Hello and welcome to the surprise darkening—that day when the 'tubes failed. The sun is out; ducks and bunnies are frolicking in the fields. But in the bookstore, there is nothing but dusty air in the cables. We shall have to handwrite this week's newsletter on greeting cards and mail them individually to you. Perhaps we should have gone into the wood with Hodge & Podge.
Regardless, there are still new books this week. Publishing does not care about our local internet troubles. New titles are softly mewling on the shelves, crying out to be adopted and loved. It does not matter that we are cut off from #booktok or #indiebookstoreluv, we persist in our sacred duty of shepherding books.
And speaking of how to pass the time in the dark when you have to read by the dim light that manages to sneak in through the windows, here is Billy Abbott's The Philosophy of Whisky. We spent some time last week gushing over cookbooks, and it only seems fair that we devote a little attention to libations this week. In Abbott's case, he takes a journey around the world, stopping here and there to talk about the four key ingredients of a good glass—grain, wood, yeast, and time. It's a fun little primer!
And here is Bourbon is My Comfort Food, a marvelous edition of updated cocktails by Heather Wibbels and the Bourbon Women organization. We were sold on the cover alone, because some days it is a "why yes, I'll have a creamsicle and some chocolate with my bourbon, thank you very much" sort of day.
And if you're not sure what kind of day it is, how about Margarita in Retrograde: Cocktails for Every Sign. Vanessa Li and Bowen Goh, co-owners of Mood Ring in NYC, which has a rotating cocktail menu that is, wait for it, astrologically themed. Hey, you don't have to decide what sort of mood you are in. You can simply slide up to the counter and say, "Hey, I'm a Pisces."
And speaking of fish, here is Liv Albert's and Thea Engst's Nectar of the Gods. Seventy-five mythical cocktails. Reading about myths is fun, but it's even more fun when you have a beverage in your hand!
And speaking of ranging far and wide from the comfort of your own chair, we've got copies of the new Hedonist Guides to Stunning Iceland and Magical Venice.
Oh my. These are delightful. Filled with spectacular photography and designed in a minimalist way that makes reading a joy. Charts! Maps! Pictures of furry creatures in the snow! Canals! Glass blowing! Let the traveling commence!
Meanwhile, in a slightly spookier direction, here is Sam Knight's The Premonitions Bureau: A True Account of Death Foretold. Now, back in the day, two fellows opened up a service they called "The Premonitions Bureau" and asked folks to call up when they had an especially creepy and prescient dream. Over the next fifteen months, they received more than 700 calls. About twenty of them turned out to be accurate.
Twenty is more than zero, which makes the whole thing sort of . . . wha? Premonitions can't be true, but . . . yet . . . how can this . . . ? Knight approaches the whole thing with a healthy skepticism, but at the same time, he writes like a true believer, which is exactly how a riveting non-fiction narrative should be.
And speaking of enthralling non-fiction, Sy Montgomery is back with The Hawk's Way: Encounters With Fierce Beauty. Now, we totally got sucked in with Montgomery's previous love affair with the octopus, and The Hawk's Way has that same sort of wonder and rapture to it. It's such a delightful read.
And speaking of delightful reading, here is Trees, a collection of writing and paintings by Herman Hesse. Imagine Thoreau and Bob Ross collaborating on a book about all those pretty little trees. It's a perfect little tome to take with you when you go on a perambule.
And speaking of books to read while sitting under a tree and contemplating the universe, here is John Higgs's William Blake vs. the World. Blake was a capital-R Romantic, and while some of his later views haven't aged all that well, his early thoughts on the value of the imagination and its power to save us from our "mind-forg'd manacles" are still bright points of light in the history of creativity and art.
And speaking of imaginative flights of thought, here is Kelly Barnhill's When Women Were Dragons, which begins with the Great Dragoning of 1955, when all the housewives threw off their aprons and transformed into dragons. Well, not all of them, and we do not speak of the ones who remained human. Until, that is, a daughter asks "Why?" And therein lies the crux of it as Barnhill explores rage, memory, and the tyranny of forced limitations. This one is a fierce one, and much deserving of your attention.
And speaking of fierce reads, Seanan McGuire is back this week with Seasonal Fears, a sorta follow-up to the alchemically complex Middlegame from a few years ago. This time around, we follow Mel and Harry, who were perfect high school sweethearts until Mel dies on the football field right before the Valentine's Day dance. Harry doesn't have time to grieve because Jack Frost reanimates Mel and tells the pair that they are candidates for the Queen of Winter and the King of Summer. That is, of course, if they survive the cross-country trip to their coronation . . .
McGuire is known for her deep world-building and marvelous characters, and Seasonal Fears is another fabulous read. Highly Recommended!
And finally, here is Emily Henry's latest, Book Lovers. It's the story of Nora and Charlie, who are both professionals in the book industry and who are both determined not to like each other. Naturally, after many sessions of flirty banter and awkward interactions, they come to realize that all of that frisson between them is actually chemistry! Huzzah!
Look. We know you've been devouring People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read, Henry's previous novels. Don't pretend you're not on your way to the store to get a copy of Book Lovers.
And hopefully the 'tubes will be back by the time you arrive . . .
