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Weekly Words about BooksJUNE 9, 2013
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Wow - Great Bestsellers Now On Shelves in Paperback!
| It was quite a week for new arrivals in independent bookstores, as several huge books from last Fall burst on the scene in paperback. Among them:
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver - The acclaimed author takes on climat e change in this brilliantly crafted cautionary tale. Set in present-day Appalachia, Kingsolver's riveting story concerns a young wife and mother on a failing farm in rural Tennessee who experiences something she cannot explain. Her discovery energizes various competing factions - religious leaders, climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians - trapping her in the center of the conflict and ultimately opening up her world.
Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers - In a rising Saudi Arabian city, a
strug gling businessman pursues a last-ditch attempt to stave off foreclosure, pay his daughter's college tuition, and finally do something great. Author Eggers (Zeitoun) takes us around the world to show how one man fights to hold himself and his splintering family together in the face of the global economy's gale-force winds. This National Book Award finalist was described by the New York Times as a "globalized Death of a Salesman." |
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - This is the inspiring  true story of a son and his mother who start a book club that brings them together as the mother faces an advanced form of pancreatic cancer. The result is a profoundly moving tale of loss that is also a joyful, and often humorous, celebration of life. Not surprisingly, this become a book group favorite in hardcover; now, it will undoubtedly (and deservedly) reach a much larger audience.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - For any teenager (and parent of a teenager, for that matter) who hasn't already read it, Book 2 of the Hunger  Games trilogy in paperback becomes the must-have summer reading title. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark in Book 1 (and the movie). But it was a victory won in defiance of the rules of the Capitol, and now, with rumors of rebellion among the subjects, Katniss and Peeta become the faces of that unrest and targets of the Capitol.
The movie version of Catching Fire will be released on November 22, so you've got plenty of time to read the book first.
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Row, Row, Row Your Boat - A Book for Dad?
| | This is the time of year when many bookstores offer book recommendations for Father's Day. One new book that I've seen mentioned several times is The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans  and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. It recounts a rousing piece of sports history, telling the story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew team and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal.
They were a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals, first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
In addition to bookseller enthusiasm, I will note that my teenage son also found The Boys in the Boat fascinating as well. To be fair, he rowed crew for two years, but he's also a picky reader and the historical significance captured his attention as much as the oars in the water. The book is in stores now if you want to check it out.
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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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