Beauty and the Book, a romance bookstore located at 4240 Old Seward Highway #13 in Anchorage, Alaska, hosted a grand opening celebration on June 8. KTOO reported that the bookstore, owned by sisters Ally Hartman and Baylee Loyd, "is an experience. Each of the three rooms has a distinct vibe and different subgenres sorted by colors on the shelves. One room is green and white, another pink, and the third is black."

"The dark room isn't going to be all romance. It's going to be mostly dark romance and fantasy. Because the books, their covers, mostly fit that vibe," Hartman said.

Loyd has been a reader since childhood, while Hartman hadn't always enjoyed reading, but when they both became pregnant in 2022, Loyd said they found something to bond over: "It was books. And then that's how this whole thing came together."

Hartman said that they want to create a kind of "haven" for romance book lovers in Anchorage. Loyd added their store has something for everyone, from sports to scientific romance, to more subtle forms of the genre, noting: "You can read a fade to black where you don't get any of the super hardcore romance scenes. You get a kiss and a cuddle and then the book's over. And that's perfect for some people."

The co-owners want their store to carry a selection of romance novels that readers can't find at big-box stores. They reached out to individual authors to help stock their shelves, which Hartman said had its perks. "They [authors] were sending us swag to have here that match their books, they were sending us signed books. And sending us all their love and support giving us connections to publishers."

Hartman added: "This is something we're going to enjoy doing. It's just something fun, you know. You live such a short life. You can work super, super hard, or you can enjoy the little things. And this is one of those little things that we can enjoy."

Main Street Bookmine in St. Helena, Calif., is reopening this week under new ownership and with the name Wild Plum Books, the Napa Valley Register reported.

Installing the new signage at Wild Plum Books.

St. Helena resident Elyse Chambers purchased Main Street Bookmine from previous owner Naomi Chamblin (who retains ownership of two Bookmine stores in Napa, Calif.), and took over last month. Main Street Bookmine's official last day in business was May 26; Wild Plum Books will open on a limited basis this week before opening in full next week.

While Chambers has inherited some used books from Main Street's inventory, she plans to have Wild Plum Books focus primarily on new titles. There will be books for all ages along with gift items, and Chambers intends to host author events, book clubs, and possibly children's storytimes. She's aiming for Wild Plum, which spans 250 square feet, to be a "nice, cozy hideaway" for St. Helena's book lovers.

From 1982 until 2019, St. Helena's only bookstore was Main Street Books, which was owned and operated by Liza Russ. After Main Street Books closed in 2019, Chamblin opened Main Street Bookmine in the same space and hired Russ to work there full-time. Following Russ's retirement, Chamblin approached Chambers about buying the store, where the latter had been a frequent and avid customer.

"I wanted to honor the legacy that Liza created and have a space for the community that feels welcoming," Chambers told the Register. "I want it to be a little jewel box of a store in Napa Valley."

Booksweet bookstore, Ann Arbor, Mich., which was put up for sale early last month by co-founders Shaun Manning and Truly Render, has new owners. Louis Rhoden, Casey Thacker, Darcy Rhoden, and Del Rhoden have purchased the business and will take over operations effective July 1. The sale is a turnkey purchase of the entire shop, including all brand assets and customer accounts, as well as comprehensive training, ensuring continuity of operations for customers, bulk order clients, and community partners. 

Manning said that when they announced the bookshop was for sale, "we were blown away by the response of so many interested buyers. We knew we had a great fit when the Rhoden/Thacker family started to talk about the books they were currently reading. They get excited about books in the way our readers have come to love: informed but also accessible and fun."

Render agreed, adding: "We also loved how eager the Rhoden/Thacker family is to meet our community programming partners and forge their own deep relationships. Booksweet has come to be known as a place for true community connection. When you shop here, you're investing in yourself and in each other--and the new owners really celebrate that ethos."

Noting that she has been a Booksweet customer for years and is thrilled to keep the store in Ann Arbor, Darcy Rhoden said, "It is such a special place to us. We can't wait to build upon what Shaun and Truly have created, and continue to engage within the community that we call home." A professor of communications studies at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, she will serve as a remote partner, aiding in the many behind-the-scenes jobs required at the shop.

Del Rhoden added: "Decades of enthusiasm about books is a glue that keeps our family strong. From my mom reading to and with me in the '60s and '70s, to my doing the same with my children in the '80s and '90s, to sharing books in the '00s and my children reading quotes and segments now, books create this long term-shared experience that makes us who we are. I can't wait to share that enthusiasm with the families of Ann Arbor."

Louis Rhoden, whose role at the shop will include events and community outreach, commented: "I'm excited to combine my love for fantasy books, work in the Black+ and Latinx nonprofit space, and experience in technology to help grow Booksweet and bring more great books to people in the Ann Arbor area."

Casey Thacker, who has a background in digital marketing and sales, noted: "I'm most excited to share our family's passion for reading with others. I want to keep Booksweet as a place where people can gather no matter who they are, and connect with more readers in the area."

St. Martin's Publishing Group is launching Saturday Books, an imprint that will specialize in New Adult titles for younger adults and readers between 18 and 30 who still enjoy YA but want stories that better reflect their current lives. The first titles will be released in fall 2025. The imprint will be overseen by Sara Goodman, v-p, editorial director, and Eileen Rothschild, v-p, associate publisher, the team that leads the Wednesday Books YA imprint.

St. Martin's Publishing Group president and publisher Jennifer Enderlin said, "This team has a passion for connecting authors and their books with readers, and a proven track record of bestselling success. We are very excited to launch Saturday Books with the same spirit of innovation and ingenuity."

Goodman said, "Our goal with this imprint is to fill a gap in the marketplace we've been noticing for years, a marketplace that hasn't been serving a large segment of readers who've aged out of YA but who still yearn for the same beats and pacing and immediacy of the books they grew up reading. Plus, we're going to have so much fun!"

Rothschild added, "With Wednesday Books we have seen how powerful the crossover audience is, and to be able to create an imprint with the New Adult audience in mind is thrilling!"

Shay Youngblood (photo: Carolyn Miller)

Shay Youngblood, whose work as a playwright, novelist and short story writer earned her the Pushcart Prize for fiction, a Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, and several NAACP Theater Awards, died June 11, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. She was 64.

"She could and would do anything that her artistic spirit told her to do. Shave your head? Shave your head! She wanted everyone to be free in the way they lived and the way they loved," said author Tayari Jones.

Writer Kelley Alexander observed: "When we would go out to dinner, she would order everything on the menu because she wanted to taste everything and wanted you to taste it." 

Youngblood was raised by a community of Black women that included grandmothers, great-grandmothers, great-aunts, a pastor's wife, and local shopkeepers. She "turned that early circle of caregivers into her first collection of short stories, Big Mama Stories, which she adapted into her first play, Shakin' the Mess Outta Misery, in 1988. She adapted the source material again in 2022 into the children's book Mama's Home," the Journal-Constitution wrote.

"It wasn't fiction. It was the truth-telling that fiction can do," her longtime friend Linda Bryant, co-founder of Charis Books & More, Decatur, Ga., said of Big Mama Stories.

A tribute posted on Charis Books & More's Facebook page noted: "In the days since Shay has gone from this Earth, our Charis community has been longing for her to come back, and has sought sustenance in her words and in the words of all those whose lives she touched.

"Shay was an epicurean of the heart, a writer's writer, a generous gifter, a marvelous cook, a cheerleader for everyone's wildest dreams. We are fortunate that we got to witness and celebrate the entire trajectory of her writing career; from her first pre-publication poetry reading at Charis in 1980 to her 2023 picture book release, A Family Prayer." 

Bryant also shared the memory of a then 20-year-old Youngblood hanging around Charis: "Once they got to know each other a bit Linda asked Shay what she wanted to do in her life and she said she was writing poems. Before long, Linda convinced her to do a reading of her poems called 'Ticket to Paris.' Shay was terrified, but excited. When the day of the reading came, she called the store and told Linda she was not feeling well and tried to back out. Linda said, 'Well that's too bad because the store is filling up with people excited to hear your words so if you think you can make it, you need to come on down here.' And so she did and her career as a public writer was born."

During the 1980s, Youngblood worked occasionally at Charis "and always knew she could travel and have a job to come home to and a place to crash if needed (at Linda's house). That freedom allowed her to explore herself as a young writer and she often lamented how hard it is for young people today to live the kind of free life she lived when she was young," the bookstore noted.

Youngblood's works also include the novels Soul Kiss (1997) and Black Girl in Paris (2000) as well as the plays Talking Bones, Amazing Grace, and most recently, Square Blues.

Noting that Youngblood did more living than most people do in twice the years, Charis wrote that Soul Kiss ends "with a narrator who is not all the way grown, but who has done a lot of living in a short period of time. The last line of the novel is a kind of grace, for the narrator, for us, for Shay: 'My thirst is endless, the well has no bottom, but there is love all around me, I am sure of it now.' "

Authors Fiona Davis and Julie Satow were in conversation at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City for the launch of Satow's When Women Ran Fifth Avenue (Doubleday). The packed audience included former department store employees and descendants of the women featured in the book.

"Anyone else a sucker for a good new release table?" The Pretty Posy Books & Gifts, Overland Park, Kan., shared a photo on Instagram of one of the shop's displays. "Happy New Release Tuesday!! Visit us at our indie bookshop in Downtown Overland Park to browse new releases and backlist gems! And our booksellers are always happy to help you find the perfect new book to try."

Kerry McManus has been promoted to marketing director, Astra Books for Young Readers.

---

Kassandra Rhoads has been promoted to senior publicist at Scribner.

The Better Boundaries Guided Journal: A Safe Space to Reflect on Your Needs and Work Toward Healthy, Respectful Relationships (The New Harbinger Journals for Change Series) by Sharon Martin (New Harbinger).

Tomorrow:
CBS Mornings: Marisa Renee Lee, author of Grief Is Love: Living with Loss (Legacy Lit, $18.99, 9780306926037).

Jennifer Hudson Show: Nick DiGiovanni, author of Knife Drop: Creative Recipes Anyone Can Cook (DK, $35, 9780744076776).

Planterior with Hilton Carter (show pilot) featuring Carter, author of The Propagation Handbook: A Guide to Propagating Houseplants (CICO Books, $30, 9781800653108) and Living Wild: How to Plant Style Your Home and Cultivate Happiness (CICO Books, $45, 9781800652125).

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, June 22
5 p.m. Gerard N. Magliocca, author of Washington's Heir: The Life of Justice Bushrod Washington (Oxford University Press, $45, 9780190947040).

5:55 p.m. Richard Gergel, author of Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of America (Picador, $18, 9781250251268).

Sunday, June 23
9 a.m. George Stephanopoulos, author of The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis (Grand Central, $35, 9781538740767). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

10 a.m. Lawrence Ingrassia, author of A Fatal Inheritance: How a Family Misfortune Revealed a Deadly Medical Mystery (Holt, $29.99, 9781250837226). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

2 p.m. Keisha N. Blain, author of Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy (W.W. Norton, $28.99, 9781324065609).

3:50 p.m. Nell Irvin Painter, author of I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays (Doubleday, $35, 9780385548908).

5:25 p.m. Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, Scholastic CEO Peter Warwick, and "other publishing industry leaders discuss how they are guiding their companies through a period of rapid change in the book industry," at the 2024 U.S. Book Show in New York.

6:20 p.m. Hampton Sides, author of The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook (Doubleday, $35, 9780385544764).

7:30 p.m. Cass R. Sunstein, author of Campus Free Speech: A Pocket Guide (Harvard University Press, $22.95, 9780674298781).

A shortlist has been released for the 2024 Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, which recognizes "exceptional first novels" and is voted for by the company's booksellers. The winner will be named July 25. This year's shortlisted titles are:

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Silence in Between by Josie Ferguson 
Mongrel by Hanako Footman
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly

Bea Carvalho, Waterstones head of books, said: "In an astonishingly strong year for fiction, which sees the return of so many beloved world-renowned novelists, it is especially pleasing to see such an exciting array of emerging voices: they are the literary stars of tomorrow. The shortlisted authors stood out for their assured, confident storytelling and the unique perspectives they bring to their subjects, tackling weighty themes with sensitivity and panache."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, June 24:

Shanghai: A Novel by Joseph Kanon (Scribner, $28.99, 9781668006429) follows a Jewish refugee in pre-World War II Shanghai.

Resurrection: A Novel by Danielle Steel (Delacorte, $29, 9780593498460) follows a woman with family problems stranded in Paris during a pandemic.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Crown, $30, 9780593798874) is a thriller set in a 1975 Missouri town where girls are disappearing.

Husbands & Lovers: A Novel by Beatriz Williams (Ballantine, $30, 9780593724224) follows two women decades apart united by a family heirloom.

Bear: A Novel by Julia Phillips (Hogarth, $28, 9780525520436) takes place on an island off the coast of Washington where two sisters struggle to survive.

Incidents Around the House: A Novel by Josh Malerman (Del Rey, $28, 9780593723128) is a horror story about a haunted eight-year-old girl.

Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury, $19.99, 9781547609765) is a standalone return to the world of the author's 2020 title, Cinderella Is Dead.

Children of Anguish and Anarchy by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt, $24.99, 9781250171016) is the final book in the blockbuster trilogy, the Legacy of Orisha.

The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI by Ray Kurzweil (Viking, $35, 9780399562761) explores possible future technology.

All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians by Phil Elwood (Holt, $28.99, 9781250321572) shares secrets from inside the Washington, D.C., public relations business.

When the Night Comes Falling: A Requiem for the Idaho Student Murders by Howard Blum (Harper, $30, 9780063349285) chronicles a quadruple homicide whose accused perpetrator is awaiting trial.

Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum (Random House, $30, 9780525508991) traces the origins of reality TV.

Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life by Ferris Jabr (Random House, $30, 9780593133972) examines the coevolution of life and the environment.

Paperbacks:
How to Stop Breaking Your Own Heart: Stop People-Pleasing, Set Boundaries, and Heal from Self-Sabotage by Meggan Roxanne (Hay House, $17.99, 9781401975845).

Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee (Entangled, $17.99, 9781649375773).

Forbidden Secrets by Lisa Jackson (Canary Street Press, $9.99, 9781335051615).

War by Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Charlotte Mandell (New Directions, $14.95, 9780811237321).

Echo of Worlds: The Pandominion Book 2 by M.R. Carey (Orbit, $19.99, 9780316504690).

Crooked Smile: What It Took to Escape a Decade of Homelessness, Addiction, & Crime by Jared Klickstein (Bombardier, $18.99, 9798888452523).

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

Hardcover
A Good Life: A Novel by Virginie Grimaldi, trans. by Hildegarde Serle (Europa Editions, $28, 9798889660248). "Can't wait to introduce Agathe and Emma to our customers! Grimaldi takes us inside a family--delicately, expertly, and respectfully inside a bond between sisters. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll never forget their story." --Susan Reckers, Rakestraw Books, Danville, Calif.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth (Tor, $19.99, 9781250855480). "Veronica Roth masterfully blends myth, modern-day Chicago, and the magic of the old country in this enthralling tale. This was the fantasy novella I didn't know I needed!" --Sammie Virella, Anderson's Bookshops, Naperville, Ill.

Paperback: An Indies Introduce Title
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea: A Novel by Rita Chang-Eppig (Bloomsbury, $18.99, 9781639734085). "A beautiful, meditative, fascinating read. This is exquisitely written and while I knew that the subject would be fascinating, I was still unprepared. Perfect for fans of Four Treasures of the Sky." --Cari Quartuccio, Shakespeare & Co., New York, N.Y.

Ages 4 to 8
Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor (Balzer + Bray, $19.99, 9780063275560). "Corey Tabor's picture books are so delightful, and Ursula Upside Down does not disappoint! A wonderful picture book about being yourself and how we all see the world differently, told by Ursula, the most adorable upside-down catfish." --Jen Steele, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis.

Ages 8 to 12: An Indies Introduce Title
Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod (First Second, $14.99, 9781250813749). "This is a wonderful story about looking inside yourself and trying to put yourself in others' shoes, even those you think you know the best. And the artwork of blueberry pie, red curry, and more will have your mouth watering!" --Paul Swydan, The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, Acton, Mass.

Teen Readers
What's Eating Jackie Oh? by Patricia Park (Crown Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593563410). "Loved this book. Patricia Park brings us a complicated, smart, compelling heroine in Jackie Oh. She manages to merge threads of family strife, race, secrets--and lots of great food--all so smoothly and beautifully done." --Kathy Crowley, Belmont Books, Belmont, Mass.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Sophia's new play is being performed, and her father, a novelist, is in the audience for the first time. The play is set in the house where he and Sophia once stayed in Sicily, and as he watches the opening scenes, "Sophia's father leans forward. It's not what he thought." With those terse words, Jo Hamya (Three Rooms) underlines the tension of The Hypocrite, which threads between the unsettling theater performance and the years-earlier vacation, needling under the skin of this fraught and faltering father-daughter relationship.

Jo Hamya writes beautiful sentences, with The Hypocrite showing off such impeccable descriptions as, "on a small white boat that rocked like a bell towards a catalogue of blistered cliff faces." The Hypocrite also asks excellent questions about race and class ("Why wouldn't you believe in the possibility of a non-white Hampstead sex romp via Italian sands?") and considers the culture of rabid opinions fueled by the U.S.-mediated Internet ("All your examples are American... because all your opinions are rephrased junk from strangers who pour their heart out via globalised American media conglomerates on the internet.") These gems illuminate the plot, which moves between the present and the past with ease, highlighting the many family difficulties.

Besides the relationships between Sophia and her parents (the seemingly endless lunch with Sophia's increasingly drunk mother is almost as searing as the play), The Hypocrite offers much to think about regarding being a writer, creating worlds from memory and imagination, and how that affects all parties potentially involved. And through flashes of Sophia as a younger woman (whole chapters rendered as parenthetical asides), it becomes clear that the vacation depicted in the play left more marks than are shown on stage, especially regarding how Sophia viewed herself and her agency: "Sophia committed herself to being unseen. She let Anto place his hands on her shoulders and steer her where he wanted."

At its heart, though, this is a novel about familiar and familial pain, the hurts those closest can inflict, even when the harm is unintended or goes completely unnoticed. And it packs a punch, despite its small size. Hamya certainly calls into question the version of masculinity performed by Sophia's father, but she doesn't completely negate him, rendering his embarrassment and confusion beautifully. Similarly, she reveals Sophia's anguish even as she doesn't quite excuse her, leaving readers to wonder exactly which hypocrite is named in the title. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian

Shelf Talker: Jo Hamya's The Hypocrite is an impeccable rendering of familiar and familial pain, the hurts those closest can inflict, even when the harm is unintended or goes completely unnoticed.