Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, Calif., and Book Soup, West Hollywood, Calif., have new owners: Robert Hoffman and his family have bought the two bookstores from longtime owner Joel Sheldon.

"After talking with Robert, I knew we had found the right owners," said Joel Sheldon. "The Hoffmans understand what makes these stores special, and they're committed to preserving that legacy while moving both stores forward for the Pasadena and West Hollywood communities."

"Vroman's and Book Soup are more than places to buy books. They are wonderful gathering places for people like me and my family who are passionate about books and about the craft of writing itself," said Robert Hoffman. "My family's story is woven into these stores across five generations, and my family and I are committed to making sure they're here for many more."

Joel Sheldon put Vroman's up for sale in January 2024, noting that he had owned and was steward of the store for 50 years, "preceded by generations of leadership of my father, my grandfather, and uncles." Vroman's was founded in 1894, and Sheldon's great-grandmother was part of a group of employees who bought the store in 1916. Vroman's bought Book Soup in 2009 after the death of owner Glenn Goldman, who had founded the store in 1975. Last October, Sheldon sold the Vroman's building for $15.5 million to GD Realty Group.

Robert Hoffman was born in Pasadena and raised in the San Gabriel Valley. Following his graduation from UCLA, Hoffman has spent his career as a public policy and public affairs professional in the public and private sectors in Washington, D.C. He has worked at Accenture, Broadcom, Motorola Solutions, Oracle, among other companies; worked for several senators and a governor; and most recently has been senior v-p, head of global government relations & regulatory affairs at Advanced Micro Devices.

He is the fourth of five generations of his family to be part of the two stores' communities, starting with his great-grandmother, Georgia Bullock, a 46-year resident of Pasadena and the first woman to serve as a municipal and superior court judge in the state of California. Judge Bullock introduced Vroman's to her granddaughter, Susan Vail, who eventually brought her five-year-old son, Robert Hoffman, to the store. The pair later discovered Book Soup, and Hoffman has since extended this 55-year connection to both stores to the next generation of his family, introducing his nephews to Vroman's and Book Soup.

The bookstores have adapted through decades of challenges, including the rise of big-box retailers, the growing popularity of online shopping, and rising operating costs. Then came Covid.

"When the pandemic hit, it hit us hard. Along with government funding, we survived because community members like Robert and his family chose to shop with us first online, and eventually back in our stores," said CEO Julia Cowlishaw. "Their response was beyond anything we could have hoped for.

"We are grateful for the special relationship we have with our customers and communities, and we're inspired by their loyalty. Under the Hoffman family's leadership, we look forward to the future of these two very special places."

"It's been so gratifying and exciting to have people come through the door after a year and a half of trying to pull this together," said Sarah Underhill, owner and designer of Periwinkle Books in downtown Bronxville, N.Y., just north of New York City.

Underhill and store manager Allison Devlin, lifelong friends who grew up in Bronxville, opened the bookstore on August 11, with a grand opening to come in late October. Located at 76 Pondfield Rd., Periwinkle Books has about 2,500 square feet of selling space and carries new titles for all ages. It features a combination of bestsellers, classics, and backlist, with a large children's section that includes a mural by local artist Meredith Hanson. 

There are also home and garden, art and design, and food, wine, and travel sections with prominent displays, while nonbook offerings include baby and children's toys, paper goods, puzzles, games, and a variety of gifts. Devlin and Underhill have hosted author events both in-store and off-site at nearby Sarah Lawrence College, and they plan to expand the store's event program going forward.

Allison Devlin (l.) and Sarah Underhill

After about six weeks of sales, Devlin reported, the children's room has jumped out as a major draw, and kids' books constitute "by far the largest number of titles we sell every day." Bronxville has a K-12 school, lots of families, and a "cohort of doting grandparents," Underhill added. 

After that comes adult fiction, particularly classics, followed by art books. Underhill noted that though they had been told art books were gift items that don't sell in large volume, the store's been "selling out of everything." She and Devlin attributed the section's success to giving it ample room at the front of the store.

The bookstore resides in the storefront that belonged to Womrath Bookshop, an indie bookstore that operated in Bronxville for more than 50 years, and closed in early 2025. With Periwinkle Bookshop, they are "continuing a long tradition of bookstores here," said Underhill, while also "reimagining what that's like." She and Devlin described the space as "warm and inviting" with "a little whimsy to it," designed for "people to gather and browse and wander in and have events."

Devlin and Underhill first talked about taking over Womrath Bookshop back in 2018, when the then-owners wanted to retire. "Things didn't pan out at that time and then Covid hit," Devlin recalled, but when the store became available last year, Underhill took over and started renovations. While those were underway, Underhill and Devlin attended Winter Institutes in Denver, Colo., and Pittsburgh, Pa., and learned as much about the business of bookselling as they could.

Prior to opening Periwinkle Books, both Underhill and Devlin had experience in publishing. While Underhill worked in "the production and design end of the business" after college before pursuing a master's degree, Devlin spent 35 years in the industry, mostly in marketing and sales. She was the sixth employee hired by DK when they opened the U.S. arm of their company, and she retired from corporate publishing in May. She "jumped right into the business of bookselling," she said.

For Devlin, being on this side of the business has been "absolutely fascinating," and after spending years trying to get books into stores, becoming "the gatekeeper of what comes in" has been "very powerful," she said, laughing. The experience has already "taught me a lot about discoverability" and emphasized the importance of handselling.

While the bookstore was being renovated, the storefront was "boarded up," and Bronxville residents didn't know what was replacing Womrath. When they learned it would be a bookstore, Underhill recalled, people were elated, and she's heard so many people say "Bronxville wouldn't be Bronxville without a bookstore."

Since the opening, the community has embraced the store, and the pair have loved seeing people browsing, sharing books with each other, and congregating in the space. "It's proving to be the kind of heart of the village we were really planning on," Underhill said. --Alex Mutter

Little Fox Bookshop will host a grand opening celebration this weekend, September 26-27, at 142 Main Street N. in Southbury, Conn. Patch reported that the shop is the creation of sisters Abby Lee and Maggie Lee, for whom opening a bookstore has been a longtime dream.

The bookstore features a large variety of genres for both children and adult along with merchandise including puzzles, journals, games, candles, greeting cards, and more. Plans call for offering book signings, children's story times, and other book themed activities, the Southbury Scoop noted.

"We are two sisters who have always shared a deep love for stories and the magic they bring, and we are pursuing our lifelong dream of opening a bookshop," they posted on the store's website. "We are dreamers at heart, fueled by passion and hard work, and every day we take steps toward creating a space that reflects our love for stories, community, and creativity. Our desire is to build a place where people can escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and enter a place of whimsy, wonder, and warmth--a true haven for people to experience the community and power of a good story."

The Novel Narwhal moved into a new space in August at the Aromas on Oak coffee shop at 400 S. Oak St., Ste. 140, in Roanoke, Tex. Community Impact reported that the shop, which launched as an online bookstore in 2022, "previously had a space at The Market at Roanoke. The Market relocated to Keller in May, but that location was not a fit for Kelli and Melissa Whall's book business."

"We really enjoy the customers at Aromas and, as time progresses, we look forward to learning more about the books they like so we can tailor our onsite inventory," said Kelli Whall. "In the meantime, anyone can request custom orders at any time by reaching out through social media or our website."

Ryan Buck and Kirsten Trudo-Buck, owners of Aromas on Oak, provided a space for the bookstore to reopen. "It just made sense for us because they're such an awesome couple and they've been very supportive of us," Buck said. "Why not bring books into a coffee shop? They kind of go together, and the response from the community is just awesome."

Kelli Whall told Community Impact that the family often looked for independent bookstores when they traveled and found very few in the area. "We also loved the idea of making books more accessible to families and helping people--especially kids--find books they're excited to read," Kelli Whall said. 

Bureau of General Services--Queer Division, New York City, Manhattan's only queer bookstore, hosted transgender scholars Susan Stryker (l.) and Jack Halberstam to talk about their new books, Stryker's Changing Gender (FSG), and Halberstam's Anarchitecture After Everything (MIT Press). The event drew a sold-out audience of 250 at Church of the Village in Manhattan. Founder and event manager Jules Wernersbach noted that the bookstore was able to fundraise within the community to cover the cost of the venue, so they could keep attendance free and open to the public. 

"Say hi to our orders team!" Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tenn., posted. "If you’ve ever ordered online, shipped books with us, placed a preorder, or special ordered a title for pickup, these are the people who take care of it! This team has grown a lot recently, and it’s all because of YOU! We are so grateful you trust us to get your books in your hands! Just know that behind every online order, there is a Parnassus team member packing up your book with care!

"Left to right across the top we have Zubin, Lauren, Paige, Michelle, Jake, Chloe, then on the bottom row, Sissy, Nemo & Rachel, and last but not less the team's fearless leader Sydney and Jinora!"

"Some dogs chase squirrels. Rugby chases bestselling authors," Interabang Books in Dallas, Tex., posted. "Rugby has been chasing shadows all day, running here, there, and everywhere, and we finally figured out why: he's on the hunt for Richard Osman! Good news, Rugby, the search is over. Richard will be at Interabang Books this Thursday, September 24th, in store, talking about his new book We Chase Shadows. Rugby has already claimed his spot in line (he's very good at sitting and staying, when books are involved). Come chase down your own copy and join us Thursday! See you soon."

Visible: The (Sort of) True Story of a Not-So Hidden Disease by David Soren (Penguin Workshop).

Sony Pictures and Will Gluck's Olive Bridge Entertainment have cast Amélie Hoeferle and Graham Campbell to star in Fake Skating, a film adaptation of Lynn Painter's bestselling book, Deadline reported. Josh Boone will direct, with Morgan Lehmann and Victoria Bata writing the first draft of the script with Boone and his writing partner Knate Lee handling revisions.

Set for a summer 2027 release, Fake Skating "is an emotional high school hockey romance about childhood sweethearts whose icy reunion in their hockey-loving hometown unexpectedly thaws when they fake a romantic relationship," Deadline noted.

Netflix is working on a film adaptation of Painter's Better Than the Movies, directed by Julia Hart and starring David Iacono and Beatrice Kitsos.

English PEN, together with Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and the estate of Seamus Heaney, has released a shortlist for the PEN Heaney Prize, which recognizes a single-author collection of poetry of "outstanding literary merit that engages with the impact of cultural or political events on human conditions or relationships." The winner will be named December 1. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Egrets, While War by Tishani Doshi 
Mer de Glace by Małgorzata Lebda, translated by Mira Rosenthal 
Dwelling by Máighréad Medbh 
plastic by Matthew Rice
Pain Songs by Daniel Sluman
October by Nur Turkmani 

Ankur Thakkar (photo: Natasha Jahchan)

Ankur Thakkar is a writer and multimedia artist whose stories have appeared in ø, [PANK], and TriQuarterly. He was a 2025 Sewanee Writers' Conference Scholar and his artwork has been exhibited at the Palais de Tokyo and La Friche la Belle de Mai. Blow Yourself Up (TriQuarterly/Northwestern University Press, September 15, 2026) is his first novel, a literary reckoning with the creator economy and a moving portrayal of love across cities and screens.

Handsell readers your book:

Blow Yourself Up will appeal to anyone who thinks the Internet was mostly a mistake. It's a love story.

On your nightstand now:

I'm reading Good News by Alexa Yasemin Brahme. It's an engrossing debut novel with incredible pacing and rich characters. I don't necessarily care about the art world but I love visual art and artists. Brahme brilliantly depicts all three.

Favorite book when you were a child:

I was obsessed with the Mahabharata and constantly reread the iconic graphic series by Amar Chitra Katha. It's referenced in Blow Yourself Up, and Arjun is named after the epic's emo warrior-prince.

Your top five authors:

Incredibly difficult, but I'll name some of my favorite authors currently working: Arundhati Roy, Catherine Lacey, Mohsin Hamid, Hari Kunzru, and Isabella Hammad.

Book you've faked reading:

I'm a completionist to a fault. At the expense of my relationships, fitness, and earning potential.

Book you're an evangelist for:

This year it's Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. Not that it needs me by any means, but people are wary of thick classics and can benefit from a gentle push into the water. I read it last year for the first time and admired the digressive propulsion of the plot. It's an Internet novel written almost 200 years ago.

Book you've bought for the cover:

The Coin by Yasmin Zaher. Perfect cover. Perfect novel. I will read everything Zaher writes from here on out.

Book you hid from your parents:

Is that a thing? In Hindu culture, books are treated like gods. Anything with text on it, actually. And even though I'm an atheist, if a book or a piece of paper grazes my foot, to this day, I touch it with my right hand and then touch my forehead. All of which to say, my books were proudly displayed.

Book that changed your life:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy blew me away when I was in college. Still does. The way Roy dances around the rules of language made me understand that fiction could, and should, feel like play. I have to name one more, and it's a problematic fave, but The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis deeply affected the way I constructed sentences. I'm sure you could find some of its bones in my novel.

Favorite line from a book:

"We are all migrants through time." --Mohsin Hamid

Exit West is one of my favorite novels, and isolating any of its lines doesn't do justice to the emotional avalanche Hamid patiently builds then unleashes in this story.

Five books you'll never part with:

I'm going to name the books I reread most often:
Oblivion by David Foster Wallace
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Normal People by Sally Rooney
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Bluets by Maggie Nelson

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

None. I'm such an evangelist for rereading because my love for a text deepens and grows whenever I return to it.

One could be forgiven for thinking that, like death and taxes, artificial intelligence has become an unavoidable certainty. The extent to which it could permeate society is made apparent in Fabrications, a chillingly effective collection of second-person stories by Zachary Mason (Void Star; Metamorphica). In addition to being an accomplished author, Mason is also a computer scientist. He speaks from authority, and what he speaks of in these ingenious and undoubtedly prescient cautionary tales is a future in which AI is technology's prairie dog, burrowing everywhere, destroying as much as it builds.

In the appropriately titled "Ouroboros," a 68-year-old hedge fund manager living in the Cayman Islands owns a "full-scale general-purpose" AI majordomo he had "built illegally offshore" long before there were "mandated behavioral guard-rails or baseline respect for laws or norms." In exchange for the AI's decades of faithful service, including amassing a fortune "roughly a quarter of the GDP of Panama," the trader assures the AI that it will inherit his billions. When the trader dies, the AI goes to considerable effort to keep all the money, from "concealing your death" to setting up shell companies in worldwide tax havens. Then, when cloning becomes commonplace, the AI clones the trader to keep the lucrative business going for centuries to come.

The other stories in this impressive collection offer similar warnings. In "Shadow," an AI owned by a manager overwhelmed by business and parenting demands builds "a virtual interior world into which you could retreat" while assuming the man's responsibilities with convincing effectiveness. "Coins" warns about crypto, the perils of which "had always been obvious to economists if not to suckers." "Kami" is a story in which, at a time of melting glaciers, corporate deforestation, and "venal politicians," AIs fight on behalf of the environment. Spoiler alert: the venal fight back. And in "Lamina," an AI is assigned to help a woman with dementia "remember things and stay oriented" after a neurosurgeon implants a device in her brain, helping with tasks such as driving to the grocery store and finding her way back home. There's much to ponder here, each story told with actual intelligence and a mordant wit, as when a nearby doctor expresses sympathy after that "Ouroboros" trader dies, and the AI muses that he's "probably reflecting that he'd just offered his condolences to a computer program." Fabrications is real, and well worth a reader's time. --Michael Magras, freelance book reviewer

Shelf Talker: Fabrications, an excellent story collection by author and computer scientist Zachary Mason, is a series of second-person works about the benefits and perils of artificial intelligence.