Wellesley Books Newsletter | August 5th, 2020
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The books are back! It won't be news to anyone who reads that the events of this spring wreaked havoc on every publisher's release schedule. Many titles were pushed back to the late summer and early fall--meaning that this New Release Tuesday was one of the busiest we've seen in months. In addition to the bumper crop of new books featured below, we also have a glut of bookseller picks this week. Old favorites and re-readings may have tided us over for a few months, but nothing compares to the feeling of putting a great new book into the right reader's hands. You can continue to call us for a shopping appointment or curbside pickup, or stop by the front door for a walk-in if you're in town.
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Thursday, August 6th at 7:00 PM
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David Nicholls, author of One Day, presents Sweet Sorrow, a bittersweet and brilliantly funny coming-of-age tale about the heart-stopping thrill of first love—and how just one summer can forever change a life. David will be in conversation with Kerri Maher, author of The Girl in White Gloves and The Kennedy Debutante. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Friday, August 7th at 5:00 PM
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Friday, August 7th at 7:00 PM
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Kids, don your jammies and get ready for a bedtime story read by the author herself! Joshunda Sanders, journalist and political speechwriter, presents I Can Write the World, in which eight-year-old Ava decides to become a journalist when her mother explains that the power of stories lies in the hands of those who write them. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Monday, August 10th at 7:00 PM
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Caroline Leavitt, author of Cruel Beautiful World, presents With or Without You. A story of love, loyalty, loss, and resilience, With or Without You is a page-turner that asks the question, What do we owe the other people in our lives, and when does the cost become too great? Caroline will be in conversation with Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Thursday, August 13th at 7:00 PM
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Margot Livesey, author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy and Mercury, presents her new novel, The Boy in the Field, a poignant and probing psychological drama that follows the lives of three siblings in the wake of a violent crime. Margot will be in conversation with Lee Conell, author of The Party Upstairs. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Friday, August 14th at 7:00 PM
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Kids, don your jammies and listen to a bedtime story read by the author himself! Chris Barton, author of Shark vs. Train, reads his new picture book, Fire Truck vs. Dragon. It's the wackiest rivalry ever, when the fire-breathing ruler of the skies and the fearless fire truck go head to head in an epic battle of fire vs. water! Who will win? Find out by signing up below.
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Monday, August 17th at 7:00 PM
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Author and local investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan presents The First to Lie. Hank's latest mystery is a twisty, thrilling cat-and-mouse game that will have you guessing, and second-guessing, and then gasping with surprise. Hank will be in conversation with Julie Clark, author of The Last Flight. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Tuesday, August 18th at 7:00 PM
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Celebrated YA fantasy writer Robin LaFevers presents Igniting Darkness. No one can be trusted and the wolves are always waiting in this thrilling conclusion to the Courting Darkness duology, set in the world of Robin’s beloved His Fair Assassin trilogy. Robin will be in conversation with Julie C. Dao, author of Song of the Crimson Flower. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
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Wellesley Books is happy to announce its inaugural A Child's Library: a subscription service for children ages 0-5 (or anyone who loves picture books)! Each month, our children's book buyer, Lauren, will select one newly released picture book to be sent or picked-up from the store. The purpose of A Child's Library is to help foster a love for books within the child's home. It makes a great baby shower gift!
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Bookseller Recommendations
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Decades after her stepfather shot and killed her mother, Natasha Trethewey finally turned to look back at the past she'd buried and to learn more about her mother’s final days. Memorial Drive is a moving account of growing up first as the child of an inter-racial marriage, then as the single child of a single mother, and finally as the tormented daughter of a woman caught in a toxic relationship. It is also a profound and poetic act of love and remembrance for the mother who was so suddenly taken from her.
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No one knows you better than your oldest, dearest friends and perhaps that’s part of the problem for this quartet of older women whose fragile equilibrium is rocked when one of them dies. Faced with insecurities of aging and long-suppressed hurts, the remaining three find the ties that bind them beginning to fray. The Weekend is a poignant look at life-long friends growing older and growing apart.
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Cassie and Rachael recommend:
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For fans of Shirley Jackson, Helen Oyeyemi, and Samantha Hunt: an Australian Gothic novella about monsters, long-held family secrets, changelings, transformation, fences, birds, and disappearing schools. Urban myths come to life, colliding and weaving through the life of Bettina Scott as she tries to navigate her way out of her small Western Queensland town after receiving a mysterious note from someone who may or not be one of her vanished brothers. Chilling, bewildering, and utterly magical, this short novel will have you questioning which way is up.
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Sally recommends:
Want by Lynn Steger Strong
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The narrator, unnamed until the final pages, is a thirty-something frazzled mother of two young girls, high school teacher, adjunct professor, often depressed, daughter of wealthy parents whose love always came with contingencies, wife of unemployed husband, friend and ex-friend of Sasha who she loved and lost, a runner, extremely bookish, who has just filed for bankruptcy. The details of her life may be mundane, but they are never unimportant. I devoured this in one sitting.
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Emily can't get it together until her former boss, Scott Denny, offers her a job helping his wife restore his family's countryside home in France. The place is quiet and no one else is around except for Scott's wife, his daughter, and the handyman. There's a weird smell and that could just be the old house. And the child is strange or sick or afraid? Emily can't quite put her finger on it.
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Bookseller Recommendations for Young Readers
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In this sweet and beautifully-drawn follow-up to All Summer Long, eighth-grade guitarist Bina is finally in a real band, but a budding romance between her keyboard-playing friend Darcy and the band's new drummer threatens to ruin everything. Meanwhile, Bina's long-time best friend Austin has broken up with his summer-camp girlfriend and is suddenly acting weird around Bina. She's not sure what to do about either of these tricky situations and eventually needs to deal with the fallout of some not-so-great choices. Set in an idyllic Los Angeles, this story will make you wish you were this cool in middle school!
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Veronica Chambers & Rachelle Baker
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New Books For Young Adults
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Anna Birch & Victoria Ying
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If you find yourself cooking at home a lot more often these days, sponges and potholders from Fred might reflect how you're feeling. Pack up those leftovers with these staff-favorite reusable beeswax wraps when you're done.
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What We're Reading Now...
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Beatrix is five months old today! She loves to listen to a good book, and then to chew on it afterwards. (Her family highly recommends the true-to-their-name Indestructibles series of books for this very reason.) Her current favorite, shown here, is Busy City.
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Thank you for supporting your community independent bookstore!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stimpson
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82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-431-1160
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