So many new books for you
This fall's harvest of books is bountiful. The shelves are stocked with gorgeous novels, uplifting poetry, and warming cookbooks. We've got just the right book for the lengthening evenings.
For even more ideas, call us at 651/225-8989 Monday to Saturday between 10am and 3pm to talk to a bookseller. We love making recommendations.
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FROM THE AUTHOR OF GILEAD, HOME, AND LILA
There are passages when Jack’s eye glimmers so clearly on the moment, when his dream logic feels so apt, that the whole world Robinson has illuminated with such care and attention reappears, and we are returned to the prophetic everyday.”—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic
Marilynne Robinson’s mythical world of Gilead, Iowa—the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila—and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson’s fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister, and his romance with Della Miles, a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher. Their deeply felt, tormented, star-crossed interracial romance resonates with all the paradoxes of American life, then and now.
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POEMS ABOUT FINDING BREATH AND LIGHTNESS IN THE EVERYDAY ACTS OF LIVING
The beloved author of The Poisonwood Bible and more than a dozen other bestsellers offers up poems that are smartly crafted, emotionally rich, and luminous.
In her second poetry collection, Barbara Kingsolver offers reflections on the practical, the spiritual, and the wild. She begins with “how to” poems addressing everyday matters such as being hopeful, married, divorced; shearing a sheep; praying to unreliable gods; doing nothing at all; and of course, flying. Next come rafts of poems about making peace (or not) with the complicated bonds of friendship and family, and making peace (or not) with death, in the many ways it finds us. Some poems reflect on the redemptive powers of art and poetry itself; others consider where everything begins.
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FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE CULT HIT CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN
"Earthlings takes the themes of Murata's first novel and turns them up to eleven. Her new novel is shocking, even gruesome, but also a fuller richer reading experience."--David, NCB manager
Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world, and cements Sayaka Murata's status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe. Murata pushes at the boundaries of our ideas of social conformity in this brilliantly imaginative, intense, and absolutely unforgettable novel.
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AVAILABLE OCTOBER 6
A stunning collection of essays and memoir from two-time Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel, author of The Mirror and the Light
This collection of twenty reviews, essays and pieces of memoir from the past three decades covers Robespierre and Danton, the Hite report, Saudi Arabia, the Virgin Mary and Helen Duncan, Britain's last witch. There are essays about Jane Boleyn, Charles Brandon, Christopher Marlowe and Margaret Pole, which display the astonishing insight into the Tudor mind we are familiar with from the bestselling Wolf Hall Trilogy. Her famous lecture, 'Royal Bodies', which caused a media frenzy, explores the place of royal women in society and our imagination. Here too are some of her LRB diaries, including her first meeting with her stepfather and a confrontation with a circus strongman.
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AVAILABLE OCTOBER 6
A warmhearted and tender true story about a young girl finding beauty where she never thought to look.
Drawn from author Kao Kalia Yang's childhood experiences as a Hmong refugee, this moving picture book portrays a family with a great deal of love and little money. Weaving together Kalia's story with that of her beloved grandmother, the book moves from the jungles of Laos to the family's early years in the United States. When Kalia becomes unhappy about having to do without and decides she wants braces to improve her smile, it is her grandmother--a woman who has just one tooth in her mouth--who helps her see that true beauty is found with those we love most. Stunning illustrations from Vietnamese illustrator Khoa Le bring this intergenerational tale to life.
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AVAILABLE OCTOBER 6
85 new recipes inspired by childhood favorites—but with the volume turned way up. Cheddar and Chutney Grilled Cheese sandwiches. Creamy Tomato Bisque. Smashed Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions. And the crispiest hash browns that are actually made in a waffle iron!
Home cooks can always count on Ina’s dependable, easy-to-follow instructions, with lots of side notes for cooking and entertaining—it’s like having Ina right there beside you, helping you all the way. From cocktails to dessert, from special weekend breakfasts to quick weeknight dinners, you’ll find yourself making these cozy and delicious recipes over and over again.
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AVAILABLE OCTOBER 6
A beautifully designed guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities, from the creators of the wildly popular podcast 99% Invisible
Have you ever wondered what those bright, squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean? Or stopped to consider why you don't see metal fire escapes on new buildings? Or pondered the story behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships?
Roman Mars and Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work, exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs. With deeply researched entries and beautiful line drawings throughout, The 99% Invisible City will captivate anyone curious about design, urban environments, and the unsung marvels of the world around us.
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Shop early to get the books
you want for the holidays
It's time to start making your list and checking it twice.
For a number of reasons--consolidation in the printing industry, safer slower warehouses, shipping disruptions--bookstores are going to have a challenging time keeping hot titles in stock during the coming holiday season. More than ever, it's important that you buy your December must-haves now. Preorder a book now, and there shouldn't be any problems getting it in time to put under the tree. Leave things until the last minute, and you might need to give a gift certificate instead of an actual book.
To help you find the right book for everyone on your list, we'll be featuring some of the year's big titles. Here's a selection to get you started. We'll have more in future newsletters, on our social media feeds, and on our website in the weeks ahead.
And we always enjoy making more personalized recommendations. Call us at 651/225-8989 Monday to Saturday between 10am and 3pm to talk to a bookseller.
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October's virtual book events
Meet great authors in the comfort of your own home.
Pull up your comfiest chair and enjoy great conversations about books. We've got politics, science fiction, and new novels coming your way this month.
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Joseph Tachovsky discusses 40 Thieves on Saipan: The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of WWII's Bloodiest Battles--Friday, October 2, 7:00pm
An elite platoon of Marine Scout-Snipers, Lieutenant Frank Tachovsky’s “40 Thieves” were chosen for their willingness to defy rules and beat all-comers. When two Marines got into a fight, the loser ended up in the infirmary, the winner in the brig. Tachovsky wanted the winner on his team—a brush with military law was a recommendation.
These full-blooded men were trained in a ruthless array of hand-to-hand killing techniques and then thrown into the battle for Saipan—Emperor Hirohito’s “Treasure” and the bulwark of the Japanese Empire in the Pacific—where they would wreak havoc in and around, but mostly behind, enemy lines. They witnessed inhuman atrocities; walked into an ambush after the cunning Japanese used wounded Marines as bait; endured body-punishing extremes of heat, hunger, and thirst; fought a relentless enemy who would not surrender; and watched best friends die.
Now Tachovsky’s son Joseph tells their remarkable story—a story he didn’t even know until after his father’s death—reported from an extensive documentary record, including priceless mementos his father kept, and from exhaustive interviews with survivors who served under Lieutenant “Ski.”
This is how America won the war in the Pacific, where “uncommon valor was a common virtue.” 40 Thieves on Saipan: The Elite Marine Scout-Snipers in One of World War II’s Bloodiest Battles is true history. It’s also an adventure you don’t want to miss
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Outside the Margins: A Speculative Fiction Book Club discusses The Deep by Rivers Solomon --Tuesday, October 6, 5:00pm
Octavia E. Butler meets Marvel’s Black Panther in The Deep, a story rich with Afrofuturism, folklore, and the power of memory, inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’s rap group Clipping.
The Deep is “a tour de force reorientation of the storytelling gaze…a superb, multilayered work,” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a vividly original and uniquely affecting story inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping.
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"French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris" By Scott Dominic Carpenter in conversation with Lorna Landvick--Friday, October 9, 7:00pm
When Scott Carpenter moves from Minnesota to Paris, little does he suspect the dramas that await: scheming neighbors, police denunciations, surly demonstrators, cooking disasters, medical mishaps--not to mention all those lectures about cheese It turns out that nothing in the City of Light can be taken for granted, where even trips to the grocery store lead to adventure.
In French Like Moi, Carpenter guides us through the merry labyrinth of the everyday, one hilarious faux pas after another. Through it all, he keeps his eye on the central mystery of what makes the French French (and Midwesterners Midwestern).
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Thomas Maltman talks about his latest novel The Land--Tuesday, October 13, 7:00pm
Recovering from a terrible auto accident just before the turn of the millennium, college dropout and hobbyist computer-game programmer Lucien Swenson becomes the caretaker of a house in northern Minnesota. Shortly after moving in, Lucien sets out to find a woman with whom he had an affair, who vanished along with money stolen from the bank where they had worked together.
His search will take him to Rose of Sharon, a white supremacist church deep in the wilderness, where a cabal of outcasts await the end of the world at a place they call The Land. Lucien is visited at the house by a mysterious guest, who may not be who she claims, as well as a vast flock of violent ravens out of an apocalyptic vision. At once a mystery and spiritual noir, The Land explores the dark side of belief, entrenched white supremacy in the Heartland, the uniquely American obsession with end times, and the sacrifices we make for those we love.
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William Souder discusses Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck with Brian Jay Jones--Wednesday, October 14, 7:00pm
The first full-length biography of the Nobel laureate to appear in a quarter century, Mad at the World illuminates what has made the work of John Steinbeck an enduring part of the literary canon: his capacity for empathy. Pulitzer Prize finalist William Souder explores Steinbeck’s long apprenticeship as a writer struggling through the depths of the Great Depression, and his rise to greatness with masterpieces such as The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath.
Angered by the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants who were starving even as they toiled to harvest California’s limitless bounty, fascinated by the guileless decency of the downtrodden denizens of Cannery Row, and appalled by the country’s refusal to recognize the humanity common to all of its citizens, Steinbeck took a stand against social injustice—paradoxically given his inherent misanthropy—setting him apart from the writers of the so-called "lost generation."
Steinbeck remains our great social realist novelist, the writer who gave the dispossessed and the disenfranchised a voice in American life and letters. Eloquent, nuanced, and deeply researched, Mad at the World captures the full measure of the man and his work.
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David Leavitt talks abou his new novel Shelter in Place--Thursday, October 15, 7:00pm
"Shelter in Place chronicles the upper middle upper upper crust of New York City society. In the months following the election of Donald Trump, they are plunged into uncertainty and doubt. Eva, the group’s north star, copes by buying an apartment in Venice. Her husband embarks on an affair. It’s hard to imagine a softer target for satire, but Leavitt’s verve and wit make this novel a joy to read. Shelter in Place is a classic six of a novel, fully furnished with bon mots and apercus."— David (Manager NCB)
A comic portrait of the months immediately following the 2016 election, Shelter in Place is also a meditation on the unreliable appetites-for love, for power, for freedom-by which both our public and private lives are shaped.
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Next Chapter Book Club discusses Night Boat to Tangier, Kevin Barry--Sunday, October 25, 4:00pm
In the dark waiting room of the ferry terminal in the sketchy Spanish port of Algeciras, two aging Irishmen—Maurice Hearne and Charlie Redmond, longtime partners in the lucrative and dangerous enterprise of smuggling drugs—sit at night, none too patiently. The pair are trying to locate Maurice’s estranged daughter, Dilly, whom they’ve heard is either arriving on a boat coming from Tangier or departing on one heading there.
This nocturnal vigil will initiate an extraordinary journey back in time to excavate their shared history of violence, romance, mutual betrayals, and serial exiles. Rendered with the dark humor and the hardboiled Hibernian lyricism that have made Kevin Barry one of the most striking and admired fiction writers at work today, Night Boat to Tangier is a superbly melancholic melody of a novel, full of beautiful phrases and terrible men.
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Now in paperback
Recent bestsellers--in a softer, pocket-friendly format.
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Thanks for reading all the way to the end.
We've got lots more great books in the store. We hope you'll talk to us soon for a recommendation. Follow us on social media for the latest news. We’re Next Chapter Booksellers on Facebook; we’re @nextchapterbooksellers on Instagram; and we’re @NextChapterMN on Twitter.
--all of us at Next Chapter Booksellers
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