1. The Family Chao, by Lan Samantha Chang (register for Feb 24 virtual event here)
2. The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles
3. The Runaway, by Nick Petrie
4. Devil House, by John Darnielle
5. The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich
6. The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont
7. Racitatif, by Toni Morrison
8. Black Cake, Charmaine Wilkerson
9. Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishigruo (paperback is out March 1)
10. Violeta, by Isabel Allende
Recitatif is Toni Morrison's only short story that we no of, or so I am told. I love that Jason scheduled it for the impulse table. It gives the display a little class. From Ron Charles in The Washington Post, reviewing the anthology On Girlhood: "This is the perfect text for a country still vigorously debating the relevance of race. But the singular quality of this story makes it worthwhile, especially because the book contains a long, thoughtful introduction by Zadie Smith, who says, rightly, that Recitatif should sit alongside 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' and 'The Lottery' 'as a perfect - and perfectly American - tale'.
1. The Voltage Effect, by John A List
2. The Nineties, by Chuck Klosterman
3. The Complete Maus, by Art Spiegelman
4. Giannis, by Mirin Fader
5. Origin, by Jennifer Raff
6. Atlas of the Heart, by Brené Brown
7. Four Thousand Weeks, by Oliver Burkeman
8. How to Be Perfect, by Michael Schnur
9. Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
10. Crying in H Mart, by Michelle Zauner
The Nineties is Chuck Klosterman's first book of nonfiction in five years celebrates the most popular decade of the moment on which to pontificate. But look out, the oughts are coming for you! From Will Leitch in GQ: "The result is a book that has less Klosterman in it than any of his previous works, but in a way that will please longtime fans as well as newbies and skeptics. Consider it almost like David Lynch’s famous excursion into heartwarming Disney fare with The Straight Story. Sure, anyone could have made that movie...but no one would have done it the way Lynch did."
And from Chris's staff rec, summed up in one sentence: "For anyone who’s interested in recent history written with wit, a bit of contrarian snarl, and an eye for connections both subtle and weird (how did a change in credit card laws lead to the rise of indie filmmaking?), you will want to relive The Nineties.
Paperback Fiction:
1. The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
4. The Vanishing Half, by Britt Bennett
5. How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
7. The Court of Thorns and Roses V1, by Sarah J Maas
8. Sh*t Cassandra Saw, by Gwen E Kirby
9. The Mystery of Mrs Christie, by Marie Benedict
10. Send for Me, by Lauren Fox
And the Agatha Christie revial keeps chugging along. Last fall we hosted an event for Lori Rader Day's Death at Greenway. On our hardcover top ten (as well as the I) is The Christie Affair, from Nina de Gramont. And on the paperback list is The Mystery of Mrs Christie, by Marie Benedict. From The Washington Post, Carol Memmott writes: "One would think nothing more could be ascertained or imagined about Christie’s (11 day) disappearance, yet novelist Marie Benedict has just published the intriguing The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, a fact-based, fiction-laced novel. It’s an empowering and wonderful tribute to the woman who has sold more than 2 billion books and whose stars, including Poirot and Miss Marple, are still and may always be at the forefront of the mystery genre." Oh, and Death on the Nile was the #1 film last week - that's something!
Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Educated, by Tara Westover
2. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
3. All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles
4. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
5. Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell
6. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
7. Humankind, by Brad Aronson
8. Calypso, by David Sedaris
9. Learning to Pray, by James Martin
10. Chatter, by Ethan Cross
National Book Award winner All That She Carried didn't explode for us in hardcover, but is more than making up for it in paperback. This story, which looks at the history of Ashley's Sack, has this praise from Jennifer Szalai in The New York Times: “All That She Carried is a remarkable book, striking a delicate balance between two seemingly incommensurate approaches: Miles’s fidelity to her archival material, as she coaxes out facts grounded in the evidence; and her conjectures about this singular object, as she uses what is known about other enslaved women’s lives to suppose what could have been. 'This is not a traditional history,' Miles writes in her introduction. 'It leans toward evocation rather than argumentation, and is rather more meditation than monograph.'”
Books for Kids:
1. Ain't Burned All the Bright, by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin
2. Vinyl Moon, by Mahogany L Brown
3. When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson
4. Supernatural Society, by Rex Ogle
5. We Are Grateful, by Traci Sorell
6. Operation Do Over, by Gordon Korman (register for a virtual school visit, open to all classrooms, homeschoolers, and Korman fans, on February 22)
7. Stuntboy: In the Meantime, by Jason Reynolds and Raul the Third
8. I'm Not Scary, by Gail Storvik
9. Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson
10. Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff
As you can see, our latest open-to-all virtual school visit is Gordon Korman with Operation Do Over. But we're still doing lots of traditionally registered virtual school visits, such as Rex Ogle this past week, for The Supernatural Society. Rex Ogle has created stories for Star Wars, LEGO, Power Rangers, Minions, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics, and he his own books have included memoirs such as Free Lunch, Punching Bag, and coming this fall, Abuela, Don't Forget Me. Readers have said The Supernatural Society is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket.
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Shady Hollow, by Juneau Black
4. The Vanishing Half, by Britt Bennett
5. How to Stop Time, by Matt Haig
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
7. The Court of Thorns and Roses V1, by Sarah J Maas
8. Sh*t Cassandra Saw, by Gwen E Kirby
9. The Mystery of Mrs Christie, by Marie Benedict
10. Send for Me, by Lauren Fox
And the Agatha Christie revial keeps chugging along. Last fall we hosted an event for Lori Rader Day's Death at Greenway. On our hardcover top ten (as well as the I) is The Christie Affair, from Nina de Gramont. And on the paperback list is The Mystery of Mrs Christie, by Marie Benedict. From The Washington Post, Carol Memmott writes: "One would think nothing more could be ascertained or imagined about Christie’s (11 day) disappearance, yet novelist Marie Benedict has just published the intriguing The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, a fact-based, fiction-laced novel. It’s an empowering and wonderful tribute to the woman who has sold more than 2 billion books and whose stars, including Poirot and Miss Marple, are still and may always be at the forefront of the mystery genre." Oh, and Death on the Nile was the #1 film last week - that's something!
1. Educated, by Tara Westover
2. Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
3. All That She Carried, by Tiya Miles
4. The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk
5. Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell
6. Evicted, by Matthew Desmond
7. Humankind, by Brad Aronson
8. Calypso, by David Sedaris
9. Learning to Pray, by James Martin
10. Chatter, by Ethan Cross
National Book Award winner All That She Carried didn't explode for us in hardcover, but is more than making up for it in paperback. This story, which looks at the history of Ashley's Sack, has this praise from Jennifer Szalai in The New York Times: “All That She Carried is a remarkable book, striking a delicate balance between two seemingly incommensurate approaches: Miles’s fidelity to her archival material, as she coaxes out facts grounded in the evidence; and her conjectures about this singular object, as she uses what is known about other enslaved women’s lives to suppose what could have been. 'This is not a traditional history,' Miles writes in her introduction. 'It leans toward evocation rather than argumentation, and is rather more meditation than monograph.'”
1. Ain't Burned All the Bright, by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin
2. Vinyl Moon, by Mahogany L Brown
3. When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson
4. Supernatural Society, by Rex Ogle
5. We Are Grateful, by Traci Sorell
6. Operation Do Over, by Gordon Korman (register for a virtual school visit, open to all classrooms, homeschoolers, and Korman fans, on February 22)
7. Stuntboy: In the Meantime, by Jason Reynolds and Raul the Third
8. I'm Not Scary, by Gail Storvik
9. Speak: The Graphic Novel, by Laurie Halse Anderson
10. Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff
As you can see, our latest open-to-all virtual school visit is Gordon Korman with Operation Do Over. But we're still doing lots of traditionally registered virtual school visits, such as Rex Ogle this past week, for The Supernatural Society. Rex Ogle has created stories for Star Wars, LEGO, Power Rangers, Minions, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics, and he his own books have included memoirs such as Free Lunch, Punching Bag, and coming this fall, Abuela, Don't Forget Me. Readers have said The Supernatural Society is reminiscent of Lemony Snicket.
Copyright Boswell Book Company 2014 www.boswellandbooks.com