December is a month filled with so many lovely smells. Christmas cookies, pine, panatone, and (for my family, as well as countless New Mexicans and Mexicans) tamales. There’s another scent people encounter this time of year: that book smell. You know it. It’s a curious combination of leather, paper and glue. People walk into our store, inhale and comment on it all the time.
I have to confess that I don’t notice the smell of books as easily as many people. I think it’s because I’m surrounded by it most of the time. It is my pleasure and honor to work among books full time. Though I work primarily with the new books, the used and rare books are all around. After a day of working with books I return to a lovely home, its walls—and many available surfaces—covered with books.
Books can make a home lovely, indeed can make a home, in many ways. They soften sound in rooms, look great on shelves, and even make the occupants look smart. Books also help people make their homes in that other way: readers can learn to cook and even clean, to repair, to paint, to decorate and arrange. Most importantly books enlighten and entertain us; they draw us into other worlds while comfortably ensconced in our own. When I go home at night and close my front door on the world, I open another one when I sit on the couch and pick up whatever book I’m reading. It’s delightful. I don’t think I’m the only one who believes that a person who is happy when she is home is in a good home.
This holiday season we are fortunate to enjoy one of the strongest publishing seasons in years. Remarkable fiction and non-fiction titles fill Weller Book Works shelves. You too can fill your home and the homes of your friends with that book smell, and the joy that accompanies it. All you have to do is find the right books. It is our pleasure to assist you in that task or leave you alone as you hunt for that perfect treasure on our many shelves.
Happy reading. Happy holidays. And happy New Year.
Catherine Weller
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Rare Books
By Tony Weller
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The November/December issue of Weller Book Works Text Block lauded numerous books thoughtfully selected as gift suggestions, including several from our rare book department. For this December issue of Word from Wellers, I have selected a few more delightful rare books, limiting choices to smaller formats and prices. These books could make memorable and touching gifts for persons of the proper ilks. |
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1920s Stokes editions of Jane Austen are charming. From Lila Weller’s collection comes a great 1922 copy of Love & Friendship and Other Early Works in texturally delicious pebbled cloth. $30 |
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Modern kids and their parents would deem this 561-page biography of Benjamin Franklin mature reading. But in 1862 no internet or television could distract a young reader from the delights of reading. This little, thick Civil-War-era biography, Young Benjamin Franklin; or, The Right Road through Life, by Henry Mayhew may be purchased for only $40. |
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How about a super well preserved copy of Buckminster Fuller’s semantically and philosophically profound 1970 title, I Seem to Be a Verb? Co-authored with Jerome Agel and Quentin Fiore and printed up in hip 1970s green and black graphic designs. Smart and groovy. $100 |
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From the 1930s through the 1960s, children bought Little Big Books from drug and corner stores with pocket change. In the 1940s, for about 10 years, the name was changed to Better Little Books. These inexpensive newsprint books were delicate and did not survive well which is why we are happy to offer a good copy of The Green Hornet Returns by Fran Striker from 1941. $40 |
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Bibliophily describes the love of books. From my father Sam’s library is rendered a copy of James F. Willis’ 1921 title, Bibliophily or Booklove, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1921, the year of Sam Weller’s birth. It is hard to find this small book in a dust jacket but we have one here. I already have a copy so this one needs a home with another bibliophilist. $50 |
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November-December Best Wellers' Pick |
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Receive 20% off when you purchase during November & December
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9781982180584
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Hardback
Sale price $32.00
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On its face, The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski is a list of the greatest 100 baseball players of all time. I have made many mentions to my co-workers that my favorite baseball player, Ken Griffey, Jr., is ranked waaaay too low at #48. I mean, really. And Barry Bonds at #3? Seriously? Come on. There are a million lists of baseball's greatest, and they are all meant to stoke visceral reactions in their readers. This is no different.
What sets Posnanski's book apart is his clear love for the game. It isn't just a ranking: in many cases it’s a valentine to those players, though sometimes a sharp-edged one. Each listing is filled with anecdotes, tales (tall and otherwise), nostalgic stories, and, sometimes, condemnations. It's a deep dive filled with enough stats to thrill any baseball lover, but it’s also a compendium of the fascinating types of foibles and fun that all humans can provide. Also...Sandy Koufax at #70 and only one spot ahead of Bert Blyleven? I mean, I love me some Blyleven, but get real. This book is infuriating! I love it.
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Holiday Gift Guide, part 2
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You Are Special by Max Lucado, illustrated by Sergio Martinez (hardcover $16.99). (Gia) |
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Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater (paperback $11.99). Home alone for the first time, a boy stays up late watching TV and stumbles on a weird channel. Delightfully absurd and oddly nostalgic. (Mary) |
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When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (paperback $8.99). A mystery that sparks so much nostalgia. (Gia) |
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Suzanne and Gertrude by Jeb Loy Nichols (paperback $15.00). This brief novella, an exploration of alienation, solitude (and sometime loneliness) is written with the precision ear of a blues ballad. Author Jeb Loy Nichols also happens to be one of the finest singer-songwriters on our planet. Sometimes an empathic alignment with an animal can be more rewarding than stress-filled connections with our own species and our unbending agendas. The unexpected appearance of an unpretentious donkey helps Suzanne "know that it's not painful being alive, it's the thinking, and pretending and wrestling and smiling that's painful. Life is just life." 'Suzanne and Gertrude' offers a big reward for what could be a one-sitting read. (José) |
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Ridgeline by Michael Punke (hardcover $27.99). By the author of The Revenant, this is an entertaining, well-written, and moving retelling of the Fetterman Massacre—an important episode in the West—full of historical characters like Jim Bridger, Red Cloud and Crazy Horse. (Frank) |
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The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (hardcover $27.00). Shafak weaves history here, flashing back between the Kostas and Defne’s teenage years and forward to their daughter’s teen years. Shafak educates her readers about human rights and environmentalism, and is, in my opinion, one of the most important writers of the modern era. (Gia) |
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Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughn (paperback $9.99). This graphic series takes you back to a nostalgic, late ’80s small town, filled with odd occurrences and four loveable characters. The artwork is colorful, and the storyline is incredibly fun. The hardcover editions of this series are gorgeous, and would make a wonderful gift for any comic lover. (Gia) |
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American Christmas Stories edited by Connie Willis (Library of America, hardcover $29.95). Willis has discerning taste, and there's sure to be something that will become a classic in your household in this collection that spans time and genre. (Mary) |
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Gifts for Mythology Lovers |
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Have other people on your list you're struggling to find presents for? Let us help! |
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Click here for our December events newsletter.
We host both virtual and in-person events, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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EVENT SAFETY & ACCESSIBILITY SURVEY |
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Help us make our events better!
Our events team is working hard to create a safe, accessible, and equitable environment, and we want to hear from you! The heart of our events is you, our audience, and your responses will help shape the future of events to come.
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Come visit us!
SUNDAY 12-5
MONDAY-THURSDAY 10-8
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10-9
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Can't make it to the store?
Support your local indie from home!
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Order by phone or online, then pick up at the store or the curb!
We also ship!
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Give us a call at 801-328-2586
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Thanks for supporting your local, independent bookstore!
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Weller Book Works | 801-328-2586
Store hours: Sunday 12PM-5 PM | Monday-Thursday 11 AM-8 PM | Friday & Saturday 10 AM-8 PM
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