The week before the week before Christmas is a weird time in bookselling land. It’s too late for holiday books (if you haven’t started thinking about holiday party prep, you’re not going to think about holiday party prep), and it’s not quite that time of “OMG! I FORGOT TO BUY PRESENTS!” And publishing knows that we’re all trying to restock those hot titles for one more chance at making someone’s day before Christmas, which means they’re all thinking about January, when folks roll in with their Xmas Cash and are looking for new things.
All of which is to say, what’s coming out this week are books eighteen volumes deep in a manga series, paperback reissues of books no one is quite sure there is an audience for, books that publishers are contractually obligated to shove out the door, and weird things no one is quite sure how to market.
Not even James Patterson has a book out this week.
Which is just as well, frankly, because someone we know was honored as part of James Patterson’s Holiday Bookseller Bonus Program, and well . . .
Oh, wait. We just checked in with Mark and he says, “I am flattered by this acknowledgment of the immense power I wield as a bookseller, and I promise to maintain the same enthusiasm and attention to detail that this newsletter has always provided, regardless of the gold stars thrown in my direction by industry-leading authors.”
Still, wise on Patterson’s part to not make this awkward. Thanks, James!
Oh look! Here’s a new book about relationships. Eli Rallo, a social media superstar, has written I Didn’t Know I Needed This: The New Rules for Flirting, Feeling, and Finding Yourself. We, ah, didn’t know there were new rules, which might explain a lot. Also, we’re pretty sure James Patterson picked names out of a hat, and so we’re not going to—
Anyway, with every new social media app comes new media rules, and thank goodness Rallo is here to help us navigate them.
And speaking of navigating new terrains, here is the latest Ultimate Field Guide for those intrepid explorers in your house. The Ultimate Dragon Field Guild is perfect for when you’ve finished Fourth Wing or His Majesty’s Dragon and you think to yourself: “Man, if I could just find a dragon . . .” Tips on how dragons make fire; how their scales are overlapped; how some dragons utilize camouflage to stalk prey; and what kind of snacks most dragons like. Handy!
And speaking of fantastic creatures, David Day has a new Tolkien-adjacent book out. The Illustrated World of Tolkien: The Second Age wades into the deep ocean of Tolkien backstory, and this volume is filled with hundreds of illustrations and insights about the inspiration for Tolkien’s monumental epic.
If your daily thoughts tend more towards “oh, man, is that plant dead?” than “where are all the dragons?”, then Veronica Peerless’s How Not to Kill Your Houseplants is probably the book you’re looking for. This book is much like Rallo’s book mentioned above: it’s a guide you didn’t know you needed, but now that we’ve mentioned it, yes, it might be helpful. You’re welcome.
Also, other things you didn’t know you needed . . .
Pretty, aren’t they? Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate (books 2 and 3 of The Expanse) are getting the painted edges treatment, along with stylized cover art updates. Plan accordingly.
And what’s Christmas without a kids’ edition of a Cthulhu story? Norm Konyu’s A Call to Cthulhu is a delightfully illustrated art book / graphic novel / kids’ storybook about what happens when an Elder God gets a phone call in the midle of the night from an unknown caller. It’s a delightful introductory riff to the Mythos, and an eye-catching way to introduce cosmic horror to your little ones. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Meanwhile, Katie Oliver is here with Cyanide and Sensibility, a cozy Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery. It has nods to Jane Austen; it has baked goods; it has murder. All the ingredients for a delightful read while wearing fuzzy socks and sipping hot cocoa.
And speaking of death and hot chocolate, here is Annelise Ryan’s Death in the Dark Woods, a story about a bookstore, a cryptid hunter, and murder! The second book in Ryan’s Monster Hunter Mystery series, Death in the Dark Woods takes all the best parts of the cozy murder genre and shoves them (gently!) across the aisle to the horror section. Recommended.
And finally, here is Anthony Grafton’s Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa. As the title says, it’s a historical exploration of that learned mystic: the magus—a figure which Grafton argues was a distinct intellectual type, an individual obsessed with art, philosophy, natural sciences, and other esoteric studies. Marsilio Ficino! Pico della Mirandola! And let’s not forget Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa! These guys were the rock stars of the Renaissance. If there were weeds to get lost in, these are the guys you’d find out there already.
And speaking of charting paths, don’t forget to remember how to get home again. Look to the skies now and again. Read the patterns in the flocks of birds scudding across the sky. Listen to the chirps and howls and raka-kaka-kaka noises. And don’t forget to pack a pocket book. Just in case you have to wait for a train.
