Shelf Awareness for Friday, December 13, 2024


Tundra: We Are Definitely Human by X Fang

Minotaur Books: Marguerite by the Lake by Mary Dixie Carter

Harvard University Press: Ten Indian Classics edited by Murty Classical Library of India

Pantheon Books: The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami

Quotation of the Day

Indie Bookstores: 'Crucial Wellsprings for the Health of Our Democracy'

"At the moment I'm struck by the idea of reading as a place where we can move consciousness. We need to move towards a culture that allows for mutual flourishing, and reading is a place where we can be inspired to change our minds and change how we act. That's how the world changes.

"Indie bookstores are crucial wellsprings for the health of our democracy. I see them as places that nurture community and our connection to each other, where books aren't merely commodities but the meeting point for two minds. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how grateful I am for the support of indie booksellers."

--Robin Wall Kimmerer, whose book The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, illustrated by John Burgoyne (Scribner), is the #1 December Indie Next List pick, in a q&a with Bookselling This Week

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News

Folklore Bookshop Opens in Midway, Utah

Folklore Bookshop opened earlier this fall at 49 North 200 West #101 in Midway, Utah. The Daily Universe reported that owners Lindsey Leavitt, Audrey Lind, and Alison Russel "have been working on opening the bookshop for the past two years." 

A YA fiction author, Leavitt said the store is a combination of all of their skills. Lind is a librarian at Wasatch High School, and Russel has retail experience.

Leavitt described the bookstore as Taylor Swift "coded." The Daily Universe noted that the shop has a ''Tortured Poets Department," featuring a restored Royal typewriter that is the same model as the one Taylor Swift uses in her "Fortnight" music video. The corner also features a bookshelf full of literary works that Swift has alluded to in her songs. There is also a small Taylor Swift books display.

The bookshop's name has more to do with the word's definition than the fact that it is the title of Swift's eighth album, according to Leavitt. A folklore display table on the sales floor changes themes each month. 

Folklore Bookshop "is a general-interest independent bookstore that aims to meet the community's needs," the Daily Universe wrote, adding that Leavitt does not worry about a book just being a bestseller when choosing stock. The store also sells books, stickers, small gifts, and more. 


Friends to Lovers, Alexandria, Va., Reopens in New Space

Jamie Fortin

Friends to Lovers, the romance bookstore in Alexandria, Va., that suffered a devastating fire the same weekend that it opened in November, has found a new home nearby, at 108 N. St. Asaph St., Northern Virginia Mag reported.

The bookstore will use the new space as a hub while repair work continues at its original home at 103 N. St. Asaph St. Owner Jamie Fortin and her team will also be expanding the bookstore's reach this holiday season via pop-up appearances in the Alexandria area.

The bookstore celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, November 14, with festivities continuing throughout the weekend. On Sunday, November 17, a fire broke out that caused extensive smoke and water damage and left none of the store's books or merchandise "safe to sell."

In the days afterward, Fortin launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with recovery that raised nearly $46,000.


Holiday Hum: Nearing Crunch Time; Certain Titles Unavailable

Booksellers from around the U.S. offer their assessment of the holiday shopping season so far:

At the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vt., the holiday season has been good so far, "if a little squished-feeling," reported co-owner Sam Kaas. Sales have been solid, though Kaas was hesitant to compare things directly with last year, given the "weird shape of the season." That said, the store was up significantly in October and November, and the store had a strong Thanksgiving weekend, leading Kaas to feel cautiously optimistic heading into the "pivotal" last few weeks before Christmas.

On the subject of major titles, Kaas said this season continues a trend going back the last five years or so of moving "from having one holiday book that emerged to rule them all, to having like ten different titles all jockeying for position." Among those titles jockeying for positions are James by Percival Everett, The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Impossible Creatures and Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell, The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck, and What I Ate in a Year by Stanley Tucci.

Kaas pointed to Ingrained by Callum Robinson as a "late-breaking hit" for the store, and added that the King Arthur Baking Company's Big Book of Bread has been great for the store. With the company's headquarters "right around the corner," Norwich Bookstore has been "shipping signed copies all around the country."

The supply chain, Kaas said, has been "okay so far." While stock is starting to dwindle on some major titles like The Serviceberry, the team ordered early, often, and in quantity, and the store has managed to keep stock on the shelves so far. For the moment, the only title that seems "totally down for the count" is Easy Weeknight Dinners by Emily Weinstein. Another issue has been some orders arriving a day or two later than expected, which hasn't been a huge problem yet, but could affect things "when we're really in crunch time."

Looking ahead, Kaas said that Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah overlapping might lead to a "pretty busy time" the week prior, and the fact that Hanukkah continues into January might have an impact on the last week of December. At the same time, Kaas acknowledged some "subdued post-election emotions" in the community, as well as "no shortage of economic uncertainty," which could also play a role in how the season shapes up. Nevertheless, he reiterated his cautious optimism. "So far so good."

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In Sisters, Ore., Paulina Springs Books has had a good season so far, owner Lane Jacobson reported. There have been a few HVAC unit failures and roof leaks in the past couple weeks, and Jacobson is glad that they hit earlier in the season. Sales are running "just about even" with the 2023 holiday season so far, and Jacobson noted that the store had not yet completely entered "full holiday craziness," which typically starts around the end of the second week of December. 

The bestselling title so far this season has been The Serviceberry, which Jacobson and his team "noted as a likely hit." They were fortunate to order big on it early, but even so, are already sold out.

Other big titles include The Life Impossible by Matt Haig, Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, James, Sandwich by Catherine Newman, and The Bear by Andrew Krivak, which he described as an "evergreen" backlist title. For kids, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney have done very well. Jacobson added that he's been handselling a lot of Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which he loved. So far, everything aside from The Serviceberry has been "easy enough" for the team to keep in stock.

While the store has had a "really strong year" and is fortunate to have a "little bit of cushion" heading into the holidays, Jacobson emphasized that there's no way to know how things will shake out before December 31. He and his team are optimistic that the late Hanukkah will help offset the late Thanksgiving, and, since Sisters is a tourist town, the week between Christmas and New Years is usually big.

"Considering the election, attitudes about the economy, and that many retailers in our town have been down 20%-plus on the year, we're not complaining," said Jacobson.

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For Trident Booksellers & Cafe in Boston, Mass., the season has been "solid so far," reported co-owner Courtney Flynn. The store is on par with last year's numbers, and as "those were hard to beat," the team will "be happy if we can match them."

While there hasn't been a single book-of-the-season, there have been a number of big titles. Some, like James, were expected, while others, like Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, "caught us a bit off guard with huge initial sales in the first week." There have also been swift sales of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Orbital, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin. The store has sold out of The Serviceberry but is hoping to get restocked soon; other popular nonfiction titles include The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop and Want by Gillian Anderson.

"As happens every year," the bookstore finds itself "chasing the older titles" that have made it onto the New York Times 10 Best Books list, with Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni (translated by Paul Olchváry), being the only title aside from The Serviceberry that the team has been unable to restock. Other than that, supply-chain issues have not been bad, though Flynn acknowledged that the real chasing doesn't usually start until the final 10 days before Christmas.

Considering the season overall, Flynn said she feels "cautiously optimistic." Despite the turmoil in the country this fall, "people are still excited about buying books, and more importantly, buying them in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore." People seem as willing to "get out and spend money for the holidays" as ever, and she expects the late Hanukkah to help with sales. --Alex Mutter

If you are interested in having your store appear in a future Holiday Hum article, please e-mail alex@shelf-awareness.com.


More Patterson Holiday Bonus Recipients: 'Helping Us to Continue to Build Our Stories'

Rachel Bolton, Wicked Good Books

In yesterday's issue, we highlighted several of this year's James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program recipients. More indie bookstores have since checked in on social media to congratulate their staff recipients and express appreciation, including:

Wicked Good Books, Salem, Mass.: "Congratulations to our own WICKED Good manager, Rachel Bolton, who earned a bonus through the James Patterson Bookseller Bonus Program! We couldn't be prouder of this boss lady, who writes, who reads, and who leads our little crew."

Rudolph Girls Books, Westminster, Md.: "Thank you! I have no idea who nominated me, but I won one of this year's James Patterson Holiday Bonus Awards that he gives to independent booksellers across the country each year through the American Booksellers Association. Absolutely floored to be on a list with some amazing booksellers I admire so much. Our space and our community are so important to me. Thank you!"

Ana Guimil, Odyssey Bookshop

Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, Mass.: "Big congratulations to our own Ana Guimil for winning a James Patterson bonus! This is a much deserved honor for a great bookseller."

Big Red Books, Nyack, N.Y.: "We're so honored and thankful to have been the recipient of a James Patterson Bookstore Bonus Grant. We already know how we're going to spend the money. Big surprises in the new year!"

Park Books, Severna Park, Md.: "Congratulations to Park Books SP Manager and Bookish Gal Extraordinaire, Beth! She has been awarded the James Patterson holiday bonus and we couldn't agree more that she truly deserves a little something extra this season. Beth absolutely keeps our store in tip-top shape and treats every reader who enters the store with such kindness! I speak for the whole team when I say... we simply wouldn't be who we are today without Beth at the helm holding this crazy ship together! Congrats, Beth--well deserved! And, thank you to the readers of PBSP for nominating her!"

Delanie Dochelli, About Time Bookstore

About Time Bookstore, Libertyville, Ill.: "I'm so grateful to have been one of the recipients of James Holiday Bookstore Bonus alongside so many other amazing stores and booksellers around the country. This town has welcomed me with open arms and I'm so excited for what's ahead!"

Read It and Eat Bookshop, Buffalo, N.Y.: "Thank YOU again friends of Buffalo! Kim was awarded a $500 holiday bonus from James Patterson! After the holidays she's taking the team out for a well deserved holiday staff meal. Thank you James Patterson & the American Booksellers Association!"

Obodo Serendipity Books, Stratford, Conn.: "Thank you, #jamespatterson for granting us at Obodo Serendipity Books a Holiday Bonus. As independent bookstore owners, we rely on our customers to join us as fellow readers and believers in our bookish communities--allowing our doors to stay open, to continue to share the stories of authors. Thank you for your commitment to booksellers, bookstores, and for helping us to continue to build our stories in the communities where we call home."


Sourcebooks, PRH Audio to Launch Audiobook Publishing Program

Sourcebooks plans to launch a new audiobook program in partnership with Penguin Random House Audio. The initiative, which will be set up as editorially independent imprints within PRH Audio, will allow Sourcebooks to produce audio content in-house.
 
Catherine Bucaria, v-p and publisher, Sourcebooks Audio, and Almeda Beynon, director of audio production, will helm the new program. Bucaria previously served as director of audio strategy & acquisitions at PRH, and Beynon was executive producer at HarperCollins. 
 
Sourcebooks' new audiobooks program will start with titles from mystery and romance imprints Poisoned Pen Press and Sourcebooks Casablanca as well as its Callisto nonfiction imprint, beginning in January and February. In 2026, Sourcebooks plans to expand the program to its other imprints, including Sourcebooks Landmark, Sourcebooks Fire, and Bloom Books. 

"Audiobooks are an essential part of the book ecosystem," said Bucaria. "I look forward to working with our authors to drive this content from within Sourcebooks through our PRH Audio partnership." 

Beynon added: "I'm so thrilled to be joining Sourcebooks on this new adventure. Our goal is to craft dynamic audiobooks and to create an inclusive literary landscape where every reader can find a format that suits their reading style." 
 
"This new program aligns perfectly with our mission to change lives through books. I'm so excited to be joining the rapidly growing audiobook landscape," said Sourcebooks CEO Dominique Raccah. "Catherine and Almeda in partnership with our friends at Penguin Random House Audio will make a huge difference for so many of our authors, and will help them reach a whole new level of readership."


Obituary Note: Lance Morrow

Journalist and author Lance Morrow, "whose elegant essays, often with historical sweep, appeared for two decades on Time magazine's back page when it was a significant corner of American opinion journalism," died November 29, the New York Times reported. He was 85. 

Morrow was a National Magazine Award finalist for his 1991 essay on evil, which he later adapted for the book Evil: An Investigation. His other books include The Chief: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons (1985), Heart: A Memoir (1995), and The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Nixon, and Johnson in 1948 (2005). His most recent book was the memoir The Noise of Typewriters: Remembering Journalism, which was published last year.

Hired by Time in 1965, Morrow initially wrote about celebrities, but soon began covering the riots in Detroit in 1967 and the Vietnam War. The Times noted that his many cover articles included seven "Man of the Year" (changed to "Person of the Year" in 1999) features. He started writing back-page essays in 1976 and continued until the mid-1990s.

"If I was the jazz piano player, he was the formal classicist," said Roger Rosenblatt, whose Time essays alternated weekly with Morrow's from 1980 to 1990. "He wrote wonderful essays that were not devoid of humor or passion yet were beautifully constructed."

In an editorial tribute, the Wall Street Journal noted: "Lance Morrow’s knowledge of American politics and society was vast, much of it based on his own experience and excellent memory. He contributed many pieces to our pages in recent years, each one written with his characteristic honesty and graceful style. America has lost one of its finest chroniclers."

"Being there is one of the imperatives of journalism," Morrow observed in The Noise of Typewriters. "Or it used to be, before the age of screens, which changed everything. Being there is still a good idea." 


Best Children's and Teen Books of 2024


Our 2024 Best Children's and YA Books list includes a wide range of topics and styles for children and teens. Early readers will find nonfiction titles about Roy DeCarava, an artistic collaborator of Langston Hughes, and Rosetta Wakeman, a young woman who fought for the Union in the Civil War, as well as fiction about poisonous plants, the miracle of puppy birth, space travelers and more. Middle-grade readers can explore fantasy worlds, time travel, and even learn how to make some delicious barbeque. And our young adult picks feature surrealism, nonfiction, a hint of magical realism, and some utterly fabulous graphic novels.

Click here to read our reviews of the top kids' titles for 2024. (Shelf Awareness's Best Adult Books will be announced December 20.)

--Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness

Picture Book
Viewfinder by Christine D.U. Chung, Salwa Majoka (Tundra)
|Emma Full of Wonders by Elisha Cooper (Roaring Brook)
We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang (Tundra)
Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio, E.B. Lewis (Calkins Creek/Astra)
Sashiko's Stitches by Sanae Ishida (WorthyKids)
Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman by JoAnna Lapati (Eerdmans)
Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin (Orchard/Scholastic)

Middle Grade
The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate by Alliah L. Agostini and Taffy Elrod, illus. by Sawyer Cloud (becker&mayer! Kids/Quarto)
Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani (Kokila/Penguin)
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow/Harper)
Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Groundwood)  
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, illus. by Ashley Mackenzie (Knopf/RHCB)
The Things We Miss by Leah Stecher (Bloomsbury)

Young Adult
Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known by George M. Johnson, illus. by Charly Palmer (FSG)
Pick the Lock by A.S. King (Dutton)
The Art Thieves by Andrea Rogers (Levine Querido)
Ash's Cabin by Jen Wang (First Second/Macmillan)
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (Peachtree)
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, illus. by LeUyen Pham (First Second/Macmillan)
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...: A Regular Love Story by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)


Notes

Image of the Day: Goodnight Sounds in the Bay Area

For their picture book Goodnight Sounds (Bloomsbury), author Debbie S. Miller (right) and illustrator Michelle Jing Chan visited Bay Area bookstores to share the nighttime sounds--including the sound of foghorns near the Golden Gate Bridge. Their story time events and signings were hosted by Just for Fun Toys, Black Bird Bookstore, and Linden Tree Books (pictured).


'Romancing the Novel' Exhibition: Romance Novels & Their Cultural Impact

"Romancing the Novel," an exhibition exploring romance novels and their cultural impact, will run January 6-March 7 at the Esther Prangley Rice Gallery at McDaniel College, Westminster, Md. The exhibition features original cover art (including paintings by James Griffin, Frank Kalan, and Gregg Gulbronson), manuscripts, publicity materials, genre history, and fan artwork and is organized in association with McDaniel's Nora Roberts American Romance Collection, Bowling Green State University's Browne Popular Culture Library, Yale University Art Gallery, and Harlequin Enterprises.

The exhibition was curated by McDaniel associate professor of communication and cinema Robert Lemieux, who commented: "With an emphasis on original cover art, the writing process, notable authors, publicity materials, fan interaction, and genre history, the exhibit provides a wide-ranging view of the publishing industry's most profitable genre--romance--and its influence over the past 80 years."

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Carroll County Public Library and McDaniel are collaborating on a "Romancing the Novel" speaker series during February that, so far, includes a February 27 presentation, "Love in Liberty: Black Historical Romances and the Joy of Freedom," organized by Nicole Jackson, a professor at Bowling Green State University and co-host of the "Black Romance Has a History" podcast.

McDaniel College professor of English emerita Pamela Regis, former director of McDaniel's Nora Roberts Center for American Romance, past president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance, and author of A Natural History of the Romance Novel, served as a consultant for the exhibition.


Bookstore Wedding: Pig City Books 

Pig City Books shined a little bit brighter today! This sweet couple stopped by the store on the way to GET MARRIED at the courthouse! They found some witnesses while they were shopping for books! Thank you for including us in your story. We wish you many chapters of love and happiness! Congratulations Callie and Jake!" Pig City Books, Lexington, N.C., posted on Facebook. 


Personnel Changes at PRH Grupo Editorial; Scholastic

Larry Downs has been promoted to v-p & publisher of PRH Grupo Editorial's Religious Division. He has 25 years of experience in the Spanish-language Christian book business and, the company said, "has been crucial in driving the success of the Religious Division, which is on track to achieve significant revenue milestones this year, primarily from the United States, as well as from our sister companies in Latin America."

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At Scholastic:

Doris Allen, formerly senior sales associate at HarperCollins, has joined the company as district sales manager.

Amanda Book, formerly associate marketing manager at Laurence King Publishing, has joined the company as associate marketing manager, young adult.



Media and Movies

Media Heat: Sunil Amrith on Science Friday

Today:
Science Friday: Sunil Amrith, author of The Burning Earth: A History (W.W. Norton, $35, 9781324007180).


TV: Donna Leon's Detective Brunetti Series

Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, The Gilded Age) will write and executive produce a TV adaptation of author Donna Leon's Detective Brunetti book series, which is in development at 20th Television. Deadline reported that the project was originated and set up at the studio by Fellowes's longtime friend and mentor, producer Ileen Maisel, who died last February. 

She will be credited as an executive producer, along with Fellowes, Gesine Lubben, P.K. Fellowes, and Lawrence Elman. Leon will co-executive produce. Playwright Felix Legge will serve as co-writer and producer.


Books & Authors

Awards: Porchlight Business Book Longlist

The longlist in eight categories for the 2024 Porchlight Business Book Awards and can be seen here. The category winners will be named on January 29 in New York City.

"The 40 books on this year's list of best business books provide a bastion against the tide of overwhelm that we all feel from time to time in this always online, opinion-saturated world," managing director Sally Haldorson wrote. "When so much seems outside our control, these well-researched, deftly written books ground us with clear-eyed practical and practiced ways to do the work that will effectively bring positive change to our personal and professional spaces and places."


Reading with... Ella Baxter

photo: Mischa Baka

Ella Baxter is an Australian writer and artist. Her debut novel, New Animal, was published in 2021 by Two Dollar Radio. Her second, Woo Woo (Catapult, December 3), is about what it means to make art as a woman, and about the powerful forces of voyeurism, power, obsession, and online performance.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

Woo Woo is a dark, gothicky novel filled with wild women, art making, a disintegrating marriage, ghosts, the Internet, and fear.

On your nightstand now:

A lamp and a glass of water. I go to bed at 9 p.m. I lay down and fall asleep. No reading, no TV, just oblivion. Reading revs me up, so I can't have all that going on before bed. Many of my books I keep in the car, as I am chronically early to things, so I read while I wait. At the moment I'm reading Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados. It's on the back seat waiting for me.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Run Zebby Run Run Run by Binette Schroeder. I remember that Zebby the zebra wore high heeled boots and looked terrified on every page. The beauty of this book is that it has no words, only pictures, and so I could make up new stories each night for it. There is a page where the zebra is running from a lion, and it jumps behind a white fence for camouflage. I thought that was so clever. I remember being really impressed with the zebra for doing that.

Your top five authors:

This is a hard question for so many reasons--some of the best authors, who have created works of genius, have also been the parents of utter duds. I don't know any brilliant minds who have a flawless track record. In saying that, I love Lorrie Moore and I love Sappho, Danez Smith, Ben Lerner, Carmen Maria Machado, Kate Jennings. I love the writing and mind of Michaela Coel, but she's not an author. I love David Lynch; I admire his television work most of all.

Book you've faked reading:

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Anything by Nietzsche. Keats! There would be others for sure but that period of my life, the period where I would pretend to read for some imaginary academic credit, is dead.

Book you're an evangelist for:

I Love Dick by Chris Kraus. It is a brilliant look at marriage and desire and artmaking. I value it highly. I reread it annually. I will never get over the genius of that story. If I love you, I have recommended you this book, probably even bought you a copy as well.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Animal Farm by George Orwell--with what looks like a nice big pig with the mustache. There was also a copy of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë that had some bleak, windswept painting on the front and I bought that.

Books you hid from your parents:

I hid cigarettes, not books. I was always encouraged to read widely. Books were never the enemy when I was growing up.

Book that changed your life:

Grapefruit by Yoko Ono--it was so uniquely destabilizing. At first, I thought the whole thing was a joke, but then I kept reading it over and over, and I realized it was brilliant. Not just brilliant, but experimental, and bratty, and brave, and a truly, authentically, unapologetic piece of highly eccentric work. Sometimes I open it up and have a look, close it, and wander off dumbfounded. No other book has had this effect on me. No other book has even come close.

Favorite line from a book:

There is a line that goes (something like): "she had hair so blonde she didn't need to shave her legs." It is from a collection of short stories called Come to Me by Amy Bloom, and that particular story is from the point of view of a wife, observing a woman who she suspects is having an affair with her husband. I think this is a perfect sentence, and I think about it often. This sentence is heavy with jealously. Hair, so, blonde--this alone tells us the wife is not blonde, she envies blonde, she notices blonde, and then the part about the legs. She doesn't even need to shave. The wife is seeing this new woman as a smooth-legged demigod. She's catastrophizing her beauty and his attraction to her. I love this sentence. It gives us so much of the wife. This sentence could be all I ever need to know about her. Bloom was a true master to conjure this.

Five books you'll never part with:

The thing is we have to part with everything; we cannot take books to the grave. I actually just culled a lot of books and it felt great. You can lug books around for decades, never opening them up, letting them collect dust on the shelf. I feel books should be fed into more of a barter system of giving and receiving. I feel we should all turn our bookcases over every so often--out with the old, in with the new. In my opinion, humans would do better to attach less to things, and attach more to each other.

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

A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle. I was part of an event at the Wheeler Center alongside Dylin, and I was lucky enough to hear them read an excerpt from their novel. The piece was so wildly horny and beautiful and bright. Dylin's writing is deeply evocative, sensual, and profound. I felt like setting the world on fire (in a good way) after the reading. I bought their novel the next day. I would love to read that novel, as if for the first time, again and again and again.


Book Review

Review: A Perfect Day to Be Alone

A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama, trans. by Jesse Kirkwood (Other Press, $15.99 paperback, 160p., 9781635425390, February 11, 2025)

Nanae Aoyama's A Perfect Day to Be Alone, winner of Japan's Akutagawa Prize and translated into English by Jesse Kirkwood, is a slim coming-of-age novel of understated beauty.

A young Japanese woman named Chizu moves to Tokyo when her mother goes to China for work; Chizu is to live with a distant relative she's never met. "It was raining when I arrived at the house. The walls of my room were lined with cat photos." Chizu is 20; Ginko is 71. Over the course of a year, they move quietly around each other in a small apartment overlooking a commuter train platform. Chizu is periodically impatient, even cruel, toward the older woman, who placidly knits, embroiders, cooks, and, when solicited, imparts advice. The two women establish a thin bond, and then Chizu moves on. This restrained novel follows the four seasons of their connection.

Chizu is a solitary person, without friendships or much success in relationships, nor is she close to her mother, whose emigration doesn't affect her much. When she arrives at Ginko's home, she reflects: "I hadn't bothered introducing myself properly.... I wasn't in the habit of going around declaring my name to people like that. Nor was I used to others actually calling me by it." Her life has been passive: "I'd been told to come, so here I was." She does not want to go to school and instead takes on a series of part-time jobs. She is curious about falling in love, especially when Ginko's male companion becomes a regular visitor; she is often invited along on their outings. In this and other ways, Ginko proves the more generous member of their household. Chizu is initially dismissive of Ginko, but notes that she "was turning out to be surprisingly normal," and that her friendship has something to offer.

These observations are made only very subtly, amid daily run-of-the-mill events, including the tiny dramas of Chizu's workplaces, her forays into dating, and shared meals at the apartment by the rail line. Kirkwood translates Aoyama's writing with subdued loveliness: "The train was approaching the bridge over the Yanase River. Its banks were lined with slender cherry trees, their branches still bare.... A watch on my wrist, pumps on my feet, a black handbag at my side. I watched a boy taking a brown dog for a run, the two of them tracing a line across the grey concrete." A Perfect Day to Be Alone ends with less assured conclusiveness than its title implies, but in the spirit of the whole, it nods quietly toward positive change, or at least forward movement: "The train carried me onwards, to a station where someone was waiting." --Julia Kastner, blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: This award-winning novel in its first English translation follows a young woman rooming with a distant septuagenarian relative for a year, and the muted dramas of her coming-of-age.


Deeper Understanding

Robert Gray: Season's Greetings, Bookseller Style: 'We Work Local, We Play Local!'

At Booka Bookshop

One of my favorite responsibilities here is to help showcase the lighter side of bookselling in our "Notes" section, highlighting bookstore social media posts about displays, storefront window art, sidewalk chalkboards, and much more. These are aspects of the book trade that are at once fun and crucial for showcasing a bookstore's business. 

During the holiday season, the number of posts that would qualify for such a focus increases dramatically, well beyond the space we have. It's like getting too many presents, if such a thing were conceivable. So in the hectic final run-up to Christmas, I want to take a moment to highlight some of the bounty of recent posts that reflect the spirit of both the season and indie booksellers everywhere. This is, truly, a brief sampling:

Booksellers Celebrating Bookishly
Plaid Elephant Books, Danville, Ky.: "Putting the TEA in TEAM! Last night, our Plaid Elephant Books team enjoyed holiday tea at Murrini Cafe together--and it was delicious. Major kudos to Lindley and her crew for the wonderful experience. There aren't words enough to express my appreciation for this amazing group that keeps the bookstore running."

Blacksburg Books celebration

Blacksburg Books, Blacksburg, Va.: "We work local, we play local! We had our holiday party tonight at two awesome local spots--there was sweating, possibly some cursing, and ice cream." 

Wheatberry Books, Chillicothe, Ohio: "It was a weekend of celebration at Wheatberry Books! On Saturday, our wonderful staff enjoyed a delicious meal at The Pour House at Machinery Hall to celebrate Christmas together. On Sunday, our book clubs came together to exchange some of our favorite books and chow down at Fifty West Brewing. Nothing but gratitude for these groups of book lovers!"

Godmothers Books, Summerland, Calif.: "What a joy it was to gather for our first staff holiday party! Our team is the soul of everything we do--transforming Godmothers from a space into a true community. We're endlessly grateful for the warmth, creativity, and dedication each person brings."

The Mysterious Bookshop, New York, N.Y.: "Good times last night at our annual Mysterious Enterprises staff holiday dinner."

Booka Bookshop, Bridgenorth, U.K.: "We've got Merry Everything you need this Christmas. Visit us in Bridgnorth for great gifts and expert book recommendations from Leigh, Caroline and Hazel.... Falalalala."

Bookstore (& Book) Trees
Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, Ky.: "If you want to liven up your Christmas tree or need a fun gift, check out our array of ornaments available for purchase at our Bardstown Road location. Don't be shy in taking them off the tree to buy--that's what they're there for!"

The American Book Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands: "With boxes and boxes of books our elves Shirley, Joost, and Tiemen build this amazing Book Tree."

Bazoo Books, Sedalia, Mo.: "Come support our local youth by purchasing a book off our angel tree!"

The Magic of Books Bookstore, Seymour, Ind.: "You can judge the book tree if you want to, but a kid put it together so remember you'd be picking on a child."

Drake the Bookshop, Stockton-on-Tees, U.K.: "At this time of year there are few prettier things than a jaunty angled Christmas tree and books. And there are few better combos than Christmas trees and books for our Gift Of Reading project.... Thanks so much to everyone for their incredible support with this project."

Hedgehog.INK Bookstore & More, Fort Scott, Kan.: "[S]top by for a photo with Santa! Christmas on the Bricks, shopping, Santa at the bookstore... seems like something out of a Hallmark movie!"

Lion's Mouth Bookstore, Green Bay, Wis.: "Lion's Mouth has a banned book tree at the @nationalrailroadmuseum Festival of Trees!"

Park Road Books, Charlotte, N.C.: "Our book tree is filled with ornaments from Communities in Schools. Come in and buy a book for a child."

lala books, Lowell, Mass.: "We've got some nasty weather out there, but it's still feeling Christmassy at lala books!"

Books Mandala, Kathmandu, Nepal: "Have you started your 12.12 shopping spree yet?"

Storefront Window Art
Maze Bookstore, Rockford, Ill.: "Thank you for a wonderful Stroll on State, Rockford, it was so nice to see all of you today!"

Westbourne Bookshop, Bournemouth, U.K.: "Don't we look beautiful?"

An Unlikely Story, Plainville, Mass.: "Happy Holidays from An Unlikely Story! Amazing window art made by baristas Marley and Julien!"

The Island Bookshop, Venice, Fla.: "Tonight is the Christmas Walk! Great opportunity to kick off or continue your holiday shopping, see some beautiful holiday windows, and share in the festive holiday spirit! Your local downtown businesses will be open late this evening. We can't wait to see you!"

Sevenoaks Bookshop, Sevenoaks, U.K.: "We are so incredibly proud--Immy has won the Best Dressed Window Competition 2024 for our Christmas window display! After months of planning, building and crafting, she truly deserves this award. We are so lucky to have her on our team! We know she's the best, but now we have the certificate to prove it." 

Dragon Tale Books, Menomonie, Wis.: "We are number 11 in the Parade of Lights."

Librairie de Beaux Lendemains, Bagnolet, France: "Oh les belles vitrines de Noël ! Mille mercis et bravos au génial Alëxone Dizac. Et big up au maestro Gilbert Mazout."

Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, N.Y.: "What better spot on a rainy day than your cozy indie bookstore? Stop in and see us! P.S. If you like our windows, you can vote for us in the Downtown Ithaca holiday window contest."

More bookstore gifts to get you in the indie holiday spirit coming next week.

--Robert Gray, contributing editor

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