Wellesley Books Newsletter | June 11th, 2020
|
|
This Wednesday, June 10th, marked the first time since mid-March that anyone other than a bookseller had set foot in our store. While we're happy to once again be a browseable space--we know that not every request can easily be filled over the phone, and sometimes you just need to read the first page, or see those birthday cards for yourself--we're reopening gradually and cautiously. To that end, we're currently booking half-hour appointments so that you, and up to three other people in your party, can shop safely.
Click here for guidelines and information on how to book an appointment. If you're not ready to take this step,
curbside pickup is still going strong; just give us a call or order via our website. Be well and we look forward to seeing you, whether it's in the store or with a quick wave across our back steps.
|
|
|
Antiracist Audiobooks on Libro.fm
|
Many books that address racism in the United States--and how to begin the difficult, vital work of dismantling it--are still backordered. Audiobooks offer an alternative to waiting, and our partners at Libro.fm have created a great set of listening lists for adults and kids, from history to memoir to fiction. Start with Ibram X. Kendi's magisterial
Stamped From the Beginning and move on to
Heavy by Kiese Laymon, or Brian Stevenson's
Just Mercy, or Jacqueline Woodson's
Brown Girl Dreaming...
|
|
|
|
|
Friday, June 12th at 7:00 PM
|
Robb Pearlman joins us for a bedtime story! In
Bob Ross and Peapod the Squirrel, which features an actual Bob Ross painting, join Bob and his squirrel friend, Peapod, as they go through the various steps of painting, including praising those "happy little accidents" that happen along the way. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
|
|
|
Monday, June 15th at 7:00 PM
|
Wendy Francis presents her new novel,
Best Behavior. Francis's latest is a witty, warm, and thoroughly entertaining family drama about a modern blended family coming together for a college graduation in Boston--according to Elin Hilderbrand, "everything a summer read should be." Wendy will be in conversation with
Laura Zigman, author of
Separation Anxiety. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
|
|
|
Wednesday, June 17th at 7:00 PM
|
It wouldn't be summer without a new
Elin Hilderbrand novel. Her latest,
28 Summers, explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair, spanning nearly twenty Nantucket summers, and the ways it complicates and enriches the lives of everyone touched by it.
This is a ticketed event; tickets include a copy of
28 Summers.
To purchase tickets, click the link below.
|
|
|
Friday, June 19th at 6:00 PM
|
Join author/illustrator
Dan Yaccarino for a bedtime story double feature! The creator of the children's TV show
Oswald and author/illustrator of beloved picture books such as
Doug Unplugged and
Morris Mole joins us at bedtime to read his books
Giant Tess and
Smashy Town. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
|
|
|
Monday, June 22nd at 7:00 PM
|
|
|
Tuesday, June 23rd at 7:00 PM
|
Mystery fans are in for a treat--an evening with
Julia Spencer-Fleming and
Sarah Stewart Taylor! Julia presents the latest installment of her fan-favorite Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mysteries,
Hid From Our Eyes, and Sarah debuts a new series set in Ireland and America with
The Mountains Wild. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
|
|
|
Father's Day Gift Bundles
|
Does Dad have more than enough grilling accoutrements? Do something a little different for him this Father's Day: give him a care package from Wellesley Books! Select from five newly-published hardcover titles, chosen to appeal to a variety of bookish Dads, and we'll include chocolates from our favorite Cape Cod company, salted caramel popcorn, a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle and some summer socks.
Visit our website
to find out more!
|
|
|
Bookseller Recommendations for Pride Month
|
|
30 Days of Pride has kicked off on Twitter
@WellesleyBksYA
; follow along as children's bookseller Cassie highlights her favorite and most-anticipated LGBTQ+ titles for young readers, and support queer authors, predominately authors of color. A few of our favorite titles for teens and adults are highlighted below.
|
|
|
Joy and heartache and astrology and queerness and school drama and first loves and new loves and family and found family are at the center of this beautiful YA debut. A Coretta Scott King Honor book told in two interweaving, harmonizing voices about two girls, one kicked out of her mother's home in Trinidad to live with her father in Minneapolis. And the other, a girl in Minneapolis whose recent diagnosis has her flung into an uncertain future where she has one wish. You'll want to spend as much time with Audre and Mabel as they do with each other.
|
|
|
In Florida, in the 90s, T. Kira grows up. There's money and privilege, but racism and longing to belong. At its core, this book is a love letter to family and T. Kira finding parts of herself she didn't even know were missing. A story about parents who are both attentive and love madly, but who disappear into themselves. I read this book in six hours on a train--it is good.
|
|
|
Named for the original Christodora Settlement House in NYC's East Village, this novel addresses the social reforms and AIDS activism of the near-past 1980s through to the near-future (!) of the 2020s. It is the compelling, intersecting story of four families living in this apartment building over four decades. From the Tompkins Park Riots, where protesters try to grapple with the AIDS crisis, to the effect this activism had on future generations, Tim Murphy, who has reported extensively on HIV/AIDS, paints a vibrant picture of this city during tumultuous times.
|
|
|
Escape to the music-hall stages of turn-of-the-century England with Sarah Waters' fast-paced, racy debut novel. Waters plays it loose with history--she has described this book as being set in a sort of 1990s version of Victorian times--but you will absolutely fall for Nan King, an oyster girl from Whitstable, as she transforms a from shy provincial girl to a worldly Londoner, and learns a
lot about herself and the wider world along the way. She's interesting even when she's acting like a jerk. Outlandish, absorbing and bursting with first-novel enthusiasm.
|
|
New for Kids & Young Adults
|
|
Jory John & Jared Chapman
|
|
Christina Soontornvat & Christine Davenier
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bookseller Pet of the Week
|
This beautiful girl is named Charlotte--Charlie for short. She's a seven-year-old Golden Retriever who lives with our bookseller Andy. Andy describes her thusly:
"She likes clementines, squeaky toys, and walks in the woods. She dislikes water, thunder, and people going places without her. She's fine being near water, but she never goes swimming--and if she sees people jumping into the water, she will try to get in their way to stop them. She also enjoys wearing neck accessories but can't stand hats."
|
|
|
Thank you for supporting your community independent bookstore!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stimpson
|
|
82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-431-1160
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|