With the 2024 holiday shopping season concluded, booksellers from around the country offer their assessments:

In Brookline, Mass., Brookline Booksmith had a "very successful holiday season" overall, reported co-owner and buyer Alie Hess. Broadly speaking, it felt "very similar to last season," and there were some titles Hess thought would perform better and others that did so much better than expected. Generally speaking, the store was "well stocked and where we needed to be," but the team did run into problems with books taking off that were "from smaller presses and [had] small print runs." Brookline Booksmith was unable to bring them back, and Hess noted that it seems that every year, "the pressure on the shipping companies is getting more intense," and the team finds itself waiting for shipments "a bit longer than we used to."

Lisa Gozashti, co-owner and manager at Brookline Booksmith, agreed that overall it was an "incredibly vibrant and successful holiday season," for which the team is "extremely grateful." She echoed Hess's disappointment in running out of the "beautiful smaller press-run books" that take off during the holiday season. She added that next year, the store plans to "buy for our special seasonal and gift tables earlier," and to go "proactively bolder on quantities of these kinds of titles." She said it was a "wonder to behold" the way customers responded to the store's booksellers and gift-sellers putting "their hearts and souls into the season."

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"It was a great season for us," reported Valerie Koehler, owner of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Tex. With no weather issues, the store was "humming along," and sales were slightly ahead of December 2023 despite having no big events last month. Koehler said there weren't any major problems with titles, though there were some that she "should have ordered up sooner in bigger quantities." She and her team have been making notes for next holiday season to "make some changes to our ordering."

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Calvin Crosby, co-owner of the King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, said the store has "ended with a good year." The King's English is up slightly over 2023, which had been its best year ever. 

The past year saw a lot of changes, including a new POS and website provider, the retirement of several long-tenured booksellers, and a partnership with the nonprofit Brain Food Books. Crosby noted that he and co-owner Anne Holman have also supported a number of staff members in completing courses with the Professional Booksellers School. This has led to "a few new systems" being put in place, along with other changes, and "we can see the positive effect on our bottom line."

This holiday season saw purchases "all over the board," with customers "invested in our bookseller picks more so than ever." He added that it felt like "classic bookselling in a way I have not seen in a couple of decades." --Alex Mutter

Paper Boat's current location

Paper Boat Booksellers, Seattle, Wash., will be relocating to a new space in West Seattle Junction this month after five years in Morgan Junction, the West Seattle Blog reported.

"We will be moving into the left [north] side of the Windermere building--it's double the square footage and will allow us to have more seating and room for bookstore events," said co-proprietor Desirae Wilkerson. "The biggest reason we are moving though, is location."

West Seattle Junction has foot traffic year-round, while the current location is slow except for the holiday season. "Our lease is up on January 31st and we expect to close for a bit to move everything over and open back up early February," Wilkerson said, adding that they have been searching for a new space for about a year.

Ink Drinkers Anonymous, which opened a bricks-and-mortar store in downtown Muncie, Ind., during the spring of 2023, is relocating to 108 S. Walnut St., suite 218, not far from its previous location. The store will reopen tomorrow, Saturday, January 4.

In September, owner Keeley Malone had announced on social media that Ink Drinkers would be closing its physical store, with plans to focus on online sales as well as pop-ups and markets while searching for a new physical space. 

A later update on the shop's website, however, noted that a new space has been found. The last day at the High Street location was December 20. 

"We will not be closing the store and moving online," Malone had confirmed in a TikTok video. "The space is much smaller than what we currently have, but that's okay. If you have been with me since [the High St. store's] open or since our first place in the Rose Court, you know we started out super small. This place will be much bigger than that, though much smaller than what we have currently."

She added: "The space is so fine. It's a beautiful building, with great businesses that are already there, so I'm super excited."

Whitty Books, Tulsa, Okla., which opened in 2018, will close at the end of the month. In a social media post, co-owners Victoria Moore and Julian DeLesDernier wrote: "After six and a half years we have made the difficult decision to shut down Whitty Books; we'll be closing our doors after January 31st. It is with a mix of great sadness and joy that we make this announcement--sadness at the obvious nature of letting things go, shutting things down, and ending a story. It is never easy to let go of something you have poured all of your blood sweat and tears into for over half a decade, and we do not make this decision lightly, but we know it is the right one for us. 

"Yet we express immense joy at the community we have created around weird books. The countless hours of bookclubs and DIY concerts. The families who bought their kid their first book. The artists, vendors and creators we have stocked and had pop up in the shop."

Noting that it was never their goal to make a huge profit, Moore and DeLesDernier wrote that "we knew going in that selling new books has slim profit margins. Our mission was to create an avenue in Oklahoma for unheard authors and indie presses. We set out to create a community in this town around weird books and we did just that. We know that spirit will live on for many years to come."

Australian author John Marsden, "whose young adult novels were read and beloved across the world," died December 18, ABC News reported. He was 74. Marsden wrote more than 40 books across multiple genres, including the seven-book Tomorrow series, which sold millions of copies and was adapted for film and TV. 

He also won several major awards for children's and adult fiction. In 2006, he received the Lloyd O'Neil Award for contributions to Australian publishing. His historical novel South of Darkness won the Christina Stead Award for best novel in 2015.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted on social media that Marsden "wanted young Australians to read more and his writing made that happen.... Vivid, funny, quintessentially Australian, he wrote with a real love for our land and a true sense of our people's character. John's work will live long in our national memory."

Marsden's 1993 novel Tomorrow, When the War Began made him one of the country's most renowned YA novelists, and his popularity spread to the U.S., where the book was featured on the American Library Association's "Best Books for Young Adults" list in 1996. In 2000, the ALA ranked it 41st on a list of "100 Best Books for Teens" published between 1966 and 2000.

Australian author Alison Lester said Marsden had left an "enormous" legacy through the series: "He would've got so many kids reading who would never have read otherwise, I think. Here was a whole world that they could believe in.... Those books, they looked like they were going to change the world, they were such a force. The kids [in the books] were so powerful.... I think that was the most amazing thing."

The Guardian Australia reported that Alice Miller School, one of two schools that Marsden founded in Victoria, confirmed his death in a letter to parents, noting: "He died at his desk in his home, doing what he loved, writing."

Pan Macmillan Australia, his publisher, said, "John Marsden profoundly impacted the world of literature, particularly with his enthralling young adult novels such as the Tomorrow series, which we have previously described as 'the best series for Australian teens of all time.' His ability to encapsulate the essence of youth struggles and aspirations in his works has left an indelible mark on readers worldwide."

"We are all swooning and wiping our tears over here at the first proposal we've had in the bookshop!! Perfect in every way. Congratulations you two! @malpal711 You are glowing!!" Storyline Bookshop, Upper Arlington, Ohio, posted on Instagram.

Simon & Schuster is now handling world print sales for Big City Press, the publisher of Mike Bond's 13 award-winning, bestselling novels and his two poetry collections.

"New year, new chapter." That was the seasonally appropriate sidewalk chalkboard message in front of Epilogue Books, Rockford, Mich., which advised: "Time to bulk up your 2025 TBR stack!"

A first-look clip has been released from The Monkey, "a gory adaptation" of the 1980 Stephen King short story, IndieWire reported. Directed and written by Osgood Perkins (Longlegs), the film's cast includes Theo James, Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, and Sarah Levy. The movie will be released February 21.

IndieWire noted that Perkins was "previously candid... about [how] his parents' deaths--including his father, actor and Psycho star Anthony Perkins--informed the satanic horrors of Longlegs. That film starred Maika Monroe as an FBI agent in the '90s on the trail of a serial killer (Nicolas Cage) who holds an intense connection to her childhood." 

Jane Yang was born in a Chinese enclave in Saigon, Vietnam. Her family migrated to Australia when she was seven. Due to her family's limited means, extracurricular activities were not affordable. Instead, Yang amused herself by watching Cantonese period dramas rented from a video store and reading lots of historical fiction. Although educated in pharmaceutical science, Yang still has one foot in the world of Chinese superstition: for luck, she keeps a minimum of five fish in her aquarium at all times. Her debut novel, The Lotus Shoes (Park Row, January 7), set in 1800s China, is a tale of two women from opposite sides of society and their journey of sisterhood, betrayal, love, and triumph.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

In 1800s China, gentle but brave Little Flower becomes self-centered Linjing's slave-maid. Little Flower wants dignity, love, and independence. Can she escape Linjing's tenacious grip?

On your nightstand now:

Though I'm easily frightened, I'm a huge fan of vampire stories. At the moment, I'm reading Isabel Cañas's second novel, Vampires of El Norte, set in 1840s Mexico during the Anglo-American war with Mexico. The vampires in this story are more beast-like than Dracula-esque, but it is still eerie. I also enjoy the focus on Nena and Néstor's love story--they're childhood sweethearts torn apart by class and an epic misunderstanding.

Favorite book when you were a child:

Being born in Saigon a few years after the fall of South Vietnam, I had no access to children's books, at least not ones meant for leisure reading. As soon as I discovered the picture books in my school library after our family migrated to Australia, it became my favorite place even though I could only read a few words in English. It took about three years for me to become fluent in the new language. After I learned to read, I read a lot. For me, one of the most memorable middle grade books is Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume. Margaret was about the same age as me, which made her struggles and questions about girlhood, boys, periods, etc., especially relatable.

Your top five authors:

Jane Austen, Tracy Chevalier, Laura Purcell, Julian Fellowes, Margaret Atwood.

Book you've faked reading:

I've never faked reading a book because I'm terrible at lying. But I'm not above using false lashes. More recently, inspired by my research for The Lotus Shoes, I've started to use hair pieces too. In 19th-century China, many ladies used false hair to add volume or to create an anchor for elaborate accessories, like combs inlaid with kingfisher feathers, jade hair sticks, and bejeweled pins--the wealthier she was, the bigger her hair tended to be.

Book you're an evangelist for:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is my all-time favorite! Griet is artistic and intelligent, with a natural eye for composition and color. These skills are of no use to her position as housemaid to Johannes Vermeer in 17th-century Delft. It'd be safer for Griet to keep to her lane, but she is drawn to Vermeer's world--it's a reprieve from the monotony of laundry and mopping and scrubbing. Like Anne Elliot in Persuasion by Jane Austen, Griet possesses a quiet dignity, a keen perception that commands respect. From the first page, I'm rooting for Griet, hoping she will find a way to rise above her dull existence, in a world where birth dictates destiny. Over the years, I've read Girl with a Pearl Earring three times, and Griet is one of my inspirations that helped me shape Little Flower's personality in The Lotus Shoes.

Book you've bought for the cover:

Even though I already have a copy of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, as soon as I saw the 80th anniversary edition, I bought it. The monochrome cover features the letter "R" embroidered with white satin stitches against crisp white linen. The only trace of color comes from a thin gold thread that outlines the prominent, raised "R." It is a simple but compelling design, one that helps readers delve into the new Mrs. de Winter's mindset: even household items mock and needle her. This embroidery says, "Rebecca is still the real mistress of Manderley--she is a diamond, you're a poor imitation."

Book you hid from your parents:

My dad often worked double shifts, and to make ends meet, Mum worked from home, sewing garments for as little as 50 cents a piece. Plus, they spoke and read very limited English, so they couldn't pay attention to my reading and trusted I would be sensible. Overall, I was a good kid, though in high school I read Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews; both featured some pretty spicy content. My parents would have been quite alarmed if they had known!

Book that changed your life:

One wet lunchtime, in Year 10 (sophomore), I found a tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen in one of the neglected sections of my school library. My friends thought that the Penguin cover was old-fashioned and dull, but I was captivated by the head-and-shoulders portrait of a lady--her large, somber eyes seemed to hold so many secrets. It was my first encounter with historical fiction. I had no understanding of the time period and didn't know a thing about Jane Austen. While my friends drifted away, I sat on the floor and started to read. Within a few days, I had finished the book. That was my gateway into this genre, and I've never looked back.

Favorite line from a book:

"Of course, one of the basic truths of life is that, as a general rule, the world takes you at your own estimation." --from Snobs by Julian Fellowes

Five books you'll never part with:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar, Snobs by Julian Fellowes, and A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin.

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

I adored The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell. It was so creepy that I only read it during daylight hours. This story has all my favorite gothic elements: secrets, hauntings, and a lonely woman trapped in a menacing house. At the time, I was listening to the audiobook too. The narrators were amazing, and they added to the suspense. On my second read, I still loved it, but knowing what would happen next dampened the fear factor.

In novels like Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and Breathing Lessons, Pulitzer Prize-winner Anne Tyler has displayed her mastery in creating slightly off-kilter but undeniably appealing characters whose flaws uncannily echo some of our own. In that sense, Three Days in June, her 25th novel, is certain to delight anyone looking to enter this familiar territory.

Like many of its predecessors, the novel is set in Baltimore, the city where Tyler has lived for some six decades. The principal characters in this brief but fully realized story are Gail and Max Baines, a divorced pair of educators reuniting temporarily to celebrate the marriage of their only child, Debbie. The wedding weekend comes at a moment of crisis in 61-year-old Gail's life, as she learns that the new headmistress at the private girls' school where she's worked for 11 years will be bringing her own assistant, which means that Gail won't be elevated to the top job as she had expected.

When Max arrives from Maryland's Eastern Shore, where he teaches at a school for at-risk teenagers, bearing the wrinkled khaki sports coat he plans to wear to his daughter's wedding along with a foster cat, his presence summons Gail's painful memories of the episode that led to the demise of their marriage. The passage of time clearly hasn't eased that pain. Still, Gail and Max are united by their love for Debbie, especially when a last-minute incident threatens to derail the wedding ceremony.

As the headmistress of Gail's school gently informs her, "social interactions have never been your strong point," while Max is an amiable, somewhat bumbling, man-child who once thought his ex-wife "hung the moon," even as she was never able to reciprocate that passion. More than a decade post-breakup, their relationship has settled into what Gail considers a "civilized friendship," but it's one tinged with regret for what might have been in the eyes of someone who once "truly loved my husband--at least in the on-again-off-again, maybe/maybe-not, semi-happy way of just about any married woman."

With a characteristic grace that combines economy of language and keen observation of the endearing oddities of middle-class American life, Tyler (The Beginner's Goodbye; A Spool of Blue Thread) guides the plot over some of the usual speed bumps that appear when not merely a couple, but their families along with them, are united by marriage. Three Days in June is a story about love in different forms, but at its heart it's a compassionate portrait of how muddling through may just turn out to be the path to happiness. --Harvey Freedenberg, freelance reviewer

Shelf Talker: This gentle story depicts how the wedding of their daughter allows one couple to come to terms with the events that ended their marriage.

Those cards show up in your mailbox, virtual or otherwise, every year during the holiday season. Sometimes they're accompanied by a letter catching you up on a family's activities and accomplishments.

While you may have mixed feelings about the letters, I suspect most people enjoy seeing the cards that feature photos. They are a kind of time machine through which you watch friends and family get older and their kids grow up too fast. 

Last month, as I kept encountering bookstore staff photos posted on social media, I was reminded once again of the transitory nature of bookseller families, and the importance of appreciating yours in the moment. The holidays are about family, of course, and an independent bookstore is a family business.

Sometimes that's literal; a family opens a bookshop and their kids are part of it from an early age. 

At Bleak House Books

Albert Wan and Jenny Smith are the co-owners of Bleak House Books, which closed its doors in San Po Kong, Hong Kong, in 2021, in the wake of a national security law that had also forced bookstores and libraries to pull specific titles from their shelves. They subsequently opened a new store in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., in 2022. 

On Christmas Eve, the owners posted their family photo, noting: "Our family is blessed beyond measure to have found a home and a loving community here in Honeoye Falls. You all are the reason we do what we do. As always, be well and be strong. See y'all on the other side!"

Many bookshop families are "found," however, and inevitably keep changing as time passes. I think I began collecting bookseller holiday pics from social media this year because it reminded me of my own 15 years as part of such a clan long ago. So, enjoy this festive photo album featuring bookshop families of all kinds:

Copperfish Books, Punta Gorda, Fla.: "Happy New Year! Thank you for being part of our Copperfish family & let's make 2025 one for the books (pun 100% intended)."

Murder by the Book, Houston, Tex.: "Happy holidays from the crew here at Murder by the Book! Wishing y'all the best, safe travels, and looking forward to seeing you in 2025!"

Cavalier Book House, Denham Springs, La.: "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah friends! We have had such a wonderful holiday season with y'all! We are so excited for everything the new year will bring! All our love to you and yours!"

Landmark Booksellers, Franklin, Tenn.: "Happy New Year from the Landmark staff!... Get your new year off to a great start with some books!"

Type Books, Toronto, Ont., Canada: "Happy holidays from all of us at TYPE.... We love you."

Femme Fire Books, Jacksonville, Fla.: "Happy Holidays from your fav booksellers at Femme Fire Books."

Belmont Bookshop, Belmont, N.C.: "We are incredibly grateful for such an awesome team of book worms and golfers.... A big thank you for an incredible first year of business in 2024 to all of you, which absolutely wouldn't have been possible without our amazing team!"

Yooneek Books, Okotoks, Alb., Canada: "Thanks everyone for the support in 2024. For us, that's a wrap at the store until January 2nd. Take care, stay safe, and enjoy every moment you can. Peace and love from the Byerley family."

Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, Ken.: "That's a wrap! These Christmas Eve bookseller elves were delighted to help with those last minute gifts before the big day. Thank you for all your support this holiday season."

Wardini Books, Havelock North, New Zealand: "Merry Christmas from Team Wardini! Thank you for your support this year and always. It's been a busy, crazy roller coaster for us and we're grateful to have you in our community. Have a lovely few days, whatever you're up to. Xxx."

Analog Books, Lethbridge, Alb., Canada: "With warmest regards from our families to yours as we wrap up the final week of 2024. The Analog Books community keeps growing and we look forward to a 2025 filled with expanding literary and personal connections."

Simply Books, Bramhall, U.K.: "Merry Christmas from the whole team at Simply Books!"

Luddites, Antwerp, Belgium: "Whether the burning smell wafting through your house is the food you forgot about in the kitchen or the dumpster fire that was 2024--we hope your holidays will have plenty of moments where you can escape to the bathroom from yet another family tiff; or that you'll at least get drunk enough you'll actually end up liking most of your relatives. Happy sipping! And a merry crisis! Or Christmas, whatever."

Librairie Ernster, Luxembourg: "The whole team of the Golden Bell and the Belle-Star wishes you beautiful end of the year holidays!"

Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, Vt.: "Cheers to our wonderful customers and supportive community for an amazing season of bookselling! We hope you have a lovely holiday, however you celebrate. We're headed home to put our feet up!"

The Book & Cover, Chattanooga, Tenn.: "Merry everything & happy reading from us to you."

Betty's Books, Webster Groves, Mo.: "Another year, another delightful yet grueling holiday season done! Everyone who's worked in retail can testify how exhausting this time of year can be, but thanks to our amazing BB Community, it's even more rewarding. Swipe to see some of our fave moments from the past year, and of course, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!"

Bookstore at Fitger's, Duluth, Minn.: "Happy 2025! We will be closed today so our Booksellers can get a jump start on our 2025 Reading Goals."