May 2022
Heading up the Receiving Department at Northshire Bookstore now for over two decades, I can say that I've seen a whole lot of our collective history, culture, trends, and evolving tastes flow through my work space day after day after day. We literally process hundreds of thousands of books into the store's inventory every year, and, yes, we are the first points of contact for every single book that comes in, including the big-buzz newest releases “hot” off the presses and the Advanced Reader's Copies that are always flowing in from publishers! In general, we are very busy receiving the countless incoming titles into stock and let most of them “slip by,” but occasionally we do take advantage of our special position here and scoop one “off the top” to enjoy.

Today, my mission is to help take the guilt out of “guilty pleasure” reading! These are challenging times in more ways than one and seeking escape and pleasure in one's reading should never be a source of shame. Not coincidentally, the Romance Department here is flourishing as never before and, in my daily observations, Romance itself is stealing more and more into the mainstream of what we refer to as, capital-L “Literature.” I'd like to first call your attention to one of those new releases I've had first crack at: Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, releasing in June. Nora is a “Romance Channel” writer with two kids, recently left by her layabout husband. Her latest, autobiographical, script is being filmed on location in her backyard "teahouse," and Hollywood heartthrob Leo stays over and over in his personal camper. The family is slowly opened up and broadened into a better balanced version of itself by his unique presence--until something goes wrong. Or does it!?

Bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid probably doesn't need my help to sell more books, but in keeping with our theme of well-written, escapist fare, I want to call your attention to both The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising--two prime examples of intelligently written and psychologically perceptive explorations of “how the other half lives.” Real enough to meet this literature-reader's standards yet glamorous enough to sweep you away! Lastly, a plug for one of my all-time favorites, one of the most imaginative and unique works of escape I've ever read which ultimately deals with love, war, peace, art, history, life, sex and death--Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins.

Enjoy one or more of these titles or come in and browse our great assortment of Romance and Literature books! We could all use a little extra escapism during the rainy days of spring or to float away with in the glorious warmth of the coming summer.

Jonathan Fine, Shipping & Receiving Manager
Northshire Bookstore
Members of Northshire's Readers' Rewards program can join us on May 14 and 15 to get 20% off all currently in-stock purchases made in either store location or at www.northshire.com.

If you plan to shop the sale on our website and are not sure the status of your membership, please call us at in advance at 802-362-2200 to check!

Online customers may type in coupon code REWARD, and will see their discount for the sale weekend automatically applied.
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Northshire Bookstore records many of our author and bookstore events and makes them available for free viewing through our “Northshire Presents” YouTube Channel. We are continually updating these offerings to allow our community to connect with other readers & book lovers. Explore & Enjoy!
Featured Release

When two unexpected visitors arrive in an insular coastal village, they threaten the equilibrium of a community already confronting climate instability, political violence, and domestic upheavals—a cast of unforgettable characters from the rich imagination of the National Book Award–winning, best-selling author of Three Junes.

"Once a working-class fishing village on the Massachusetts coast, Vigil Harbor has been transformed by the magic wand of prosperity into an upscale haven for the affluent. Most of the current residents belong to the yacht club and the troubles and trials of ordinary folks don't get much farther than the town line. The sudden dissolution of two high profile marriages is an unwelcome intrusion into an insular world that is further rocked by explosions detonated by eco-activists in lower Manhattan and Cambridge. In this tense and unsparing account of contemporary life, the author probes the wounds that bitterness and betrayal can inflict. The reader is constantly reminded of the unseen danger that often lurks just beneath the surface of the calmest waters." — Alden Graves

Pre-order Highlight

Bill McKibben—award-winning author, activist, educator—is fiercely curious.

“I’m curious about what went so suddenly sour with American patriotism, American faith, and American prosperity.”

Like so many of us, McKibben grew up believing—knowing—that the United States was the greatest country on earth. As a teenager, he cheerfully led American Revolution tours in Lexington, Massachusetts. He sang “Kumbaya” at church. And with the remarkable rise of suburbia, he assumed that all Americans would share in the wealth.

But fifty years later, he finds himself in an increasingly doubtful nation strained by bleak racial and economic inequality, on a planet whose future is in peril.

And he is curious: What the hell happened?

In this revelatory cri de coeur, McKibben digs deep into our history (and his own well-meaning but not all-seeing past) and into the latest scholarship on race and inequality in America, on the rise of the religious right, and on our environmental crisis to explain how we got to this point. He finds that he is not without hope. And he wonders if any of that trinity of his youth—The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon—could, or should, be reclaimed in the fight for a fairer future.

Save the date! Bill McKibben will join us in our Manchester store to celebrate the release of this book on Friday, June 3 at 5:30 pm!

New Fiction on our Shelves
New Nonfiction on our Shelves
New Paperbacks on our Shelves
New Releases from our Children's Department
Order online at www.northshire.com


Manchester Center, VT
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Manchester Center, VT 05255


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