Ask a Bookseller

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Kelle Barfield from Lorelei Books in Vicksburg, Miss. "Mississippi is renowned for so many fabulous authors: Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, more contemporary authors like Jesmyn Ward," says bookstore owner Kelle Barfield. "But w...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Danny Caine, the owner of The Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kan. Danny Caine has a new poetry recommendation for those tucked inside reading this winter: Fatimah Asghar's "If They Come for Us." "It's this dazzling poetry collection which tells a story that's at on...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Betsy Grant from Page & Palette in Fairhope, Ala. C.S. Lewis is on many a bookshelf. The scholar and author is widely known for his writings on Christianity, and for the wonder of "The Chronicles of Narnia." But Joy Davidman is not often part of the story. Tha...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Josh Myers from Farley's Bookshop in New Hope, Pa. The short pitch for "Last Days" by Brian Evenson? "An ex-detective who retired after a particularly traumatic case is kidnapped by a cult who worship through amputation to find out who murdered their leader — who...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Annie Metcalf of Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis. In the mood for something scary, but don't need it to be supernatural? Try "Mina," an unsettling, unusual novel that follows a group of high school girls in South Korea. Bookseller Annie Metcalf recommends it "fo...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Margaret Leonard of Dotters Books in Eau Claire, Wis. The unnamed narrator at the center of "Scribe" lives in a harsh world, ravaged by war and fever. People survive by bartering what they have, and what she has is pen and paper. In exchange for firewood or food,...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Emma Nichols from the Elliott Bay Book Company . Aminder Dhaliwal's graphic novel began on Instagram. She started posting comics that unfolded in a post-apocalyptic world — a world missing something very specific: men. Dhaliwal's comics imagined a scenario in whic...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Daley Farr at Milkweed Books in Minneapolis. The best reads are the ones you find yourself still thinking about, even after the last page. That's the case for bookseller Daley Farr and "The Second Body" by Daisy Hildyard. "I just finished it the other night, and I...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Aaron Cance from The Printed Garden in Sandy, Utah. Aaron Cance has been selling books for 22 years. After more than two decades, some books can start to blur together or feel repetitive. "Sometimes halfway through a book, I think I've read this already — but it h...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Kate Jacobs from Little City Books in Hoboken, N.J. Keith Gessen's portrayal of modern Russia in his new novel, "A Terrible Country," is so vivid, bookseller Kate Jacobs initially thought it felt a little too real. "Being half-Russian, I'm always worried about Rus...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Danny Caine from The Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kan. Those hungering for a new poetry collection, take note. Bookseller Danny Caine recommends "Citizen Illegal" from José Olivarez. "It's a funny and occasionally devastating portrait of life as a first generatio...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Ruth Hulbert from Fireside Books in Palmer, Ala. You know that feeling where you follow a thread and find yourself down the rabbit hole of a great book? That's what happened to bookseller Ruth Hulbert. Years ago, she heard a bar full of people in Seattle break out...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Sara Luce Look from Charis Books & More in Atlanta, Ga. Innosanto Nagara first caught readers' attentions with his colorful board book, "A is for Activist," which explains civil rights, social justice and activism for kids as young as two. He's back with a new...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Stephanie Schindhelm from Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colo. Circe is perhaps the world's oldest sorceress, but until now, she was only a bit player in the story of Odysseus. Bookseller Stephanie Schindhelm recommends Madeline Miller's novel, "Circe," because it...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Tom Roberge Riffraff in Providence, R.I. Instagram models. Social media stars. "Influencers." If you can't keep track of who is famous these days, you're not alone. Natasha Stagg's novel "Surveys" dives deep into the stew that is sudden, baseless fame. Bookseller...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Mara Panich-Crouch from Fact & Fiction Bookstore in Missoula, Mont. Novelist Richard Wagamese made his mark on the Canadian literature scene as a novelist and essayist. Though the author died last spring, his work is steadily finding a new audience in the U.S....

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Rebecca Dowling from Hockessin Book Shelf in Hockessin, Del. Heading out on a summer picnic? Pack your basket, your sandwiches, your thermos — and your copy of "Pignic." "'Pignic' is a sweetly drawn book. It's super charming," says bookseller Rebecca Dowling. "It'...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Aubrey Restifo from Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vt. Bookseller Aubrey Restifo has "the perfect mystery for summer." It's Tiffany D. Jackson's "Monday's Not Coming." The young adult novel centers around the closer-than-close friendship of two teenage...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Charlotte Glover Parnassus Books in Ketchikan, Ala. "A lot of folks do not know the name Eowyn Ivey outside the state of Alaska," says Charlotte Glover. But they should. Ivey's first novel "The Snow Child" was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It's her second boo...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Melissa DeMotte of The Well-Read Moose in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Anthony Horowitz knows a good mystery. The author has multiple novels to his name, on top of a slew of British television series like "Midsomer Murders" and "Foyle's War." But he keeps outdoing himsel...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Matt Keliher of Subtext Books in St. Paul. If you walk into the Subtext bookstore in St. Paul, it sounds like there's a fair chance you're leaving with Tommy Orange's debut novel "There There." Bookseller Matt Keliher calls it "the book of the year" and "a book I...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Julie Poling from Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul. Julie Poling just fell in love with a new children's book: "Bear's Scare." It's written and illustrated by Jacob Grant. The book revolves around Bear, who is very sure he keeps a tidy house. He inspects the rooms...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Jake Reiss from The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Ala. The folks at The Alabama Booksmith are big fans of author Rick Bragg — big, big fans. They've hosted the author for more than a hundred signings, according to the Booksmith's owner, Jake Reiss. Bragg's firs...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Lucas Mcguffie from the Montclair Book Center in Montclair, N.J. Haruki Murakami is perhaps best known for his novels: "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle," "Norwegian Wood," "1Q84." But bookseller Lucas Mcguffie highly recommends a book of nonfiction Murakami published i...

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. This week, we spoke with Linda Kass from Gramercy Books in Bexley, Ohio. Linda Kass is a big Jennifer Egan fan. When Egan's latest novel, "Manhattan Beach," hit shelves, Kass couldn't wait. "I'm always excited about Jennifer Egan's books," she said. "I always know when I'm in her hands, I...