Ask a Bookseller

When Julie Buckles of Honest Dog Books in Bayfield, Wis., encountered Rebecca Donner’s nonfiction book, “All The Frequent Troubles of our Days,” Buckles knew she’d want to stock it in the “Badass Women” section of her store. Subtitled “The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler,” the biography of Mildred Harnick reads like a political thriller. Mildred gre...

Looking for a new read-aloud Christmas book? Amber Collins of Soul Book Nook in Waterloo, Iowa recommends “ The Twelve Hours of Christmas ,” written by Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Bea Jackson. It’s a modern take on the classic “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, but eight maids a-milking become eight cups of cocoa in this story of a family coming together on Christmas Day. The words and illustrations...

Chris Miller of Broadway Books in Portland, Ore., recommends the novel “ The Maniac ” by Benjamín Labatut. Labatut takes us back to the dawn of the nuclear age in his newest novel focusing us on John von Neumann (1903-57). One of the mathematical minds behind the Manhattan Project, von Neumann invented game theory and designed the first programable computer, among other achievements that have a ma...

Amy Jiron of Hearthfire Books in Evergreen, Colo., recommends a visit to the Nile this December, in the form of Isabel Ibañez's novel “What the River Knows.” Set in 1884, this historical fantasy novel has adventure, romance and a dash of magic. Marketed as a young adult book, the story opens upon 19-year-old Inez Olivera, living in posh, upper-class Buenos Aires and desperately waiting to hear fro...

Caitlin Doggart of Where the Sidewalk Ends Bookstore in Chatham, Mass., says one of her top books of the year is Christy Cashman’s debut young adult novel, “The Truth about Horses,” which Doggart describes as a gorgeously written story about the healing power of horses. The novel’s irresistible heroine is 14-year-old Reese, whose mother has died in a car accident. More losses follow. The family se...

Halee Kirkwood of Birchbark Books in Minneapolis says one of their favorite books from this year is “ The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison ” by Hugh Ryan. This history explores a women’s prison in Greenwich Village, New York that became a site of LGBTQ activism before the Stonewall Riots. In operation from 1929 to 1974, the Women’s House of Detention housed many tr...

Carson Crooks of Prince Books in Norfolk, Va., highly recommends R. F. Kuang’s novel “Babel,” which had him alternating between tearing through the story and stopping to investigate the actual historical events it referenced.  Set in mid-19th century London, the world of this novel looks much like our history, except that the central form of power comes of translating and transcribing words on sil...

In this week’s Ask a Bookseller, Shayne Molt of Indigo Bridge in Lincoln, Neb., recommends the fantasy romance novel “ A Rake of His Own ” by A.J Lancaster. It’s a gaslamp fantasy, an LGBTQ+ romance set in an Edwardian-esque world that is not our own. While there are new devices such as automobiles on the road, there is also magic. Marius, the botanist main character, can read minds, but Molt said...

Sierra Keolanui, Lise Michelle Childers, and Allison Benz of Native Books in Honolulu, Hawaii , conferred about their favorite books and quickly reached a consensus: “ Ke Kumu Aupuni: The Foundation of Hawaiian Nationhood ” by Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau. This large book is a treasure trove of Hawaiian history, says Keolanui, who adds that it's been flying off the shelves of their store. Ten years...

In this week’s Ask a Bookseller, Beth Leonard of Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, Maine recommends the short story collection “Night of the Living Rez” by Morgan Talty, an author from Maine and a Penobscot Nation citizen. The book is set in a Native community in Maine and follows characters through 12 interconnected short stories, which Leonard said reads more like a novel. “The book really deals...

Shane Grebel of Watermark Books & Café in Wichita, Kan., says his favorite book of the year is the novel “ The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store ” by James McBride. With the successes of his previous books, including National Book Award winner “The Good Lord Bird,” “The Color of Water,” and “Deacon King Kong,” it's no surprise that McBride's newest novel debuted in August as an instant New York T...

Part of the fun of talking with indie booksellers from across the country is hearing about long-standing local favorites. That was the case with this recommendation from Tori Weaver of Rainy Retreat Books in Juneau, AK. Tori recommends the memoir " The Blue Bear : A True Story of Friendship and Discovery in the Alaskan Wild," by Lynn Schooler. “It's a local favorite,” Weaver said. “He is a southea...

We wrap up our month-long focus on books for kids and teens with a Young Adult (YA) novel set in Minnesota, recommended by a Minnesota bookstore. Mary Taris of Strive Publishing and Bookstore in Minneapolis loved the intimate look at family dynamics in Ari Tison's novel “Saints of the Household.” Written in poetry and vignettes, the narrative moves back and forth between the points of view of two...

All this month on Ask a Bookseller, we're featured books for kids and teens — and the grown — ups who love to read with them. This week's book is a “phenomenal read-aloud,” according to Jessica Palacios of Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose, Calif. It's the picture book “Bathe the Cat,” written by Minneapolis-born author Alice B. McGinty and illustrated by David Roberts. Palacios says the book...

All this month, we're featuring books for kids and teens here on “Ask a Bookseller.” This week's recommendation from Anna Hersh of Wild Rumpus Books in Minneapolis falls right in the middle of the kid-lit span. It's a middle grade novel aimed at kids aged 8 to 12. Anna says Robin Gow's novel-in-verse “Dear Mothman” has taken her staff by storm. The story follows Noah Romano, an autistic, transgend...

This month on Ask a Bookseller, we'll be celebrating the start of school by featuring books for kids and teens. Melissa DeMotte of the Well-Read Moose in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, says a brand-new picture book she loves on her bookstore's “Back to School” table is the “The Wild Guide to Starting School,” by Laura and Philip Bunting. This silly picture book outlines all the steps a wild animal might ne...

Julian Karhumaa of Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, Pa., said he’s still thinking about Catherine Raven’s memoir “Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship.” Having newly finished her PhD in biology, Catherine Raven finds herself living in the woods of Montana, generally removed from other people and uncertain about her next step. As she observes the natural world around her, she notices that a fox comes ar...

Alden Graves of Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vt., says he generally avoids books about animals, but he's glad he made an exception for Geraldine Brooks’ novel ‘ Horse .’ The latest work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is a sweeping novel about horse racing — and racism — spanning from the 1850s to today. The novel is based on a real horse, Livingston, who is considered to be Ame...

Matt Nixon of A Capella Books in Atlanta, Ga ., has been eagerly awaiting publication of Colin Walsh's debut novel “ Kala ,” which he says is both an intricate character study and rip-roaring thriller. Set in a seaside Irish tourist town, the novel follows a group of friends at two moments in their life. In 2003, during their teenage years, one of the friends —Kala — disappears. Fifteen years late...

Melodie Edwards of Night Heron Books & Coffeehouse of Laramie Wyo., recommends “Less” by Andrew Sean Gree, where the protagonist flees a broken heart — and travels the world — by accepting every conference and literary event invitation he can pull together.

This week, I spoke with Kathy Burnette of Brain Lair Books , which just celebrated its fifth anniversary in South Bend, Ind. Kathy recommended the novel “Chain-Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, which she described as being a bit like "Hunger Games," but with adult prisoners instead of teenagers. In a dystopian future America, prisoners on a chain gang compete in a circuit of gladiatoria...

Claire Bone is one half of the sister pair who own Wild Sisters Book Company in Sacramento, Calif. She recommends the novel “For Her Consideration” by Amy Spalding. “If the Golden Girls were 30-something lesbians living in Los Angeles, this is that book,” said Bone. The main character is Nina, an aspiring screenwriter in LA who has experienced a devastating breakup. She decides to leave LA and mov...

Aden Evosirch of the Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester, Va., recommends “On the Savage Side,” by Tiffany McDaniel . It is based on a true unsolved murder case in rural Ohio where six women, known as the Chillicothe Six, disappeared from the area in 2014 and 2015. Four were later found dead. McDaniel's novel creates twin sisters, sex workers named Arcade and Daffodil, who see their friends go m...

Andrea King of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Mo., recommends the nonfiction read “The Racism of People Who Love You: Essays on Mixed Race Belonging” by Samira K. Mehta. Part memoir, part cultural criticism, with a dash of theory, these essays draw on Mehta's experience growing up with one white and one South Asian parent. “I really loved this book,” said King. “It kind of put into words a lot of e...

It's one thing to enjoy a book; it's another to sell it to others. The book that Matt Nixon of A Cappella Books in Atlanta, Ga., has loved selling to his customers for the past few months has been Meg Howrey's novel “ They're Going to Love You .” “It's just the most emotionally honest and well-observed [book], and when I was done with it, I wanted to hug it,” Nixon declares. The book follows Carli...