Dear Readers, as the depth of winter approaches, I’m sure you’re either dreading the onset of maddening cabin fever or a vitamin D deficiency or weeks of freezing morning bathroom floors. My favorite remedy for the icy blues is reading, and now that Pure Pop has begun to stock books I’ll be prescribing a couple to you over the next week. Best taken with a cup of St. John’s Wort tea as you you sit under your S.A.D. “happy lamp”.

Your first dose is Tom Robbins‘ offbeat classic Still Life With Woodpecker. You know how at the end of Reading Rainbow they had those kids giving book reviews and they always started them off with the classic rhetorical question intro? I’ve always wanted to do that, so here goes.

Do you like exiled, tree-hugging princesses? How about outlaws with loads of dynamite and a penchant for domestic terrorism?

What about sex without a condom? If you do, you’ll love this book. Still Life is the quixotic adventure of Princess Leigh-Cheri, red-headed princess of an family of royals exiled by democratic revolt in their home country. After an unfortunate knock-up and miscarriage, Leigh Cheri embarks on a quest for the ultimate form of natural birth control. When she collides with career outlaw Bernard Mickey Wrangle aka “The Woodpecker” she learns how to communicate through a pack of Camel’s, and the purpose of the moon.

Robbins’ work is outsider brilliance in the same renegade realm as the words of Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut. The man crafts a story that brings you to the brink of what would commonly be considered mental illness and then convinces you that the experience is completely normal. He is prolific and philosophical, and considers humanity’s moments of being “playful, rebellious and immature” as it’s best. Still Life is an unmasterpiece that illustrates the beautiful absurdity of the world we live in.

Come pick it up at the store, and while you’re at it, special order your next read for 20% off the regular price. (aweshum)