The Storefront
The Best of the NW from the Best of the NW by Brian Juenemann
November 22, 2011
This holiday season, if you drop in at a bookstore in the Northwest that sells new books and doesn't have the name Barnes & Noble on the sign, there's a good chance you'll find some version of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's Holiday Books campaign in the works. Eighty-six stores in five states have campaigns—from posters and displays to local newspaper inserts—rolled out. One million catalogs are out there, and so are a lot of great books.
I know these books well, because I accepted, selected, campaigned and negotiated for the inclusion of each of them into the 2011 Holiday Books guide, “It's All in the Neighborhood,” on behalf of the stores. For seven years I've had the pleasure of being a bookseller for an enormous, diverse and well-stocked independent bookstore–it's just that some of the aisles are miles and towns apart.
The “catalog,” as the stores call it, is host to some big-name blockbusters, and it's known for its signature “Best of the Northwest” section, pages of books born of the cold water, mossy, rain-drenched, majestic mountained, green and glorious Pacific Northwest. It's also peppered with sleepers, books without big marketing budgets, books from university presses, small independents–books that I love. Here are a few:
Books: A Living History is the textbook from the coolest college class you never got to take. The timeline is fascinating, with archival illustrations supporting and enhancing the facts. If you are or know a book geek, get this one for the coffee table. And quiz your local bookseller.
Right Where You Are Now is smart, challenging technicolor magic. The lessons on the flora, fauna and geography of our world's former self are delivered lyrically and with kid-friendly relevance. Who here knows what a Nimravid is!
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indie!” href=”http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781595340757″>Aelian's On the Nature of Animals is a second-century Roman encyclopedia of animal behavior from a “writer, collector, and moralist” who based his entries on observation and “many other good stories that he had heard and read.” The earnest delivery makes the smart entries seem that much more ahead of their time and the kooky ones that much more entertaining. Read the Did You Know? bullet points on the back cover and then try to ignore the rest of this gem.
One of the signature “Best of the Northwest” picks, Drylands, a Rural American Saga, is the portrait of Adams County, Washington, its landscape beautiful and bleak, its inhabitants hanging on to a largely forgotten way of life. The photos of farms and fields are majestic, the towns and people in black and white, a strange yet seamless marriage of the 1950s and 21st Century.
A “Best of the Northwest” fiction pick, Brand New Cherry Flavor is lush, debauched, philosophical and profane. If you are a fan of Hollywood Noir, Lizbeth Salander-tough female leads (one little dragon tattoo, pshaw!), challenging moral codes, black magic, the simple beauty and ugly truth of human nature–any or all–you'll love this sexy and imaginative book. Check out the NWBL essay from author Todd Grimson for a little insight.
Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed is displayed in the “Art & Design” section, but it is much more than a collection of cool tattoos. Here we get the beautiful and intense art, a lesson on its science-based inspiration and meet the individuals who committed themselves to the images on their bodies and to the disciplines that inspired them.
Lisa Loeb's Silly Sing-Along is tre fabu. The book features fun and easy activities, all the song lyrics from the CD, and is chock-full of whimsical illustrations. Speaking of that CD–here's a new roadtrip favorite: “Fried ham, fried ham, cheese and baloney. After the macaroni, we'll have onions, pickles and pretzels, and then we'll have some more fried ham, fried ham!”
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Right Where You Are Now is smart, challenging technicolor magic. The lessons on the flora, fauna and geography of our world's former self are delivered lyrically and with kid-friendly relevance. Who here knows what a Nimravid is!
I love supporting independent bookstores. The holiday book guide sits upstairs for nighttime perusal and list making…gifts for others, and for me!
I just received my 2011 holiday book guide and can’t wait to get to Secret Garden Books to pick up the ones I want to share with loved ones. And maybe one or two for me too!
I love receiving the holiday books guide, and then going to Jerrol’s and seeing the display they set up with the featured books!
Thanks for your 2011 Holiday books guide! It reminded me that books are fabulous gifts. I’m looking through the guide for books to buy for the non-readers on my list. I think I’ll try Broadway Books for additional advice. I love that place.