The Bookies Bookstore offers tales of food and fantasy

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends novels with robot noodle-makers, a playground of magical objects and a vengeful advice columnist.

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From the publisher: You don’t have to eat food to know the way to a city’s heart is through its stomach. So when a group of deactivated robots come back online in an abandoned ghost kitchen, they decide to make their own way doing what they know: making food — the tastiest hand-pulled noodles around — for the humans of San Francisco, who are recovering from a devastating war.

But when their robot-run business starts causing a stir, a targeted wave of one-star reviews threatens to boil over into a crisis. To keep their doors open, they’ll have to call on their customers, their community, and each other — and find a way to survive and thrive in a world that wasn’t built for them.

From Joe, receiving manager: I have never rooted so hard for a group of robot friends to come together and create something special. The cutthroat world of post-America San Franciscan takeaway is no joke, but this book is funny and heartwarming.  

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From the publisher: For 20 years, Greta Davenport has lived with the guilt of surviving the accident that killed her parents. She’s tested the limits of her own mortality ever since, but little gives her the dopamine rush she craves. Not until the night she almost drunkenly crashes her car into a tree, and a peculiar blank card slides under her front door — an invitation to the Found Object Society.

What she discovers there is beyond comprehension: an opulent, subterranean playground filled with aisles of objects from different eras and regions of the world. Pick an object and go on a voyage to relive the final moments of the person who died holding it, along with an unparalleled, irreplicable high. Greta’s hooked, but she can’t quiet her questions about the society and its enigmatic creators, the answers to which have implications far beyond her growing dependence on the voyages. Death is addictive, and what she uncovers will put her entire life into question.

From Krista, store manager: This book grew on me even as it unsettled me. I wasn’t sure if I would get along with Greta, the main character at first. But as the story grew and she grew, I found myself rooting for her in her improbable situation. On the bitter side of bittersweet, you may ask if you’re happy at the end of the novel, but you will certainly be satisfied.

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From the publisher: Debbie Mullen is losing it. For years, she has compiled all of her best advice into her column, Dear Debbie, where the wives of New England come for sympathy and neighborly advice. Through her work, Debbie has heard from countless women who are ignored, belittled, or even abused by their husbands. And Debbie does her best to guide them in the right direction. 

Or at least, she did. 

These days, Debbie’s life seems to be spiraling out of control. She just lost her job. Something strange is happening with her teenage daughters. And her husband is keeping secrets, according to the tracking app she installed on his phone. Now, Debbie’s done being the bigger person. She’s done being reasonable and practical. It’s time to take her own advice. 

And now it’s time for payback against all the people in her life who deserve it the most.

From Haleigh, bookseller: As a big Freida McFadden fan, I really enjoyed “Dear Debbie.” This book was truly unhinged in the best way. It kept me on my toes the entire time and was a really entertaining read. The main character was mischievous and funny at times, and I never knew what her next move would be. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a good thriller or fellow Freida McFadden fans!

Type of Story: Review

An assessment or critique of a service, product, or creative endeavor such as art, literature or a performance.