Selections from Adrian, Retired Head Book Buyer, represented here by Princess Buttercup.
"be curious, not judgmental" -ted lasso
j ryan stradal's books always cheer me up... like a hot cup of tea & a cozy blanket on a cold winter's day!
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do yourself a favor & read this illuminating book! so many great takeaways for life & work.
now, more than ever, we need to embrace urgent optimism, mental flexibility, realistic hope, future power/control & agency.
engaging & positive-- imaginable is a blueprint for ways we can & should engage to protect our planet.
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I've been in the reading doldrums for quite some time & this dazzling, brilliant, witty novel was exactly what i needed to get me reading again so thank you Bonnie Garmus & Doubleday!
Elizabeth Zott is unforgettable & Six-Thirty is the dog everyone dreams of having. I turned down so many pages with "Elizabethisms" to revisit but my favorite one has to be, "...if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon."
Do i hear an amen?
But seriously, I loved that "CHEMISTRY IS CHANGE" & to "ask yourself what YOU will change. And then get started."
...a challenge that remains relevant.
&, OH, you'll never look at a number two pencil the same way again.
simply brilliant! a must read!
beautiful, melancholy, poetic, heartbreaking
exquisite paintings and drawings interspersed with fascinating stories and facts, a celebration of the beauty and diversity of birds.
there's much to unpack in this provocative & timely exploration of the concept of freedom and the necessity of achieving a balance between autonomy and community, individuality and interdependence.
such a fun read! i tore through this in one night & loved every minute!
loved this fast paced thriller... although i'm not eager to get on a plane anytime soon!!
heller's new literary thriller featuring jack from the river is the perfect vacation read!
a heartwarming, uplifting debut about a woman who seems to have the perfect life until her boyfriend & best friend disappear without a word or trace. her response to her grief & trauma is to horde because "things will never leave you."
but thanks to her new neighbors she discovers that it's never too late to start over & that making room for people is the beginning of healing.
blacktop wasteland was one of my favorite thrillers of 2020 & i couldn't wait to dig into s. a. cosby's 2nd book.
i was not disappointed!
cosby writes rural noir like no one else. relatable, flawed characters, great sense of place with a storyline that packs a mean punch-this is a kick-ass thriller with race, revenge, family & friendship driving the dark & often violent narrative.
if you require nice happy endings or are uncomfortable with good people doing some really bad things to protect their loved ones, this is not the book for you.
otherwise dive in & enjoy the ride!
(This book cannot be returned.)
a lovely memoir by the son of norman maclean (a river runs through it) that celebrates family, nature and how we connect to both.
a cinematic, adrenaline packed, fast paced debut!
the cold war narrative is an evergreen setting for thrillers
& connor sullivan has given it a fresh 21st century treatment.
an original, imaginative, compulsively page-turning debut...
dark, mystical & definitely not for the faint of heart!
palace of the drowned is a riveting, suspenseful novel that beautifully depicts venice in all its mysterious splendor--especially the allure of wandering thru the city's narrow passageways in daylight & the sinister quality those same passageways can take on at night.
venice is my favorite city in the world & i thoroughly enjoyed reading this captivating, atmospheric page turner!
this lovely, evocative, original novel about a young woman who defies conventional societal norms to live a solitary life immersed in nature & the study of birds is loosely based upon the life of british naturalist, author and musician, gwendolen howard.
i read this breathtaking/heartbreaking/courageous memoir in one sitting.
"the power of story is to heal and to sustain and if we are brave enough to tell our own story, we realize we're not alone, again and again."
brilliant, compelling, provocative & heartbreaking.chris whitaker should be on everyone's reading list.
a twisty pageturner!
a fascinating, quirky eclectic collection of desert myth & lore.the chapter on senator alan cranston is worth the price of the book!
I felt a deep sadness while reading this extraordinary, compelling debut about a time in the not-too-distant future when birds have all but disappeared and animals in the wild are just a memory.
I cannot imagine a world without birdsong!
Franny Stone is the definition of fierce, implacable, tenacious. Her quest to follow the last remaining Arctic terns on their final migration mirrors her own desperate flight from the haunting secrets of her past. And as her story unfolds you begin to understand that we too will go to great lengths...for love.
homeland elegies deftly combines elements of memoir with fiction to shine a bright light on the immigrant experience in america.
a passionate, deeply personal, illuminating novel!
if i could give vesper flights a higher rating than 10, i would!with observations & meditations as free-ranging as the natural world she writes about, this collection of essays is inspiring, breathtaking & intimate.the part where she writes about watching the massive migration of songbirds from the top deck of the empire state building will stay with me a long time & the imagery of the migrating birds becoming "trapped" by the uplights of the twin towers memorial is haunting.i highly recommend this book!
a gritty rural noir that's not for the faint of heart...or those who aren't comfortable with a healthy dose of ethical or moral ambiguity.
but if you are game, this thriller is one hell of a ride & beauregard "bug" montage is the unforgettable driver!
a phenomenal, breathtaking, deeply moving novel--one of those rare bks that i wanted to start reading again immediately after finishing.
a brilliant immersive historical set against the backdrop of the 1909 labor movement in spokane, washington. grt relatable characters, with strong women taking center stage. corruption at the highest levels of government, police brutality, peaceful protests, people struggling to get by but also stepping up to help each other...sound familiar?
the cold millions made me more aware of the economic disparity that still exists in our country, brought into sharper focus by the current pandemic.
The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, Treachery, and the Hunt for the Perfect Bird (Paperback)
A fascinating true-crime adventure about the black market trade in rare birds & their eggs, both of which are highly prized by Middle Eastern billionaires who are obsessed with obtaining wild-born raptors for racing. For readers of The Orchid Thief & The Feather Thief.
I was fortunate to receive an early manuscript of Jenny Offill’s Dept of Speculation and remember how awed I was by her trenchant, brilliant prose and the quirky structural style of the narrative.
I found myself turning down pages and underlined many passages for quick re-read referencing.
Weather is equally awe inspiring. Her ability to write with such economy while evoking entire universes is her literary superpower.
I loved every minute of this book!
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dark & gritty--a terrific thriller that bowled me over, especially around the halfway point when the narrator changes...didn't see that plot twist coming!
first shreve made me want a coyote ( the daily coyote ) & now mediations with cows makes me want a daisy! i learned so much abt conservation & the importance of knowing where your food comes from. loved every minute of this bk!
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poetry is always good for the soul! a beautifully illustrated anthology of classic and lesser known poets featuring a poem for every night of the year.
a deceptively simple story that packs a punch. just when eudora honeysett is ready to say goodbye to life & the indignities & suffering of old age, she encounters a exuberant young neighbor who helps her realize that "it's never too late to start living." for readers of eleanor oliphant & the keeper of lost things.
hilarious, smart, laugh-out-loud funny!quintessential hiaasen
a fascinating deep-dive into the underground world of funghi & how their "wood wide web" plays a crucial & necessary role in our continued survival.
LOVED it!
Imaginative, smart & deeply movingYou will never look at a pigeon the same way again.Reminiscent of “the art of racing in the rain”
I have always loved butterflies for their beauty but never knew how intelligent they are until reading this book.
An eye-opening & fascinating deep dive into the secret world of these winged beauties, The Language of Butterflies is also a call to action. Despite being tough & resilient the long term survival of butterflies is not guaranteed. And when a species, even one so small, is threatened, the ripple effect endangers us all.
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I have loved Mary Morris’ writing since “Nothing to Declare” & thoroughly enjoyed this book, which I read in one sitting.
Contemplative & thought provoking!
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The perfect pageturner for these strange times... loved every minute of it...although i'll never look at a chili pepper the same way again!
News of the World was one of my favorite books of 2017 so I was thrilled to receive a very early reading copy of Simon the Fiddler!
Powerful prose vividly evokes a time and place...Texas during the aftermath of the Civil War...and captures the stark realities of trying to scratch out a living with few available resources beyond persistence, the kindness of strangers and a healthy dose of good timing and luck.
Jiles' characters are compelling and exhibit a joyful determination in the face of hardship that is endearing and admirable.
Simon the Fiddler is an exceptional book and Jiles is the consummate storyteller!
I love Kevin Wilson's ability to write stories that are full of heart, humor with offbeat, yet endearing characters. Nothing to See Here is imaginative, unexpected and pure reading enjoyment!
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Hayley Chill is a kick-ass heroine & the twist, with a twist ending is unexpected & fresh!
i'm already casting the movie in my head...
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American Dirt is a truly spectacular & profound work of fiction...timely, necessary, unforgettable...one of the best books I've read in a long time...a beautiful reminder of why I love being a bookseller.
I cannot wait to get this book into the hands of readers!
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A pageturner!!
Alice Vega, an unorthodox bounty hunter/private investigator teams up again with ex-cop, Caplan to find some missing underage girls.
The beautiful, transcendent story of a mother’s unconditional love for her child, the transforming power of music & the necessity of hope even during times of unspeakable hardship.
The Yellow Bird Sings is the perfect counterpoint to another brilliant novel, American Dirt... & to quote Kafka - “the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
I've loved Tom Bouman's books since Dry Bones in the Valley & his latest in the Wild Thyme series is his best yet! Lean prose, grt sense of place, & authentic characters... I didn't want the book to end.
WOW! This one was a complete surprise - a compulsively readable, dark, dark, dark, compelling, gritty noir that will stay w/you for a long time. If you require neat, happy endings or can't handle "child in peril" story lines, don't read this bk. Otherwise, this is one you won't want to miss! Mystic River, Winter's Bone & Freedom's Child are perfect comps.
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Have you ever wondered what happens to all those items you've donated? You might be shocked to know that only a fraction ever makes it to thrift store shelves, that instead, the majority goes to the landfill or exported to other countries to be reused or recycled in ways you've never imagined.
Secondhand is a fascinating, informative look into the afterlife of discarded items & the ecological impact created by our obsessive consumerism.
Highly recommended!
Rich, evocative prose, complicated characters who don't fit easily into societal norms along with a well-developed sense of place and time drives this powerful, compelling debut.
(This book cannot be returned.)
I love Susan Orlean's writing -- especially her ability to take a relatively unknown topic and bring it to life.
The Library Book centers around the devestating fire at the Los Angeles Public Library on April 29, 1986 that destroyed over 400,000 books, but ultimately it's a love letter to the public library system and the significant contribution they bring to communities all over the country. Part history of libraries, part true crime, The Library Book will appeal to history buffs and bibliophiles alike.
America's sweetheart is now America's brave heart. In Pieces is moving, revelatory, timely and not to be missed.
From the bestselling author of The Rules of Civility, this elegant historical novel is set in Russia during the tumultuous years of the Bolshevik revolution.Count Rostov is condemned to permanent house arrest at the sumptuous Metropole Hotel where he inhabits a tiny attic while managing to live the fullest of lives.An intriguing, well-written tale of privilege, political upheaval and revolution.
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