Wellesley Books Newsletter | June 25th, 2020
Over the last two weeks, we've been delighted to welcome customers back into our store. Our shopping-by-appointment system has run so smoothly that, beginning next week, we are excited to say we can offer appointments every day! We'll also be increasing our daily appointment availability and expanding our hours, while taking all of our usual steps to keep you, and our staff, safe. To schedule a shopping appointment, just give us a call. (Of course, we'll also continue to offer curbside pickup for orders placed over the phone or on our website.) The books and summery gifts have been flowing back into the store and there's plenty to browse and discover. And being able to exercise our bookseller brains again with some personal recommendations has been a real thrill. If you've already stopped in since we re-opened, we'd like to thank you for your support and your good cheer as we all adjust to our new normal!
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!

The program kicks off in July with local author Lisa Rogers and her book Hound Won't Go. To find out more about our subscription service, click here.
Upcoming Events
Monday, June 29th at 7:00 PM
YA all-star Alex Sanchez presents You Brought Me the Ocean, his graphic novel set against the backdrop of the DC Universe: a new coming-out romance and origin story for Aqualad. Alex will be in conversation with L.C. Rosen, author of Camp. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Tuesday, June 30th at 7:00 PM
Don's miss these two great New England authors in conversation! Chris Bohjalian discusses his new novel The Red Lotus and celebrates the 25th anniversary of the publication of Water Witches. Laura Zigman presents her wise, funny new novel, Separation Anxiety. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Wednesday, July 1st at 7:00 PM
Political journalist Molly Ball presents her new biography, Pelosi: an intimate, fresh perspective on the indomitable House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Ball’s nuanced, page-turning portrait takes readers inside the life and times of this historic figure. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Thursday, July 2nd at 7:00 PM
Ngozi Ukazu, bestselling author of the hugely popular webcomic Check, Please!, presents Check, Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones. Check, Please! is a hilarious and heartwarming graphic novel duology about Bitty, a figure skater turned collegiate hockey player. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Friday, July 3rd at 7:00 PM
Join Diana Murray for a bedtime story! Find out why the beets are simply beat in Goodnight, Veggies. Every veggie needs their shut-eye in this bedtime book that celebrates community, the joys of a small garden, and the importance of taking care of ourselves. Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Wednesday, July 8th at 7:00 PM
Spencer Quinn presents Of Mutts and Men, the latest in his fan-favorite Chet and Bernie mystery series--about which, Stephen King says, "Spencer Quinn speaks two languages—suspense and dog—fluently...Chet is a wonderful narrator—top dog, you could say." Click below to register for this free Zoom event.
Bookseller Recommendations
Gillian recommends:
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The author of The Mothers has given us another affecting novel about family, relationships and race. At the center of The Vanishing Half are identical twin sisters Stella and Desiree who grow up in Mallard, a small Southern town inhabited entirely by light-skinned African Americans. Inseparable as girls, the twins both long to escape their small town, yet once they break away they embark on very different paths. Stella’s decision to secretly pass as a white woman opens up economic opportunities that her sister never experiences, but her material comfort comes at enormous personal cost. Beautifully writen and full of psychological insights and plot twists, Bennett examines the long-reaching consequences of decisions regarding race and community on the twins’ lives, their identities and their families.
Rachael recommends:
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Mexican Gothic is a strange and sumptuous book that follows in the footsteps of the gothic tales that came before it while still managing to turn the genre on its head. Drawing from scandalous stories full of madness and murder as well as the dark side of Mexico’s history, Mexican Gothic begins when Noemí’s father receives an unsettling letter from her cousin. Despite her reservations, Noemí heads to High Place, the distant house that her cousin has been calling home. What she discovers there is equal parts menacing and alluring, and impossible to escape.
New In Hardcover
Ottessa Moshfegh
Meg Mitchell Moore
Emily Temple
Max Brooks
Jessica Barry
Mike Birbiglia
Roddy Doyle
New In Paperback
Cecelia Ahern
Laura Lippman
Brianna Wolfson
Jack Fairweather
Christy Lefteri
Meg Waite Clayton
New Books For Kids & Young Adults
Jessie Sima
Beth Bacon
Sam Maggs
Chris Grabenstein
Deb Caletti
In the Gift Department
Whether your color palette is red, white and blue...
...or green, white and tomato-red, we have votive candle holders, cloth napkins and enameled plates to set your table in style.
What We're Reading Now...
Cassie
Peter
Judy
Marie
Stephanie
Gillian
Jane
Tracy
Andy
Bookseller Pet of the Week
This beauty's name is Gracie. She's a 14-year-old calico cat who came to live with our manager, Peter, via a family friend who fosters kittens. She loves to rub her cheeks against the spines of books as they're being read and is a fiend for cheese. She also delights in jostling the end table where Peter attempts to rest his morning coffee mug, meaning that he must hold his coffee in one hand and his book in the other. A social and affectionate creature, Gracie likes to know where her humans are at all times, before settling down herself for a nice nap. Good job, Gracie!
Thank you for supporting your community independent bookstore!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Stimpson
82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-431-1160