Spring RJJ Bookseller Picks and Indies Choice Awards!

Dear Readers,

As you've heard me say before, the burgeoning spring is one of my favorite times for books. Publishers have major releases this time of year in hopes of beating the summer deluge of titles.

All the new spring releases made for a great discussion at our recent Books on the Menu event last week. Lori Fazio, R.J. Julia General Manager, and I began hosting Books on the Menu events last year and quite quickly, we have built up a great recurring and well-attended event to share our favorite new releases with readers. We've even been known to occasionally let slip insider book gossip at these events, and of course, we always have our favorite recently-read books to be long winded about.

Below, you'll see some of the books we discussed as well as the just-announced 2016 Indies Choice Book Awards, the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards and the Picture Book Hall of Fame Inductees. Well-deserved awards for some truly fantastic books!

Until next time,
Andrew Brennan

Head Book Buyer

Griffin & Sabine 25th Anniversary Limited Edition: An Extraordinary Correspondence

by Nick Bantock

R.J. Julia Booksellers celebrated our 25th Anniversary last year and it brought me back to some of the really big books of that era. One of the most amazing was released in 1991 and Griffin & Sabine immediately became a sensation. Artist Nick Bantock uses collage, drawing, and printmaking techniques that give his work a distinctive style. It all starts in this epic story when

Griffin Moss, a quiet London artist, starts receiving unexpected correspondence from a mysterious woman thousands of miles away on a Pacific island. The story is told through envelopes, letters, postcards and art that are bound into the book. Since then, this style of storytelling has been copied many times but only Bantock's have spent two solid years on the New York Times Bestseller List. The publisher has released a beautiful new edition of Griffin & Sabine for the 25th anniversary. Nick Bantock has also finished and released the latest installment of this series, The Pharos Gate.

Kill 'em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul

by James McBride

My favorite book so far this year. To call this a biography of James Brown is both misrepresenting it and selling it short. Rather than simply tell his story, McBride is trying to reveal the world that created Brown and the forces he fought against his entire life. Store owner Roxanne Coady and I were discussing the book and she said that Kill 'Em and Leave is as important a book on race as Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Whether or not you are familiar with The Color of Water or The Good Lord Bird, this latest work by McBride should have you riveted. The National Book Award winning author is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers and a nominee for my own personal Great Americans Hall of Fame. We currently have a limited quantity of signed copies of this must-read book. Please call for availability: (203) 245-3959.

The Railwayman's Wife

by Ashley Hay

"I was really taken with this book and I expect it to be one of the biggest of the summer. The Railwayman's Wife by Ashley Hay is a lovely yet haunting post war story that takes place on a remote coast in Australia. It had me stopping to reread many passages since the writing is so beautiful that once was not enough. Readers who enjoyed The Light Between Oceans will surely be drawn to this title. The author was so happy with our support of her book that she has signed and shipped copies from her home in Australia!" Please call for availability: (203) 245-3959 -Lori, General Manager

Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Lastly, I'd like to call attention to a new series of books I love from Harper Design. In the fall of last year, they released a gorgeous new hardcover edition of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I'm partial to it because the story is a favorite of mine, but also because this book has been gorgeously produced and I think it is the best edition on the market.

This year, Harper Design has given the same treatment to The Jungle Book, primed to coincide with the big new movie version hitting theatres.

Both of these timeless classics have been exquisitely redone and include lots of new features, games, and hidden treasures to discover without changing any original text. Aimed at children aged 0 to 100.