Staff Picks: Jennifer Steinhurst’s Favorites
Hello, bonjour, hallo, szia! I’m Jennifer Steinhurst and I am an Analyst working for the Customer Operations team here at Penguin Random House. My role encompasses both the digital and physical sides of publishing, providing in-depth analysis of various data for our projects and programs, thereby helping our customers understand our business better and help them sell more PRH books. I am originally from Vermont but have lived all over the eastern half of the US and am now settled in Maryland. I am a tried and true Sci-Fi and Fantasy reader and Young Adult book enthusiast. As my social media bios say: Gamer, book hoarder, food lover, wine sipper, tea snob, D&D nerd, and Critter. You can find me on Instagram @Ahsoka323, for book recs, Playbills, food, cats, and beautiful scenery.
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Add to BookshelfBinti: The Complete Trilogy
by Nnedi Okorafor
“But deep down inside me, I wanted… I needed it. I couldn’t help but act on it. The urge was so strong that it was mathematical.” This omnibus edition of the Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning Binti trilogy is an impressive dive into African futurism with a bonus extra novella included. The whole trilogy has the feel of an epic series that tells an incredibly well-written story in a fraction of the pages of most epics. I love its small-town girl story wrapped up in space-faring monsters, faster-than-light travel, and a mathematical genius that makes my data analyst’s heart melt.
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$20.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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A People’s Future of the United States
by Charlie Jane Anders, Lesley Nneka Arimah and Charles Yu
“Whatever fuckery was about to unfold, she would meet it with swagger.” I am so in love with the book. For a long time, I resisted short story collections, assuming that I wanted a full, sweeping, four-act-epic of a story. I was so wrong. Collecting some of my favorite voices in today’s speculative fiction, it’s an incredibly diverse set of stories that is at turns hopeful, sad, amazing, and thoughtful. I highly recommend the audio book – the different narrators really compound the different voices of the stories.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Rosemary and Rue
by Seanan McGuire
“Cats never listen. They’re dependable that way; when Rome burned, the emperor’s cats still expected to be fed on time.” The first in Seanan McGuire’s genre-defining urban fantasy series “October Daye” and a great introduction to her lyrical style of prose – her books are meant to be read out loud. I love the immersive world that Seanan creates set in 1990s San Francisco… well, it’s fae-touched sister city, to be specific. For fans of Harry Dresden, Mercy Thompson, Atticus O’Sullivan, and Sookie Stackhouse.
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$20.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Illuminae
by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
“Perhaps bravery is simply the face humanity wraps around its collective madness.” I was absolutely floored and astounded by this book. I’ve never read anything like it. It’s like the re-boot of “Battlestar Galactica” meets “Serenity,” told from chat logs and security vids and the musing and ramblings of one of the most interesting AIs since HAL. It’s a graphic designer’s and Arthur C. Clarke’s love child. Great first book in a stunning trilogy.
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$14.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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Project Hail Mary (Movie Tie-In)
by Andy Weir
“Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.” I loved The Martian. I liked the premise of Artemis. But Project Hail Mary has become my new favorite of Andy Weir’s books. It’s amazing how well he can weave a multiple timeline story and explain the science well enough for anyone to understand, all while creating a beautiful ode to human ingenuity and the spirit of exploration. If you get the chance – listen to the audiobook! Ray Porter’s narration brings the book alive in a way few narrators could.
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$22.00Buy from Other Retailers:
