Shelf Awareness for Thursday, April 27, 2023


Quarry Books: Yes, Boys Can!: Inspiring Stories of Men Who Changed the World - He Can H.E.A.L. by Richard V Reeves and Jonathan Juravich, illustrated by Chris King

Simon & Schuster: Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers: Nightweaver by RM Gray

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers: The Meadowbrook Murders by Jessica Goodman

Overlook Press: Hotel Lucky Seven (Assassins) by Kotaro Isaka, translated by Brian Bergstrom

Quotation of the Day

'Not the Time to Be Complacent'

"Librarians are being harassed, threatened and fired. Whether it is a history of racial oppression in America or books on the human sexual experience, every person in this country has a right to find that information in their local library, unfettered by shame.

"I issue a challenge--do not be silent. Now is not the time to be complacent. The right to read freely is an American right. Let that be known."

--Peter Coyl, president of the Freedom to Read Foundation, accepting the Innovator's Award at the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony last Friday.

BINC: Your donation can help rebuild lives and businesses in Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and beyond. Donate Today!


News

Lofty Pigeon Books Landing in Brooklyn, N.Y.

A new all-ages bookstore called Lofty Pigeon Books is opening in Brooklyn, N.Y., this summer, Brownstoner reported. Co-owners and married couple Briana Parker and Davi Marra have signed a lease for a 1,200-square-foot store at 743 Church Ave. in Brooklyn's Kensington neighborhood. They're aiming for a soft opening in August followed by a grand opening block party in September.

Marra and Parker plan to stock around 5,000 books at opening and are currently putting together their initial orders with the help of an online survey asking community members what they'd like to read. Marra noted that the area is diverse, and he and Parker want everyone to feel represented on the shelves. They also plan for a "sizable" children's area, which will include seating and ample space for both playing and reading. And along with books, Lofty Pigeon will sell gift items like cards, stationery and puzzles. They plan on hosting literary events, open mics, storytimes, and book clubs.

"We want everyone to be able to come into the store and see works of literature that excite and interest them and represent them," Marra told Brownstoner.

Both Parker and Marra have experience working at independent bookstores and in fact met each other while working at the Corner Bookstore on New York City's Upper East Side in 2008. Marra started his bookselling career at Borders when he was 17 and most recently was a manager and book buyer for WORD Bookstores. Parker, meanwhile, went from Corner Bookstore to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she worked for a decade in the publications department and as a book editor.

While they've dreamed of opening a bookstore of their own for a long time, it was earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic that they decided to take the plunge. Parker recalled feeling she was "ready to double down," and they knew from the beginning they wanted to open a store in Kensington.

"We just knew that it's a very creative area, a place that is very community focused and that really supports local business, values local business, values community spaces, creative artistic pursuits, and we just wanted to be part of that, to tap into that and contribute to it," Parker told Brownstoner.

Marra and Parker will take over the space officially on Monday, May 1, and tomorrow they will launch a Kickstarter campaign to help get the bookstore up and running.


GLOW: Berkley Books: The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland


Let's Play Books Opening Second Location in Pa.

Let's Play's store in Emmaus.

On Independent Bookstore Day, Let's Play Books, Emmaus, Pa., will host a soft opening for its second location, The End: a bookstore, at 3055 Tilghman St. in Allentown. Earlier this year, owner Kirsten Hess had launched a fundraising campaign for the new store, which is "near the township's border with Allentown's West End, will feature new books for all ages along with author events," WFMZ reported. 

"I am beyond excited," Hess said. "We had been looking for a second location or a new location--a place that could fit everything that we wanted--for over four years. We knew in 2019 that we had to expand, and then Covid really threw everything through a loop."

Let's Play Books originated as a children's bookstore in 2013 at 379 Main St. In 2016, the business moved to its current spot at 244 Main St., adding a wide selection of adult books in the process. The Emmaus store "has books on all three floors, with the first floor featuring adult books, the second floor featuring children's books and the third floor featuring children's books and doubling as event space for book clubs, camps and other programming," WFMZ noted.

The Emmaus store is temporarily closed the week leading up to the End's soft opening, but will reopen April 29.

"[The business] is doing well," Hess said. "People still want to support independent bookstores. That's still happening. But with the footprint that we have now, even though it's almost 3,000 square feet, it's three floors, seven rooms and not conducive to author events with 30-40 people. It just doesn't do what we need it to do."

Let's Play Books' new store will feature more linear footage and a mix of books that will be about 30% children's and 70% adult, Hess added. "They're each going to be very unique. So, you'll be able to pick which [store] works better for you."


Re-opening Celebration Set for Paperbacks Ink, Newport News, Va.

Paperbacks Ink, a used and new bookstore/coffee shop in the Hilton Village neighborhood of Newport News, Va., will host a grand re-opening celebration this weekend, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Independent Bookstore Day. The Peninsula Chronicle reported that Tikesha Williams bought the bookstore last November from Tara Brandt, whose husband was retiring from the Air Force, leading them to leave the area. Williams has been making changes to the bookstore since the purchase, including the addition of more new books inventory.

"I always wanted to own a bookstore," Williams told WHRO, adding that her shop provides recourse for those readers who feel left behind by online shopping and big box stores. She recently asked a man in her store why he decided to shop at Paperbacks Ink rather than order online. 

"He said that he liked the hunt of the book," she noted. "It was more fun for him to go to different places and try to find it. So he started with our store and we didn't have it. And he had plans on going to the other bookstores. His last resort would be to try to order it online or go to a big-box store to get it."

Paperbacks Ink is taking part in the first Hampton Roads Bookstore Crawl, which started Sunday and wraps up in time for Independent Bookstore Day. Eleven local indie bookstores are participating to spread the word about what they bring to Hampton Roads.


Obituary Note: Christine Baker

Christine Baker, editor at French children's publisher Gallimard Jeunesse, died April 20, the Bookseller reported. In an announcement expressing "great sadness" at her death, Antoine Gallimard, CEO Hedwige Pasquet and the Gallimard Jeunesse team described Baker as "an indefatigable and striking presence in children's publishing on both sides of the Channel."

Born in Sens, France, Baker studied French literature and worked as a Parisian bookseller before arriving at the Children's Book Centre in London. She married Robin Baker, the bookshop's manager, in 1977 and settled in London to raise their two daughters, the Bookseller wrote. She joined Gallimard Jeunesse during its launch in 1978, working with publisher Pierre Marchand and, later, with the current CEO Hedwige Pasquet.

Gallimard Jeunesse commented: "For 44 years she championed the best writing, the greatest authors and the finest illustrators in children's literature: in her role as London-based editorial director for Gallimard Jeunesse, she discovered, and introduced to French readers, authors including J.K. Rowling, Philip Pullman, Michael Morpurgo and Julia Donaldson, and illustrators including Sir Quentin Blake and Axel Scheffler.

"Always guided by a quest for excellence and innovation, Christine tirelessly developed and expanded the Gallimard Jeunesse list, creating unique cultural diversity across both fiction and non-fiction for all ages, shaping the minds of generations of French children. Her role as a bridge between two cultures and languages, English and French, was unique and irreplaceable. Many of us in both the English- and French-language book industries have lost a colleague, a friend, a remarkable person, and an inspiration."


Notes

Image of the Day: 70th Anniversary of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award

The 2023 Jane Addams Children's Book Award winners gathered at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago to celebrate the awards' 70th anniversary, along with the 150th anniversary of the Chicago Public Library. Pictured: (l.-r.) Janelle Washington, illustrator of Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement (Roaring Brook Press), winner in the Books for Younger Children category; Aya de León, author of Undercover Latina (Candlewick), winner in the Books for Older Children category; Angela Joy, author of Choosing Brave; Laura Freeman, illustrator of Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-Lynching Civil Rights Leader (Godwin Books), honor book in the Books for Younger Children category; Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells and author of Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth; Josefa Bustos Pelayo, chair of the 2023 Children's Book Award selection committee.

The full list of winners and honorees can be seen here.


IBD Spirit Week: #OnWednesdaysWeWearBookstoreShirts

Independent Bookstore Day Spirit Week continued yesterday with #OnWednesdaysWeWearBookstoreShirts. Among the booksellers participating:

The Novel Neighbor: "We've never met an indie we didn't love."

The Novel Neighbor, St. Louis, Mo.: "We are celebrating our love of fellow Indie Bookstores!... Today, we're sharing love for some other indie bookstores near and far! We've never met an indie we didn't love--here are just a few sweatshirts, T-shirts, and bags we've picked up over our travels! Wherever you are, shopping indie puts money back into your local economy, brings authors to your community, and supports your friendly local booksellers (who know ALL the good books). Wear an indie bookstore shirt and tag us--we'll reshare! What's another indie that YOU love?! Let us know.

Bards Alley Bookshop, Vienna, Va.: "It's THREE DAYS until Indie Bookstore Day, and we're wearing our bookstore shirts this Wednesday for spirit week!"

At Once Upon A Time

Once Upon a Time Bookstore, Montrose, Calif.: "Celebrate all independent bookstores fighting the good fight together! Iz is wearing a Books Are Magic shirt and Jessica is wearing a Brain Lair Books shirt because booksellers love to support other indie bookstores. We hope to see you in YOUR bookstore shirts! Tag us in your photos and join us for the party this Saturday!"

Brain Lair Books, South Bend, Ind.: "It's Independent Bookstore Day Spirit Week...⁠. It's Bookstore Shirt Day!⁠ Post a pic of you with an independent bookstore shirt and you could win a $10 gift card to Brain Lair Books. If you have a Brain Lair Books shirt--you could get an extra $5!⁠"

Theodore's Books, Oyster Bay, N.Y.: "We're positively psyched for this Saturday's Independent Bookstore Day! Our booksellers are ready to talk books, serve wine, and play music!"

Bel Canto Books, Long Beach, Calif.: "On Wednesday, we wear our bookstore tee! Happy @indiebookstoreday Spirit Week! Today we invite you to wear your favorite bookstore’s T-shirt to show off your #bookstorelove!.... Happy indie bookstore repping!"

IBD swag at Sweet Home Bookstore

Sweet Home Bookstore, Wetumpka, Ala.: "NEW SHIRT ALERT!! This is a independent Bookstore Day exclusive release--with very limited stock. We have Pink and Green colors of this shirt available. Make sure to stop by Saturday to get one along with lots of other exclusive items!"

Ferguson Books, Bismarck, N.Dak.: "BOOKSTORE SHIRT DAY! Any bookstore shirt will do, but bonus points for it to be Fergusons! Each day leading up to Indie Bookstore Day this coming Saturday, we have a theme!! If you participate and show an employee your apparel, you get a FREE ARC (Advanced Reading Copy)!!! Be the one to read that future bestseller before everyone else!!"

Dragon Tale Books, Menomonie, Wis.: "Wednesdays we wear bookstore shirts. Tomorrow is dress as your favorite book character. Does anyone have a Jane Austen type dress I could borrow?"


Bookshop Marriage Proposal: Gramercy Books

"LOVE belongs in the BOOKSTORE!" Gramercy Books, Bexley, posted on Facebook along with pics from a recent marriage proposal at the shop. "Jonathan popped the big question at Gramercy Books... and Anna SAID YES! When they asked us if they could come back to take engagement photos at Gramercy, WE SAID YES. Check out this behind-the-scene picture we snapped AND the GORGEOUS finished photos from Amy Ann Photography! Please join us in wishing Anna + Jonathan ALL the best in their future together!"


Personnel Changes at Macmillan

At Macmillan:

Emma Skeels has joined the central marketing team as manager, digital marketing strategy.

Ansley Kent has been promoted to associate national account manager in the children's sales department.



Media and Movies

Media Heat: Questlove and S.A. Cosby on Tonight

Today:
Here & Now: Will Sommer, author of Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America (Harper, $29.99, 9780063114487).

Tomorrow:
Tamron Hall: Michelle Figueroa, author of A Good Thing Happened Today (HarperCollins, $17.99, 9780063142312).

Tonight Show: Questlove and S.A. Cosby, authors of The Rhythm of Time (Putnam, $18.99, 9780593354063).


This Weekend on Book TV: Aubrey Gordon

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, April 29
5:30 p.m. Jordan E. Taylor, author of Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America (Johns Hopkins University Press, $40, 9781421444499). (Re-airs Sunday at 5:30 a.m.)

Sunday, April 30
8 a.m. David McCormick, author of Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America (‎Center Street, $29, 9781546001959). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

8:55 a.m. Aubrey Gordon, author of "You Just Need to Lose Weight": And 19 Other Myths About Fat People (Beacon Press, $15.95, 9780807006474). (Re-airs Sunday at 8:55 p.m.)

10 a.m. Ava Chin, author of Mott Street: A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming (Penguin Press, $29, 9780525557371). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

3:30 p.m. Phil Rucker, co-author of I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year (‎Penguin Press, $30, 9780593298947).

5:05 p.m. Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening (Harper, $40, 9780063212916).

7:30 p.m. Max Miller, co-author of Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes (Simon Element, $30, 9781982186180).


Books & Authors

Awards: Stella Winner; RBC Bronwen Wallace Finalists

The Jaguar by Sarah Holland-Batt has won the A$60,000 (about US$39,670) 2023 Stella Prize, which celebrates Australian women's writing.

Concerning the winning title, a poetry collection about Holland-Batt's father's worsening Parkinson's Disease, chair of judges Alice Pung said, "In The Jaguar, Sarah Holland-Batt writes about death as tenderly as we've ever read about birth. She focuses on the pedestrian details of hospitals and aged care facilities, enabling us to see these institutions as distinct universes teeming with life and love. Her imagery is unexpected and unforgettable, and often blended with humour. This is a book that cuts through to the core of what it means to descend into frailty, old age, and death. It unflinchingly observes the complex emotions of caring for loved ones, contending with our own mortality and above all--continuing to live."

---

The Writers' Trust of Canada has named six finalists for the 2023 RBC Bronwen Wallace Awards for Emerging Writers, which is presented to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has been published in an independently edited literary magazine or anthology, but is unpublished in book form and without a book contract. 

Winners in two categories, poetry and short fiction, will each receive C$10,000 (about US$7,340) at an event in Toronto on June 1. Finalists get C$2,500 (about US$1,835). This year's finalists can be found here.


IndieBound: Other Indie Favorites

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
Community Board: A Novel by Tara Conklin (Mariner, $30, 9780062959379). "This is a totally unique story about finding your community--whether that's a couple people you meet or a whole town. It is laugh out loud funny and completely relatable. Highly recommended for those looking for a delightful and funny read." --Kristen Beverly, Half Price Books, Dallas, Tex.

A Living Remedy: A Memoir by Nicole Chung (Ecco, $29.99, 9780063031616). "A heartbreaking, yet deeply loving memoir about the complexities of healthcare inequality. Chung draws on her experiences in her white adoptive family to understand how inequalities perpetuate distance and divisiveness." --Erin Pastore, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, N.H.

Paperback
Blue Hour: A Novel by Tiffany Clarke Harrison (Soft Skull, $15.95, 9781593767495). "Blue Hour is a raw and unflinching look at Black motherhood in America. Tiffany Clarke Harrison's almost stream of consciousness writing style is reminiscent of Natasha Brown and Jenny Offill, making it quick but packing a punch." --Lizzy Rolando, Salmonberry Books, Port Orchard, Wash.

For Ages 3 to 7
100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle, illus. by Lian Cho (Dial, $19.99, 9780525555445). "Everything David LaRochelle publishes is pure gold--but this! This could be the funniest, most charming, most captivating counting book ever! I laughed out loud, I got a little worried, and I cheered at the end." --Kathy Adams, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, Minn.

For Ages 10+
Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef (Simon & Schuster, $18.99, 9781665928502). "With a mixture of Persian fairy tales, mystery, magic, friendship, grief, and a pinch of romance, Monsef explores fantasy in a way that is grounding and entertaining. Perfect for fans of fractured fairy tales and mythical creatures." --Emma Butler, The Briar Patch, Bangor, Maine

For Teen Readers
Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust: A Young Reader's Edition by Hédi Fried, trans. by Alice E. Olsson, illus. by Laila Ekboir (Scribble US, $18.95, 9781957363233). "Hédi Fried gives an eyewitness and direct account of her experiences during the Holocaust. She answers the most frequently asked questions she has received over the years on her quest to educate so that generations to come do not hate." --Linda Bakersmith, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]


Book Review

Review: Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire

Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire by Clare Frank (Abrams Press, $27 hardcover, 336p., 9781419763908, May 23, 2023)

Clare Frank's Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire is a heart-racing, heartfelt story that will make readers laugh, cry, and consider what matters most in life. The author is an indomitable character, from self-supporting teen through a decades-long career in California firefighting (beginning in 1982, when women were few and generally viewed askance), with impressive achievements in her career and personal life. Frank's memoir is packed not only with adrenaline but with sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and creativity. Beware the impulse to race through these 300-plus pages in a single sitting.

After talking her unorthodox parents into emancipating her at 16, Frank becomes a firefighter at 17 (faced with an age requirement of 18, she simply leaves her birthdate blank on the employment form). Despite being "the youngest, shortest, and lightest person in an academy for the brawniest of professions," she is indefatigable: stubborn, hardworking, short-fused, and tenacious, earning nicknames like Flipper, Tiger, and Poindexter--as well as degrees in fire administration, law, and creative writing--along the way. Frank rises through the firefighting ranks in her 33-year career (with a five-year doctor-mandated medical break), finishing with the lofty position of State Chief of Fire Protection, six ranks above captain, the highest she once thought she would be willing to attain. She works on structure fires and wildfires, in small firehouses and large ones, in the field and in positions of leadership, on labor and legal issues, prevention, forestry, and more, across the behemoth California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, aka Cal Fire (the largest fire department in the state).

While she does meditate on firefighting's gender issues, her response to the question for much of her career is encapsulated in an anecdote: "While I pulled hose through tangled manzanita, the reporter jammed a microphone in my face and yelled, 'What's it feel like to be a female on the line?' I yelled back, 'The same as it feels for the guys, except I have chee-chees.' " She hoped that if she ignored what made her different, everyone else would as well--a strategy that worked frequently but not always.

Frank is a renegade overachiever in all areas: athletic, career, and (after a late return to the classroom) academic. Her writing is not merely serviceable, but thoughtfully constructed; her memoir's sections are labeled for stages of fire development: ignition, sustained heat, free burn, growth, full development, and decay. Fire is present in every aspect of Frank's life and work, including writing, but this always feels natural rather than effortful. By the end of this memorable book, readers will reconsider fire policy as well as family, risk, and hard work. With thrilling momentum and a heat of its own, Burnt is a sensation and an inspiration. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia

Shelf Talker: This exceptional memoir shows wide emotional range in spanning the complexities of firefighting and fire prevention in California and the American West, gender issues, family, work, love, and loss.


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