Banter held their first Recommendation Night in 2025<\/a>, and brought the event back on Nov. 4, 2026, to an audience of eager readers crowded into the small shop in downtown Fremont. Recommendations covered children\u2019s literature, to memoirs and nonfiction, to cozy fantasy and horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n One especially fun aspect of the recommendations is that staff members fall into their own categories: the politics reader, the sci-fi reader, the horror and thriller reader. It\u2019s similar to the way books are now often marketed through \u201ccomps\u201d\u2014i.e., \u201cIf you are a fan of these other books, you\u2019ll like this one too!\u201d In this case, you can get a sense for the common vibe of books recommended by the same person.<\/p>\n Kim Wiegand introduced variations on creepiness, horror and revenge, starting with the middle-grade novel The Creeps, where a boy and his mom who move into a seriously suss hotel where people who are evicted just disappear. The theme continues with \u201ccozy thriller\u201d Mad Mabel where an elderly former murderess is accused of murdering again, and runs through disappearing actresses in The Unknown, domestic suspense in You Did Nothing Wrong, and spy cameras and female rage in Molka.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the last, Wiegand quipped, \u201cPeople die, but it\u2019s usually men, so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Wanda Conner\u2019s selections covered nonfiction. On Empire of AI, she said, \u201cIt helped me calm down and understand the craziness of AI that\u2019s going to be sticking with us.\u201d Similarly, the boldly titled The Nerd Reich examines the rise of fascism in the tech industry. On a more quotidian note, Conner found Veg Everything helpful for following her vegetarian son\u2019s example and incorporating more plant-based cooking into her daily life\u2014with the help of simple explanations and a page devoted to seasonal recommendations.<\/p>\n Jen King returned with another cautious recommendation of \u201ccozy fantasy,\u201d a genre that usually makes her think, \u201cWell, that\u2019s nice but you forgot the plot. It\u2019s happy and we\u2019re all cozy, but nothing happens.\u201d Her recommendation, Sea of Charms, does indeed have a plot including a one-sailboat shipping business, a revolution and a fake boyfriend. It\u2019s set in the same world as King\u2019s previous recommendation, The Spell Shop.<\/p>\n Of course, kids\u2019 books also appeared, particularly among the recs of Banter owner Amy Davis. The Wise Pickle and It\u2019s My Bird-Day have a thoughtfulness and charm that\u2019s accessible for small kids but not boring for the grown-ups reading out loud. Bathtime for Snow Monkeys, recommended by Conner, is written in all haiku, telling the story of snow monkeys enjoying hot springs in Japan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davis, although she admits she\u2019s \u201cnot a sci-fi gal,\u201d also recommended Automatic Noodle as a cozy sci-fi about the San Francisco of 2064.<\/p>\n All the cozy, creepy and compelling reads are up on the Banter Bookshop website <\/a>now. Interested readers can scroll down to the \u201cBookseller Recommendation Night\u201d banner on the main page to browse through the titles. If a book isn\u2019t in stock at the Fremont store, it can be ordered online.<\/p>\n![\"A-DOLL-ABLE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/BRN-Kim-with-book-FI-683x1024.jpg\")
A-DOLL-ABLE In one of Kim Wiegand\u2019s creepy reads, a murdered young woman takes on the body of a porcelain doll and seeks revenge.
\nStephanie Uchida<\/p>\n