Dear Readers,
Hello and happy Friday. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. This is such a beautifully busy time at Barrett; we delight in welcoming you to the store as you browse for the perfect picks for long winter nights and holiday gifting. Speaking of the upcoming holidays, if you haven't reviewed out our holiday schedule, please do so; it's posted here and includes important information about shipping deadlines and holiday hours. Need some inspiration? Check out our holiday newsletter. Our Instagram account is also an excellent resource at this time of year, filled with new arrivals and staff picks for everyone on your list.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, we do hope you find time to recharge with a bit of cozy reading. To that end, today's Friday Five is all about short reads you can squeeze in between your errands/hosting/celebrating/etc. And don't forget to scroll all the way down for a glimpse of in-stock gifting supplies with a special shout out to some of the local artists currently featured in-store.
Read on,
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First up in our short read round-up, a deeply heartfelt book that I devoured on a recent Friday night at the urging of Events Coordinator Rosanna. Small Things Like These clocks in at 114 pages and I'll admit, I'm simply astounded at what Claire Keegan accomplished in so few pages. The scene is set in a small Irish village during a holiday season in the mid 1980's. At the heart of the narrative, a coal merchant and father of five who, during his morning rounds, makes a shocking discovery that he can't, despite his wife's urging to do otherwise, shake. The church serves as an omnipresent character but you best be careful about how you judge it's role (see Keegan's take on it here).
Next up is a collection of, well, what I'm not exactly sure. Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard is shelved with essays but Beard herself notes that there are "a couple of pieces of fiction...Or anyway, they were first published as stories. They are also essays, in their own secret ways, and the essays are also stories." I am a big fan of this genre-crushing approach. It takes guts and it also requires you to be so superb at your craft that readers have no chance to question your audacious genre-defying move. And superb, Beard is. I waited too long to jump into this collection and now that it's over, I'm devastated. Do yourself a favor and indulge slowly, reading piece by piece and drawing it out for as long as you can.
Assembly by Natasha Brown is third on our list and it's an astoundingly good story about a young woman immersed in a pressure cooker of a life and the surprising decision she makes when given news that could upend everything she's worked so hard to build. Sharp writing abounds; the book is filled with wise reflections on race, capitalism, romance, and class. Assembly was another Friday night read by the fire and it is, in the words of Bernadine Evaristo: "exquisite...she [Brown] is a stunning new writer."
Given the ever-expanding numbers of end-of-year lists (best gifts! what we're reading! top ten books of the year!), it would be completely understandable if you missed the fact that The New York Times released their top ten books of the year earlier this week and in it, a small-in-stature but packs-a-punch piece of fine historical writing: On Juneteenth. This book is small (like counter-book small) and yet, you shouldn't be fooled by the size. Author Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard and has, over the course of her career, won sixteen book prizes including the Pulitzer Prize in History and the National Book Award. Gordon-Reed is also a Texas native and approaches the storied day of June 19, 1865 by weaving together personal reflections and historical facts, creating a deeply researched and insightful history that is as concise as it is powerful.
Finally, some fun. I am a huge fan of Haruki Murakami who is absolutely *not* known for his brevity. However, you need not be enamored with this master of the absurd to appreciate and even love his new collection, a meditation on his obsession with t-shirts. Yup, you read that right. Featured in the NYT Styles section AND the Book Review in the same week (is that a first?), this mighty little volume is sure to bring a smile to all those who are lucky enough to receive such a delightful gift this holiday season. First published as a series of essays in a Japanese fashion magazine, the collection, accompanied by photographs of his extensive collection, is a slam dunk gift.
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New on the Shelf: Fiction |
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New on the Shelf: Nonfiction |
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Don't forget that we have a lovely supply of cards and gift wrap to help you give in style this holiday season! Want to double down on shopping and supporting local? Check out our selection of cards and gift items from local artists. Featured in the photo on the right, writer and photographer Holly Russell, artist Diane Weeks, and modern folk artist Nobu Miki. |
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