Deirdre Mask‘s The Address Book is a smart and satisfying work of pop history, sociology, and cultural geography. It explores both the past of how addresses were invented and the future ways this may be changing. It is entertaining without sacrificing scholarly rigor. A good read for fans of intelligently quirky, curiously specific histories like those of Mary Roach or Bill Bryson.

Jessica Ingram‘s book is a unique approach to civil rights history through photography. It is a work of quiet force, power, & emotion. Combining her own photography, archival research, & moving testimonies, Ingram honors the memories of civil rights activists who were victims of racist violence. Road Through Midnight reminds us that resistance to the regressive forces in our society is an ongoing struggle we each bear the responsibility to face.

Go ahead and make room for American Dirt at the top of your “best of 2020” list because this book is a home run. It is a gripping, page-turning thriller with characters you‘ll love and root for all the way, all while illuminating one of the most complex and divisive political issues of our time – immigration at the southern border of the United States. Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary listening copy.

Pride of Eden is rich, dark, and atmospheric. It is a southern novel whose nature loving outlaws are reminiscent of those in Edward Abbey‘s classic environmentalist adventure tales of the southwest. Brown‘s skill and sophistications seems to grow by leaps and bounds with each new novel. This Southern novelist‘s career is just taking off and I am here for it!

A horrifying, in-depth, and eye-opening investigation into the deeply corrupt shit show that is the Trump presidency.

I think i would have liked reading the book, but I really loved the audiobook, which is read by Tom Hanks. He did a wonderful job and really brought the story to life.

Games like chess or checkers are “finite” in that they can be won & have a determined end. One can‘t “win” at things like life or business though. These are infinite games. Sinek‘s brilliant new book draws on the work of philosopher James Carse to find inspiration for a new way of orienting the world of business, toward what he calls Just Causes, or mission based goals, as an antidote to the myopia of short sighted capitalism today.

I enjoyed it, though I will say you have to be pretty interested in book history for it to be a good fit. Price presents some fresh perspectives on book history and our current print zeitgeist that are thought provoking for modern book activists.

Thoroughly enjoyed this funny, dark, and offbeat memoir in which Augusten Burroughs comes out as a witch. Seriously, he‘s a witch. Burroughs reads it himself and has a weird, drawn out style, but I got used to it after awhile. Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary listening copy.

A badly needed dose of practical optimism from one of the cofounders of the successful tech company Kickstarter. Strickler‘s manifesto for expanding our definition of value creation beyond the primitively narrow current paradigm of simple “financial maximization” is both timely and urgent. His “Bentoism” tool is simple and thought provoking. A great read for fans of Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, or Adam Grant.

Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary listening copy of this audiobook. It was exceptional. Gladwell creates a truly engaging audiobook experience and does an amazing job of making us question so many of our basic assumptions about how we interact in the world with strangers. It‘s a brilliant piece of deeply thought provoking pop sociology that I simply couldn‘t put down.

Our publishers rep gave us a heads up that this is about to be a pick for Reese Witherspoon‘s book club. It is very narrowly geared toward hetero couples with children, in relationships in which one partner (typically the woman) is carrying a deeply unfair portion of the work required to manage household affairs and family obligations. It offers a practical card game tool for rebalancing a couples household chores.

I think I loved Chambers‘ second book even more than the first, which is saying a lot. I read a lot of heavy nonfiction and I find myself wanting lighter fiction that is fun but still has substance, and Chambers‘ books fit my needs perfectly. I‘m going to save the third book set in the Galactic Commons for a time when I really need the sweet mental health break I get from these books.

Deeply moving & intellectually honest! Juliet Cutler‘s new memoir about her time teaching at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa is nothing short of inspiring, even as she acknowledges the challenges & struggles inherent in the work. I felt privileged to get to read about the ways her students were impacted by access to education & reminded of how those who serve are often themselves transformed in ways they could never have imagined.

The ideal summer beach read! A pure, unadulterated joy to read. Fun, sexy, and smart.

Yeah, MacFarlane is a genius and I‘ve found a new permanent resident author for my staff picks shelf in our bookstores! 🤓📚❤️

I was introduced to MacFarlane‘s work through his beautiful concept art book The Lost Words and wanted to learn more about him and his writing. With the highly anticipated release of Underland coming out this June, I wanted to catch up on his back list titles. The Old Ways didn‘t disappoint. The way Rebecca Solnit blends myth and literature into politics, MacFarlane does for nature and travel. I‘m now obsessed & am going to read his entire ouvre.

Pure magic! An outstanding book in form, concept, and execution!

A super fun, smart, and brain tickling space opera! Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary listening copy.

Not having read any of Jesse Ball‘s work before, but aware of the enthusiasm for his work, I was excited to read this new ARC. Unfortunately I had no idea what was happening through most of the book. I kept hoping for a payoff in the end, but was disappointed. It was pretentiously and obtusely literary, trying way too hard. Maybe if I was reading it as part of a graduate lit class w/someone to help explain it I could have appreciated it.

I think this book would have been better titled An Introductory History of Socialism, Up to the Present Day. Given the spike in interest in contemporary America, it was interesting to learn about some of democratic socialism‘s roots. A bit tedious at times, I found it overall thoughtful and engaging. Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary audiobook.

Just started this advance copy the upcoming title by David Szalay and it grabbed me from page one. It‘s gonna be a good one!

I was skeptical of the concept at first but this book won me over. It didn‘t hurt that the audiobook version has exceptional production value. I listened to the entire thing in a couple days, couldn‘t get enough of it. The only problem is I really want there to be real music to go with it! Apparently it‘s going to be a tv series, read the book first!

An exceptional, deeply compelling debut! Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary listening copy.

An unputdownable page turner! Joshilyn Jackson‘s foray into psychological thriller genre fiction perfectly balances the literary voice and complex female characters of her previous books with the artful playfulness of an accomplished writer experimenting with something new. Never Have I Ever is like a stunning sandcastle built by a master sculptor who‘s kicked off her shoes to play in the sand at the beach for an afternoon. So fun!

Ducks, Newburyport is a stunning & brutal portrait of American social dysfunction as told through an exhaustive catalogue of an Ohio mother‘s endless anxieties alternating with the story of a mountain lioness caring for her new pups in an America hostile to wilderness. At times challenging, & alternately profound & mundane, I‘ve never read anything quite like it. Ellman‘s ambitious new book is either insane or brilliant or maybe both.

Popova‘s Figuring is a love song in which she celebrates the lives, relationships, & thought of a dozen or so well known (& lesser known) writers and activists (mostly women, mostly queer) of the last few hundred years. A bit meandering at times, the detours are a joy, like strolling through a garden with a brilliant and engaging philosopher. I found sections relating to Emily Dickinson, Margaret Fuller, and Rachel Carson particularly satisfying.

A painful, lyrical, slow motion tragedy. The rich emotional depth of Obioma‘s writing is made all the more poignant by the reader‘s powerlessness to stop the disaster you know is coming, like being in a dream where you are driving a car with no steering wheel. It‘s probably not for everyone, a very “literary” work, but I found it hard to put down. Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary audiobook listening copy.

As someone who has struggled with being overweight most of my life, I found Tomlinson‘s memoir to be powerfully & sensitively written. While my own struggle is not as dramatic as his (he starts the book at 460 lbs, medically diagnosed as “morbidly obese”) even mildly overweight Americans like me will still relate to the feelings of shame and Tomlinson so soulfully and thoughtfully plumbs.

I‘ve had many customers over the years insist that all booksellers should read this. It‘s a modern classic of the “books about books” literary genre. It didn‘t disappoint. I just listened to all 18+ hours of it through Libro in less than a week and loved it every minute of it. Looking forward to reading Zafon‘s newest book The Labyrinth of the Spirits soon too.

Just devoured the audiobook of this in a little over a day. Couldn‘t get enough! Beautiful writing, a moving story, complex characters, profound ethical dilemmas, injustice, family, love, art, magic, science, and gritty reality. So much good stuff packed into one book!

A fun, fast, sweet, thought provoking read on life, science, space, physics, poetry, and more in little bite size 1-2 page “musings.” Thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC. Pub date scheduled for April 2019.

“I can only say that I think the failure was due partly to lack of capital and partly to lack of business experience. He also had been hit on the head in the War. He was a man I was always sorry for.”

After reading and enjoying Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell last year I‘ve been wanting to delve more into the literature of bookselling. This was a fun look at the early days of the rare book trade in America, specifically focused on the development of Americana collecting. Everitt was quite the character, and many of his (probably “tall”) tales are very entertaining. You can see traces of the emerging lovable curmudgeon archetype emerging.

I loved it! A delightfully odd, funny, sweet, and wise little book. Perfect for fans of The Little Prince. Deep without being preachy, sensitive and soulful without taking itself too seriously, playful while still packing a punch. With Jonny Sun‘s new book out that he illustrated with Lin Manuel-Miranda, this will be a go-to handbell this holiday season, introducing fans of the new book to Sun‘s previous work.

Not usually my type of book, but I picked it up and began reading it on a whim. Maid is a darkly compelling elderly misanthrope, and I found myself wanting to know what terrible thing she would do next. While I wouldn‘t call it a page-turner in the traditional sense, it was an easy read, split into a half dozen or so short vignettes, perfect for 5 or 10 minute interludes here and there in my day.

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced nazi or the convinced communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact & fiction & the distinction between true & false no longer exist." The horror of the content, the hours of detailed 19th century socio-political history, & the advanced philosophy all combine to make this a challenging read. Yet it is an important, haunting, & troubling work rich with meaning for our times.

A playful, hilarious romp! Seth Fried‘s The Municipalists is what might have happened if Jane Jacobs had collaborated with Christopher Moore to write fiction for the urban planning nerd. More please!

I recently listened to this on Libro.fm with @underground_bks and so enjoyed it! Despite some understandably dated gender politics, as booksellers his work is often quoted and referenced and it was really fun!

Ashamed to say this was my first Barbara Kingsolver, and I thought it was wonderful. Given the mediocre reviews it‘s been getting that tells me I need to read her earlier work!

This slim, powerful volume of political philosophy plumbs the history of democracy to reveal a fresh, inspiring, & simple option for reviving modern democracy. If you find the political news of the day depressing, read this amazing little book & have your understanding of democracy turned upside down in the best way. Sortition, or the drawing of random lots (like juries) offers a viable alternative representative model to broken elections.

Processing a box of vintage books for the shop and randomly opened this 1933 speech by George Bernard Shaw.

I can‘t get enough of Harari. While this new book is ostensibly about our current predicament as humans in a global society (Sapiens was about our past, & Home Deus about the future), much of it rehashes territory from the first 2 books. I don‘t care, I still devoured every word. I‘m so hungry for intellectually rigorous writing that addresses the complex & daunting issues of our day that I would read Harari restating his case many times over.

A bit too much of a hagiography for my taste, but I did enjoy it. It‘s more substantial parts explore how Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street reflect the dominant 20th century schools of thought in childhood development and education.

I struggled at first to get into it, due to the odd literary device the author uses of talking to a nonexistent daughter, as other reviewers noted. But I stuck with it and ended up appreciating the author‘s perspective on middle American economic life and family challenges.

A disturbing look into the Scientology cult that reads in parts like a John Grisham novel.

Extremely dark and graphic, which is probably why so many reviews are so-so. However it is very well written, and is a powerful social critique of modern military culture and American approaches to addiction.

“This evil is confined to no class... it numbers among its victims the best women and men of all classes. Prompt action is demanded, lest our land should become…stupefied by the direful effects of narcotics and thus diseased physically, mentally, and morally, the love of liberty swallowed up by the love of opium, whilst the masses of our people would become fit subjects for a despot.” —Dr. W. G. Rogers, The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA), 1884

Currently enjoying this review copy of the upcoming American edition of this little gem. It‘s from the perspective of the cat and is compared to A Man Called Ove. Yes please!

Tena Clark‘s memoir about growing up in rural Mississippi is the southern memoir of the year y‘all. This isn‘t my wording, but I will paraphrase the publisher‘s blurb on the arc: Southern Discomfort is The Glass Castle meets Fried Green Tomatoes. Get ready bookseller friends, this will be a big hit this fall when it comes out. A powerful, satisfying, page-turning memoir, good for fans of this year‘s earlier hit memoir, Educated by Tara Westover.