Dear Customers, Happy Friday. We hope you've had a lovely week and are heading into the weekend with plans to laze about with a good book or enjoy some time in socially distanced company with those you love. A quick update on our hours: in addition to being open Monday through Saturday from 10AM - 5PM, we are now open on Sundays from 12 - 4PM. We love seeing you back in-store and are grateful for your diligence in wearing a mask, hand-sanitizing upon arrival, and being respectful of personal space. Read on for what's new on the shelves and a Friday Five, with read/watch pairings. As always, you can find us on Instagram , Facebook , and Twitter where we share our latest reads, thoughts, and news.  Be well.

Friday Five

Welcome to the height of summer. With temperatures projected to soar into the 90s this weekend and thunderstorms threatening to thwart your plans, we're offering up some watch and read pairings for now and the months to come. Unorthodox , a riveting television series that has drawn international and local bookseller praise, was released as a four-part miniseries on Netflix in March. The show is based on a memoir written by Deborah Feldman who, as a young Orthodox woman escaped her Hasidic community in Brooklyn for a new life in Berlin. The television series departs in some key factual ways from the memoir but no matter. Both the book and the miniseries are well worth the time. My favorite quarantine binge watch thus far. In 2013 James McBride, author of Oprah's current book club pick and staff recommendation Deacon King Kong , published the National Book Award winner for Fiction, The Good Lord Bird ,to critical acclaim. This compelling novel which takes on racial passing and gender assumptions follows abolitionist John Brown as he frees Henry Shackleford. In a case of mistaken identity, Henry struggles to stay alive as they land at the historic raid on Harpers Ferry. This is definitely a case of must read before you watch and the good news is that you've plenty of time -- the television adaptation of this abolitionist mini-series starring Ethan Hawke and Daveed Diggs, among others, will premiere in early October. The Flight Attendant , a thriller and 20th book from Chris Bohjalian follows the story of a flight attendant who wakes up in a situation she is entirely unprepared for, namely next to the body of a dead man she's never seen before. The story follows her quest to clear her name and escape the real killers. Washington Post book critic Maureen Corrigan says: "Filled with turbulence and sudden plunges in altitude,  The Flight Attendant is a very rare thriller whose penultimate chapter made me think to myself, 'I didn’t see that coming.'" To be released via streaming on HBO Max later this year. Allow me to provide a serious warning with the next pick -- if you feel like living in this masked, pandemic panicked world is just about all you can handle, you may want to skip the next recommendation, a long-ago published work from Stephen King. However, if diving deep into the dystopian world we're living in is your thing, you might consider picking up a copy of King's The Stand . Speaking to NPR in late March, King said "I keep having people say, 'Gee, it's like we're living in a Stephen King story.' And my only response to that is, 'I'm sorry.'" James Marsden and Whoopi Goldberg star; Marilyn Manson (!!) apparently plays a role. Release date on CBS, late 2020 TBD. If you're looking for me, I'll be hiding under the covers with this pick. Finally, The One and Only Ivan . Let me just say this - if you have young readers in your house and you've not yet been introduced to the joy of Katherine Applegate and her heart-filled middle grade novel, drop everything, come to the store and grab a copy. Or tee it up on Libro.fm for a road trip listen. The independent reader in my house gobbled it up in two sittings upon release. The early and pre-reader enjoyed the audio version so much we have it on repeat in the car. The movie, which will release in August on Disney + stars Danny DeVito, Bryan Cranston, Angelina Jolie, Sam Rockwell, Helen Mirren, and Phillipa Soo, guaranteeing family fun for all. And while you're out, you might as well grab The One and Only Bob the just-released follow up ( narrated by Danny DeVito if you're up for a listen). A parting thought (thoughts!) - I'm going to assume that during quarantine lockdown you heard about these three series, all based on (and frankly pretty true to) novels that we recommend: Normal People , Little Fires Everywhere , The Stranger . If not, grab the book, tee up the series and settle in. Finally, don't forget the young people; obviously The Baby-Sitters Club is the perfect weekend binge (we're fully stocked on the graphic novel versions - visit e-Bay for vintage originals) and Call of the Wild starring none other than Harrison Ford is the perfect family read and watch (Disney +). That's all, folks.

New on the Shelf: Fiction

*Pro tip: You can click on any of the images below and be taken to our website where you can read synopses, reviews, and place an order for in-store pick up or delivery. Most books are in stock but if we don't have a copy on the shelf, we can easily order one for you!

New on the Shelf: Non-Fiction and Memoir

New on the Shelf: Mysteries and Thrillers

New on the Shelf: Middle Grade and Young Adult

New on the Shelf: Children's Picture Books