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Wait, it's already February?
We're ringing in the second month of 2020 with a plethora of incredible reads to wash those seasonal blues away. Now stick a bookmark in your woes, crack open our Book of the Month, learn about
our current favorites and get the skinny on the new "Cli - Fi" trend!
BOOK OF THE MONTH!
20% Off
Join the ranks of the West Bank Literati and pick up a copy of our Book of the Month! Every month we'll choose an incredible read.
This month we're reading:

"2040 A.D."

In collaboration with McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) , this bombastic collection spans nine different countries and interprets what the world might look like twenty years from now with the potentially devastating effects of climate change.

Informed by actual science, each story falls under the term "Cli-Fi" or "Climate Fiction", and explores our possibly cataclysmic near future. With stories by Tommy Orange, Elif Shafek, Luis Alberto Urrea and more, this limited edition hardcover also features gorgeous illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook. 

This is a collector's item with limited copies!
Pick up yours today and receive 20% off.
The Dirt on American Dirt
The praise is plentiful, as is the controversy. Oprah Winfrey's newest book club pick has been simultaneously praised and criticized as "pulse-pounding" ( Chicago Tribune) and "a clumsy and distorted spectacle" ( Myriam Gurba). Author Jeanine Cummins' novel about Mexican immigrants is on everybody's lips, and brings up the discussion about whether or not white writers can accurately depict the struggles of characters of color.

If you're looking for a good topical book to discuss with your book club, this one would be perfect!

Staff Recommendations
Susie Temple
Owner
"The Nickel Boys"
by Colson Whitehead

"... a heartbreaking tale of what happens to vulnerable youths at the mercy of a system that lacks imagination and compassion."
- The New York Review of Books
Andrew Munz
Bookseller
"The Topeka School"
by Ben Learner

"... there is something deeper, more sincere and radical at play here.
This is a state-of-the-nation novel."
- The Guardian
Jacob Ferguson
Bookseller
"Atlas of Furniture Design"
Edited by Mateo Kries
& Jochen Eisenbrand

"...this 1,000-page compendium documents 1,740 objects made by 546 furniture designers over the past 230 years -- from chairs by Marcel Breuer to Ikea's Billy bookshelf -- through time lines, biographies, infographics, and more."
- New York Magazine
The Passing of a Legend
A Note From Susie
While Kobe Bryant is obviously revered for his basketball career, he was so much more than a basketball player. Kobe was the bestselling author of 2018's “ The Mamba Mentality: How I play”. He also founded Granity Studios ( granitystudios.com ), which is a company “focused on creating new ways to tell stories around sports." Granity includes a publishing arm. They have published 3 books so far, all focused on the magic of sports. The second book in the Wizenard Series, “Season One” is coming out this March.

Kobe was an inspiration to so many, including booksellers. Last year he was the breakfast keynote speaker at the American Bookseller’s Association’s Winter Institute in Albuquerque, NM. Kobe could have been anywhere, doing anything he wanted, and he chose to come to Albuquerque to speak to a bunch of book nerds about a new book Granity was publishing. Though not the author of the children’s middle reader book,”The Wizenard Series: Training Camp”, Kobe was certainly the visionary and inspiration behind it. He spoke that morning about his grandmother reading to him and telling him stories that made him want to be the best person he could possibly be. We booksellers were absolutely, and unexpectedly, transfixed while he spoke. When he finished his talk, and headed to the table in the lobby where he would be signing books, a line of us formed behind him (probably 100 or more long). He was like the pied piper, leading us toward his stories that would inspire kids to be their very best selves. 

Now that Kobe is tragically gone, I appreciate what he was trying to do with these books even more. He didn’t do it for the money, god knows, or the fame, but just because he wanted to make the world a better place. I am profoundly saddened by his death, and all of the souls lost on that helicopter. Let’s all try and carry on his legacy through bookselling and fostering our children’s imaginations.

S.T.