Read on for bookseller recommendations and what's brand new on the shelf. And are you registered for our summer book bingo?
Dear Readers,
If you're a local customer who frequents the store, you may be well-acquainted with our blue table which, thanks to bookseller Robin, makes an annual appearance beginning sometime around Memorial Day and sticks around until the yellow school buses begin practicing their routes around town. It's a delightful sight filled with perfect-for-the-beach books that whisk you away before you even open the cover. And while we love the picks that land on the center cube, there are always a handful of books that would be perfectly at home alongside the seaside settings save for one small issue: they don't sport a blue cover. So today's Friday Five is all about those hot summer reads that you won't see front and center in-store but are highly recommended nonetheless.
First up in our not-blue-but-beach-bag-ready-bookseller-approved roundup isThe Paper Palace. It's a family affair, centered around Elle who seemingly has it all sorted out with a dashing husband, healthy children, and a breezy, if recalcitrant mother who hosts the family each summer on Cape Cod. A series of seriously unfortunate events in Elle's past surface, leading to an unexpected explosion of long-simmering tensions that threaten to unearth long-held secrets.
Next up, a beach delight that's so popular we've having trouble keeping up with demand! People We Meet on Vacation is the follow up to last summer's smash hit Beach Read. This paperback-original follows an unlikely pair of friends, whose annual beach vacation is disrupted by an event that cancels their annual fun and puts a hold on any prospect for resolution. The author, Emily Henry has been called her generation's Nora Ephron. A delicious delight of a read.
Several booksellers are enthusiastically endorsing Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. Anyone who enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love this quirky and hilarious book. The novel follows a Gilda, a young woman trying to find her way in the world but unable to shake a continuous thought loop about death. A chance encounter with a priest lands her a job in the local Catholic Church where Gilda (an atheist at heart) unwittingly gets tangled up in a series of lies.
A PSA from Robin: Golden Girl is Elin Hilderbrand's best book yet. Once again the reader is transported to Nantucket but that's where any expected formula ends. Vivian Howe, a prolific author and mother of three, is killed in a sudden hit-and-run accident and immediately transported to an afterlife that allows her to watch what's happening on earth with a small bit of control over missed events. Critical acclaim is pouring in for the much-beloved Hilderbrand; this is one you don't want to miss.
Finally, for those who fancy a mystery on the beach, we recommend Razorblade Tears. A whodunnit of sorts, the story follows Ike and Buddy Lee -- a black father and a white father -- bonded together by the marriage of their two sons. A double homicide leaves zero trace of who might be responsible. Once it becomes clear the cops won't be following up on the case, Ike and Buddie Lee decide to take matters into their own hands. A wild cliff-hanging novel with up-front talk about marginalized communities, racism, and LGBTQ+ issues, it's a critically acclaimed thriller but not for the faint of heart.
