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1151 Church Street
Northbrook IL
(847) 498-4999
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November 2022 E-Newsletter |
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Welcome Readers,
With the distractions of Halloween behind us, there's no excuse for failing to focus on the holidays that loom large ahead of us. Have no fear, the Book Bin is here! Whether it is a Thanksgiving menu (we have a cookbook for that), a Hanukkah gift (or two or eight), or something to stuff you know where (in a stocking, of course!), we will be here to help you.
As promised, the literary heavy-hitters are hitting the stage, not all with rave reviews, unfortunately. We'll tell you the honest truth; and if we do not know, we have a tool at our fingertips that will help get the overall view of the book from the reviews it has been getting. You can see it for yourself right on our website; scroll down a bit beneath the cover photo and the book description to the square graph labelled Book Marks.
Nancy gave it the college try, eventually put it down, and she agrees unfortunately.
It has been a favorite of all our booksellers from the start, and all our customers have had "Rave" things to say.
When you have a book in your hands and you need help, look to us.
Audiobooks could make a great gift, please feel free to give us a ring with any questions you may have about them. Our independent audiobook provider, Libro.fm, has a great selection of books and fabulous customer service! We'd be grateful if you set up your account to be affiliated with our store (Book Bin's Libro.fm Page). R ight now, we have over 110 Libro.fm subscribers.
This month's newsletter is slightly late because Amy was in Africa! The pictures below depict her time there, speaking with young women about small business and spending time with school children.
We'll be sending a few more newsletters this month focusing on niche subjects, such as new cookbooks and good children's books.
Kindly,
Alli & Amy & Everyone at the Book Bin
Are you ready for this month's photo album!
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Extended Hours:
Monday through Thursday
10:00am to 6:00pm
Friday and Saturday
10:00am to 4:00pm
Closed Sundays (except in December)
Extended hours effective through the holidays
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Last Month's Bestsellers
Oct. 1 through Oct. 31
Every G*ddamn Day
by Neil Steinberg
The Winners
by Fredrik Backman
Go-To Dinners
by Ina Garten
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus
Horse
by Geraldine Brooks
It Starts With Us
by Colleen Hoover
Lucy By The Sea
by Elizabeth Strout
An Affair of Spies
by Ron Balson
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict
and Victoria Christopher Murray
Diper Overlode( Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
by Jeff Kinney
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Book Bin's Upcoming Events |
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Illinois Libraries Present Caitlin Doughty
November 16 at 7:00 PM via Zoom; register with this link
Join us for a conversation with Caitlin Doughty, mortician, bestselling author, and advocate for death acceptance. Hailed by The New York Times as "a relentlessly curious and chipper tour guide to the underworld,” she’ll discuss reform of Western funeral industry practices and much more with Mark Bazer (The Interview Show).
Caitlin Doughty is a mortician, advocate, and bête noire of the traditional funeral industry. Her educational webseries "Ask a Mortician" has been viewed almost 250 million times and her three books were New York Times bestsellers - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, From Here to Eternity, and Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? She founded a Los Angeles funeral home as well as the funeral reform collective The Order of the Good Death, which spawned the death positive movement.
Mark Bazer is host and creator of “The Interview Show,” a talk show in a bar. Aired on Chicago's PBS station, WTTW, and filmed at The Hideout, it features conversations as substantive as they are entertaining.
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Upcoming Fiction Releases
Click on the book cover to read more and place a preorder.
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The Passenger
Written by Cormac McCarthy
Published by Knopf Books
Available in Hardcover Now
Cormac McCarthy is a well-renowned author for his novels All the Pretty Horses and The Road. It's been a long time since he released a new book. The Passenger is about Bobby Western, a salvage wreck diver whose sister committed suicide (while committed at Stella Maris) some years ago; he is still reeling from the loss. The novel starts on an intriguing dive to an airplane submerged on the ocean floor. Though it is unremarkable at the time and they work to pull the airplane up to the surface, it impacts Bobby's life forever. He is visited by two investigators after the job is done who are looking for a "passenger" on the plane that was not in the wreckage. Bobby lives in New Orleans, and has many quirky friends coming in and out of his life. Although I'm not certain about the events of this novel, many of the vagaries may be answered on December 6th when the companion novel, Stella Maris, is released. The writing is hard to describe, except that it is as beautiful and thought-provoking as you'd expect from an author of this caliber.
Reviewed by Alli Gilley
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We Are The Light
Written by Matthew Quick
Published by Avid Reader Press
Available in Hardcover Now
This book is a series of letters from Lucas Goodgame to Karl, Lucas's Jungian analyst (psychiatrist). Through these letters we hear about a tragedy in a movie theater in their hometown of Majestic, Pennsylvania -- a shooting by a troubled teenager that resulted in 17 deaths. Among the deaths was Lucas's wife Darcy as well as Karl's wife. Lucas is trying to come to terms with the tragedy through these letters, although he believes his wife is still here as a "winged angel" that appears only to him. Then in a surprise twist, the shooter's brother Eli sets his tent up on Lucas's lawn in an effort to get away from his abusive mother. Even though it is a shorter novel, it is long on emotion and meaning; it's hard to say you enjoyed a novel about a subject like this, but I really did find the journey with Lucas Goodgame to be enjoyable.
Reviewed by Alli Gilley
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Trespasses
Written by Louise Kennedy
Published by Atria Books
Available in Hardcover Now
It is the 1970's in a small town in Northern Ireland near Belfast. The main character, Cushla Lavery, is a teacher in the town's Catholic school. She also helps out at her family's pub and has just begun an affair with Michael Agnew, a married man who frequents the family pub and is a local barrister. Cushla lives with her alcoholic mother and is in constant fear of the house burning down from a cigarette left unattended. She helps the young McGeown family who has seen more than their share of misery since "The Troubles" began. This book, Louise Kennedy's debut novel, is great. The characters, especially Cushla and Michael, are realistic and complex. I fell in love with Davey McGeown, the youngest of the unlucky McGeown family, who is a student in Cushla's class. Trespasses is a rendering of what it's like to live in Northern Ireland during "The Troubles" and is true to life and unnerving.
Reviewed by Nancy Randall
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Signal Fires
Written by Dani Shapiro
Published by Knopf
Available in Hardcover Now
Dani Shapiro writes a story of the Wilf family and their neighbors, whose lives are changed one evening after a car crash in their front yard. Years later, siblings Sarah and Theo Wilf are brought back to their childhood hometown when they need to find their mother who has wandered off. Meanwhile across the street Waldo Shenkman grows up hardly knowing his neighbors, but also dealing with a tragedy of his own. He sees life differently than most people, and while this difference makes some people think he’s odd, it’s actually what makes him so special. Waldo’s connection to the Wilf family shows that the universe is always sending out signal fires and we just need to stop and listen. Maybe those we lose are not completely lost. This novel is about community, connection, loss and most importantly, hope.
Reviewed by Andrea Fossier
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Now is Not the Time to Panic
Written by Kevin Wilson
Published by Ecco Press
Available in Hardcover on November 8
Kevin Wilson writes very interesting novels, as evidenced in his last novel in which two children would spontaneously burst into flames. This new book is a coming-of-age story about a boy (Zeke) and a girl (Frankie), both 16 years old, who have just met in a very small town and who decide to follow their artistic pursuits over their summer vacation. What results is a small black & white flyer with Frankie's provocative words and Zeke's intriguing line drawings around them. They use an abandoned copy machine to make hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of copies which they plaster around the small town. They never expected the outcome to be so dramatic. These two 16 year old kids are anxious and interesting and unsure and so human. I enjoyed being inside their world for a few hours.
Reviewed by Alli Gilley
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A World of Curiosities
Written by Louise Penny
Published by Minotaur Books
Available in Hardcover on November 29
It’s spring, and Three Pines in Canada is emerging from a harsh winter and a harsh year. Since the weather is warming, the villagers have decided to have a special celebration; Flowers are blooming, and children are playing outside; all are excited except heroes of the series, Chief Inspector Armand Gamasch and investigator Jean-Guy Beavior of the Surete du Quebec. A young man and woman have appeared in the village after many years away. The two were children when their mother was murdered, leaving them damaged. Gamasch and Beavoir’s memories rush back to them, their first case together. Why have they returned? Are their wounds, once buried, ready to erupt? As Armand works to uncover answers, a letter written by a dead stone mason is discovered. The man describes how he was forced to brick up an attic room somewhere in Three Pines. When the room is found, the villagers decide to open it. Just as Pandora unleashed evils, a world of curiosities is discovered with puzzles, hidden messages, and warnings of eminent danger and revenge. In unsealing the room, an old enemy is released into the lives of the Three Pines citizens and into the very center of Armand Gamasch’s home. Fans of Penny will not want to miss this!
Reviewed by Marla Alexander
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Fredrik Backman
Interviewed by Doug Stanton
Run time is approximately 1.5 hours
Although it is not a new release of a book, it is a release of sorts. This interview of Fredrik Backman by Doug Stanton is charming and immersive. If you've enjoyed the novels of the Swedish author of A Man Called Ove and the Beartown trilogy, you'll enjoy his humorous way of being interviewed in this entry into the National Writer's Series.
Enjoy!
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Our "Clubs"!
We pride ourselves on our friendliness and our service to our customers and community. As we pondered everything we offer, we came up with this list of "clubs" available to you at the Book Bin. Invite your friends!
Frequent Reader Card Club
We punch holes for each $10 you spend working towards $10 off your next purchase.
Adult Book Discussion Club
We meet on the first Thursday night of the month to discuss an enthralling paperback book. We have just made our 2023 selections; click here to see the list.
Book Bin Detectives Club
We read a new paperback mystery novel and meet on a Monday night mid-to-late month to discuss it; our 2023 list will be available soon!
The Booklovers Club
We'll send a book a month to a recipient of your choosing, such as a new baby, a voracious middle-grade or teen reader, or an adult, for a birthday gift that "keeps giving" for example.
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We're adding a new club!
This subscription for a year of reads and Siskel & Ebert-style discussions can bring together readers across the country, as it takes place over entirely over Zoom. If you are the type who likes to LISTEN at a book discussion but not necessarily SPEAK, then this is for you!
Call or email Alice and Ann to sign yourself up or give this as a gift; they will send out a card to the recipient and Book Bin will send out the book to you/your friend every other month.
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Quick Question: What are your plans on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday?
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Shopping Local, Early & Often
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Going to the Mall to get any big purchases out of the way
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Staying at home to recover from the Thanksgiving holiday
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Letting my fingers do the shopping from my phone/computer
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Last Month's "Quick Question" Results:
What is your favorite downtown Northbrook
dine-in restaurant?
Georgie V's is at the top of the list (receiving 26% of the votes);
Francesca's North came in second (18%);
Trattoria Oliverii was extremely close behind in third (17%).
Every restaurant on the list received votes, which makes us happy!
We should be thankful for the bounty of good food available here.
We received 60 responses.
Thanks for participating!
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Book Bin's Staff 2022
From Left to Right:
(Standing) Marla Alexander, Linda Wesselink, Simona Bernfeld, Erika McCoy, Julie Harms-Muth, and Andrea Fossier
(Seated) Nancy Randall, Amy Morrison, Alli Gilley, and Carol Pickering
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It's always a good time to buy a book!
We're always around to help you with your selections.
Thank you for reading and for shopping locally.
We appreciate your support!
Kindly,
The Book Bin Staff
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Why Shopping Local Matters
Buying local boosts the local economy.
When you buy local, more of the money you spend stays in the community. Local businesses like us, are more likely to use other local businesses and services to support our operations.
Book Bin Services
1. Free gift wrapping, cards, and gold stickers on your purchases
2. Easy shipping available on any purchases via the USPS
3. Contactless Curbside Pick-ups from our bench
4. Fast order fulfillment of any book in print
5. Friendly people to recommend your next great read
Not a Superstore... just a Super Store!
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