Matt Ruff is mercurial, and you never know what he’s going to do next. With 88 Names, he tackles the whole online persona/MMORPG thing (also known as “I Know What We’re All Doing This Summer”). Our protagonist is John Chu, who runs a sherpa business, which is a thing where neophytes get guided through the hard …
Here’s a mashup we weren’t expecting this year (oh, come on, this is a good surprise—not like, say, murder hornets): Perestroika in Paris, an equestrian fairy tale set in Paris. Written by Pulitzer Prize Winner Jane Smiley, no less. Perestroika is Paris is the story of a talking racehorse who decides to venture into the world beyond …
The gorgeous writing, vivid setting, compelling characters, and engrossing story aren’t even the best parts of this novel. Instead, I just keep marveling at how Jess Walter takes events from history to illuminate our present while keeping them rooted in their own time, from the labor movement to class, race, and gender equality and civil …
In the Don’t Eat the Dirt In Your Backyard Department, we have Steve Olson’s The Apocalypse Factory, which is about plutonium and Hanford and what’s still out there in Eastern Washington. Of course, this may be old news to long-time residents of this state, but if you’ve read Adam Higgingbotham’s Midnight in Chernobyl and Kate …
Gibbs Smith continues their charming wilderness writing series with Ernest Thompson Seton’s Wild Animals I Have Known. Look, we’re suckers for pretty books, and Gibbs Smith is doing a marvelous job with the design and layout of this series (we’ve thrown a couple more of them on this Newsletter List on bookshop.org). Seton’s Wild Animals I Have …
We have a new Christopher Paolini book. Now, Paolini, as you may recall, wrote a book about dragons once up a time, and it turned out that more than a few folks wanted to know what happened next. Paolini showed up for a few more books, and became somewhat of a wild success story (given …
Here’s a shelf-busting young adult novel: My Calamity Jane, a root-tootin’ sharpshootin’ tale of the wild west, complete with werewolves, outlaws, and razor wit. The authors (Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows) have been re-imagining strong female characters with a healthy dash of fantasy for a few novels now (My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane, for …
“This is my favorite book so far this year and I want to put it into the hands of everyone who needs a hug in book form.” Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall This is a delightful rom-com about two complete opposites, Luc and Oliver, who agree to fake date each other, each for his own …
From A Good Book in Sumner, WA: We’re doing bespoke blind date boxes as a way to get you the good stuff during this time of anxious separation. Well, suffice to say the bespoke box has been a hit. Enough so that we’ve spent most of the week racing around the store, finding cool things …
…we’ve also got Haboo, a collection of tales from the Lushootseed-speaking peoples of the Puget Sound. Drawn from a period of oral traditions, Haboo highlights the Myth Age, a time before the world transformed. These fables feature talking animals, anthropomorphic trees, and wise old rocks, who manage to speak of the human condition without being, you know, human. …
