Massive loss that left so many feeling helpless, fragile and unmoored. The ongoing fight for equity. A catch-all anxiety tied to the simple passing of time. Moments of true rest were few and far between this past year. But there were moments.
To celebrate Indigenous Heritage Month this November, we collected a list of amazing books by Native and Indigenous authors that have been shaking up the literary world in the last couple years. From the genre-bending brilliance of Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq, to the wonder and whimsy of Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe, the inventiveness, modernity, and sheer talent of these writers is what makes us booksellers excited to do our jobs.
Usually, Independent Bookstore Day involves a few more events than it does this year, but that doesn’t mean we love it any less!
Do we miss the prize wheel? Stamping passports? Blackout poetry? The photobooth? We do! We miss it all so much! But most of all, we miss seeing all of you, and hearing about your bookstore adventures -- and, of course, recommending you our favorite books.
So here’s a list of some of the books we wish we could put in your hands on Saturday -- and don’t worry, Indie Bookstore Day will be back next year!
These days have begun to feel elastic: even the most banal social practice upended, oceans of time in front of us that feel by and large destined to be filled by anxiety. Oh, the new normal. The importance of maintaining routine are stressed upon us, the vague semblance of normality holding us together with tape and string. I myself never thought I could abide shoes in the house but am now cheered by the simple act of lacing them each morning, even if only to tread the same exact square footage as yesterday.
There are many things to love about being a bookseller, but my favorite double edged sword is that we get to read so many amazing books before they are officially released in stores. Double edged only because we read books we love and then we have to WAIT, sometimes MONTHS before we get to shove them breathlessly into your hands.
There’s been a lot of buzz around the bookstore lately because of all the wonderful advance reading copies we’re getting through, and because the suspense is killing us, this is what we can’t wait to recommend in the coming months:
The data is in, folks! You've seen our individual list of favorites -- part one, part two, and part three -- but if you looked at that and were overwhelmed with the sheer number of books we loved last year, this is the list for you.
Welcome back to Part 2 of our Third Place Bookseller favorites of 2019!