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Weekly Words about Books MARCH 24, 2013
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New Paperback Is Good Bet For Book Groups
| The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman was a #1 Indie Next pick when it was published last July. The monthly list is created from recommendations from independent booksellers across the country, and many of them praised this heart wrenching story of loneliness, morality, and good people caught up in the consequences of a fateful decision. And now that it's on bookstore shelves in paperback, The Light Between Oceans should become a favorite of book clubs. This description of the book underscores the moral dilemma that Stedman creates for her protagonists:
 After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a "gift from God," and against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
If you are part of book club and think this sounds good, the publisher, Simon & Schuster, has also produced a free reading group guide to help facilitate discussions of the book. You can access it here.
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Two on the Rise on
Indie Bestseller Lists
| | How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by
Mohsin Hamid. Pakistani writer Hamid wrote a bestselling novel called The Reluctant Fundamentalist; his new book tells the story of a man's journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon in an unidentified Asian city. Here's what one independent bookseller said:
"This is a slick, fast-paced novel that breaks the bounds of literary convention while immersing readers in the life of a poor young man trying to  make his fortune. The characters and places remain nameless, which allows them to represent 'Anywhere, Asia' and yet somehow we come to know them deeply and believe in their specific reality. The young man's fortunes rise and fall through a series of lucky encounters, chances taken, and circumstances both in and out of his control. In the end, this book is less about individual actions and more about the inexorable power and energy of Rising Asia. As in his previous novels, Hamid's writing is taut and beautifully crafted."
- Caitlin Caulfield, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. The author of My Year of Meats returns with a brilliantly inventive and beguiling novel of our shared humanity and the search for home. Read the recommendation from one independent bookseller: "Nao, a suicidal Japanese girl, postpones her death as she grows closer to her 104-year-old great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun. Ruth, an American author with writer's block, discovers a diary washed ashore on her remote island in the Pacific Northwest. Rut  h becomes obsessed with Nao and her diary, and readers will be drawn in as their stories intertwine. Ozeki's creatively constructed novel, complete with footnotes, Japanese characters, and appendices, will have readers marveling at the leaps in time and connection that bring the two women together in this witty, daring, and thoughtful novel."
- Cheryl Krocker McKeon, Book Passage,
San Francisco, CA
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Video: Paper Is Not Dead
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This short (less than a minute) French video has been making the online rounds. If you haven't seen it and would like a quick laugh, take a look.
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A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
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My name is Hut Landon. I'm a former bookstore owner who now runs the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) in San Francisco.
My goal with this newsletter is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world.
I'm not into long, wordy reviews or literary criticism; I'd like HUT'S PLACE to be a quick, fun read for book buyers.If you have any friends who you think might like receiving this column each week, simply click on "Forward this email" below and enter their email address. There is also a box in which to add a short message.
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WHERE TO FIND A BOOKSTORE
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Many of you already have a favorite local bookstore, but for those of you without such a relationship, this link will take you to a list of Northern California indie bookstores by region.
If you live or work elsewhere, you can click here to find the nearest indie bookstore by simply entering your postal code.
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