Staff Recommendations, Week of July 4, 2023

 

What better way to spend this week's holiday than with a new book? Here are a few that we recommend.

First, from proprietor Daniel Goldin: Sunshine Nails, the debut novel from Mai Nguyen. Daniel says: "When Debbie and Phil Tran (who renamed themselves after their favorite music stars) find out that a chain nail salon is moving in across the street from their family-owned business, it’s just the latest in a series of family setbacks. Their daughter Jessica has just returned home to Toronto, laid off from her job and sans fiancé. Their son Dustin works for a tech company that promises stress relief, but not for their employees. And their niece Thuy, who works as a technician at the salon, is an enigma. Sunshine Nails works on lots of levels – as a family comedy, a classic David and Goliath story, an immigration and first gen narrative, an issue-centric tale of gentrification and neighborhood preservation, and a coming-of-age story for Jessica that’s romance adjacent enough to please genre fans. Delightful!"

Jen Steele is next with two recs. Her first is for Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, an international bestseller by Japanese author Satoshi Yagisawa, now translated into English by Eric Ozawa. Jen says: "After her boyfriend tells her he's getting married to someone else, Takako quits her job and takes up her uncle's offer to work at his secondhand bookstore. Set in Jimbocho, a famous bookstore district in Japan (it's a real place and I must go there!), Satoshi Yagisawa delivers a delightful love letter to books and bookstores. I was instantly transported to this delightful neighborhood and utterly charmed by this short and sweet novel."

One of our newest booksellers, Greta Borgealt, chimes in with her recommendation of Yagisawa's novel, too. Greta says: "A young woman starts working at her family’s book store after breaking up with her boyfriend and quitting her job. The author obviously loves books. The family relationships in this novel are so nuanced and interesting. I related a lot to the main character and it had made me feel like I was on the right path by becoming a bookseller."

Finally, in new books, Jen also recommends The Red Jacket, a new picture book by author/illustrator Bob Holt. Jen says: "One of my favorite picture books this summer! The Red Jacket is an engaging picture book about Bob, a lonely seagull who is given a red jacket. Bob's new red jacket instills a confidence in him that helps him speak up and make friends. A wonderful story that deserves a spot on your bookshelf!"

Over in paperback releases, we've got two recommendations for The Poet's House, the most recent novel from Jean Thomposon that begins its softcover life this week. Frist, from Daniel Goldin: "Here’s a quarter-life crisis for you: Carla is a landscaper in Northern California, and one day, she’s sent to do some planting for an almost-mythical poet named Viridian who lives in the woods with assorted hangers-on. Pulled into their orbit, the world of poetry is opened up for Carla, only with one problem – her ADHD makes it very difficult for her to read. As she untangles the stories of the poet’s lives, can she figure out what’s important about poetry and what is surface gloss? And while she’s at it, maybe she can find some legendary poems that have gone missing. Thompson is sometimes called a writer’s writer, which translates to great reviews but modest sales, and perhaps a bit of inaccessibility to the general reader. But in The Poet’s House, a book that’s literally about writing, Thompson has opened the door to all of us in a disarmingly entertaining novel that’s sure to be savored."

And Kathy Herbst adds to that: "An unforgettable coming-of-age story that manages to be serious and thoughtful as well as lighthearted and humorous.  21-year old Carla is insecure, searching for meaning and something to feel passionately about. A reading disability held her back in school and, in her mind, limited her choices, so when she meets a famous poet while working as a landscaper and is invited into the insular world of poets and poetry she is, to say the least, surprised to find herself drawn to this world and finding an unexpected path for her own life."

Kay Wosewick suggests The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger. Kay says: "The Displacements is fantastic climate disaster fiction because it intimately portrays how a very well-off family (minus dad) deals with numerous traumas, starting with a last-minute evacuation due to course change of the first-ever category 6 hurricane, Luna. The family drives north with hundreds of thousands other evacuees. They experience the second crisis when they stop for gas and discover mom's purse was left behind - the fault of the young daughter and teenage stepson. No money. No credit cards. No food, fuel, or caffeine. They end up at a FEMA camp, this one a tent city of 10,000 in rural OK. The story reflects the amazing tolerance, flexibility, and resilience of many people."

And those are the recs! Happy reading, everyone. May you read independently today. And other days, too. We'll be back next week with more books, and until then, read on.