It's our Annual Holiday Book Show, a little earlier than usual given the pandemic’s impact on both the book industry and how people shop. We ask independent booksellers how they’re approaching both in-person and online sales this holiday season. And of course we find out what books they recommend for inspiration or a little escape from reality! How has your reading changed this year? What books are on your list - either for gifting or for reading this winter?
Airdate: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020
GUESTS:
- Dan Chartrand - Water Street Bookstore in Exeter.
- Michael Herrmann - Gibson's Bookstore in Concord.
- Benjamin Pasley - Bookery Manchester.
Scroll down for Top Ten lists and recommendations. All the books mentioned during the show will be added.
Recommendations from Gibson's Bookstore
Fiction
The Cold Millions – Jess Walter
Piranesi—Susannah Clarke
Snow—John Banville
Hamnet—Maggie O’Farrell
Betty—Tiffany McDaniel
Once & Future Witches—Alix Harlow
House in the Cerulean Sea—TJ Klune
Cuyahoga—Pete Beatty
Wrong Kind of Woman—Sarah Crow
Invisible Life of Addie Larue—V.E. Schwab
Thursday Murder Club—Richard Osman
Hench—Natalie Zina Walschots
Deacon King Kong—James McBride
True Story—Kate Reed Petty
You Found Me – Virginia MacGregor
Plain Bad Heroines—Emily Danforth
History/biography
Promised Land—Barack Obama
His Truth is Marching On—Jon Meacham
Reaganland—Rick Perlstein
Union—Colin Woodard
We Keep the Dead Close—Becky Cooper
Memorial Drive—Natasha Trethewey
Greatest Beer Run Ever—Chick Donohue
History/biography
Promised Land—Barack Obama
His Truth is Marching On—Jon Meacham
Reaganland—Rick Perlstein
Union—Colin Woodard
We Keep the Dead Close—Becky Cooper
Memorial Drive—Natasha Trethewey
Greatest Beer Run Ever—Chick Donohue
Current Affairs
Apollo’s Arrow: the profound and enduring impact of coronavirus on the way we live—Nicholas Christakis
Cooking
Parwana: Recipes and Stories from an Afghan Kitchen—Durkhanai Ayubi
Ottolenghi Flavor—Yotam Ottolenghi
Dirt -- Bill Buford
Music
She Come by it Natural (Dolly Parton) – Sarah Smarsh
And in the End: the last days of the Beatles—Ken McNab
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music—Alex Ross
Sports
One Life--Megan Rapinoe
Dynasty—Jeff Benedict
Ballpark – Paul Goldberger
Humor
Stranger Planet—Nathan Pyle
Men to Avoid in Art and Life—Nicole Tersigni
Nature
Vesper Flights—Helen MacDonald
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants—Robin Wall Kimmerer
Poetry – recommending works by the US and NH poet laureates, Joy Harjo and Alexandria Peary
New Anti-racism texts—studies of foundational figures in black writing and activism
The Dead Are Arising (Malcolm X) – Les Payne
Begin Again (James Baldwin)—Eddie Glaude
Science
Nose Dive—Harold McGee
Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another—Ainissa Ramirez
Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art—Rebecca Sykes
Art
Wolf Kahn: Paintings & Pastels, 2010-2020
For the whole family
History of the World in 1000 Objects--DK
Young Adult
Punching the Air - Ibi Zoboi and Usef Salaam
Legendborn - Tracy Deonn
Middle Grades
The Unadoptables - Hana Tooke
Younger kids
Cozy - by Jan Brett
Recommendations from Water Street Bookstore
Fiction
Leave the World Behind: A Novel by Rumaan Alam
Cuyahoga: A Novel by Pete Beatty
Beneficence: A Novel by Meredith Hall
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
Monogamy: A Novel by Sue Miller
Jack by Marilyn Robinson
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab
One by One by Ruth Ware
Memorial: A Novel by Bryan Washington
Non-Fiction
Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault
Catch the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Liberal Hour 1932-1975 by Neal Gabler
The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich
A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (and Some Bears) by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling
The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design by Roman Mars and Kurt Kolstedt
1774: The Long Year of Revolution by Mary Beth Norton
First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country by Thomas E. Ricks
The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move by Sonia Shah
Entangle Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Recommendations from Bookery Manchester
The Dynasty by Jeff Benedict
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Luster by Raven Leilani
Leave the World Behind by Ruuman Alam
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Peaces Talks by Jim Butcher
Books Mentioned During the Show
Laura’s favorite book ever: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Natalie Portman's Fables
Jodi Picoult · The Book of Two Ways
Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer
A Time for Mercy - John Grisham
Trust - Pete Buttigieg
Wild Symphony - Dan Brown (children’s book)
City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
And The People Stayed Home - prose poem by Kitty O'Meara
Share Some Kindness and Bring Some Light - April Stock
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Masterclass on Writing, Reading and Life - George Saunders (Jan. 2021)
Beneficence - Meredith Hall
Listener recommendations
Chris in Hooksett: In terms of a reading recommendation, fiction: Florida Man by Tom Cooper, his second book. His first, The Marauders, also very good.
Sarah in Concord: I heard yesterday that Ty Gagne, author of “Where You’ll Find Me,” has written another book. I think “Where You’ll Find Me” was brilliant and plan to pick up the new one as a gift for all the hikers on my list. [Note that Ty Gagne will be on The Exchange on Nov. 24 to talk about his new book, Last Traverse: Tragedy and Resilience in the Winter Whites]
From Leslie in Bennington NH: During the pandemic, I’ve enjoyed reading picture books with my little one. We loved Lovely by Jess Hong and Three Squeezes by Jason Pratt. New classics, in my opinion!
Linda in Nashua: I recently read “Separated” by Jacob Soboroff which is about the immigration crisis and childhood separations. While difficult to read, it really explains how this situation developed.
Leslie in Chester: There were 2 novels I read recently that had controversy surrounding their release, so I figured I’d check them out. American Dirt is about a mother’s attempt to escape violence in Mexico, and Giver of Stars is about WPA librarians on horseback in rural Kentucky. Both authors have an exceptional way of bringing their characters to life. Controversy aside, they are great reads!
Michael in Hampton: I recently purchased What Were We Thinking: A Brief Intellectual History of the Trump Era by Carlos Lozada, which surveys books on topics which have been of particular interest lately and includes a list of the books discussed at the end of each chapter. I also couldn't help revisiting classic Science Fiction, picking up Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and Dune by Frank Herbert, sparked by the new movie version that will hopefully come out at some point!
Rob recommended: Debut novel by local author KJ Dell’Antonia: The Chicken Sisters. Fun read. Comes out on 12/1.
Anna in Hopkinton recommends: Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder and a Woman's Search for Justice by Sierra Krein Murdoch. Murdoch is a reporter who investigates the ramifications of fracking and drilling on Native American reservations. Very well written and heartbreaking. In fiction. I just finished reading The Shame by Makenna Goodman. The author was featured on a Boston Globe virtual book review hosted by Hanover Bookstore, well-written first novel dealing with the complexities and monotony of motherhood
Diane and Frank: We highly recommend Exiles, the latest book by Christina Baker Klein, author of The Orphan Train and Peace of the World. Exiles is about British female prisoners that were sent to Australia and Tasmania during the early days of British rule in that part of the world.
Margaret on Facebook: My favorite book this year (that I’m slowly enjoying) is Underland by Robert MacFarlane, now in paperback.
Sharon on Facebook: Uplifting choice "A Single Thread" by Tracy Chevalier
