March 2020
Greetings,

Last week, I was privileged to attend a memorial service for Sonny Mehta, legendary editor of Knopf who passed away at the end of last year. Sonny was a mythic figure in publishing, seemingly from a different age. I came away knowing him much better through the stories and homages given by the illustrious speakers. He was, of course, known for his editing, but also his fierce loyalty to authors, his incessant smoking, and occasional whisky lunches. 

Most interesting to me, however, was his emphasis on the role of reader as his most essential joy and gift. He wrote, “I don’t think you can work in this business without faith or optimism. Reading a manuscript, sensing something special about it, and believing you can find a readership for it, is an article of faith. In publishing, belief is a common denominator. I have always been a believer. A believer and a reader. Indeed, I want to be remembered not as an editor or publisher but as a reader .” 

There is so, so much that goes into books. The journey of a book to our shelves is usually long and iterative and stressful. There is no doubt that publishing is diminished without Sonny Mehta, but I feel heartened that we can all honor him by doing what he loved most reading.

Best,
Chris
Please note the location of each event Manchester Center or Saratoga Springs




Welcome back Nobel-laureate Paul Krugman for a thrilling Off the Shelf conversation with WAMC’s Joe Donahue!  Arguing with Zombies , an accessible, compelling introduction to today’s major policy issues, puts Krugman at the front of the debate in the 2020 election year and is an indispensable guide to two decades’ worth of political and economic discourse.
Please Note: This is a ticketed event taking place off-site and Maple Street School




From James McBride, author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird , comes a wise and witty novel about what happens to the witnesses of a shooting.

In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of a housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong , James McBride's funny, moving new novel. McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.



Join children's book author Arthur Yorinks for a very special story time in honor of his hilarious new picture book One Mean Ant , a pitch-perfect picture book comedy in which an astonishingly disagreeable ant meets his match.

Arthur Yorinks is a playwright, director, and author of more than thirty-five picture books for children, including the Caldecott Medal–winning Hey, Al , illustrated by Richard Egielski. His most recent picture book is Presto and Zesto in Limboland , illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Arthur Yorinks lives in Cambridge, New York.




Welcome back to Vermont former host of VPR’s Friday Night Jazz and Black American poetry elder Reuben Jackson as he presents his new volume of poetry which includes the nationally-lauded, viral-sensation “For Trayvon Martin.”




Join bestselling historical fiction author TaraShea Nesbit, author of The Wives of Los Alamos  for a special author lunch at Hattie's. Enjoy a buffet lunch while listening to Ms. Nesbit discuss her highly anticipated new novel Beheld the riveting story of a stranger’s arrival in the fledgling colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts and a crime that shakes the divided community to its core.
Tickets include one copy of Beheld and a buffet lunch:
  • Hattie's Famous Fried Chicken
  • Mac & Cheese (Veg)
  • Red Beans & Rice (Veg, GF)
  • Spring Mix Salad (Veg, GF)
  • Iced Tea, Soft Drinks, Coffee/Tea
Alcoholic beverages will be available for separate purchase.




From beloved #1 NY Times bestselling Vermont author Chris Bohjalian comes a twisting global thriller of love and deceit: an American man vanishes in Vietnam, and his girlfriend, an ER doctor, follows a path that leads her to the very hospital where they met. Set in the adrenaline-fueled world of the ER, The Red Lotus is about those who dedicate their lives to saving people, and those who peddle death to the highest bidder.
Please Note: This is a ticketed event taking place in our Manchester location. $5.00 tickets correspond to $5.00 off the cost of The Red Lotus .

Featured Book of the Month

A magnificent generational saga that charts a family’s rise and fall, its secrets and inherited crimes, from one of Canada’s most acclaimed novelists.
 
"This majestic, century-spanning novel is largely told from the viewpoint of Harris and Everett Greenwood, who were thought to be brothers after the boys were discovered by rescuers combing through the wreckage of two passenger trains. Though the bond between them was not instilled by blood, their impact upon each other would reverberate throughout their lives. Harris used his business acumen to become a prominent lumber baron in Canada while Everett led a shiftless, nomadic life until he came upon a baby left in a vast forest by her dying mother. The decline of Harris Greenwood's fortune is counterpointed by the growing awareness in the world of the irreplaceable value of our natural resources; personified by his granddaughter's commitment to protecting the environment. In this rousing, engrossing saga of a dynamic family, the author has quietly woven a warning to us all." ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves

March Pre-order Highlight

From the award-winning author of  Station Eleven , an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events a massive Ponzi scheme collapse and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from a ship at sea.

"Jonathan Alkaitis' massive financial fraud was like an explosion in the center of a fabulously wealthy neighborhood. The blast waves shook every house to its foundation leaving the inhabitants in varying degrees of desperation and despair. With shades of the Bernie Madoff scandal haunting the pages, The Glass Hotel allows the reader a rare insight into the damage that one corrupt person can inflict both upon the people close to him and those who trusted him. Opulence, greed, betrayal, weakness and the strength to endure all are pieces in the mosaic that makes up this intriguing and thought-provoking novel." ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves.

New Fiction on our Shelves
New Nonfiction on our Shelves
New Paperbacks on our Shelves
From our own Shires Press


The Story of You allows us to access the magical world of the child - a joyous place to be. There is a simplicity in the words that encompass ‘everything’ so that it is the grown-up’s story too. The joy and freshness of the children’s illustrations both capture and complement the underlying storyline which could be summarized as: “Welcome to a wonderful world you beautiful child!”



New Releases from our Children's Department

We are featuring some of our signed books from publishers and author events online. You can also come into our bookstores to see all of our signed books.

*Limited quantities; while supplies last.
Find out what we're reading here , then join us! Please note that reading groups might not meet monthly; some are bi-monthly.
Thank you for supporting Independent Bookselling!
Open Daily at 10:00 a.m.
Sunday - Thursday until 7:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday until 9:00 p.m.
4869 Main Street
Junction of Routes 7A & 11/30
Manchester Center, VT 05255
VT - 800-437-3700
VT - 802-362-2200
Open daily at 10:00 a.m
Sunday - Thursday until 7:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday until 9:00 p.m.
424 Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
NY - 518-682-4200
NY - 855-339-5990
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