New This Week

Updates from Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store offers contactless curbside pickup for your online and phone orders, and we are open for shopping Monday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm. However you choose to shop, come browse our virtual "front tables" with this week's new arrivals, including the latest new releases in fiction, nonfiction, scholarly, new paperbacks, and kids & young adult. Thank you for supporting Harvard Book Store!

Tonight: The Butterfly Lampshade

TONIGHT: Tue, Aug 11, 2020 at 7PM ET

Harvard Book Store's virtual event series welcomes Aimee Bender—author of the bestselling story collection The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and the novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake—for a discussion of her latest, highly anticipated novel The Butterfly Lampshade. She will be joined in conversation by Kelly Luce, author of the acclaimed novel Pull Me Under. Learn more and register here.

"The Butterfly Lampshade by Aimee Bender is the luminously written story of Francie, who as a young child witnessed her mother’s psychological deterioration and eventual psychotic break, and who as a young adult is questioning her own tenuous relationship to reality. With compassion and insight Bender explores the complicated web of fears, compulsions, coping mechanisms and love that might result from early psychological scars, and remarkably, she leaves us with hope. A beautiful, quiet little book that packs a powerful punch." —Linda S., Harvard Book Store

Can't watch tonight? Explore our virtual event video archive.

Featured New Releases

This week in New Fiction & Poetry we have the new novels Zo by Xander Miller—set in Haiti, a breathtaking love story and a story of hope in the face of disaster; The New Wilderness by Diane Cook—a daring and imaginative debut novel that explores a moving mother-daughter relationship in a world ravaged by climate change and overpopulation; and A Traveler at the Gates of Wisdom by John Boyne—a story that plays out across two millennia of human history.

Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy, praises Shruti Swamy's new story collection, “A House Is a Body will not simply be talked about as one of the greatest short story collections of the 2020s; it will change the way all stories—short and long—are told, written, and consumed. There is nothing, no emotion, no tiny morsel of memory, no touch, that this book does not take seriously. Yet, A House Is a Body might be the most fun I’ve ever had in a short story collection.” And Finna is a new poetry collection by Nate Marshall celebrating the Black vernacular, which "catalyzes a necessary conversation about Black language practices, culture, ownership, and belonging, and the commodification of Black people’s tongues" (Eve L. Ewing, author of Electric Arches and 1919).

Just a few of the New Nonfiction titles this week are OK Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind by journalist Jill Filipovic, breaking down the massive problems facing Millennials including climate, money, housing, and healthcare; Making Sense: Conversations on Consciousness, Morality, and the Future of Humanity by Sam Harris—from the bestselling author of Waking Up and The End of Faith, an adaptation of his wildly popular, often controversial podcast; Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Ariel Sabar—the gripping true story of a sensational religious forgery and the scandal that shook Harvard; and Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women by Kate Manne, "among the greatest political philosophers of her generation” (Laurie Penny).

In new Scholarly titles we have Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age by James L. Nolan—an unflinching examination of the moral and professional dilemmas faced by physicians who took part in the Manhattan Project; Tyranny of Greed: Trump, Corruption, and the Revolution to Come by Timothy K. Kuhner—taking readers on a tour through evolutionary biology, psychology, and biblical sources, an exploration of how democracy emerged from religious and revolutionary awakenings; and more.

Upcoming Virtual Events

THIS WEEK: Wed, Aug 12, 2020 at 7PM ET

Harvard Book Store welcomes beloved local novelist Margot Livesey—author of eight novels, including The Flight of Gemma Hardy and Mercury—for a discussion of her latest novel, The Boy in the Field. She will be joined in conversation by Alice McDermott, author of the acclaimed novels The Ninth Hour and the National Book Award–winning Charming Billy. Learn more and register here.

THIS WEEK: Thu, Aug 13, 2020 at 7PM ET

Harvard Book Store welcomes celebrated writer Erik Larson—author of the bestselling, National Book Award–nominated The Devil in the White City—for a discussion of his latest book, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. He will be joined in conversation by noted historian Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–nominated Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War.

Ticketing: In lieu of our traditional ticketing at this time, we ask that you pay what you can to support our virtual event series and this indie bookstore. We recommend a $5 contribution. Learn more and register here.

THIS WEEK: Fri, Aug 14, 2020 at 7PM ET

Harvard Book Store's virtual event series and the Frederick Historical Piano Collection welcome acclaimed writer, photographer, and lecturer Annik LaFarge—author of On the High Line: Exploring America's Most Original Urban Park—for a discussion of her latest book, Chasing Chopin: A Musical Journey Across Three Centuries, Four Countries, and a Half-Dozen Revolutions. She will be joined in conversation by celebrated novelist Marisa Silver. During the conversation, Annik will share a short video featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Eric Clark performing at the First International Chopin Competition on a period instrument in Warsaw. Learn more and register here.

NEXT WEEK: Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 7PM ET

Harvard Book Store's virtual event series welcomes historian Victoria de Grazia—Moore Collegiate Professor of History at Columbia University and author of How Fascism Ruled Women—for a discussion of her latest book, The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s Italy. She will be joined in conversation by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University and author of the forthcoming Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present. Learn more and register here.