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April 16, 2014    

This coming Monday is Marathon Day. Our doors will be open from 9am to 6pm, and we can't wait for the incredible energy, determination and bravery we will witness running past our store. This year more than any other, we celebrate our amazing community on a route that connects us to Boston in a very special way: Mile 13 of 26.2.

Marjorie Agosin Tomorrow, Thursday, April 17th at 7pm at the Wellesley Free Library, hear Marjorie Agos�n, an award-winning poet, essayist, fiction writer, activist, and Wellesley College professor, as she introduces her new book,
I Lived on Butterfly Hill, which is an ode to the power of words, love, and revolution that is both brave and heart-wrenchingly graceful.

Gabrielle Zevin We are thrilled to be hosting Gabrielle Zevin on Saturday, April 26th at 3:30 pm to read and discuss her new novel, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (see my review below). Zevin's enchanting novel is a love letter to the world of books and booksellers. Come hear her read from the novel and discuss this tale about a common bookseller whose life takes a turn for the worse until a mysterious package changes his fate.

You Are Not SpecialYou can order personalized signed copies of You Are Not Special by David McCullough Jr., the Wellesley High School English teacher whose 2011 graduation speech took the internet by storm. Books will be ready for you on publication day, Tuesday, April 22. If you can't make it to our event on April 29th, we will be happy to mail you a copy. You can order your copy here or call the store at 781.431.1160.

Contact Us

Wellesley Books

82 Central Street

 Wellesley, MA 02482

 781.431.1160

www.wellesleybooks.com

In This Newsletter...
Bookseller Recommendations
New in Hardcover
New in Paperback
In the Kids Section
In the Gift Aisle
Downstairs at Wellesley Books
Dog of the Week
What We Are Reading...

Upcoming Events

Bill's Book Group for Guys - Wednesday, 4/16
Marjorie Agos�n - Thursday, 4/17
Gabrielle Zevin - Saturday, 4/26
David McCullough, Jr. - Tuesday, 4/29
Anne Fadiman - Wednesday, 4/30
Sara Hoagland Hunter - Saturday, 5/3
Marie Bostwick  - Tuesday, 5/6
Sally Sampson - Wednesday, 5/7
Andrea Cremer - Thursday, 5/8
Lunchtime Book Group - Tuesday, 5/13
Molly Wizenberg - Tuesday, 5/13
Bret Anthony Johnston - Wednesday, 5/14
Dr. Lillian Cheung - Thursday, 5/15

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"The best thing parents can do is to provide their children a happy household and for them to see that their parents believe in their children, that no matter what the weather might be, things are going to be fine."-David McCullough Jr.   

Betty Sudarsky   Americanah Betty's Lunchtime Book Group    
Tuesday, May 15 at noon
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Join the fun!  Join the dialogue!  Be in the know!  Come to Wellesley Books's lunchtime book club.  Munch your food while we chew on ideas with Betty Sudarsky, unparalleled bookseller and experienced book club leader.  Bring your own lunch, head downstairs and talk with your mouth full!  Drop-ins are welcome, whether or not you've read the book!  

Bill's Book Group for Guys  The Nick Adams StoriesBill's Book Group for Guys   
Thursday, May 29 at 7:00pm
The Nick Adams Stories
by Ernest Hemingway
Bill's Book Group for Guys is a relaxed evening in the store discussing a great book while enjoying a beer, glass of wine, or a select single malt whisky. $25 buys the book and a ticket to the event, including libations. 

Bookseller recommendations 

And the Dark Sacred Night And the Dark Sacred Night   
by Julia Glass

Julia Glass returns with another absorbing family saga.  Kit, in his forties and unemployed, sets out to find his biological father, whose identity his mother has kept from him since she gave birth as a pregnant teenager.  As family secrets are slowly revealed, Kit's discovery affects the lives of four generations of his family.  An engrossing new novel by the author of The Three Junes.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry    
by Gabrielle Zevin

I want to meet A.J. Fikry -- to take the ferry to the island where his store is located in an old Victorian house. Mostly, I want everyone to read this amazing book. If you love a novel that is just a REALLY good story like The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand then you will feel as I do about this book. It is a love letter of sorts for bookstores, book lovers and those of us lucky enough to call ourselves booksellers. Please come and join me on Saturday, April 26th to meet Gabrielle in person and fall in love with A.J. yourself.
Astonish Me Astonish Me   
by Maggie Shipstead

When Joan was a young and mediocre member of the NYC ballet corps, she helped the world's most famous Russian dancer defect. She has since moved on to life in California with her husband and her ballet prodigy son. Or has she?This novel shows the intrigues of the ballet world along with great characterizations of those who inhabit it. 
Redefning Realness Redefining Realness   
by Janet Mock

This extraordinary memoir is the story of one woman's personal journey and coming-of-age.  Janet Mock grew up transgender, multiracial and from a low-income family in 1990s Hawaii.  This book succeeds on multiple levels, as an engaging and vivid memoir, an empowering story -- particularly for trans people who are further marginalized or silenced by their race or income, and whose stories often go untold -- and an eye-opener for relatively privileged cisgender people (such as myself).
 

New in Hardcover

In Paradise   Can't and Won't Living With a Wild God Stronger   The Opposite of Loneliness       

In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen
Can't and Won't by Lydia Davis
 Living With a Wild God by Barbara Ehrenreich
  Stronger by Jeff Bauman
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan 

 

New in Paperback 

  Leaving Everything Most Loved  Burial Rites  A Guide for the Perplexed  The Other Typist The White Princess

The Burgess Boys   Tapestries of Fortunes   The View from Penthouse B   Walking With Jack   Behind the Beautiful Forevers

 Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent 

A Guide for the Perplexed by Dara Horn
 The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
The White Princess by Philippa Gregory
  The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg
The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman
Walking With Jack by Don J. Snyder
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo 

In the Kids Section

  • Reader tested - straight from our ARC readers      
Codename Zero Codename Zero by Chris Rylander
Recommended by Kiran, age 10
This book is so engaging, it brings you into a space where you can't stop reading. The spy part of this book gives it a whole new dimension of stealth. Carson figures out that his friend is...maybe I shouldn't tell you because that will ruin part of the book!! But this is a must read book for all ages who like stealth spies and cool stuff like that.
Sean Rosen is Not For Sale

Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale by Jeff Baron 
Recommended by Henry, age 9
Sean Rosen Is Not for Sale by Jeff Baron was a very funny book. I liked it because it included real life scenarios in a funny way. The book showed that kids can do everything that adults can do. I think the book would be a great movie and the movie inside the book would be a good movie also. Overall the book is realistic, funny and a good read.

New Kid New Kid by Tim Green
Recommended by Adham, age 11
New Kid by Tim Green is about a kid named Tommy Rust. His mom died when he was little and he is a very good baseball player. He and his dad have to move a lot so when he finally feels like he is home, he has to move. To be cool and to make some friends, he throws a rock at the travel teams coach's window. Coach Hudgens catches him but lets him go. Coach Hudgens is impressed by his pitching arm and asks him to pitch for his travel team. Will his dad make them move again or will he play and be a star? Time will tell.

The Tyrant's Daughter by J. C. Carleson The Tyrant's Daughter
Recommended by Eleanor, age 13
This book is about a girl named Laila who used to be the daughter of  a King. After her father is assassinated by her uncle she is forced to flee to America. She ends up in Washington D.C. with her mom and brother, where she has to adapt to the norms of her new world. I thought this book was fabulously written and highlighted the confusion and distress Laila faces in her new society. She finds herself learning the truth about her father and her country from an outside perspective. I felt this book really connected to the political situations of many countries in the news today.

In the Gift Aisle

  • Sox Socks 
Red Sox Snow or not, spring is here - and that means baseball! We have a new line of mugs, mousepads and posters featuring images by photographer Mike Sleeper of Fenway Park in the late 80's and early 90's before the old wall was dismantled. Or how about a pair of Red Sox red socks? We have sock sizes for the entire family, Red Sox pens, flashlights and toothbrushes.

  

Downstairs at Wellesley Books 

  • A la Cart      
It may be a little brisk out there, but the cart is back out on the sidewalk. Full of serendipitous gems, you can't walk past without taking a look. This year we have included hardcovers - I bet the new Sue Grafton mystery won't last long out here. Here are some other titles chilling on the cart:

The Dinner by Herman Koch
We Are Water by Wally Lamb
Friendkeeping by Julie Klam
Innocence by Dean Koontz
What is the What & Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Learning to Die in Miami by Carlos Eire     

Trade Your Used Books:

Saturdays from 11am - 3pm

The Used Book Cellar is always open for browsing during regular store hours
except during author events.
We will be happy to look for a title after the event and place it on hold for you. 

Dog of the Week 

  • Pearl      

No, this is not one of our fluffy stuffed Easter toys. The super soft and adorable Pearl is a 6 month old Golden Doodle. She just graduated from puppy school where she won a special certificate for "Best at Comes When Called".  I would like to give her a special award for "Most Perfect Dog of the Week Pose".  

 

 

 

What We're Reading Now...

Americanah
Betty
The Other Language
Sally
All That I Am
Gillian
My Life in Middlemarch
Pete
The Riverman
Margaret

 

Thank you for supporting your community

independent bookstore!

 


 
Sincerely,

Kym Havens 
Wellesley Books
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