Indies and staff picks

A few weeks back, Michael and I visited Lititz, PA. While there, we did what we usually do in a new town - find a great Indie bookstore and browse. Lititz has Aaron's, which boasts an interesting mix of genres for a variety of literary tastes and age groups.
I'm not one for formulaic novels, you know the disease-that-attacks-and-threatens-happiness, the obvious love triangle, that sort of thing. So over many years of indie bookstore trips, I've learned to look for the titles marked "Staff Pick." I've typically found those books and novels to be original and somewhat out-of-the-mainstream, aka, exactly what I like.
That's how I found Ocean for my granddaughter. It's a Photicular book showing fish and other sea creatures which actually move as the pages turn. Didn't see it in my local BAM, that's for sure. And for my own reading, the Staff Picks signs pointed out We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It's one of those stories which twists on itself, Gone Girl style. I wouldn't have picked it up based on the title or the cover art. But I certainly picked it up and read the jacket blurb based on the Staff Pick recommendation.

Finding that little sign is like a book recommendation from a friend, one who deals in stories and books day in and day out. They know what they're talking about. Over the years, their recommendations have seldom failed me.