April News
Hey book lovers! It's time to celebrate your favorite indie bookstores and booksellers! Independent Bookstore Day is on April 29th. We've also got some excellent new releases for you to check out below and our new favorite section of the newsletter - staff recommendations new in paperback!
|
|
|
|
Independent Bookstore Day 2023
Saturday, April 29th
|
It's that time of year again! Join us on Saturday, April 29th for Independent Bookstore Day! By then, all the fantastic new releases listed below will have hit the shelves - come browse in person! Like last year, participants will have 10 days to complete the challenge to visit all participating local independent bookstores in the city of Seattle for a 25% single-use discount at each store. Click HERE for more information.
Come celebrate indie bookstores and all that they contribute to the community!
|
|
Lucy's Author Spot: Hanna Halperin
I met Hanna Halperin in Madison, Wisconsin in 2014. She was part of my MFA cohort, a sensitive and fiercely talented writer who wrote short stories about mothers and daughters, fraught family dynamics and soured relationships, and the kind of loneliness and discomfort we feel but cannot easily name. She had unique psychological acuity as well as an innate understanding of the form of a short story that the rest of us in her class admired.
Our cohort was small; for two years, we became a kind of family. We ate together, wrote together, complained and drank at the bar after workshop, met with agents and published our first short stories, and attended to the long, grueling process of working on our theses. Despite the camaraderie, it was two years in which we were emotionally adrift, having thrown our entire lives into the hopes of becoming published writers. Our vulnerability during that time translated into impressionability, and the people we met and experiences we shared would stay with us forever.
Hanna’s second novel, I Could Live Here Forever (on sale 4/11), is loosely inspired by those years in Wisconsin. In the novel, we meet a young writer, newly moved to Madison, who struggles to find her footing in her MFA program. She meets a charismatic and troubled young man named Charlie, with whom she explores the boundaries of love and depths of addiction. Emotionally raw and honest, this story will make you root for its characters and want to yell at them in turn. But it ends the way our MFA program did: unforgettably, and with an immense sense of growth.
Also by Hanna is Something Wild, a haunting novel about domestic violence and inherited trauma, currently in stock at Secret Garden. If either of these titles intrigues you, I urge you to pre-order or buy!
|
|
The Booker Prize-winning author of The Vegetarian returns with a new novel exploring language and isolation. A woman who has recently lost custody of her son and in her grief, the ability to speak, finds a connection with her Greek language teacher who is slowly losing his eyesight. Kang's novel has already received multiple starred reviews.
Available April 18th
|
|
|
A Black southern gothic novel about a 19-year-old Magnolia Brown, desperate for money, who accepts a job in a funeral home. As the novel progresses, the "jobs" she's asked to do become more and more strange. A sharp social commentary.
Available April 4th
|
|
|
Seattle native and award-winning author, Timothy Egan, returns with a new book about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. He details the life of D.C. Stephenson, a conman who was instrumental in the Klan's rise, and of Madge Oberholtzer, the woman who's testimony brought them all down.
Available April 4th.
|
|
|
A new book of essays by local author, Claire Dederer, that grapples with how to interact with art in the era of #MeToo. How do we accept our love of an artist's work when the behavior or opinions of the artist clash with our moral code?
Available April 25th
|
|
|
Actor, writer, and producer, Rainn Wilson, brings his trademark humor to the problems facing humanity today. He taps into ancient wisdom to suggest that a spiritual revolution is what will ultimately provide healing. He is reaching out to people of all beliefs - even skeptics - speaking of a more generalized spirituality that is missing from our modern world.
Available April 25th
|
|
|
You may know TJ Klune from his bestselling, House in the Cerulean Sea. Klune is famous for his heartwarming romances with a twist of fantasy and a little bit of trouble and his new book is no exception. Inspired by Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio, but set in end times with human-hunting androids.
Available April 25th
|
|
|
The reigning queen of romance is back with her first hardcover edition! Harriet and Wyn broke up six months ago, but haven't told their best friends. Will they be able to play happy couple through their annual vacation, maintaining their secret? Henry's characters are always charming and her dialogue is engaging and often laugh-out-loud funny. Romance readers will not want to miss this one!
Available April 25th
|
|
|
A middle-grade fantasy novel by Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, that confronts some of the tropes of the genre. It is full of heart and humor, action and adventure, and magic. This is getting a ton of praise from Thomas' contemporaries - Rick Riordan, B.B. Alston, Dhonielle Clayton and more.
Available April 4th
|
|
|
After Noah's best friend passes away, he decides to continue their science project on Mothman, the infamous cryptid. As Noah processes his grief, he writes letters to Mothman-- about being trans, autistic, and feeling different from other kids. After all, Mothman is misunderstood too; he may understand Noah better than anyone. Dear Mothman is often poignant, but so sweet, thoughtful, and full of healing and growth.
Recommended by Andrew
Available March 21st
|
|
|
A beautifully illustrated picture book that takes young listeners through a very condensed history of life on our planet and how the balance of life has changed as humans have taken over the land. It is a hopeful story though, and without putting too much responsibility on children, still leaves them with a sense of empowerment to revitalize and care for the land - even if it's just potted plants on the window sill.
Recommended by Becky
Available April 11th
|
|
|
Staff recs coming in paperback this month... |
|
 |
by A.J. Jacobs
Each chapter investigates the history and community around a different type of puzzle. From English cryptics to sudoku to escape rooms to the famous MIT Puzzle Hunt, the author explores them all! He even represents USA in an international speed jigsaw-puzzling tournament. The book includes many puzzles to try out for those who are puzzle-curious.
Available April 25th
Recommended by Lucy
|
|
|
|
by Julia Glass
This book takes place about 10 years in the future. Glass examines changes in our world and in the small community of Vigil Harbor on the Coast of Massachusetts & NYC. Filled with art, architecture, education, language, environmentalism, activism, & folklore.
Available April 25th
Recommended by Mary
|
|
|
|
|
by Ramona Emerson
This was fast-moving, intense, and delightfully dark and spooky. Longlisted for the National Book Award and for good reason! I picked it up because it's rare for a thriller to make the list and I was curious - it didn't disappoint.
Available April 25th
Recommended by Becky
|
|
|
|
by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
A multigenerational family saga centered around a young woman blessed with the clairvoyant gift to read futures and see the pasts of her people, all while coming of age in Denver in the 1930s. Brimming with life and community, this novel will make a home in your heart.
Available April 18th
Recommended by Andrew
|
|
|
|
We are open for browsing 11am-6pm on weekdays, and 11am-5pm on weekends
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
