Happy Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and Christmas
to all of our friends in the community!
However you honor the Holiday Season, there is much to celebrate this year, and we are off to a great start! We've gathered this season's biggest titles, as well as many of your favorite classics. Despite shipping delays and supply chain issues, our shelves are overflowing with the latest hot titles, and many unique stocking stuffers as well. Best of all, our booksellers are ready to recommend their favorites for everyone on your list, and we love to suggest great ideas beyond the bestsellers. Calendars and journals are moving briskly, and if you haven't started your Advent Calendar, we have many for you!
Sometimes the best gift is one that they can pick out for themselves, with a gift certificate from you. Online shopping is also encouraged, and if you haven't tried it, it's easy! Free gift-wrapping, curbside pick-up and shipping are always helpful options.
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Holiday Season Cyber Mondays! |
Take advantage of our Cyber Monday Sales to shop at your leisure. Get 20% off most books purchased on our website Monday, December 6 & 13, whether you choose to pay online or at the store. Just fill up your cart and enter the coupon code EHBC20 when you check out. You can choose in-store pickup, contact-free curbside pickup, or let us ship your order. You'll have an option to cancel any books that will not arrive by Dec. 24. You can also choose to have us gift wrap!
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Annual Holiday Gift Certificate Sale: |
Holiday gift giving can stretch farther with our discounted holiday gift certificate sale! From Friday, December 3 through Sunday December 5, you can save from 20% - 25% on specific denomination certificates in store, or over the phone:
$25 gift certificate - $20
$100 gift certificate - $80
$200 gift certificate - $150
Whether you are buying gifts or stocking-stuffers, or simply want to take advantage of the savings yourself, we've got you covered. It's our thanks to you in the season of giving!
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Check out our Holiday Gift Guide! |
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How I Became a Tree, by Sumana Roy |
It’s time to slow down, take a breath, and dream about “tree time.” In this exquisite collection of essays, Sumana Roy introduces this notion of "...a life without worries for the future or regret for the past.” She explains: “I liked … how trees thrived on things that were still freely available — water, air and sunlight; and no mortgage in spite of their lifelong occupation of land.” Roy's lyrical prose engages us to consider nature, music, literature, botany, and philosophy. It is seductive in enchanting ways, inviting us to reconsider our pace, our needs, and our perspective. Her insights may appear fanciful, but this is a book for looking deeper. ~Jane
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My Body, by Emily Ratajkowski |
Ratajkowski’s stories glide seamlessly, her meditations are intelligent and raw, and her anxieties will be recognizable to many women. While the content is important and engaging, her writing is what stood out to me. Reminiscent of Didion, Ratajkowaki is eloquent, casual, and meaningful all at once. She is intimate yet bold. Assertive but gentle. Both women and men stand to learn from her experiences and will enjoy how skillfully she conveys them. ~Cappy |
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The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah-Jones |
You may have read The 1619 Project which was first published in the New York Times Magazine, marking the 400th anniversary of the arrival of African slaves on this continent. And you may have followed the controversy when it was added to school curriculums, leading Donald Trump to call for a commission on "patriotic education." Spun from this project, this instructional, devastating, and ultimately moving book has a broad range of essays by many writers on our country's origin story. It will make you ache for all the time wasted as a nation, believing a story crafted of half-truths and lies, with disregard for so many of our fellow humans. But The 1619 Project also brings together stories of strength, achievement, and dreams, and provides a blueprint for progress giving hope for our future. ~Victoria
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In the Distance, by Hernan Diaz
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With In the Distance Hernan Diaz unravels a lot of our myths about who was doing what to whom in the Old West, all through the eyes of a protagonist who often has no context at all for the horrors (both manmade and natural) unfolding around him. We meet Håkan a young Swede who arrives in San Francisco by accident in the 1840s and for whom things go instantly, disastrously wrong -- and mostly don't go right again. In the Distance is a brutal story, a little like Borges by way of Cormac McCarthy, but even the most scaldingly hard parts of the novel are gorgeously rendered. ~Rafe
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Nightmare Alley, by William Lindsay Gresham
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Step right up, folks! See for yourself this harrowing slice of vintage, dark-as-pitch American noir. Gresham’s morbid masterpiece is the story of Stanton Carlisle, shadowy antithesis of a Horatio Alger hero, a ruthlessly ambitious grifter who transforms himself from cheap carny huckster to cultish celebrity spiritualist. Enjoy reading how he gleefully fleeces moneyed rubes with the help of a psychopathic psychologist Dr. Lilith Ritter; one of literature’s truly great villains. His meteoric rise and fateful self-inflicted fall are thrilling and terrifying, and unfold in brilliant and impeccable prose, with the cold inevitability of a classic tragedy. ~Luciano
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How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith |
Clint Smith structures this book as a series of tours, drawing the reader into historical sites such as Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, the Whitney Plantation, Angola Prison and Blandford Cemetery--each place holding a story of America's history of slavery. What struck me most about this collection of tours is the care Smith takes in interviewing guides and fellow visitors. The result is not a mere travel brochure or another historical plaque. What Smith's book illuminates is how ordinary people interact with the history of slavery--some with defensiveness, some with grief, curiosity, surprise. The scholarship and nuance of this book are outstanding. ~Carrie
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When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson, Ellen Datlow, Editor |
Jackson and Datlow together at last, in a combo as perfect as chocolate and peanut butter. I cannot oversell this collection, for which the renowned editor assembled a stellar cast of contributors and original stories inspired by one of the previous century’s greatest authors. The full range of Jackson’s work is reflected here: precise language and eerie narrative ambiguity, supernatural horror, creeping psychological dread, familial dysfunction, and that nearly indefinable otherness that’s so singularly Jacksonian. I love anthologies, but even the best inevitably contain a story or two that miss the mark — except this one. There ain’t a dud in the bunch, people. One of my absolute favorites of 2021. ~Luciano
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Agatha of Little Neon, by Claire Luchette |
This is a story about faith -- finding it, losing it, sublimating it, and craving it in equal measure -- and also a story about identity. Agatha is a young nun dedicated to her sisterhood and to service, simultaneously determined to find her place and avoid her own questions about who she is and where she belongs. Her internal conflict is beautifully examined; through the prism of a rich cast of characters that conflict becomes a catalyst. Claire Luchette's debut is crystalline and precise, and I can't wait to see what they write next. ~Rafe
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The Bodies in the Library, by Marty Wingate |
Hayley Burke has just landed her dream job as curator of the First Edition Library, housed in the manse of the late Lady Georgiana Fowling in the heart of Bath, England. Not only is it a great job, but it also comes with living quarters on the premises. The other resident in Middlebank House is Glynis Woolgar, Lady Fowling’s former secretary. Mrs. Woolgar is suspicious of Hayley, and would love to catch her at something that the Board would disapprove of. Then, when a member of a fan fiction writers’ group is found dead in the library, Hayley plays detective to find the killer, save the library, and keep her new job! This first book in Seattle author Wingate’s latest series is a thoroughly engaging cozy with all the appropriate elements – even a prescient tabby named Bunter. ~Susan
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Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid |
A fascinating story very well told, Reid chronicles the rise of a fictional band, the creation of their most legendary album, and their sudden, mystifying breakup. It’s presented as an oral history via interviews with those who were there, living the highs and lows of the rock and roll dream. I found myself caring deeply for the characters, their creative struggles, and also their wars within themselves and between one other. ~McNevin
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Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
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Fantasy/sci-fi fans are probably familiar with the name Brandon Sanderson either from his contributions to the Wheel of Time series, or from one of his several other works like the Mistborn trilogy. For those looking to sample his writing before committing to one of his epic sagas, look no further than this, his first novel. Elantris gives readers a taste of Sanderson’s gifts for writing, unique and captivating worlds, characters, and plots. For the already initiated, it’s also worth reading as one of his lesser-known works! Either way, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an excellent story. ~Sara
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Upcoming Events ~ Preorder Now! |
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At long last, David Guterson has returned to fiction, and his new novel is receiving rave reviews. Set in the Pacific Northwest, and based on a real trial in Washington State, it is not to be missed. On January 23, we will be hosting David in conversation with Island Treasure and Bookseller Emeritus, John Willson. Check our events page for updates. |
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This latest novel from Bainbridge Island author (and bookseller favorite) Jonathan Evison, will be released in January, and we are celebrating with a festive launch event. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Jan. 11, at 7:00 pm. Jonathan will be in conversation with special guest Jim Thomsen.
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Thank You For Supporting The Island's Independent Bookstore |
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157 Winslow Way E
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.842.533
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