On a … whimsical note, here is Sosuke Natsukawa’s The Cat Who Saved Books, which is about a young bookseller and a talking cat. The cat has a mission, you see—a mission to rescue books from mistreatment, misappropriation, and general misuse. Naturally, the bookseller agrees to help the cat. Mysteries ensue. –A Good Book, Sumner, …
From the author of The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s newest novel, Good Company, opens with main character, Flora, finding the wedding ring her husband Julian told her he’d lost years ago. Dropped into the middle, a moment in time that will affect the future and shade the past, Sweeney immediately pulled me into the narrative. I …
I first read Brian Doyle’s The Grail (Oregon State University Press, $18.95) while serving on the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Awards Committee years ago. I fell in love with his abundant affection for people and place and his exquisite prose. Over the years, I had the pleasure of meeting him several times. I was just discovering his poetry/poetic essays and …
[It has been featured] on several most anticipated releases of 2021 lists, including Newsweek, Refinery29 and Popsugar. With an eye catching cover, a local setting and an instantly intriguing premise, Girls With Bright Futures is the book everyone is going to be talking about. Taking place in Seattle at the fictional Elliott Bay Academy, and told from three alternating points …
The Electric Kingdom came out this [spring] and I couldn’t be more excited to recommend it! This YA stand alone post apocalyptic story is impeccably crafted to make you immediately start all over again once you’ve reached the mind-blowing finale. The world as we know it has been devastated by a “fly flu” and only …
From Island Books’ blog: A month or so ago two young women came up to the counter, copies of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas in hand, and I asked, “Oh, are you reading the same book?” “Yes,” one of them answered. “We heard this is really good. A book club …
If your local booksellers seem a little more tired than usual this week, it could be because they’ve been shoveling paths to the store during the snowpocalypse, dealing with power and internet outages, and/or they’re attending a virtual conference for booksellers all around the country, which starts very early in the day for west coasters. …
To brighten up your day and give you some inspiration, we share this post from Island Books of Mercer Island, WA. May you find rituals that replenish you. “In the midst of so much daily uncertainty and chaos, I’ve found it grounding to make and keep to these small appointments, like reading one story and …
Now in paperback! Kelleen and I both loved this. When an eccentric and Edgar Allan Poe obsessed billionaire dies, his will is published in the paper, promising an inheritance to anyone who can untangled his clues. The writing is fantastic and the characters are beautifully layered. This would be a perfect October read. –Lori, Island …
In My Autobiography of Carson McCullers author (and former bookseller!) Jenn Shapland discovers love letters McCullers wrote to a woman named Annemarie. This discovery leads Shapland to look at a part of McCullers’s life never fully discussed publicly, and in part examine her own life. I love the way Shapland wove her life in with …
