Obodo Serendipity Books, an all-ages bookstore with new and used titles, will open tomorrow, September 7, in Stratford, Conn., News 12 Connecticut reported.

Nikkya Hargrove

Located at 3588 Main St., the bookstore carries a general-interest inventory with an emphasis on diverse titles and encouraging social and emotional development. There are gifts and sidelines sourced from local makers, and the store's event plans include author events, book clubs, and community meals. Customers are welcome to relax, read, and have some free coffee or tea.

Owner and writer Nikkya Hargrove, whose memoir Mama will be published by Algonquin on October 15, told News 12 that she wants community members "to walk through the doors knowing this is home. Whatever they have going on before they walked in, they can leave outside and we welcome them with open arms."

The grand-opening festivities on Saturday will include an appearance by Grace Lin, author and illustrator of Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, and free ice cream for the first 50 children.

BOLD Coffee & Books will open in October at 1755 SW Jefferson St. in Portland, Ore., featuring coffee from Great North Coffee and books by and about people from marginalized communities. There will also be an event space for book launches and readings, writing classes, and creative contests. 

Co-owners Ali and Tim Shaw have secured a business loan to help cover leasing of the space, buying equipment and furniture, and seeding inventory. In addition, a $10,000 Kickstarter campaign has been launched "to transform the vision to real life," they said.

"Literature so often centers experiences of white, cisgendered, heterosexual, abled, middle-class characters from traditional family units," said Ali Shaw, who has 20 years of experience as a book editor and bookseller. "This creates a disservice not only to millions of readers who don't fit that mold and so don't get to see themselves represented in literature--leaving them feeling alone--but also to readers who do fit that mold and are led to believe that these are the only stories that matter."

Tim Shaw's career has been in social work and education, in circumstances where people who do not fit in the mainstream are marginalized. The Shaws said they have not only witnessed that kind of marginalization in their work, they are also fierce advocates for their three adopted children who experience racism, stereotyped assumptions, education exclusion, and denial of accommodations.

"We want to help change that," Tim Shaw said. "Support them, give them a voice, help them connect with their community and be seen."

BOLD Coffee & Books is dedicating a minimum of 80% of its inventory and calendar space to books by and about people from marginalized and underrepresented communities. Tim Shaw added, "We are here to support marginalized communities, whether in the form of books with representation, a safe place to meet or rest, or a great cup of coffee to give them energy for the good fight."

Lupine Books opened earlier this year at 28 Dock Square, Kennebunkport, Maine, after a delayed launch. The Portsmouth Herald reported that owner Emma Wilson officially bought the store last January and was ready to launch 10 days after signing the deal, but a heavy storm hit the state and flooded coastal communities. The inside of her new shop took on inches of water, but the bottom shelves were elevated, so the books were spared.

"We had to get all new floors, and then we had to replace the walls," Wilson said. "It was hard. I'm still worrying about it happening again in the future. But we went through it and made the best of it. At least it happened in January when it was not super busy."

She purchased the store from Kristen Kuehnle, who had owned Fine Print bookstore, where Wilson worked for four years. After weeks of repairs and renovations, she was able to open Lupine Books in March. The Herald noted that Wilson teaches Spanish at Sea Road School in Kennebunk, but the staff that had worked for Kuehnle stayed on, so Wilson was able to open her new shop's doors while she taught during weekdays.

The store's name was inspired by Miss Rumphius, the classic story written by Maine author Barbara Cooney, about a woman who plants lupines to help make the world a more beautiful place. Cooney's illustrations also influenced the shop's décor of the bookstore, with "the same soft colors that you do on the walls and elsewhere at Lupine Books."

"I thought about the name a lot," Wilson said. "I think lupines are just classic Maine, but in a different way. It's not like the pine tree. It's like the start of summer. It's June. It's more like the wild or different parts of Maine. I didn't want an ocean theme."

Wilson, who grew up in Kennebunk, added: "I've always loved working here. I've always wanted to have a bookstore in the community.... I've always loved, loved books and am obsessed with reading. I always wanted, at first, to work at a bookstore and then, after that, to have my own."

Hanif Abdurraqib has won the 2024 Voice of the Heartland Award, sponsored by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association and the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association and honoring people who have made "significant contributions to the literary community, reflecting the values and diversity of the Heartland."

Photo: © Kendra Bryant

The award will be presented at the Heartland Fall Forum Book Awards Ceremony on Monday, October 7, in Milwaukee, Wis., which will celebrate Abdurraqib's remarkable contributions to literature and unwavering commitment to amplifying marginalized voices both within and without his community.

Poet, essayist, cultural critic, and proud Ohioan, Abdurraqib has "captivated readers with his insightful explorations of music, culture, and identity," the associations said. His work--including A Little Devil in America and They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, published by Two Dollar Radio--has resonated deeply with readers, earning him widespread recognition and numerous accolades. Abdurraqib's latest work, There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (published by Random House earlier this year), was also voted the 2024 Heartland Booksellers Award winner for nonfiction.

Steve Silberman

Steve Silberman, a science journalist "whose award-winning book about the history of autism helped broaden the public's understanding of that often-misunderstood condition and those diagnosed with it," died August 29, the New York Times reported. He was 66.

In 2000, Silberman, who was then a contributing editor at Wired magazine, began an investigation that would become his 2001 Wired article "The Geek Syndrome," in which he explored the increase in autism diagnoses in California; the early research into autism by Hans Asperger, a pediatrician in Vienna, and Leo Kanner, a child psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; and the range of behaviors exhibited by autistic children.

Although he received many e-mails from autistic people and parents, as well as requests from literary agents, to expand the article into a book, he wasn't ready yet. The Times noted that it took nearly eight years--and prodding from his friend Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and author, among others--for him to begin NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity (2015). The book won the Samuel Johnson (now the Baillie Gifford) Prize for Nonfiction.

One of those children featured in the book was Leo Rosa, with whom Silberman spent significant time. In an interview, Leo's mother, Shannon Des Roches Rosa, a founder of the news website Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, said, "Steve changed the conversation around autism. He really popularized the idea that autistic people aren't broken and are part of the tapestry of humanity. It's a unique condition that's always been here, and we need to do better by autistic people than punishing them for having different brains."

Ari Ne'eman, founder and former executive director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, noted that Silberman "told our story in a way that hasn't been done in the past by placing autistic people at the center. He spent time with autistic people at conferences and gatherings. He had a real respect for autistic culture."

Silberman's encyclopedic knowledge of the Grateful Dead brought him into the band's inner circle of archivists, leading him to write liner notes for several of albums, along with the book Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads (1994) with David Shenk.

At his death, Silberman had been working on a book about breakthroughs in the treatment of cystic fibrosis that, under the title The Taste of Salt, was to be published in 2026. Lucia Watson, v-p and editor-in-chief of the PRH imprint Avery, said the manuscript was incomplete and the book would not be published, but the partial manuscript "showcased Steve's incredible ability to weave together immersive storytelling and fascinating science."

Clare Drysdale, Atlantic Books associate publisher, told the Bookseller: "Steve's deep empathy shone through on every page of NeuroTribes. He was endlessly curious and very careful not to overstep in his unusual role as a neurotypical spokesperson for the autistic community, a position he regarded as an absolute privilege. He was unbelievably generous, forever offering blurbs to help less-established writers on their way, and an absolute delight to work with. We are all diminished by his loss and send our deepest sympathies to his family.”

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 Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore, a story of queer healing and "the literary manifestation of an embrace that makes you feel safe enough to break down"; as well as Amy Reading's The World She Edited, a biography of early New Yorker editor Katherine S. White. Also, the "creative and versatile" artist Jen Wang offers up Ash's Cabin, a graphic novel that follows "a young adult who seeks self, ancestry, and home in the California wilderness." In The Writer's Life, the mysterious Korean author Djuna lifts the veil ever so slightly to reveal the literary influences of their long career, up to their most recent collection of stories, Everything Good Dies Here. Plus, rediscover the late historical mystery and romance novelist Victoria Thompson.

Today's issue of Shelf Awareness for Readers is going to 635,000 customers of more than 250 independent bookstores. Stores interested in learning more can contact our partnership program team via e-mail. To see today's issue, click here.

Congratulations to Maria's Bookshop, Durango, Colo., which is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a big party on Saturday, September 28, 4-9 p.m. The event includes family-friendly activities; giveaways that feature a year of books to one lucky customer; photos and memories to be shared by friends of the store; beer, wine, and finger food, helped by Ska Brewing, which will unveil a special anniversary beer; live music & dancing from 6 to 9 p.m. with music by People We Know.

"We are honored and humbled to continue serving our community after 40 years," said owner Evan Schertz. "We simply would not exist without the intentional support of the Durango community. It says a lot about our community values that they've chosen to support an independent bookstore for four decades. We look forward to building community connection through books for the next 40 years."

Maria's Bookshop was opened by Dusty Teal in October 1984 at 928 Main Avenue. The name came from Teal's deep appreciation for the work of legendary potter Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso, N.Mex., and the bird logo was inspired by Martinez's work.

In May 1998, wife-and-husband team Andrea Avantaggio and Peter Schertz, purchased Maria's Bookshop. Avantaggio had worked at the bookshop since 1992. Under their leadership, and thanks to longtime staff members Julie Shimada and Jeanne Costello, Maria's Bookshop grew into one the premier bookstores in the Southwest. In 2019, Maria's Bookshop became a multigenerational family business when Evan Schertz, son of Andrea and Peter, took over ownership of the store.

Maria's Bookshop carries a curated inventory of new books, gifts and toys in 2,200 square feet of retail space. A staff of more than 20 booksellers keeps the store operating seven days a week and serves a large and loyal clientele. Maria's Bookshop sponsors more than 100 reading groups, hosts dozens of community events each year, and supports many local non-profit organizations through donations of services and goods.

"Lots of book themed events ahead this September," Yellow Bird Books, Aurora, Ill., noted in sharing a video on Facebook featuring Lisa (@moonbug24 @nidoartstudio) creating storefront window art to celebrate The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds and International Dot Day on September 15.

Second Star to the Right bookstore, Denver, Colo., shared a photo of the chalkboard art bookseller Estelle created for an upcoming event featuring author J.C. Cervantes. 

Diamond Book Distributors will exclusively distribute Laguna Studios products to North American and international book markets. Distribution to the comic book specialty market is handled exclusively by Diamond Comic Distributors.

Laguna Studios is a woman-owned independent comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 2023 by multiple creators with long experience in the independent publishing and art industries. They aim to produce, print, and publish high-quality comics and create a platform for voices that may otherwise go unheard.

Among its works are Finding Dee, a collection of comic strips by Dee Fish about a cartoonist discovering herself as a transgender woman; the Sturgeon postapocalyptic western series; the Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell anthology series steeped in the mythology; and Gods of Lovecraft, featuring dozens of stories.

"Working with Diamond is a dream come true for me," said co-founder Laurie Foster. "The opportunity for our books to be in stores, read by a whole new audience, and to collaborate with them to expand our reach and knowledge is the next step to evolve our company and creative process, too."

Exposure: A Novel by Ava Dellaira (Zibby Books).

Netflix has given a straight-to-series order to a Twilight animated series, based on Stephenie Meyer's 2020 novel Midnight Sun. Deadline reported that the project, which has entered development, comes from Lionsgate Television, whose movie studio division released The Twilight Saga.

Sinead Daly (Tell Me Lies) is writing and executive producing the adaptation of the companion novel, "a retelling of Twilight from the perspective of Edward Cullen. Robert Pattinson's performance as Edward in the 2008 film Twilight was informed by Midnight Sun as Meyer shared her then-unfinished manuscript with the actor," Deadline noted.

Meyer is executive producing alongside Meghan Hibbett for Fickle Fish Films. Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen exec produce for Temple Hill Entertainment; Erik Feig and Samie Kim Falvey for Picturestart, with Emily Wissink is overseeing for Picturestart. 

The shortlist has been selected for the $75,000 2024 Cundill History Prize, which is administered by McGill University and honors "the book that embodies historical scholarship, originality, literary quality and diverse appeal." Three finalists will be announced October 3 and the winner October 30.

The shortlist:
Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass (Knopf)
They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence by Lauren Benton (Princeton University Press)
Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji (Yale University Press)
Native Nations: A Millennium in North America by Kathleen DuVal (Random House)
Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America by Andrew C. McKevitt (University of North Carolina Press)
Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights by Dylan C. Penningroth (Liveright Publishing)
The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination by Stuart A. Reid (Knopf)
Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World by David Van Reybrouck, translated by David Colmer and David McKay (W.W. Norton)

photo: Nicole Brinkley

Stephanie Appell has lived in eight states and recently moved near Detroit, Mich. She has worked as a video store clerk, a youth services librarian with the Austin Public Library, director of books and events for young readers at Parnassus Books, and an associate editor at BookPage. Now she copyedits and occasionally reviews children's and YA books for Shelf Awareness. Her favorite punctuation mark is an ampersand, and she tends to overuse parentheses. She has the neatest handwriting you've ever seen.

On your nightstand now:

T. Kingfisher's A Sorceress Comes to Call. My whole TBR is increasingly drawn from the fact checking I do for Shelf Awareness. I know I want to read a book when I find myself continuing to read after I've verified a fact or when I catch myself thinking, "Try not to read too much so you can come back to this later and really enjoy it."

Favorite book when you were a child:

I am probably the person I am today, in so many ways, because of the influence of Tamora Pierce. When she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature" in 2013, I shrieked so loudly that she probably heard me, despite the hundreds of miles between us.

Your top five authors:

Samira Ahmed, Mac Barnett, Deb Caletti, Kristin Cashore, Kelly Loy Gilbert, Melina Marchetta, Tamora Pierce, Laura Ruby, Sabaa Tahir, Megan Whalen Turner, Renée Watson, Ibi Zoboi. Sorry, I had to go to 12. If any of these folks ever decided to publish their grocery lists, I would still want to read them.

Book you've faked reading:

Too many to count. I owe my truth to no one.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Also too many to count. Being a book evangelist is an occupational hazard when you're a bookseller.

Book you've bought for the cover:

The idea of buying a book "for the cover" is a false premise. In the context of new books, a book cover--spine included--is just a billboard trying to interpellate (to borrow a term from Louis Althusser) its intended purchaser/consumer based on market trends at the time of publication. We all buy books "for the cover," and anyone who disagrees is either naïve or lying. That said, a few of my all-time favorite covers--of books I own, all hardcover editions--include Daniel Nayeri's Everything Sad Is Untrue (jacket art by David Curtis, design by Semadar Megged and Elizabeth Parisi); Deb Caletti's A Heart in a Body in the World (jacket art by Daniel Stolle, design by Sarah Creech); Rachel Hartman's Seraphina (jacket art by Andrew Davidson, design by Heather Palisi); and Libba Bray's The Diviners (jacket design by Gail Doobinin). That last one had its cover concept redesigned twice over the course of a four-book series, and if I could go back in space and time and scold whoever made the call to deviate from the initial concept, I would.

Book you hid from your parents:

They'll probably read this, so I'm taking these secrets to my grave.

Book that changed your life:

Literary Fiction: An Anthology, second edition, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Imagine 18-year-old Steph, a freshman in college, reading critical theory for the first time. It broke my brain in the best way.

Favorite line from a book:

"Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs." --George Eliot, Middlemarch

Five books you'll never part with:

One of my proudest achievements while at Parnassus was successfully pitching to host Tamora Pierce on one of three tour stops for Tortall: A Spy's Guide. Over the years, my partner had diligently tracked down first editions (though, I will note, not first printings--we don't have that kind of money) of all of Pierce's books, and she very patiently signed every single one for me. Although there are far more than five of them, they are the first objects I would grab if my apartment ever caught fire.

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

Right now it's Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is pretty high up on the list too.

Five picture book illustrators whose work renders you speechless:

Victo Ngai, Michaela Goade, Devon Holzwarth, Melissa Sweet, C.G. Esperanza

One perfect picture book:

Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead's Bear Has a Story to Tell. I have a weakness for all picture books about bears (and mice, and characters having bad days) dating back to my relatively brief time as a youth services librarian at the Austin Public Library, and this is one of the best. There are so few pleasures in life sweeter and rarer than a truly perfect picture book.

"We risk losing all this magnificence before we begin to understand it," writes Katherine Rundell in Vanishing Treasures. In her bestiary of extraordinary endangered creatures, Rundell, an award-winning children's author, reveals wonders of the world that humans might still be able to protect. She illuminates this collection of essays with fable, legend, myth, and truth stranger than fiction, passionately arguing that as "we have lost more than half of all wild things that lived.... The time to fight, with all our ingenuity and tenacity, and love and fury, is now."

Rundell shines a light on 23 creatures, familiar and not, from land, under the sea, and in the air. She finds wonder and inspiration in wombats and raccoons, as well as primordial Greenland sharks and iridescent golden moles. Furthermore, she traces the incredible feats of evolution, the survivorship, and the adaptability that have kept these creatures alive in an ever more aggressive and changing world. She describes how each animal has been in some way a part of the human imagination, such as how seals are woven into stories about mermaids and selkies; the hypotheses about how hedgehogs might carry fruit by sticking it onto their spikes; and how wolves have haunted our fears and fantasies, taking root in the fairy-tale forests of our minds.

The last entry is "The Human," hammering home how people are part of the marvels of the world, and the only ones who can actively do something to stop these "treasures" from vanishing off the face of the earth. Rundell urges everyone to think about what has already been lost and to use that as a call to action, writing that "the greatest lie that humans ever told is that the Earth is ours, and at our disposal.... We must cease from telling that lie because the world is so rare, and so wildly fine.... So much can still be saved."

In her author's note, Rundell follows up her call to action with steps that individuals can take to be part of an effort in saving these--and other creatures--which include voting and changing consumption behaviors. Although it is a sobering glimpse at the destruction humanity has wrought on other living things, Vanishing Treasures is ultimately an uplifting and inspiring exploration of the wonder left in the world and how humanity can fit within it, and add to its extraordinary quality. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: In Vanishing Creatures, Katherine Rundell shines a light on what we all stand to lose if humans don't start to take better care of the world that we are all a part of.  

I know Labor Day has come and gone, but I just wanted to revisit it briefly to note that one of the ways I celebrate the long weekend annually is to reread Studs Terkel, a writer who invokes the true spirit of the holiday for me in a Dickens/Christmas way. 

Earlier this year, the New Press declared 2024 the Year of Studs to mark the 50th anniversary of Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, as well as the 40th anniversary of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Good War. "This is not just a chance to re-visit his seminal work, which still speaks to readers today," the publisher noted at the time. "Whether its President Obama’s Netflix limited series Working: What We Do All Day or Mark Larson's recently published Working in the 21st Century (Agate), Terkel's investigation into what we do daily continues to inspire. Not a week goes by without performances of the musical adaptation of Working in theaters and high schools across the country. With this celebration comes an opportunity to introduce Terkel to a new generation. We hope you will join us because everything is coming up Studs! Red socks and red checked shirts are optional but strongly encouraged."

North Figueroa Bookshop, Los Angeles, Calif., got on board by asking @natpainted to create a mural celebrating Working's anniversary. 

Labor Day. Studs Terkel. The work. What do you do?

That's still the question people most often ask when they meet you. Since 1992, this has been an easy one for me to answer. I was a bookseller until 2006, and for the past 18 years I've been an editor and columnist. Tracking back to other jobs I've had in the past, the answers have included marble mill worker, grocery store clerk, prep cook, specialty food route sales rep. Always and everywhere, however, I've thought of myself primarily as being defined by a single quality: a good worker.

Studs Terkel (photo: Nina Subin)

Did anybody get working people better than Studs did? You might have your own alternatives, but I've been reading and rereading him since the mid-1970s, when I first picked up a copy of a new book titled Working. It hit me in the gut from page one, and has been a bookish companion during my own working life. No matter what kind of good or crap job I had, his writing, along with the brilliant growl I heard on radio and TV, always spoke to me, had my back, poked me in the ribs sometimes, reminding me to take the world very seriously but myself less so.

I actually met Studs in 2004, during BookExpo America in Chicago... at Bill Ayers's house. Maybe I should explain. That year I was invited to one of those publisher-sponsored dinners that were the social staple of book shows. This one happened to be at the Hyde Park home of Bernardine Dohrn and Bill Ayers, names deeply tied to Chicago and activism. I'd first met Bill in 2001 while we were at Bennington College--in our energetic dotage--working toward MFA in Writing degrees. For two people who couldn’t have lived more different lives when we were young, our connection happened quite naturally, an outgrowth, perhaps, of something Bill had once suggested in a New York Times Op-ed piece, when he wrote that "talking and listening to the widest range of people is not a sin, but a virtue."

Which, of course, comes right out of the Studs Terkel playbook. But let's get back to our story. On that night in 2004, in Bill's crowded living room, Studs held court from the sofa, looking at once frail and indomitable. He was 92, and would be gone just four years later, but this simple gem of a moment is my cherished memory of the man at work and at play.

When I was a bookseller, I loved handselling, of course, but also took pleasure in the awareness of my fingers dancing instinctively across a cash register and, later, a keyboard, ringing up purchases during a big rush. I'd started working as a clerk at an A&P store when I was in high school, and later spent another decade in the grocery business.

Long before my career as a bookseller--putting in my time at POS stations--I was an accomplished cashier. Even at 17, customers lined up at my register because I was fast and proud of it. Maybe that's why one of my favorite chapters in Working is about Babe Secoli, the supermarket checker who says, "It's hard work, but I like it. This is my life.... I'm just movin'--the hips, the hand, and the register, the hips, the hand, and the register.... You just keep goin', one, two, one, two. If you've got that rhythm, you're a fast checker. Your feet are flat on the floor and you're turning your head back and forth.... If somebody interrupts to ask me the price, I'll answer while I'm movin'. Like playin' a piano."

What do you do? For the past three decades I've worked with books, so I appreciate the words of bookbinder Donna Murray, who told Studs in Working: "Books are the thing that keep us going.... Because a book is a life, like one man is a life. Yes, yes, this work is good for me, therapeutic for old age... just keep going with the hands." Happy belated Labor Day.