The Bookloft in Great Barrington, Mass., has launched a $100,000 GoFundMe campaign, Help Keep the Bookloft Aloft, after a "drastic" decrease in sales. Owner Giovanni Boivin had experienced the usual post-holiday lull during the winter, but when sales numbers "didn't pick up like they should have come April and May, the anxiety started creeping in," Boston.com reported. 

"It was unusual. Unusually quiet, to the point where I was getting really worried that if we don't see some kind of shift in revenue and foot traffic, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it through the rest of the year," he said.

The bookshop was founded in 1974 by Eric and Evelyn Wilska. They sold the shop in 2016 to Pamela Pescosolido, who moved it in 2020 to its current location. In late 2022, Pescosolido sold the store to staff member Boivin, who took the helm at the start of 2023.

More recently, after trying alternative ways to increase revenue, Boivin decided he needed help from the community. "It was mostly just a way of telling the larger community, 'Hey, we're in trouble,' " he said.

The crowdfunder "will help the bookstore pay its bills and develop a small nest egg in the event that the shop experiences another lull in sales in the future," Boston.com wrote.

"50,000 will get my bills paid, but if there's any kind of lull in the fall or next year, I'm kind of fighting the same situation," he said. "Then I've got something to fall back on."

Book Box Bookshop will host a ribbon cutting and grand-opening celebration tomorrow, June 29, in its new bricks-and-mortar store at 58 E. 12300 South in Draper, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that co-owners and sisters Randi Rose and Kayleigh Dixon, who had previously launched their business as a pop-up at Traverse Mountain Outlets in Lehi, said their "ultimate goal" had always been to own a storefront together.

Randi Rose and Kayleigh Dixon at their original pop-up store.

Book Box Bookshop will be the only indie bookstore in the Draper area, a location that was intentional on the part of the owners. "We went on a date for Kayleigh's birthday, a tour around Utah to all the bookstores," Rose said. "We drove an hour from Spanish Fork to Salt Lake and all the way down there, we were like 'There are no bookstores. We need an indie bookstore.' " She added that the Draper location will also allow them to maintain their customer base from Lehi. 

"I couldn't be more happy with the location that we landed. It really hits a niche where it's needed," Dixon said.

"One aspect of the original Book Box that translates over to the shop is the DIY aspects the sisters brainstormed," the Tribune noted. "The store is an explosion of color, with each wall painted differently: yellow, blue, pink, orange and green." Rose said the goal was to play to the '90s retro vibe--to make it fun and exciting. There are lime-green light fixtures and a mural in the store was painted by artist Katelin Jensen.

"This isn't a house you're going to live in every day. This is somewhere you come to have a good time," Dixon said. "Seeing people in here, happy and loving it [in] something we created is going to be so big. The people that come to Book Box are the best part, and I cannot wait for them to see it."

Rose noted that the pop-up Book Box will stay at the Traverse Mountain Outlets in Lehi through the end of the year.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that provides subsidies for renting premises for bookstores; introduces book certificates for 18-year-olds and young parents; and promotes Ukrainian books, UNN reported.

MP Yevhenia Kravchuk, one of the initiators of Bill #11251, said, "From now on, it will be possible to submit duly certified copies of the documents required for the subsidy. There are also clear deadlines for reviewing applications--10 days, and five days for publishing the results. We will not only support the publishing industry, but also popularize Ukrainian books." 

Beginning this year, 18-year-old Ukrainians will receive book certificates worth UAH 908 (about $22.45), and with the end of martial law, one of the parents will also receive them at the birth of a child.

She added that there is a demand for these services. In particular, the share of people who read every day increased from 8% to 17% between 2020 and 2023. The popularity of books in the Ukrainian language has also increased from 32% to 54%.

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French independent booksellers are facing a bleak year ahead, according to new study presented at the French Booksellers Association biennial conference in Strasbourg that revealed profitability will drop for medium- and small-sized booksellers over the next 12 months, the Bookseller reported.

The study predicted that profitability for large outlets should remain stable at 1.7% in 2025, but drop from 1.6% to 0.8% for the medium-sized and that small ones will have a loss of 1.3%.

To offset rising costs, booksellers must increase sales by between 5.3% and 8.2% in 2024-2025, but "this appears extremely unlikely to happen because of stagnating readership and a loss of buying power," SLF v-p Amanda Spiegel said, adding that if nothing is done, most indies will be in the red within two years.

"The urgency of the situation prompts us to launch a new call (for action) to publishers and the government," SLF president Anne Martelle told the conference delegates during her opening speech calling for a minimum discount to small booksellers of 36% for all. Despite the problems, bookselling has "without doubt never been as attractive" as it is now, Martelle noted.

The  study did offer some good news regarding the failure rate for booksellers. Last year, bookshops with at least one employee going into liquidation or receivership came to only 1.1% of the total, compared to 2% to 2.5% for other retailing sectors.

Spiegel told the Bookseller that the SLF has two demands for the future government: to maintain the Culture Pass for young people, which last year represented 2.6% of bookshops' sales, and to reduce the discount on book sales to libraries from 9% to 5%. This is the same as allowed to individuals under the 1981 fixed-price law. It would cost local authorities €6 million (about $6.4 million) a year, but would add 1% to booksellers' margins.

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The vast majority (86%) of Dutch people occasionally read a book, according to a recent a quarterly survey carried out by GfK, a market research company. The European & International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported that the study also found 37% of respondents read three times a week or more, compared to 32% last year. 

The most popular places to buy a book are the Bol.com website, followed by local bricks-and-mortar bookshops. Survey respondents value local physical bookshops due to their pleasant, inspiring environment, and they also like to support local businesses. More than 50% of respondents think it is important that there is a bookshop in their area. --Robert Gray

David Peters

David Peters, owner and managing director of lifestyle publisher Ryland, Peters & Small, died last Saturday, June 22, after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 66.

Peters led RPS for nearly 30 years. He founded the press with Anne Ryland and Jacqui Small, and in 1996 produced its first list, which included the bestseller Pure Style. Other major titles include the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and, more recently, The Air-Fryer Cookbook. In 2006, RPS acquired CICO Books. RPS is distributed in the U.S. by Simon & Schuster and in Canada by Firefly Books Ltd.

Prior to starting RPS, Peters began his publishing career at the age of 17 as a trainee sales representative for Hodder & Stoughton. Eventually he moved up the ranks at Reed International Books before becoming managing director of Osprey.

"Losing David is devastating for everyone at RPS," his colleagues wrote. "Throughout David's long career, he cultivated long-standing relationships all around the world. We know he will be sorely missed by many. His legacy will be carried on through his loyal staff and partners through our future publishing list."

Shelf Awareness for Readers, our weekly consumer-facing publication featuring adult and children's book reviews, author interviews, backlist recommendations, and fun news items, is being published today. Starred review highlights include Tehrangeles by Porochista Khakpour, a "contemporary whirlwind comedy drama" about an "obscenely wealthy" Iranian American family in Los Angeles that's "pure literary entertainment"; Ambition Monster by Jennifer Romolini, a "laugh-out-loud funny" memoir that is also "sharp and insightful as [Romolini] explores questions of work and its relationship to identity"; and My Life with Sea Turtles by Christine Figgener, both a "love letter to sea turtle conservation" and a memoir that "brims with natural beauty." In our True-Crime Novels feature, we highlight numerous summer reading recommendations that feature podcasters sleuthing out the truth of crimes new and old for their listeners. Plus, rediscover the Fifty Places series by late author and outdoor enthusiast Chris Santella.

Today's issue of Shelf Awareness for Readers is going to more than 690,000 customers of 251 independent bookstores. Stores interested in learning more can contact our partnership program team via e-mail. To see today's issue, click here.

Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, Ga. hosted a Pride panel featuring (from left) YA authors Julian Winters, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Matthew Hubbard, and Rachael Allen for the release of Hubbard's debut, The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge (Delacorte).

Booksellers visiting booksellers: While vacationing in Vermont, Arlene Lynes, owner of Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock, Ill., visited the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich and shared a photo of the moment when she "caught Ashley putting the final touches on their chalkboard."

"If you're not in the shade or a body of water right now, you should be in here... cool air and cool books inside," Lost City Books, Washington, D.C., posted on Instagram.

In Penguin Random House children's sales:

Becky Green is promoted to senior v-p, retail, and Penguin Young Readers sales. She will maintain her oversight of national accounts and retail sales and add Penguin Young Readers sales responsibilities.

Mark Santella is promoted to senior v-p, mass merchandise, and Random House Children's sales. He will continue to be responsible for the mass merchandise channel and add Random House Children's Books sales responsibilities.

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Sara Merritt has been promoted to v-p of marketing for Zonderkidz and Blink YA. She has worked for Zonderkidz and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for more than 15 years.

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Tucker Stone has been named executive director of communications & marketing at Fantagraphics. He recently was president of USBBY, the U.S. chapter of the International Board for Books for Young People. Earlier he worked for Nobrow & Flying Eye Books, TOON Books, and Ingram. Before he joined the publishing side of the business, he was managing partner of Bergen Street Comics, the comics and graphic novel store in Brooklyn, N.Y.

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At Sourcebooks:

Shannon McCain has joined the company as associate director, international marketing and publicity.

Diana Schmidt has joined the company as marketing assistant for Sourcebooks Casablanca and Bloom Books.

The works of James Baldwin "could be headed to the small and big screen" after Fremantle North America struck a deal with the Baldwin Family estate via Trevor Baldwin, nephew and founder of the Baldwin United Fund. Deadline reported that the deal allows for the development of new adaptations of the author's books for TV and film. Original Productions will handle the documentary side of the agreement, which comes ahead of what would be Baldwin's 100th birthday in August.

"We are deeply honored to bring James Baldwin's timeless works to a new generation," said Dante Di Loreto, president of scripted programming, Fremantle North America. "We are committed to preserving Baldwin's legacy while making his powerful narratives accessible and compelling for contemporary audiences. This collaboration underscores our dedication to producing content that entertains and inspires."

Arundhati Roy won the PEN Pinter Prize, which is awarded annually to a writer residing in the U.K., the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, or the former Commonwealth who, in the words of Harold Pinter's Nobel Prize in Literature speech, casts an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon the world and shows a "fierce intellectual determination... to define the real truth of our lives and our societies."

Roy will be honored October 10 in a ceremony co-hosted by the British Library, where she will deliver an address. The prize will be shared with a Writer of Courage, "who is active in defense of freedom of expression, often at great risk to their own safety and liberty." The co-winner, selected by Roy from a shortlist of international cases supported by English PEN, will be announced at the ceremony.

Judge and chair of English PEN Ruth Borthwick said Roy "tells urgent stories of injustice with wit and beauty. While India remains an important focus, she is truly an internationalist thinker, and her powerful voice is not to be silenced."

Prize judge Khalid Abdalla praised Roy as a "luminous voice of freedom and justice whose words have come with fierce clarity and determination for almost 30 years now. Her books, her writings, the spirit with which her life is lived, have been a lodestar through the many crises and the darkness our world has faced since her first book, The God of Small Things.... In honoring Arundhati Roy this year, we are celebrating both the dignity of her body of work and the timeliness of her words, that arrive with the depth of her craft exactly when we need them most."

Judge Roger Robinson added that Roy was the unanimous choice for the award, "a testament to her unparalleled contribution to literature.... Roy's incisive commentary on issues ranging from environmental degradation to human rights abuses demonstrates her commitment to advocating for the marginalized and challenging the status quo. Her unique voice and unwavering dedication to these causes make her a deserving recipient of this honor."

Roy said: "I am delighted to accept the PEN Pinter prize. I wish Harold Pinter were with us today to write about the almost incomprehensible turn the world is taking. Since he isn't, some of us must do our utmost to try to fill his shoes."

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Indian author Sanjana Thakur was named overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and will receive £5,000 (about $6,325) for her unpublished work "Aishwarya Rai," which takes its name from the famed Bollywood actress and reimagines the traditional adoption story. Granta magazine has published all the regional winning stories, which will also be available in a special print collection from Paper + Ink.

Chair of judges Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi said: "The short story form favors the brave and the bold writer. In 'Aishwarya Rai,' Sanjana Thakur employs brutal irony, sarcasm, cynicism and wry humour packaged in tight prose and stanza-like paragraphs to confront us with the fracturing of family and the self as a result of modern urban existence. No matter which city you live in, you'll recognize the stress-induced conditions like insomnia, restless leg, panic attacks and an obsession with a celebrity kind of beauty, in this this case, Bollywood. Thakur pushes this stinging absurdity as far as to suggest hiring mothers to replace inadequate ones. Rarely do we see satire pulled off so effortlessly."

Thakur commented: "I've spent ten out of 26 years living in countries not my own. India, where I'm from, is simultaneously strange and familiar, accepting and rejecting. Writing stories is a way for me to accept that Mumbai is a city I will long for even when I am in it; it is a way to remake 'place' in my mind. I am so thankful to the judges, my fellow shortlisted writers, and the other regional winners for writing beautiful stories. For my strange story--about mothers and daughters, about bodies, beauty standards, and Bombay street food--to find such a global audience is thrilling. I cannot express how wholly honoured I am to be the recipient of this incredible prize. I hope I continue writing stories that people want to read. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Uchenna Awoke is a writer from Nsukka, Nigeria. His short stories have appeared in Transition, Elsewhere, Trestle Ties, Oyster River Pages, Evergreen, Arkansas International, and other publications. He has received fellowships from MacDowell and the Vermont Studio Center. He is an Artist Protection Fund Fellow and the inaugural Arkansas International Writer-at-Risk Residency Fellow, and is currently living in Fayetteville. The Liquid Eye of a Moon (Catapult, June 25, 2024) is his debut novel, a Nigerian Catcher in the Rye that breaks the silence about a hidden and dangerous caste system.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

I am thinking of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye--funny; NoViolet Bulawayo's We Need New Names--bewitching prose; I am thinking of all coming-of-age stories that explore the themes of human tabooing and exploitative beliefs.

On your nightstand now:

Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities; Percival Everett, Telephone; Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad; Akwaeke Emezi, Freshwater; V.S. Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas; Abuchi Modilim, The Brigadiers of a Mad Tribe; Uwem Akpan, Say You're One of Them; Lesley Nneka Arimah, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky; Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Cyprian Ekwensi's An African Night's Entertainment evokes the memory of my grandmother's tales by moonlight and how we grandchildren sat and gazed at the curl of her mouth with rapt attention, a story of deep tragedy and redemption.

Your top five authors:

Chinua Achebe
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Robert Lopez
Helon Habila
A. Igoni Barrett

Book you've faked reading:

My friend asked if I'd read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I knew I had to say yes. It's such a famous book to not have read it seemed embarrassing. Retrospectively, to be called out on that would have been the real definition of embarrassment.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I was made to wait until I was in the U.S. to read this gorgeous book. It made me count my losses as an African traveling. I wish books like that would reach readers from my part of the world.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Every Pacesetters novel (Pacesetters series was a collection of novels by African writers in the '80s and '90s). I read them for their attractive covers enriched with colourful images--albert garish in retrospect--that depicted the characters. A Fresh Start by Helen Ovbiagele easily comes to mind. A literary memorial of the '80s and '90s, now the collector's items, Pacesetters novels awaken strong feelings of nostalgia.

Book you hid from your parents:

I did not have to hide a book from them. They were the ones who hid the kerosene lamp from me to stop me from writing. You see, my mother could not understand why I had to burn the midnight oil instead of sleeping like my siblings. She thought it was a waste of kerosene, but more importantly, she believed writing would get me into trouble. Neither of my parents could read what was written in a book.

Book that changed your life:

I'd say Elechi Amadi, The Concubine. I was quite taken by the novel's characterization. I deeply connected with its female protagonist. It was the first time I encountered metaphysics in a story.

Favorite line from a book:

"At that moment she made him vanish, wiped him off her canvas, so that what's left is a smeared surface that holds the false lines, the figure that did not come out right, the erroneous strokes of a marriage, and a world botched beyond repair and not what she ever imagined." --from Abraham Verghese's The Covenant of Water

A great line, metaphorical as it's rhythmic and poetic, and conveys the book's deep emotion.

Five books you'll never part with:

Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila
Holding Pattern by Jenny Xie
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
The Good People by Robert Lopez
The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan

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

Unfortunately, it vanished, leaving me with a memory so fragile. I have been looking for it, this book that resonated so much with me I can still hear it echoing through the years and long to read it repeatedly. Back then I was a teenager living in a rural village in Nigeria, destitute of books. I think I got the novel from someone who barely waited for me to finish it before snatching it back. I can't remember who he was, and I don't even remember the book's title, that tells you how long this was, but I am still luxuriating in the fragments of memory it left behind: a man madly in love with another man's wife (eternal triangle) embarks on a long sea voyage with the couple in his desperation to get closer to the woman. It was utterly captivating.

Arvo Pärt is arguably the most performed living composer in the world. Estonian cartoonist Joonas Sildre worked closely with his renowned compatriot to create Between Two Sounds: Arvo Pärt's Journey to His Musical Language, a gorgeous graphic title depicting Pärt's life, from his 1935 birth to his musical transformations, and ending with his family's 1980 departure from their native Estonia. Sildre's meticulous, borderless panels--in black, white, and shades of greenish-grey--are accompanied by Adam Cullen's succinct, lucid translation from the Estonian.

At age three, Pärt surprises his mother with his beautiful singing. Moving into his stepfather's home in 1939 gives him access to a piano. His mother places him in a children's music school in 1945. By 1949, he announces his intention to become a composer, but "a different kind!" His formal musical education continues, but he consistently strains against institutional expectations and restrictions, exacerbated by the Soviet occupation of Estonia.

Pärt's compositions are considered so modern and avant-garde--"no one in Estonia or the entire Soviet Union has composed using the dodecaphonic technique"--as to place himself in danger: "Perhaps they'll declare you a dissident, an enemy of the people." Cleverly manipulating the system of political gatekeeping becomes a necessity; although dodecaphonic is deemed "bad," Pärt dodges the dissident label by dedicating the piece "to the victims of fascism," and the gatekeepers relent: "well, all right... it's a good piece." Sildre skillfully captures the seemingly ridiculous back-and-forth of incomprehensible judgment.

Pärt's 1968 composition, "Credo"--overtly religious, which he refuses to "disavow" as demanded by the Soviet Central Committee--engenders a "Silentium" during which Pärt turns inward, finds new love, recommits to Orthodox Christianity, and immerses himself in medieval texts, teachings, and chant. When he resumes composing in 1975, his goal is to "reach religion's core through my own essence," inspiring the invention of his distinct form, tintinnabuli: "It is a unique two-voice approach where the voices are so rigidly bound that they form an inseparable whole. 1+1=1." As Pärt's reputation--and audience--grows globally, he's deemed more threat than comrade, resulting in surveillance, violent intrusion, and the family's expulsion in January 1980 from Estonia. An epilogue-in-prose further details their exile.

Sildre brilliantly uses simple lines--presented in swirls, circles, empty musical staffs--to explicate, connect, and enhance Pärt's creative and emotional musical journeys, moving up, down, straight, corkscrew, around and around, and continuing off the pages. Sildre's art radiantly confirms Pärt will not be contained, spreading his music throughout the world. --Terry Hong

Shelf Talker: Estonian comics creator Joonas Sildre luminously presents the musical journeys of his compatriot Arvo Pärt, the most performed living composer in the world.

It made us wonder just how Summer Reading has progressed in a world where excitement has been the rule and where nothing has remained as it was.... Gone are the days when the unambitious reader would lie in the grass in a semi-coma and meander blankly through a volume of trashy lovemaking and trashier thrillers.

--New York Times, August 15, 1920

At Betty's Books

What is the big question when it comes to Beach Reads for the summer of 2024? Maybe this: "Is Elin Hilderbrand Really Retiring?" 

Yes, summer reading season is here and filling everyone's TBR (Tempting Beach Reads) list is big biz. Indie booksellers count on those sunny weather sales, including White Water Books, Carbondale, Colo., which posted on Facebook: "If you're looking for the perfect beach read, check out our collection of Emily Henry books! These lighthearted novels make great airplane entertainment, and are good company by the pool."

And Inkwell Books & Threads, Rockton, Ill., noted: "We’ve got your pool or beach day essentials! Freshly restocked with new locally made tumblers and of course, you definitely need a coordinating book! See you at the bookstore!"

The impending wave that is July 4th weekend unofficially launches beach reads season. It's a longstanding tradition in the book trade. Even in the 19th century, the challenge included a perennial quest for "cool covers," literally. "Look which way one may the words 'Summer Reading,' 'Outdoor Books,' 'For Tourists,' 'Summer Series,' etc. meet the eye," the American Bookmaker reported in 1888. "It need hardly be said that these books are all complete in one volume, and mostly in paper or flexible covers.... But there is one thing which the book for summer reading should have and that is a cool cover. By cool cover is not necessarily meant a paper one. Some cloth covers have a trim and airy look about them, pleasant to the eye, agreeable to the touch."

At Riverbend Books

In the Los Angeles Times, Shannon Reed recently offered an alternative summer reads take: "I’ve been a reader for nearly all of my life, yet I always feel perplexed at the beginning of summer, when the term 'beach reads' enters the chat.... As a college professor, I prefer to dig into lighthearted reads during the school year, when I need a break from reality."

Perhaps Reed is just in the wrong hemisphere. With another winter rolling into Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald suggested "10 great books to cozy up with this winter" and Secret Sydney highlighted "15 charming bookshops in Sydney to get you through winter." Rosetta Books in Maleny, Queensland, even shared a photo of the shop's book snowman Olof, who offered "some great ways to support local bookshops this Buy Local Sunshine Coast Day."

But if you prefer your reading summery, this is the hemisphere for you. Lists are rampant, as usual. Every media outlet that covers books at all (and many that don't) offers a variation on the "beach books" theme ("These books offer breezy escapism. That doesn't mean they're silly"; "Summer reading: 50 of the best new books to dive into"; "19 of the Best Beach Reads to Lose Yourself in this Summer"; "10 Food-Filled Beach Reads for Your Summer Vacation"; and, of course, "Where to Start with Elin Hilderbrand Books for a Summer Full of Beach Reads."

At Commonplace Books

My favorite grumpy summer read recommendation thus far is from author Oliver Burkeman, who touts Sara Kuburic’s book It's on Me in the Guardian by calling it "a rarity among self-help books" and "as bracing as walking into a stiff breeze, and therefore an excellent British beach read."

If such alternative summer reading is your priority, maybe you can find something in "Beach Reads for Personal Finance" or "Beach Reads for Busy Bees: Dive into These 12 Productivity Books This Summer."

Fortunately, indie bookstores offer a lot more variety in summer reading vacation offerings for their communities. Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock Ill., asked: "How are your TBR (To Be Read) lists/stacks/shelves/carts looking this summer? Do you have room to add some more books? We invite you to peruse our Summer Catalog! Shop the catalog via our dedicated shop display or online at the link in our bio. Check it out for summer (and beyond) reading options."

Adult Summer Reading Club at Schuler Books

Betty's Books, Webster Groves, Mo., has a Summer Reading Challenge "in full swing and more lowkey than ever"; Mabel's Fables Bookstore, Toronto, Canada, offers a Middle Grade Book Club that "will meet every 2 weeks via Zoom (meaning participants can join from the cottage too!)"; Schuler Books, with four stores in Michigan, is "introducing the Adult Summer Reading Club! For the first time ever, we're involving the adults in summer reading this year because why should kids have all the fun?!" Big Red Books, Nyack, N.Y., agrees: "Okay Adults. Start reading."

My first beach read was F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. During the swelter of July 1968, I dove into those pages because the book was on an incoming Freshman summer reading list for college. Thus, Fitzgerald's novel remains a summer book in my memory (J.L. Carr's A Month in the Country is another, as is, strangely, The Exorcist).

But what if I'd stumbled upon Gatsby in January? Would it have become a winter novel in my recollections? Or what if I'd first read it in Australia in July? Beach reads can be confusing.