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Weekly Words about BooksJuly 20, 2014
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New Titles Being Talked About By Indie Booksellers
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian. This popular and prolific  Vermont author has tackled contentious subjects in the past - gender identity, midwifery, and Armenian genocide among them - while infusing them with his gift for storytelling. His latest effort is summed up nicely by this independent bookseller fan:
"A very contemporary and controversial subject helps make this novel scarily real. The narrator is Emily, the 14-year-old daughter of parents who both work at a nuclear power plant in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The plant melts down, both parents are killed, and there are questions about their responsibility for the disaster. Experiencing guilt by association, Emily goes on the run and ends up homeless in Burlington. She befriends a nine-year-old boy who is also on the run along with other loners looking to survive. Fast-paced, gritty, and believable, this is a novel perfect for book club discussions."
- Liza Bernard, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT
Landline by Rainbow Rowell. She's better known for teen fiction titles
Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, but Rowell can also write for grown-ups as proved by this story of a marriage in trouble and a magic phone that connects to the past. Here's a great description from an independent bookseller:
"Georgie McCool's professional dreams are coming true and she couldn't be happier, except that it means the slow implosion of her marriage is about to speed up. Georgie's husband, Neal, and their kids leave for Christmas while Georgie stays behind to work on her new TV show and she is left alone with memories of when things were better. Those memories almost become reality when she discovers that her mother's landline can connect her with Neal in 1998, before he proposed. Landline is an incredibly emotional, honest, and often hilarious look at a marriage on the brink and the choices that must be made when dreams aren't enough."
- Paige Mushaw, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. The highly anticipated finale to the hugely popular All Souls fantasy trilogy, which began with A Discovery of Witches, picks up right where the second volume, Shadow of Night , left off. Historian/witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. It's a conclusion that will satisfy fans of Harkness, as this independent bookseller enthusiastically notes:
"It's finally here, the book all Harkness' fans have been waiting for! Matthew and Diana have returned to the future and things have changed, as have they. Surprising twists and turns make this a delightful conclusion to the All Souls trilogy. While Harkness ties up loose ends, her complex characters leave enough room for her to return to this world should she wish to. With history, genetics, and morality all playing out, this is the very best in escapist fantasy for all readers!"
- Marika McCoola, Northshire Bookstore, Saratoga Springs, NY
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| Crime Thriller Author Debuts With a Bang | | Japantown by Barry Lancet. For mystery/thriller fans like me, it's always a pleasure to discover an author who is new to the genre. Lancet is a California author who has lived extensively in Tokyo,  and his unconventional hero is also comfortable going from West to East. The first book, featuring antique dealer and reluctant private eye Jim Brodie, has just been released in paperback, and it's a terrific read.
When an entire family is senselessly gunned down in San Francisco's Japantown, Brodie receives a call from a friend at the SFPD. As an American born and raised in Japan, Brodie has advised the local police in the past, but the near-perfect murders in Japantown are like nothing he's ever encountered.
Using his extensive Asian contacts and fluency in Japanese, Brodie follows leads gathered from a shadow powerbroker, a renegade Japanese detective, and the elusive tycoon at the center of the murders. Step by step, his search takes him from the crime scene in California to terrorized citizens in Japan, and what he unearths shocks him. Wishing to turn back but knowing the only way is forward, he focuses on the deadly secret that threatens not only his life, but also the lives of his entire circle of family and friends.
If you like Japantown, you'll be happy to know that the second Jim Brodie crime thriller, Tokyo Kill, will be in independent bookstores in early September.
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WHERE TO FIND
AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE
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.
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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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