Spring has arrived — the trees are bursting with blossoms, the bulbs are shooting up, and Spring fever has come to the bookstore. It's National Poetry Month! Celebrate Spring by finding the perfect sonnet or poem to awaken the senses. Browse our curated collection of poetry books from small local presses and regional authors. For aspiring poets we have gorgeous journals and pens to inspire you to record your prose.
Earth Day also falls in April — the day provides a time for reflection on ways to live and work more sustainably. This year's theme is Invest in Our Planet, and we have many books, including dozens of children's titles to put you and your family on the right path.
We cannot discuss Springtime without mentioning Easter! This year we have the latest gift books, cards, and basket stuffers for kids and everyone on your list. Check our our displays for one-stop holiday shopping.
And if all this isn't enough to entice to find your next great read, publishers are releasing more new titles this month than ever before. We are receiving all the hottest titles, and we are ready with signed copies of several of the most anticipated new releases. Our staff has also been busy with new recommendations for you. So, scroll down to see what else we're excited about this month. Click any book cover to learn more, and visit us soon!
|
|
What better way to experience the joys of Spring than by attending these outdoor-themed book launches? We are hosting three local authors, each renowned in their field, who will share their love of the great outdoors with amazing and inspiring stories. Scroll down to learn more about each exciting event, and don't forget to RSVP! |
|
|
|
Nancy Blakey - Thursday April 7, 7:00pm |
Nancy Blakey returns to present her newest outdoor adventure guide: The Mountains Are Calling: Year-round Adventures in the Olympics and West Cascades. Spring is here and who better to get us outdoors again, but Nancy Blakey! Imagine escaping to old-growth forests, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls, and hot springs. This beginner-friendly guide will show you where to go, what to do, and what to look for while you’re there.
|
|
|
Dylan Tomine - Thursday April 14, 6:00 pm |
In Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman, author and conservationist Dylan Tomine presents his adventures around the world in fly fishing with plenty of attention on his beloved northwest waters. Dylan takes us to the far reaches of the planet in search of fish and adventure, with keen insight, a strong stomach and plenty of laughs along the way. Headwaters traces the evolution of a lifelong angler’s priorities from fishing to the survival of the fish themselves. It is a book shaped by experience, and hope for the future.
|
|
|
|
|
Steph Jagger - Thursday April 28, 6:30pm |
In Everything Left to Remember: My Mother, Our Memories and a Journey Through the Rocky Mountains, Steph Jagger presents her extraordinary memoir in which she and her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's, embarked on a road trip through national parks, revisiting the memories, and the mountains that formed their early relationship. An adventure full of horseback riding, hiking, and tenting out West quickly turned into one woman’s reflection on childhood, motherhood, personhood—and what it means to love someone who doesn’t quite remember the person she spent her lifetime becoming.
|
|
|
Coming Soon: Pre-order Now! |
|
|
|
The Swimmers, by Julie Otsuka |
Julie Otsuka’s novels are literary gems, and Swimmers joins its predecessors—The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor was Divine—as a work of uncommonly lyrical beauty and pathos. The loss of a public swimming pool to a series of mysterious cracks developing on the bottom disperses a tight and quirky community of lap swimmers. Among them is Alice, the main character, to whom, along with her daughter, the focus shifts in the book’s second half. Otsuka renders Alice’s journey through dementia, and her daughter’s corresponding feelings of helplessness and guilt, with understated, heartrending eloquence. Deeply affecting and universally resonant. ~ John, Bookseller Emeritus
|
|
|
|
The Atlas Six, by Olivie Blake
|
This dark academic fantasy will have you devouring page after page. Every ten years the Alexandrian Society, a secret society of elite magic users, offers a select few the chance to secure a spot within the society. Six talented and powerful individuals are chosen, but only five will have the honor of being inducted. Blake's system of magic, which incorporates elements of physics, biology, and psychology, along with her stunningly complex and layered characters, will bewitch you completely. ~Chloe
|
|
|
|
Daughter of the Moon Goddess, by Sue Lynn Tan |
I was utterly captivated by this book. Inspired by the legend of the Chinese Moon Goddess, Chang'e, Sue Lynn Tan's debut fantasy follows Chang'e's daughter, Xingyin. When Xingyin is forced to leave her mother and flee her childhood home on the moon, she resolves to find a way to free Chang'e from imprisonment. She studies, trains, and fights to attain the status that could afford her mother's liberation. In her many quests and trials, Xingyin experiences the vast array of love – familial, friendship, romantic, as well as self-love and valuing oneself. Tan's rich and evocative language and imagery will enthrall you as you join Xingyin on her journey. ~Chloe
|
|
|
|
A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey, by Jonathan Meiburg
|
Ornithologist/indie musician Jonathan Meiburg is wholly besotted, bemused, and bewitched by the striated caracara and it shows throughout this marvelous, deeply charming book. In addition to the Johnny Rook—as the striated caracara is called in its Falkland Island homeland—Meiburg writes with heart, intelligence, and boundless enthusiasm about Charles Darwin, dinosaur extinction, terrifyingly large spiders, William Henry Hudson, continental shifts, why there are marsupials in Australia, the dangers of colonialism, very alarming ants, and a host of other topics. But he always comes back to the various species of caracara, especially his beloved Johnny Rook. It's quite a journey—and a beautiful labor of love—and I enjoyed it immensely. ~Rafe (and Victoria)
|
|
|
|
Red Paint: by Sasha Lapoint |
Set across the PNW, LaPointe combines memoir and creative non-fiction to weave the stories of her Coast Salish female ancestors into her own complex tale. Heart-wrenching, and unflinching, LaPointe depicts the severe mental and physical health problems and hardships caused by PTSD from sexual assault—an issue which disproportionally impacts Native/Indigenous women. In La Pointe's journey towards healing, she finds solace from trauma, both personal and generational, in punk music and in her graduate writing program. Writing with expert craftsmanship, she emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with herself, her ancestral land, and the women who came before her. I think this book will be appreciated by fans of Crying in H-Mart. It is also a profound read for any lover of the PNW. ~Cappy
|
|
|
|
A Psalm for the Wild Built, by Becky Chambers
|
After leaving their urban job behind and becoming a tea-serving monk in a small hamlet, Sibling Dex finds they’re still longing for more in life. Dex embarks on a pilgrimage beyond the bounds of human habitation and encounters the wild-built robot Mosscap. In the wilderness, the unlikely pair converse about what they know of the world, from animals to hospitality to the purpose of life. In this warm and philosophical approach to sci-fi, Becky Chambers gives us a view of the future brimming with hope. ~Carrie
|
|
|
|
New Animal, by Ella Baxter |
Dark humor, absurdity, grief, and the lush landscape of Tasmania merge to form this eccentric tale of a woman confronting the void. When Amelia's beloved mother dies suddenly, she flees her loving stepfather and the mortuary they own to be with her biological father. Consumed with grief, she attempts to join the local BDSM scene to get her mind off things. Disaster ensues. Baxter's voice is fresh and her spin on grief is unique but relatable. I devoured New Animal in a sitting and recommend it to anyone who loves a tale about a quirky family. ~Cappy
|
|
|
|
Mrs Death Misses Death, by Selena Godden
|
This book is haunting and elegiac, not least because Death herself is one of the narrators. Our other main narrator, Wolf, is a liminal entity, as befits someone who has survived Death more than once and now serves as her chronicler (and possibly more). Godden challenges readers both structurally and stylistically, equally confronting and easing our own very personal heartaches. Sections deal with public grief, the inequalities of death and grieving, and the losses (ancestral and present-day) suffered by both Mrs. Death and Wolf. Godden's book is lyric, relentless, and surprising. ~Rafe
|
|
|
|
All About Love, by bell hooks |
May the memory of bell hooks (1952-2021) always be preserved. Her work was a tour de force, and this excellent volume is a good a place to start. She was the author who taught me about feminism as an act of revolutionary love, and as a critical mindset for human thriving. This book disrupts patriarchal notions of love, and instead explores love's facets—including commitment, affection, recognition, respect, trust, and communication. In All About Love, bell hooks is especially fierce, tender, accessible, and vulnerable. Expect to be changed. ~Carrie
|
|
|
|
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy |
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a beautifully curated piece of art, full of intricate drawings and thoughtful prose. In it, a group of misfit creatures come together as friends to ask some of life’s most mundane questions, yet also the most thought provoking. Elegant hand-written text accompanies exquisite ink drawings. The ability to open to any page and feel seen and heard is phenomenal, prompting introspection and deep connection with one’s innermost being. The story and journey of this cast of characters reminds me of the innocence of childhood while calming the fears and anxieties of adulthood. ~Lily
|
|
|
|
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik |
Imagine if Hogwarts and the Hunger Games had a baby. The product of this unlikely union would be the Scholomance, a magical boarding school with no adult supervision. Here we follow the story of Galadriel "El" whose talent for the magic of mass destruction is unmatched. However, El was raised by her hippie mother, who taught her not to give in to the pull of dark magic. As a result, El is snarky, resourceful, and clever (if a bit prickly at times), with a strong moral compass and a heart of gold. A must-read for lovers of dark academic fantasy. ~Chloe
|
|
Perfectly Pegasus
by Jessie Sima
|
|
Cress Watercress
by Gregory Maguire
|
|
I Color Myself Different
by Colin Kaepernick
|
|
Warriors: A Starless Clan
River
by Erin Hunter
|
|
The 143-Story Treehouse
by Andy Griffiths
|
|
Wings of Fire:
The Flames of Hope
by Tui T. Sutherland
|
|
|
|
Thirteen Witches:
The Sea of Always
by Jodi Lynn Anderson
|
|
Aru Shah and the
Nectar of Immortality
by Roshani Chokshi
|
|
New Books For Young Adults |
|
Cinder & Glass
by Melissa de la Cruz
|
|
Hotel Magnifique
by Emily J. Taylor
|
|
Very Bad People
by Kit Frick
|
|
Year on Fire
by Julie Buxbaum
|
|
What We Harvest
by Ann Fraistat
|
|
A Magic Steeped in Poison
by Judy I. Lin
|
|
Drop In - You are Welcome! |
All Store Book Group titles are discounted 15% up until the date of discussion
Reader's Circle Book Group
April 5, 7:00 pm
Speculative Fiction Book Group
April 6, 7:00 pm
Mystery Book Group
April 26, 7:00 pm
Our popular in-store book groups are now meeting virtually by zoom!
Contact us or check our website for the meeting links.
|
|
|
|
|
Saturday, April 30 is
Independent Bookstore Day!
|
Independent Bookstore Day (IBD) is an annual one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to authors, live music, refreshments, contests, and other fun and festive stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before. Not after. Nowhere else. So, mark your calendar to come and celebrate with us! |
|
|
Thank You For Supporting The Island's Independent Bookstore |
|
157 Winslow Way E
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.842.533
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
