Also published on this date: Monday, August 26, 2019: Maximum Shelf: Violet

Shelf Awareness for Monday, August 26, 2019


Canary Street Press: Blood of Hercules (Villains of Lore #1) by Jasmine Mas

Random House Books for Young Readers: Mr. Lemoncello's Fantabulous Finale (Mr. Lemoncello's Library) by Chris Grabenstein

Yale University Press: Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art by Matt Lodder

St. Martin's Press: Undeniable: How to Reach the Top and Stay There by Cameron Hanes

News

Baltimore's Greedy Reads Planning Second Location

Greedy Reads, the Baltimore, Md., bookstore that opened in the Fells Point area in 2018, is planning to open a second location later this year, in the Remington area. The 1,300-square-foot store, which will have a stage for events, is in the same building as Clipper City Crossfit and the Johns Hopkins Fast Forward student incubator space and will be across the street from R. House, which, with developer Seawall, owns Greedy Reads' new space.

Owner Julia Fleischaker, who is a former director of marketing and publicity at Melville House and publicity director at Penguin Group, called Remington "such a vibrant community, and it just keeps becoming more of a draw."

The Greater Remington Improvement Association welcomed Fleischaker and Greedy Reads, saying, "Locally owned businesses are such an important part of the fabric of Remington, and Greedy Reads will be an excellent addition to our growing community. Greedy Reads will make Remington a destination for bibliophiles all across the city."

Book clubs and author events will continue in the Fells Point location and Greedy Reads will have a new roster of programming for the Remington location. "This new space is larger than my first, and so the opportunities for events are also expanded," Fleischaker noted. "My head is swimming with ideas, and I'm excited to hear ideas from the community as well."

Like the Fells Point location, Greedy Reads Remington will stock new releases--fiction and nonfiction, young adult and children's--along with a selection of older titles and classics, and gifts and magazines. Bookstore dog Audie will retain her title of director of marketing and split her time between the two stores.

"I'm so grateful for the local support I've received since announcing the first opening, and that continues to this day," Fleischaker said. "I've definitely learned that the City that Reads really, really loves to read!"

The new Greedy Reads, which should open in time for the holiday season, will be located at 320 W. 29th Street in Remington.


Highlights Press:  The Ultimate Science Cookbook for Kids: 75+ Edible Experiments created by Highlights


Fabled Bookshop & Café in Waco, Tex., Opens

Fabled Bookshop & Café hosted its soft opening over the weekend at 215 S. Fourth St. in Waco, Tex. The Tribune-Herald reported that "Fabled is a true story starring Waco natives Alison Frenzel and Kimberly Batson, who announced nearly two years ago their designs on opening a reading, browsing and coffee-drinking getaway downtown, an oasis in the bustle of construction and progress engulfing the city's center." A more formal unveiling is scheduled for this week.

The 6,500-square-foot renovated space is stocked "with titles that locals would find appealing. What they may lack in volume, they hope to make up for with merchandise targeting an audience," the Tribune-Herald noted.

"We're starting with 13,000, have room for at least 20,000, and probably will add 2,000 more in the near term," Frenzel said. "We've examined book lists on school websites, sent e-mails to our Fabled Fellows, local reading enthusiasts who follow us on Facebook, and we factored in our own reading joys. We have tried to include a discoverability factor."

Real estate agent Gregg Glime described the new bookstore as "a great win for downtown. It is one of the proudest projects I have had the opportunity to work on. It's a huge step in the right direction for our chicken-or-egg puzzle downtown. We need people living and working downtown. But we need entertainment, food and amenities to make this attractive. Which comes first?

"Kimberly and Alison deciding to place this in the middle of downtown is exactly what our city needs. Not only did they do a fabulous job on the build-out, design and implementation of the concept, but they are two local women who poured tons of time and energy into bringing this project to life. I truly believe this is a difference maker for downtown Waco."

Batson spoke with Waco Business News' Downtown Depot host Austin Meek about "the long journey from concept to construction, what bibliophiles can expect to see on the shelves, and why she's not afraid of Amazon."


BINC: Donate now and an anonymous comic retailer will match donations up to a total of $10,000.


Detroit's Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore to Reopen

The Shrine of the Black Madonna Bookstore and Cultural Center in Detroit, Mich., which closed in 2014, may reopen next summer, according to Detour Detroit.

Kandia Milton, a project coordinator and minister at the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1 of the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church, said, "We are in the process of working with architects to do a complete renovation of the facility. [It will be] less of a retail space and more of a place where the community can convene around cultural issues. Yes, we will still sell books and art, but the focus will be on community engagement."

Founded in 1970, the store sold books, clothing, art, and other cultural artifacts. It also hosted events, including book signings and lectures by African American scholars and writers.

For years, the store was self-sustaining and had been "an access point for African Americans to become more aware of our history, not just our slave history, but our total history and its significance, its impact on the world," Milton said.

"We sold books by authors who couldn't get into the major stores. The writers were those who wrote about issues that were important to our people. We were a self-sustaining entity. The church didn't have to support the store. It was really a holistic, one-stop shop for African culture."

The store began to have problems when it became easy to buy books and African art online, Milton observed.

There are Shrine of the Black Madonna bookstores in Atlanta and Houston.


Gottwals Books Flagship Store Moving

Gottwals Books, which opened its first used and new bookstore in 2007 and franchises nationwide as Walls of Books, is moving its original flagship store in Warner Robins, Ga., and has launched an IndieGoGo campaign seeking to raise $30,000 to help "create the best bookstore imaginable."

As the store put it, "We have a long list of awesome ideas for decoration along with new products we'd like to carry. We also want to fill the store with more books! There's an outdoor meeting space, plenty of parking, areas for seating inside and outside, and a whole lot more."

Rewards and perks range from $25 for a "Read, Grow, & Repeat" T-shirt and decal to a named section in the store and shopping sprees for up to $5,000.


G.L.O.W. - Galley Love of the Week
Be the first to have an advance copy!
State Champ
by Hilary Plum
GLOW: Bloomsbury: State Champ by Hilary Plum

In the revelatory State Champ, Angela, a receptionist at a reproductive health clinic, protests via hunger strike her boss's imprisonment for performing abortions that defied the state's heartbeat law. The story, told in diary entries, is perfect for fans of Henry Hoke's Open Throat and Rita Bullwinkel's Headshot: "It's an incredibly muscular narrative that challenges the novel form to do more with less," says Callie Garnett, editorial director of adult trade at Bloomsbury US. "Angela's an athlete, and she makes her body its own form of speech." That speech, poetic and galvanizing and impassioned, only grows stronger with Angela's deteriorating health and fraying ability to function. Hilary Plum, through this funny and furious narrator, throws bold punches in defense of reproductive rights and celebrates the commitment of those who uphold them. --Samantha Zaboski

(Bloomsbury, $26.99 hardcover, 9781639735433, May 13, 2025)

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Notes

Image of the Day: Happy 40th, Women & Children First!

Women & Children First, Chicago, Ill., threw a block party over the weekend to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Nearly 1,000 attendees enjoyed games, feminist crafts, drag queen story hour, live music, and food and drinks donated by local restaurants. Inside the store, W&CF had a scrapbook and a video with tributes to the store from authors like Ann Patchett. The store reported that sales for the day matched those of the height of the holiday season, with long lines all day.

The event included speeches by local politicians, co-founders Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon and co-owners Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck. Hollenback said, "The speeches all shared the theme of gratitude--for our staff, our neighborhood, our customers, our local authors, our sales reps, and our local organizers and politicians." In an emotional speech, Christophersen said, "It would be an endless occupation to thank everyone who has supported us over the years by name."
 
Hollenbeck ended her speech by saying, "On our window it says, 'Opened 1979. Opened today. Open forever.' Those words remain true because of our customers. You are our forever."

Pictured: (l.-r.) Sarah Hollenbeck, Lynn Mooney, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Linda Bubon, Ann Christophersen and State Representative Kelly Cassidy. (photo: Rebecca Russell)


Bookselling Dog: Boo at Galaxy Books

For a photo essay called "Workplace Pets to Know Around Vermont," Seven Days featured "hardworking pets worth visiting if you're in the vicinity," including Boo the bookselling dog at the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick.

His official job title is "Doorbell." Seven Days noted that "every time a new customer comes in the front door, Boo goes to let Andrea Jones, the bookshop's co-owner, know about it. He performs this service in exchange for a biscuit. Jones did not train him to do this. 'He trained me,' she said. On busy days with lots of customers, she has to break the biscuits up into little pieces. Boo is 'part golden retriever, part carpet,' according to Jones. He has a loyal fan base and is essentially unflappable. Galaxy Bookshop has a sign in the window that lets customers know when Boo is on duty; if a customer is afraid of dogs, he hangs out in the office. Otherwise, you can find Boo stretched out by the door or on his beanbag chair, or picking out dog-themed books for his occasional Staff Picks display."


Baker & Taylor Publisher Services to Distribute McSweeney's

Baker & Taylor Publisher Services has signed a full-service worldwide agreement with McSweeney's Literary Arts Fund to handle all of McSweeney's book and quarterly print offerings.

McSweeney's Literary Arts Fund is the independent nonprofit publishing company started by Dave Eggers in 1998 and located in San Francisco. Among its titles is the forthcoming book Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement, edited by Shelly Oria. It also publishes Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.


Media and Movies

Media Heat: Tatiana Schlossberg on CBS This Morning

Today:
Today Show: Tatiana Schlossberg, author of Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have (Grand Central, $28, 9781538747087).

Live with Kelly and Ryan: Vern Yip, author of Vern Yip's Vacation at Home: Design Ideas for Creating Your Everyday Getaway (Running Press, $27.50, 9780762464821).

Dr. Phil: Mike Bayer, author of Best Self: Be You, Only Better (Dey Street, $26.99, 9780062911735).

Tomorrow:
CBS This Morning: Sharon Risher, author of For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre (Chalice Press, $17.99, 9780827243231).

The View repeat: Dan Abrams, co-author of Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy (Hanover Square Press, $27.99, 9781335016447).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert repeat: Michael Ian Black, author of I'm Worried (Simon & Schuster, $17.99, 9781534415867).



Books & Authors

Awards: Art in Literature; New Zealand Book Industry

Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler--Five Painters and the Movement That Changed Modern Art by Mary Gabriel (Little, Brown) has won the 2019 Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award, sponsored by the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The judges called Ninth Street Women "a remarkable and inspiring story of the power of art and artists in shaping not just postwar America, but the future as well."

Gabriel will receive the award on October 19 at the Library of Virginia's annual Virginia Literary Awards Celebration.

---

The winners of the New Zealand Book Industry Awards, presented Friday in Auckland, were:

Nielsen Bookshop of the Year: Unity Books Auckland
Nielsen Publisher of the Year: Penguin Random House NZ
Sales Rep of the Year: Louise Crisp, South Island rep, Penguin Random House NZ
Marketing and Publicity Strategy of the Year: Allen & Unwin NZ, for Magnolia Kitchen
Young Publisher of the Year: Kimberley Davis, Allen & Unwin NZ
Young Bookseller of the Year: Surinam Reddy
Book Industry Innovation Award: WORD Christchurch Festival
Lifetime Achievement Award: Rob and Kaye Clarke, Paper Plus Coastlands


Top Library Recommended Titles for September

LibraryReads, the nationwide library staff-picks list, offers the top 10 September titles public library staff across the country love:

Favorite
Red at the Bone: A Novel by Jacqueline Woodson (Riverhead, $26, 9780525535270). "A rich, multigenerational weaving of two families, starting at Melody's coming-of-age party. She wears the dress her mother didn't get to wear because she was pregnant with Melody at the time. Alternating narration moves forward and backward in time, reflecting on family, desire, identity, and parenthood. For fans of Jesmyn Ward and Brit Bennett." --Julie Graham, Yakima Valley Libraries, Yakima Valley, Wash.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (Berkley, $15, 9781984805683). "Oxford student Annabelle is knee deep in the suffragette movement. The Duke is wary of supporting a cause not in the crown's best interest, but can't deny his attraction to Annabelle. A well-done version of the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story. Perfect for fans of Juliana Gray and Amanda Quick." --Amanda Brill, Rowan Public Library, Salisbury, N.C.

Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane (Morrow, $15.99, 9780062958464). "Aspiring writer Georgina, broke and a mess, gets a job at a bar owned by Lucas, whose heart she broke in high school. This fresh, funny story has just the right amount of sexual tension, and well-developed, relatable characters. A must-read for rom-com fans of Jane Green and Mary Kay Andrews." --Theresa Bond, Middlesex Public Library, Middlesex, N.J.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (Harper, $27.99, 9780062963673). "For siblings Danny and Maeve, the Dutch house is much more than a structure. It is the bones of their family, a symbol connected to love, loss, achievement, and abandonment. They are connected to this house all their lives, even after being flung out of it. For fans of Anne Tyler and Anna Quindlen." --Kelly Currie, Delphi Public Library, Delphi, Ind.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur, $26.99, 9781250204448). "In this new series, the introspective detective Matthew Venn of Devon and his team search for an itinerant worker's murderer. Connections emerge to Venn's estranged parents' religious community and his partner's workplace. A solid, almost cozy British mystery for fans of Kate Atkinson and Elly Griffiths." --Carol Melichar, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, Fla.

No Judgments by Meg Cabot (Morrow, $26.99, 9780062913579). "Bree moves to the Florida Keys after a devastating breakup. When a hurricane threatens to wipe out the town, she refuses to evacuate and scrambles to protect the pets her neighbors were forced to leave behind. I don't know if Little Bridge Island is a real place or not but it officially has a place in my heart. For contemporary romance fans [who] like Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne." --Amber Greenwood, Edgewood Public Library, Edgewood, Md.

The Secrets We Kept: A Novel by Lara Prescott (Knopf, $26.95, 9780525656159). "Inspired by a true story of Dr. Zhivago. Pasternak had finished his controversial novel and needed to get it out of Russia to be published. A CIA agent posing as a typist is trained by another female operative and the two work to save the Cold War masterpiece. For readers who enjoyed The Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews and Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan." --Mamie Ney, Auburn Public Library, Auburn, Mass.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (Atria, $27, 9781476749297). "Odie and company escape a sadistic boarding school and travel through Depression-era America, meeting angels, devils--and everyone in between--along the way. It's like Huck Finn and friends meet the Odyssey. For fans of Wiley Cash's This Dark Road to Mercy and Louise Erdrich's The Round House." --Lori Hench, Baltimore County Public Library, Baltimore, Md.

The Water Dancer: A Novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates (One World, $28, 9780399590597). "A gorgeous novel blending historical fiction and magical realism to create a powerful portrait of the people who made up the Underground Railroad. For readers who enjoyed Beloved by Toni Morrison and She Would Be King by Wayetu Moore." --Mara Bandy-Fass, Champaign Public Library, Champaign, Ill.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca (Berkley, $15, 9781984805386). "Emily has been through a rough patch and needs a new start. Where better to start than a small town that puts on a Ren Faire every year. At first she thinks it's silly, but a handsome pirate soon changes her mind. For fans of Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston." --Michelle Herring, Naperville Public Library, Naperville, Ill.


Book Review

Review: The World That We Knew

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman (Simon & Schuster, $27.99 hardcover, 384p., 9781501137570, September 24, 2019)

In 1941 Berlin, the Nazis are persecuting German Jews, and widow Hanni Kohn makes the terrible choice to send her 12-year-old daughter, Lea, to occupied France to try to protect her. With the help of Ettie, a rebellious daughter of a rabbi, Hanni secretly creates a golem, a mystical creature made of clay and other elements, who will stay with Lea and protect her when Hanni cannot. Alice Hoffman weaves a rich tapestry of the overlapping lives of these women, and those who love them, in her powerful novel, The World That We Knew.

Hoffman (The Rules of Magic;The Marriage of Opposites) begins her narrative with Hanni and the desperate steps she takes to save Lea, most notably creating Ava, the golem. But when Lea and Ava must leave Berlin, the focus shifts to their journey as they try to survive the war and care for one another. At a safe house in Paris, Lea meets a young man named Julien, whose fortunes will later overlap with Ettie's in surprising ways. Meanwhile, Ettie is in hiding after a harrowing escape attempt, determined to wreak vengeance on the Nazis for what they took from her. Hoffman explores her characters' motivations for their desperate actions: revenge, fear, a desperate survival instinct, loyalty and, ultimately, love.

Hoffman's narrative intertwines the stories of her principal three characters and several others, including Julien, whom Lea loves; Marianne, a young woman who worked for Julien's family; and the mysterious heron whom Ava enlists to carry messages between Lea and Julien. Appearing in only a few scenes, but never far away, is Azriel, the Angel of Death, whose sinister presence is felt but not often seen by the characters. Hoffman's particular brand of magical realism tugs at the veil between visible and invisible, showing the connections that bind the physical world to forces beyond human explanation or control. Much of this interplay relates to Ava and her continued existence. As a golem, she is not meant to survive after fulfilling her task to protect Lea, nor is she supposed to feel human emotions or think for herself. But the exigencies of war and Ava's experiences with Lea and other people bring about powerful changes in her, and Hoffman uses Ava's character to muse on what it truly means to be human.

Powerful and moving, Hoffman's novel winds between the streets of Paris and lonely country roads, swinging between unimaginable fear and torture and small, quiet acts of courageous kindness. The world may be shifting under Lea's and Ava's feet, but the universe Hoffman creates, though dark, is shot through with light and hope. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Alice Hoffman's powerful novel follows three brave women struggling to survive the darkness of World War II.


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