Sunday, April 29, 2018

In honor of Bob Barry's appearance on May 9, I feel like we should count down the top tens. Consider this a count up for the week ending April 28, 2018

In honor of Bob Barry's appearance on May 9, I feel like we should count down the top tens. Consider this a count up for the week ending April 28, 2018

Hardcover Fiction:
1. The Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer
2. Paris by the Book, by Liam Callanan
3. As Bright as Heaven, by Susan Meissner
4. The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin
5. Noir, by Christopher Moore (ticketed event 5/2. Tix here)
6. The Overstory, by Richard Powers
7. Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng
8. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy (ticketed event 5/8. Tix here)
9. Varina, by Charles Frazier
10. A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

The book love keeps coming for Liam Callanan's Paris by the Book. It's been such a treat to hear back from customers, bookstore colleagues, friends about their reaction to this novel. From Sandy Mahaffey at the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star: "Author Liam Callanan writes beautiful, lyrical descriptions. His plot moves slowly, but for me, that was perfect. I wanted time to savor the sights, sounds and people of Paris. I went on the emotional journey as the threesome independently had sightings of Robert - a profile, the back of a head, a familiar gait—convinced he was there, wondering when he would actually approach them. As you can imagine, it is an emotional roller coaster for them, on top of the normal struggles between a single mother and two teenage daughters. The story is bittersweet, but, in the end, it is a love story - about the love of books."

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. Measure What Matters, by John Doerr
2. Own the Day, Own Your Life, by Aubrey Marcus
3. The Good News About Bad Behavior, by Katherine Reynolds Lewis
4. The Gift of Our Wounds, by Arno Michaelis and Pardeep Singh Kaleka
5. A Higher Loyalty, by James Comey
6. I'll Be Gone in the Dark, by Michelle McNamara
7. Fascism, by Madeleine Albright
8. The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein
9. Love and Death in the Sunshine State, by Cutter Wood
10. The Magnolia Table, by Joanna Gaines

I wouldn't be surprised if Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark jumps to #1 on the national bestseller lists, what with the arrest of a suspect in the long-unsolved Golden State Killer case. Also in the true crime genre is Love and Death in the Sunshine State, which hit the list in the wake of Cutter Wood's appearance.

Paperback Fiction:
1. Queen Sugar, by Natalie Baszile
2. From the Realm of Time V2, by Scott Douglas Prill
3. Midway, by Jenny Benjamin
4. More than a Box of Crayons, by Jenny Benjamin
5. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman
6. Beartown, by Fredrik Backman
7. Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
8. The Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz
9. The Sun and Her Flowers, by Rupi Kaur
10. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See

Fredrik Backman's paperbacks tend to have a life of their own and Beartown is no exception. Carol Memmott wrote in the Star Tribune: "Current fiction may have no more courageous young female character than Maya, who faces hate and threats after she comes forward about the rape. Backman writes a gritty, heart-stopping account of the sexual assault after which the novel then pivots into even more ominous territory as the town turns on her and her family."

We'd have signed copies of Queen Sugar but we sold out at Saturday's luncheon. Congrats to the Delta Memorial Endowment Fund, who had over 700 attendees at this year's luncheon. We'll have more copies on Tuesday.

Paperback Nonfiction:
1. Lost Milwaukee, by Carl Swanson
2. The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein
3. Brown Is the New White, by Steve Phillips
4. Urban Ecology, by Ken Leinbach
5. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan (event 5/17 at Schlitz Audubon. Registration info here)
6. Evicted by Matthew Desmond (JFS lunch 5/16. Tix here)
7. Janesville, by Amy Goldstein
8. The Body Is Not an Apology, by Sonya Renee Taylor
9. The Gulf, by Jack E. Davis
10. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann

Richard Rothstein was in town for the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute anniversary celebration and because Norton does pub date, not on-sale date and that led us to be able to get the books a little earlier than we would normally. Jared Bernstein spoke to the author of The Color of Law in The Washington Post. Signed copies available!

Books for Kids:
1. Turn this Book into a Beehive, by Lynn Brunelle
2. Better Together, by Barbara Joosse and Anneke Lisberg
3. Sail Away Dragon V3, by Barbara Joosse, with illustrations by Randy Cecil
4. Lovabye Dragon V1, by Barbara Joosse, with illustrations by Randy Cecil
5. Pop Bottle Science, by Lynn Brunelle
6. Camp Out, by Lynne Brunelle
7. You Go First, by Erin Entrada Kelly
8. Hello Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly
9. Evermore Dragon V2, by Barbara Joosse, with illustrations by Randy Cecil
10. Stick Dog Crashes a Party V8, by Tom Watson

Lynn Brunelle visited three schools to talk about Turn This Book into a Beehive. One set of educators dressed like bees for the event! Brunelle was a writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy. From the blog Literacious: "This is a fascinating book – not only for the fun facts about bees and what makes them so vital to the ecosystem, but that the book has so many amazing activities that kids can do at home with materials they can easily get ahold of."

And now to the Journal Sentinel TapBooks page!

--Mark Athitakis reviews My Patients and Other Animals: A Veterinarian's Stories of Love, Loss, and Hope. From the review of Suzy Fincham-Gray's memoir of her life as a veterinarian: "Fincham-Gray delivers each of these pets’ stories episodically, as if arranging them for her own TV series. But underlying every animal story are two human themes: Fincham- Gray’s struggle to improve her relationships with pet owners, and the way treatment is usually influenced (or walled off) by their ability to pay. One of Sweetie’s owners is disinterested and the other is financially strapped, which means Fincham- Gray has to cut tests and treatments." Originally from USA Today.

--Another memoir, from actor Jenna Fischer, is The Actor's Life: A Survivor's Guide is also review. Jane Henderson writes: "(The) frank talk and advice make up much of The Actor’s Life, along with many personal examples and stories from other actors. Fischer talked by phone from Los Angeles about her book, her own missteps and whether she has had to navigate any of the harassment issues that have plagued Hollywood." The Saint-Louis Post Dispatch has the complete interview.

--One more! Hunting El Chapo: The Inside Story of the American Lawman Who Captured the World's Most-Wanted Drug Lord is written by Andrew Hogan and Douglas Century. Don Oldenberg reviews: "This may be the most authentic glimpse inside the world of El Chapo — because Hogan actually went there and did what few thought possible." From USA Today.

No comments: