live here again. Gomez grew up there. His experiences do not mirror mine. This chilling, touching, thoughtful, devastating and devastatingly funny memoir took me through an Orlando I did not know, into the deeper questions of who makes us? Who rejects us? Who accepts us?  ~Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir By Thi Bui Cover Image
By Thi Bui
$19.99
ISBN: 9781419718786
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Abrams ComicArts - April 17th, 2018

Don’t let the format mislead you - this graphic memoir packs a punch. Where does our family end; where do we begin? Thi Bui looks at herself, at who and how she is, and, over the course of this gorgeous book, tells the story of how, in finding herself, she found her family’s stories, too. They are, after all, the same story, aren’t they? Warning: you may cry. (I certainly did). --Brittany

 


Staff Pick Badge
Water by the Spoonful (Revised TCG Edition) By Quiara Alegría Hudes Cover Image
$15.95
ISBN: 9781559365574
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Theatre Communications Group - August 15th, 2017

I’ve read this...dozens of times at this point, and I employ no hyperbole when I tell you it gets better every time. Hudes writes painfully real characters, while interweaving metaphor and observation with grace and without judgement. This script makes me ache. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Smile: The Story of a Face By Sarah Ruhl Cover Image
$27.00
Not available
ISBN: 9781982150945
Published: S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books - October 5th, 2021

This book follows Ruhl’s journey with Bell’s Palsy after giving birth to her twins. She asks: how can one demonstrate joy without being able to smile? A playwright by trade, this reads like a letter to a best friend, but if you yourself are the best friend. Sarah, oh my Sarah, you feel like a personal companion -- the gentlest, wisest, most curious and compassionate person I know, and I don’t even really know you! --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Schmegoogle By Daniel Klein Cover Image
$16.45
Not available
ISBN: 9781797207278
Published: Chronicle Books - September 1st, 2020

Staff Pick Badge
Broken Horses: A Memoir By Brandi Carlile Cover Image
$20.00
ISBN: 9780593237267
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Crown - April 12th, 2022

Perfect for fans of Elton John, Dolly Parton, and Dave Matthews. This is a book not just about how music is made, but how a musician is made. Carlile, a self-described extreme empath, invites readers into her heart, showing them her best and her worst memories and how they’ve shaped her work. Powerful, honest, and poetic, Broken Horses knocked me out of my saddle. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Invasion of the Unicorns By David Biedrzycki, David Biedrzycki (Illustrator) Cover Image
$17.99
ISBN: 9781623542726
Availability: Backordered
Published: Charlesbridge - October 19th, 2021

 

A unicorn spy?? Join this fluffy (and surprisingly kind-hearted!) secret agent as he explores the world he might just want to take over. Filled with bursts of color and beautiful illustrations, this story of an outsider learning to love his new earthing family is sure to make you want to bring this book home to your own Fearless Leader. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
The Soulmate Equation By Christina Lauren Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781982171117
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Gallery Books - February 8th, 2022

A trip to the beach? Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? A whole bunch of math? What could be better! Sweet, salty, and just the right amount of surprising, this book is perfect for right now. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration By Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace Cover Image
$30.00
ISBN: 9780812993011
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Random House - April 8th, 2014

 

Assigned reading that became my go-to gift, this book is amazing. It’s like being invited to Pixar for a behind-the-scenes tour, while also being told all of their secrets. Great if you’re ever feeling stuck, or if you’re feeling inspired and want some scaffolding for all your wonderful thoughts. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Good Neighbors: A Novel By Sarah Langan Cover Image
$16.99
ISBN: 9781982144371
Availability: Usually Arrives at Kepler's in 3-14 Days
Published: Atria Books - October 5th, 2021

 

If you are looking for a grab-you-by-the-collar-and-make-you-sit-down-for-the-whole-book-in-one-read read, look no further. Written with detailed and delicate prose that brings your right into each character’s experience, this book will make you gasp, smile, grimace, and cross your fingers that you have better neighbors than these. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
At the Edge of the Haight By Katherine Seligman Cover Image
$16.95
ISBN: 9781643752082
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Algonquin Books - October 19th, 2021

 

Whether you’re familiar with San Francisco’s Haight Street or not, this book will transport you right there, into the fog. Written from the POV of a 20-something living on the street, it changed my view of homelessness. Humanizing and patient, the author’s background in journalism is clear in the details. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Julia's House for Lost Creatures By Ben Hatke, Ben Hatke (Illustrator) Cover Image
By Ben Hatke, Ben Hatke (Illustrator)
$19.99
ISBN: 9781596438668
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: First Second - September 2nd, 2014

This is my favorite picture book. The illustrations alone are beautiful, rife with quirky and sneaky details, but coupled with the story, it just overflows with wonder. Julia has moved to a new home (on top of a turtle!) when all sorts of creatures turn up at the door. Rather than turn anyone away, Julia finds room for each and every one --big and small, lumpy and bumpy-- and though it takes a few tries, together they find harmony in their happy home. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Dog Songs: Poems By Mary Oliver Cover Image
$16.00
ISBN: 9780143125839
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Penguin Books - September 29th, 2015

This is a wonderful collection for anyone who has ever loved an animal, especially a dog. With her uncanny ability to weave nature into her poetry, Mary Oliver makes her own love for her dogs one that the reader can easily share. Sometimes sad, other times joyful, this is a must read, must share, laugh out loud celebration of everyone's favorite four-legged friend. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
Walk Two Moons: A Newbery Award Winner By Sharon Creech Cover Image
$8.99
ISBN: 9780064405171
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: HarperCollins - June 18th, 2019

This is my favorite book of all time, and one which I cannot go through a single day without thinking about. A coming of age story, it is relevant as a teenager, or as an adult looking back. Creech has done a masterful job of telling a story within a story, and of creating characters with whom we can identify and adore. A book about a journey, we travel along with the characters as they discover what we will do for those we love. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
The Year of Magical Thinking: National Book Award Winner (Vintage International) By Joan Didion Cover Image
$17.00
ISBN: 9781400078431
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Vintage - February 13th, 2007

When I picked this up, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I had read Didion in high school, but I had never read Didion like this. Raw, and yet somehow refined, Didion has taken her own, unspeakably painful experiences, and figured out how to talk about them. For anyone who has ever experienced grief, this is a meditation on its stage, its impact, and what happened to make it so worth the pain. --Brittany


Staff Pick Badge
The Things They Carried By Tim O'Brien Cover Image
$18.99
ISBN: 9780618706419
Availability: In Stock at Kepler's Now
Published: Mariner Books Classics - October 13th, 2009

Read, read, read this book! Drawing on his own experiences in Vietnam, O'Brien finds the humanity--and the total lack thereof--in war. Written as a series of interconnected vignettes, his masterful prose will draw you and leave you wanting more. --Brittany