Octavia Butler (a Seattleite!) should be required reading, and this book is a prime example as to why. This novel follows teenage Lauren, a visionary leader dedicated to seeking freedom and safety despite the fear, violence, and complacency of those around her. You will be in awe of her at every turn. Butler transcends the …
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 …
From Broadway Books in Portland, OR: Last year we were excited to host The Year of Reading James Baldwin at Broadway Books. This year we are elated to announce that starting September 1st, we are hosting The Year of Reading Toni Morrison. As with our James Baldwin year, this means we will be offering ALL of Ms. Morrison’s many …
One of my childhood favorites. Justin doesn’t like to do “women’s work,” but a few days at his grandfather’s ranch teaches him more lessons than he can ask for! Great middle grade read! –Derrick, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d’Alene, ID Revisit old book friends and introduce them to new readers at The Well-Read Moose and …
No better $35 can be spent for a book in this country than this collection of James Baldwin’s collected non-fiction— what were published as five books, from Notes of a Native Son through The Devil Finds Work, with a selection of essays not previously collected included. Timely in their day, this writing feels prophetically and astoundingly true …
This is a fascinating true crime story that revolves around three people: a reverend who was accused of multiple murders, the lawyer that defended him, and the author that wanted to tell their story. The author was Harper Lee, and the story of Reverend Willie Maxwell was to be the subject of her second, long-awaited …
Merci, Notre Dame. Find sanctuary in independent bookstores, where you can honor the past and imagine the future.
This is fascinating historical true crime, in which Weinman shares the real story behind controversial fictional novel Lolita. Weinman tells of Sally Horner’s kidnapping and 21 months of mistreatment at the the hands of a Frank La Salle. Through extensive archival research, Weinman is able to make a persuasive claim that Vladmir Nabakov’s Lolita was inspired …
In 1960, Steinbeck felt that he no longer intimately understood the country that he had been writing about for most of his life. Travels with Charley is his travelogue that came from his desire to see the country one last time before he died. It’s a rich perspective on America as only Steinbeck can tell it, as …
This piece was originally published on the Island Books blog. Growing up, I loved getting lost in books: It didn’t matter to me if the book was adventurous, dramatic, suspenseful, or fantastical; as long as it transported me somewhere else, I was happy. I’d be so immersed in my book that I’d barely hear my …
