Stacks Book Club in Oro Valley, Ariz., has opened a second store, in Tucson, Ariz., This Is Tucson reported. 

Located at 2920 E. Broadway, the new store offers general-interest titles for all ages and includes a cafe and bar. At about 4,000 square feet, it is almost double the size of the original Oro Valley store, which opened in 2023, and features more seating and expanded hours. 

At opening on Tuesday, the store had around 6,000 books in stock, and co-owners Lizzy and Crispin Jeffrey-Franco plan to fill out the inventory as they get a better sense of what the Tucson community likes. And as with the Oro Valley store, they plan to host author signings, book clubs, release parties, and other community events.

"Almost since the day we opened, we've had customers asking if we might do something down here in Tucson," Lizzy Jeffrey-Franco told This Is Tucson prior to the opening. "They liked what we were doing--they liked coming up to our store--but for a lot of people we were just a long way away." The two stores are about 18 miles apart.

"Author events have become an important part of who we are," commented Crispin Jeffrey-Franco. "Our readers want to meet authors, and we want them to do that all year round. Having the second store will help us do even more."

Sharon Amari, owner of online indie Page After Page Books, has opened a bricks-and-mortar location inside Mimi's Coffee & Tea in Commack, N.Y. The Times of Smithtown reported that there is "an entire wall of bookshelves full of fiction and nonfiction books by Long Island writers and by authors from elsewhere, curated by Amari," who lives in East Northport. 

Amari had been looking to add a physical space when she came upon Hong Liu's cafe in the Mayfair Shopping Center and knew it was the perfect location. 

"I'm actually just a big reader," she noted, adding that the idea is not only to sell books but also raise the profile of Long Island writers. Her first event, Books & Brews: The Sidewalk Signing, was held on May 1 and featured three local authors. She aims to host several book-themed events, including a monthly book club.

Page After Page's physical space had its grand opening earlier this spring. At the time, Amari posted on Instagram: "From the book cave... to this. This started as shelves in my space, late nights scanning inventory, wrapping blind dates with a book, and hoping people would care as much as I do... and now? People are walking in for coffee... stopping... browsing... holding books in their hands... and actually choosing their next chapter in real life. 

"I don't think I'll ever get over this moment. Page After Page Books isn't just online anymore... she's officially out in the world. And if you were there today, supported, shared, or even just cheered me on--thank you. Truly. Plot twist... this is just the beginning."

Patchouli Joe's Books & Indulgences in Denton, Tex., "which looked like it might still have a home in downtown Denton," will close on May 30, the Record-Chronicle reported. Owners Charlie Forester, Stephanie Forester, Diane Mayes, and Joe Mayes had announced in January that a March closure was possible. Before the end of that month, however, a Mulberry Street location became an option, but due to unexpected additional costs the plan could not be realized. 

Earlier this week, the owners said: "While we'll continue to pop up at events and venues in town, we will no longer have a brick-and-mortar location."

Mayes told the Record-Chronicle, "Commercial real estate rules are different than residential real estate rules. Commercial real estate owners can pass on expenses to their tenants that residential real estate owners can't." He added that the letter of intent regarding the property differed from the actual lease: "We just couldn't find an agreement with the landlord, so we shook hands and parted ways."

The economic downturn played a role as well. "Once the economy turned, that's when things started moving in a direction we couldn't recover from," Mayes said. "Books aren't groceries. Books are a luxury item, and people have to choose whether they can afford to have them," Mayes said, adding: "By the time we close, it'll be five years to the day that we've had to be a part of downtown Denton. We couldn't be prouder of what we've done, or happier that we did it."

Robert Daley, a prolific author "whose novels and nonfiction explored the grit and perils of police work, pro football, racecar driving, and other subjects that drew on his life as a New York Giants publicist, a New York Times foreign correspondent and a gun-toting New York Police Department spokesman," died May 26, the Times reported. He was 96. Daley wrote 31 books, including works on bullfighting, deep-sea treasure hunts, and horse racing, but his specialty was New York cops. 

His best-known work was Prince of the City: The True Story of a Cop Who Knew Too Much (1978), which was adapted into the 1981 film, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Treat Williams. Six of Daley's books were adapted for movies or TV.

He was the NYPD's deputy commissioner for public affairs for a year in 1971-72, but it was not an ideal job for him. He had written nine books, been a correspondent for the Times in Europe for six years, and "cut a continental figure in his military trench coat and longish hair. In a department that valued discretion, he seemed miscast.... Daley had a staff of 35, a radio car, and drivers around the clock. He was often among the first at crime scenes, ducking under yellow tapes to examine evidence like a detective. He spoke freely to reporters, often to the dismay of detectives and Commissioner Patrick V. Murphy, who had appointed him," the Times wrote.

After Murphy asked him to resign over "differences of opinion" on policy, Daley left in May 1972. A year later, he published Target Blue: An Insider's View of the N.Y.P.D., a memoir about his experiences.

"Daley is an incurable romantic with a warped view of his own place in history," Mary Perot Nichols wrote in a review of the book in the Times. "He is the first public relations man in the Police Department's history to conceive of himself as the tail that wags the dog."

Many of Daley's later novels were set against the city's criminal justice system, including Year of the Dragon (1981), which was adapted into a 1985 film starring Mickey Rourke; Tainted Evidence (1993), about a prosecutor's case against a cop-killer (Lumet's 1996 film version was retitled Night Falls on Manhattan); and Wall of Brass (1994).

During the Giants' off seasons, Daley traveled in Europe and wrote freelance sports articles for the Times. His first book, The World Beneath the City (1959), grew out of a Times Magazine article about underground complexities. In 1959, Daley joined the Times staff, and for six years was a correspondent in Europe and North Africa.

His last novel, The Red Squad (2013), "explored the sinister world of the Police Department's Bureau of Special Services and Investigations, which in the 1950s pursued suspected Communists, sometimes trampling rights and destroying careers," the Times noted.

"Most writers spend most of their lives locked in small rooms typing, and they don't get paid very much," Daley noted in an introduction to his second memoir, Writing on the Edge: The Ups and Downs of a Freelance Career (2014). "I refused to live like that. Throughout, I have tried to manage my career in a different way, call it my way if you like."

Authors from Red Comet Press have been gathering periodically to visit bookstores in the Boston area. Yesterday they visited six stores in Wellesley, Needham, and Newtonville: Wellesley Books, Turtle Books, Newtonville Books, the recently opened The Bookshop of Needham and two Henry Bear's Park locations. Pictured, at The Bookshop of Needham: (l.-r.) Mia Wenjen, Alison Goldberg, and Kathleen Choi.

Click here to see the latest Independent Press Top 40, the weekly bestseller list celebrating the bestselling 40 fiction and 40 nonfiction titles from independent publishers, as sold by independent bookstores across the country. The list is sponsored by the Independent Publishers Caucus and the American Booksellers Association.

This week's debut fiction titles:

7. Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel by Shuang-zi Yang (Graywolf Press)
32. She Who Remains by Rene Karabash (Sandorf Passage)
35. Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One by Violet Allen (Littlepuss Press)
38. Riverwork by Lisa Robertson (Coach House Books)
40. Cat Poems edited by Tynan Kogane (New Directions) 

This week's debut nonfiction titles:

17. Fifa World Cup 2026: The Official Guide by Keir Radnedge (Welbeck)
25. Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chodron (Shambhala)
32. Dog Days by Emily Labarge (Transit Books)
39. Ignite Revival: Be Set on Fire to Change the World by Kathryn Krick (Charisma House)
40. The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump by Lamar Alexander (Post Hill Press)

"Where do you go right before a wedding? Brain Lair obviously! Ahh, we love love!" Brain Lair Books in South Bend, Ind., posted on Instagram. 

At Libro.fm:

Kay Farmer has been promoted to chief operating officer.
Albee Dalbotten Romero has been promoted to v-p of marketing.
Ruby Chan has joined the company as marketing associate.
Madi Mullen has been promoted to director of product.
Julie MacKay has joined the company as senior director of content partnerships & strategy.
Lee Hooyboer has joined the company as senior manager of bookseller partnerships.
Danny Hitzelberger has been promoted to support team lead.
Phoenix Logan has joined the company as senior technical product manager.
Brittany Larsen has joined the company as U.S. support specialist.
Enzo Baveta has joined the company as U.K. technical support specialist.

Today:
Here & Now: Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Train: A Novel (Viking, $30, 9780593833377).

Tomorrow:
The View: José Andrés, co-author of Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Spaniard (Ecco, $45, 9780063328068).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Leia Ham, author of The Missing Magic of Sparrow Xia (Scholastic Press, $16.99, 9781546150923).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, May 30
4:40 p.m. Beverly Gage, author of This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781668033104).

Sunday, May 31
8 a.m. Sean Spicer, author of Trump 2.0: The Revolution That Will Permanently Transform America (Regnery, $32.99, 9781510786202). 

9 a.m. Martha Raddatz, author of The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose (Avid Reader Press, $32, 9781668093801). (Re-airs Sunday at 9:15 p.m.)

10 a.m. Lamar Alexander, author of The Education of a Senator: From JFK to Trump (Post Hill Press, $37.50, 9798895656488).

11 a.m. Robert Caro, author of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Vintage, $28, 9780394720241) and the Years of Lyndon Johnson series.

12:30 p.m. Peter Cohen, author of In the Supreme Court's Own Words: First Principles for Checking Presidential Power and Preserving the Republic (Constitutional Insight Press, $21.99, 9798999346100).

1:45 p.m. Jessica Riskin, author of The Power of Life: The Invention of Biology and the Revolutionary Science of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (Riverhead, $32, 9780593852576).

3:35 p.m. David Blumenthal and James A. Morone, authors of Whiplash: From the Battle for Obamacare to the War on Science (Yale University Press, $30, 9780300263480), at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

4:35 p.m. Jon Meacham, author of American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (Random House, $38, 9780593597552).

7 p.m. Candice Millard, author of River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (Vintage, $19, 9780525435648).

Chautauqua Institution has announced the shortlist for the 2026 Chautauqua Prize, honoring "a book that provides a richly rewarding reading experience and to honor the author for a significant contribution to the literary arts":

Universality: A Novel by Natasha Brown (Random House)
Flashlight: A Novel by Susan Choi (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
O Sinners! A Novel by Nicole Cuffy (One World)
Old School Indian: A Novel by Aaron John Curtis (Zando - Hillman Grad Books)
Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd (Haymarket Books)
The River Is Waiting: A Novel by Wally Lamb (Scribner)
This Is Your Mother: A Memoir by Erika J. Simpson (Scribner)

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, June 2:

Whistler: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper, $30, 9780063511637) follows a woman reconnecting with her former stepfather.

Land: A Novel by Maggie O'Farrell (Knopf, $32, 9780593320648) takes place in 1865 Ireland, where an Irish father and son are helping the British create a detailed map of the country after the Great Hunger.

The Typing Lady: And Other Fictions by Ruth Ozeki (Viking, $30, 9780593832714) collects 11 short stories.

The Fire Agent by David Baerwald (Spiegel & Grau, $32, 9781966302001) is historical fiction based on the author's grandfather--a German Jew who was a spy in prewar Tokyo.

Black Freedom: A Visual History of Juneteenth and Emancipation Days by Blair LM Kelley (Black Dog & Leventhal, $35, 9780762486939) chronicles 150 years of Black Juneteenth and Emancipation Day celebrations.

View from the East Wing: A Memoir by Jill Biden (Gallery, $32, 9781668222881) is a memoir by the only First Lady to have a Doctor of Education degree.

The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang (Berkley, $30, 9780593955826) follows a marine biologist called to rescue a Maine island besieged by a giant jellyfish.

The Beasts of the East: The Fall and Rise of America's Eastern Wilderness by Andrew Moore (Mariner, $35, 9780063001220) tracks efforts to reintroduce species such as elk, bison and wolves to their native ranges in the Eastern U.S.

1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed (Penguin Press, $32, 9781594204173) explores the first global financial crises and the banking family responsible for it.

Skyring Water by Louis L'Amour and Beau L'Amour (Bantam, $32, 9798217302468) is a Cold War novel that is a collaboration by the late Louis L'Amour and his son.

Better Pets by Leigh Bardugo, illus. by Liz Climo (Roaring Brook, $19.99, 9781250899125) is about finding the perfect (silly) pet and is Bardugo's second picture book.

Breakout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon (Quill Tree, $19.99, 9780063217508) is a YA thriller that reunites the authors of Blackout and Whiteout. 

Paperbacks:
A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer (Steerforth, $19.95, 9781586424367).

The Open Era by Edward Schmit (Berkley, $19, 9780593956779).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
Patient, Female: Stories by Julie Schumacher (Milkweed Editions, $26, 9781639551651). "All the wit and wry observation you expect from Julie Schumacher, but deeper, and darker. Some of these stories left me breathless and a little shocked, in awe of the courage it took to identify and embrace some very human and very ugly emotions." --Sharon Weinberg, The Chatham Bookstore, Chatham, N.Y.

Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth (Tor Books, $29.99, 9781250347909). "A stunning science fantasy novel with a virus that can kill or give superpowers, world-altering prophecies, mysterious aliens, secret dads, surprise romance, and a whole lot of trauma. If you're looking for a chunky book with high stakes, great characters, and a propulsive plot, you're in the right place." --Alex Schaffner, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, Mass.

Paperback: An Indies Introduce Title
Entomology of the Pin-Up Girl by Lauren Osborn (Dzanc Books, $17.95, 9781938603709). "A grotesquely satisfying book that will stick with you. Osborn has accomplished the perfect melding of 'good for her' with an unflinching stare down the barrel of some of society's most pressing problems." --Cassie Goodwin, Loudmouth Books, Indianapolis, Ind.

Ages 4-8
The Underwearwolf by Gideon Sterer, illus. by Charles Santoso (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665955584). "In an age of morality tales, Sterer unleashes a furry menace of a boy upon his small town. A joyful celebration of childhood mischief, inviting kids to run amok in their imaginations." --Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Ages 8-12: An Indies Introduce Title
The Last Dragon House: A Novel by Liv Mae Morris (Amulet, $19.99, 9781419784613). "The most delightful middle-grade novel! The dragons were fantastic, the kids were daring and kind, the adventure was just the right amount of scary, and the ending has me needing book two ASAP. This is going to be a huge hit with middle-grade readers." --Kimberly McCraw, Old Town Books, Alexandria, Va.

Ages 13+: An Indies Introduce Title
Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai (Wednesday Books, $20, 9781250378927). "Get in, xianxia girlies--we're dispelling restless spirits, exploring the social consequences of empire and war, and falling in love with sweet, flirty reanimated princes. A spellbinding tale of family, duty, and compassion, and at its beating core is a heartfelt and unflinching relationship with death." --Lucky Pents, Meet Cute Romance Bookshop, San Diego, Calif.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

In It Will Come Back to You, Sigrid Nunez's wry, incisive 11th work (and first story collection), aging characters navigate volatile relationships and ponder memory and family legacies.

All 13 stories originally appeared in literary magazines such as Harper's and the New Yorker. Nunez (The Friend; The Vulnerables) has been deservedly lauded for her compassionate autofiction. Six stories bear a first-person voice reminiscent of that in her recent novels, while seven are in the third person. A passenger is stranded in inhospitable circumstances in "Airport Story." Jury service unearths uncomfortable memories of an affair in "The Naked Juror." And in "Greensleeves," a woman laments her schizophrenic brother's behavior to a therapist, whose daughter is consumed by eco-anxiety.

Interest in other lives fuels epiphanies. Between college and law school, Phoebe lives in a crummy apartment building mostly occupied by immigrants and wonders if her neighbor could be a sex worker in "Curiosity." Adolescent Elsie's impulsivity catches up with her in "Imagination" when she storms out of the farewell-to-summer party at her parents' country house, breaks her ankle, and startles a fox. The story ends on a delicious note of uncertainty.

Nostalgia and regret vie for position. "Mother-Daughter Story" shines with psychological insight into three generations of women. Raised by a critical mother and alcoholic father, Mo became hypersensitive. For a college assignment, she had to write to her mother in the style of Kafka's "Letter to His Father." The hurts of her past then accumulate and repeat in her treatment of her daughter, Jo. When Mo and Jo clear out Mo's late mother's house, they find the letter. The harm cannot be undone, but small kindnesses might still ameliorate grief and strengthen bonds. The title story offers a melancholy end to the book as the narrator accepts hearing loss and interrogates her memories of her mother figure, 89-year-old "Aunt" Gilda.

There are flashes of humor, though--chiefly in "It's All Good," in which a brother and sister hire a Brad Pitt impersonator to entertain their mother, who has dementia, at a Chinese restaurant. A Highsmith-esque vibe enlivens "The Plan," whose young protagonist plots to murder his wife. His misogynistic outlook is terrifying, as is the sexualized violence a privileged guest threatens toward a hotel employee in "The Rabbit's Foot."

Comparable to works by Elizabeth Strout and Deborah Levy, It Will Come Back to You is a captivating collection that resonates with themes of human vulnerability, memory triggers, generational patterns, and facing shame and bitterness. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader, and blogger at Bookish Beck

Shelf Talker: Sigrid Nunez's collected short stories exhibit her trademark compassion, with encounters between family members and strangers alike lending opportunities for connection and the redemption of memories.

The 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards ceremony was held May 21 in Sydney, honoring 25 winners selected "by an experienced cohort of highly-respected publishers, booksellers, agents and media and industry representatives, with winning titles presenting a significant contribution to their respective genre or category." Check out the complete list of book and industry winners here. 

I read about the ABIA celebration just before the long Memorial Day Weekend began, and noticed that the Biography Book of the Year prize went to Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks (published in the U.S. by Penguin). The judges praised "Hachette Australia for their exceptional commitment to care, trust and the author's emotional safety, achieved through close collaboration with Brooks and resulting in this brilliant memoir."

Memorial Days had been on my TBR list for awhile. As prizes sometimes do, the honor for Brooks prompted me to immediately buy and start reading her beautifully crafted work. That it happened to be during Memorial Day Weekend was just a coincidence. 

Perhaps a series of coincidences. In her compelling memoir, Brooks explores the life, memories, and complicated grieving process she experienced after the death of her husband, journalist and author Tony Horwitz. He'd died suddenly on Memorial Day 2019, just a day before he had "a slew of interviews lined up starting early in the morning, then a book event that evening at the famed D.C. bookstore, Politics and Prose," as part of his book tour for Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide.

In Memorial Days, more than three years have passed and Brooks is living temporarily on the Flinders Island, northeast of Tasmania, where she hopes to "begin my own memorial days. I am taking something that our culture has stopped freely giving: the right to grieve. To shut out the world and its demands. To remember my love and to feel the immensity of his loss." 

The memoir has quickly become my unanticipated gift from this year's ABIAs. The original intention for this week's column, however, was to write about joy and celebration for the bookstores that won business category awards. And so I add these:

Letitia Davy

Bookshop of the Year
Gleebooks Dulwich in Sydney was honored by the judges "for their continued community engagement, underpinned by a focus on staff training and mentorship. Strong sales growth and proactive reporting on Australian titles reflect a deep commitment to supporting and championing local authors in an increasingly global entertainment market."

Letitia Davy--former bookshop manager who recently joined publisher Allen & Unwin--shared the big moment on Instagram: "Love wins! We all know how special Gleebooks Dulwich is... and now it's official! Last night, Gleebooks Dulwich Hill was named Australian Bookshop of the Year at the @abia_awards! What an absolute honour! It takes a village--from every bookseller who has poured their heart and soul into the store, through to every customer who loves and supports it. There is home, there is work, and then there is the bookshop. Long may the third place reign. Congratulations to every Gleebooks Dully local--this is your bookshop and your win! Come in today and over the weekend to touch the award! It's a brick!!!"

Readings Emporium

Book Retailer of the Year
Readings, which operates several stores in Melbourne, was recognized for "the successful expansion of Readings' physical store presence, and an additional digital website transformation focusing on stronger brand identity and a seamless customer journey. The retailer achieved impressive sales growth in a challenging market, supported by their commitment to serving as a third space for community gathering."

In a social media post, Readings noted: "We are delighted to share that we have been awarded the 2026 Book Retailer of the Year at yesterday's Australian Book Industry Awards! Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the night!"

Multicategory Retailer of the Year
BIG W for its "resilience in a shifting economic landscape and their continued support of Australian publishing above the market average. Their innovative marketing mix of e-commerce and physical stores has supported the discovery of books to the Big W customer, demonstrating the retailer's commitment to the Australian book industry."

Paul Macdonald

Hall of Fame
Paul Macdonald was this year's recipient of the Pixie O'Harris Award, which recognizes members of the book trade "who have worked consistently in the field of children's literature, demonstrated commitment beyond the call of duty, and who have developed a reputation for their contribution."

Macdonald, co-owner of the Children's Bookshop in Sydney for more than 20 years, is also the outgoing president of the Children's Book Council of Australia NSW, an author, and "tireless champion of children's books," the ABIA noted.

"I am absolutely thrilled, honored and humbled to be awarded the 2026 Pixie O'Harris Award--and I am absolutely in awe of the list of prestigious past winners," he said.

Wins... and loss.

I finished reading Memorial Days yesterday. When I decided to write a column about the ABIAs, I never anticipated it having a bittersweet tone. Yet that is what ultimately happened and I have Geraldine Brooks to thank for it. Actually, I am grateful. What I always want in my reading life--even my professional life--is to encounter the unexpected path. Why wouldn't I? I'm a reader, after all. 

Perhaps I should have guessed from the beginning of Memorial Days that this would be a special reader's journey. The epigraph chosen by Brooks is from The Riders by Tim Winton, one of my favorite authors: "The only end some things have is the end you give them."