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December Staff Pick: The Light Pirate

November 25, 2022

The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton (Dec. 6, 2022, Grand Central Publishing) picked by store manager Emily

Tragic, but hopeful and completely enthralling. The Light Pirate is an essential read.

After living in Florida for nearly a decade, I’ve prepared for a few hurricanes. I was drawn to the first few lines of the description – a family prepares for a storm. I’ve been very lucky when it comes to storms, but I know as well as anyone the internal drama that comes with deciding if you should stay or go as a hurricane approaches. I thought it would be an interesting read but I wasn’t prepared for how deep it would take me down the rabbit hole.

Since reading this book, not a day has gone by that I haven’t brought it up in conversation. As Key West prepared for Hurricane Ian (or didn’t prepare as the case may be) I found my chatter increased. I think I became a little annoying as I told all of my fellow booksellers that they needed to read The Light Pirate.

The book begins as the Lowe family, Kirby, his wife Frida (pregnant with their first child) and his two sons from a previous marriage prepare for an incoming hurricane. This is nothing new for the family living on the east coast of Florida. But Frida feels this one is different, and of course she is right. It’s a story of our changing planet, yes, but at its core it’s a story of family and what and who makes a place a “home.”

~ Emily Berg, store manager

Author Lily Brooks-Dalton will be in conversation with Emily and store co-founder Judy Blume at Hugh’s View at The Studios of Key West on December 8th at 6:30pm. Tickets include a copy of The Light Pirate and are available for purchase now online.

A Q&A with Lily Brooks-Dalton

November 25, 2022

by Robin Wood

We had the opportunity to talk with Lily Brooks-Dalton, author of The Light Pirate (12/6, Grand Central Publishing) in advance of her December 8 in-person event (click here for ticket information) in conversation with store co-founder Judy Blume and store manager Emily Berg at Hugh’s View at The Studios of Key West. We are wildly excited about meeting Lily and can’t recommend The Light Pirate enough (it is also our featured staff pick for December)!

Q: How did you arrive at the story you tell in The Light Pirate? Did you start out with a specific goal or idea or character?

A: I was actually here in Key West when I first started ruminating on preparing for storms and wondering whether there was a story I wanted to tell wrapped up in that rhythm. I was doing a residency at The Studios of Key West and there was a hurricane coming that didn’t end up hitting the Keys, but there was this palpable tension in the air that I kept coming back to. And then I started thinking about linemen, and all this labor that goes into keeping the lights on… so probably the first concrete story moment I had was imagining this little girl tagging along on storm duty with her father, waiting for him in the bucket truck while he worked on the downed lines. That exact scene didn’t actually make it into the book, but that was where I began. And the story grew from there.

Q: The book is told from the perspective of more than a few characters. Was there one you think of as your protagonist?

A: I think of Wanda as my protagonist. The book begins on the day she’s born (I guess technically the day before) and it spans her lifetime, so even though we’re also following the people around her, I’d say she is at the center.

Q: You’re from Florida but now living in California. Did you ever think of telling this story from a West Coast perspective?

A: Well, I actually grew up in Vermont. I struck out on my own fairly young, and right around that time my parents decided to relocate. So Florida has always been my home base as an adult, but I’m not sure I get to say I’m from here. I started working on The Light Pirate about a year before I moved to California. At that point I was actually living out of my truck and traveling around, but I had just spent a big chunk of time in Florida and so the landscape was still very fresh for me. I didn’t even consider setting it somewhere else, Florida was at the heart of the idea from the start.

Q: What was the process like seeing Good Morning, Midnight go from book to film? Could you see The Light Pirate as a movie?

A: It was extraordinary. It’s hard to describe really, beyond saying that it was special and weird and it had a resounding impact on my life. I’m really grateful that it happened. As for The Light Pirate, if we were to do an adaptation, I see it as a TV show. There is more story to tell in this world than even the book contains, and I wouldn’t want to shrink down what is already on the page to fit it into a 2 hour container. I would want to let it expand and breathe! So, I think television offers more space to let something like this unfold.

Q: What are you reading and recommending these days?

A: I just finished Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet, which I liked very much, and then I will also recommend Beneficence by Meredith Hall. I read it a while ago but I’m still thinking about how gorgeous it was. And I also want to chat up The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell, which is nonfiction, because it has a terrific Florida chapter and just in general was a text that I really valued and learned a lot from while I was working on the novel.

The Year in Review: 2022 Featured Staff Picks

November 25, 2022

by Robin Wood

We had a lucky baker’s dozen of featured staff picks this year. Any one of these will make an excellent gift for the discerning readers on your holiday shopping lists.

Store manager Emily launched the year with A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers (Unnamed Press), which she said “checked all the boxes.” Emily continued, “How did she become a ruthless killer? Did her victims have it coming? Will she ever find the perfect duck confit? I had to know.” Read the review.

To coincide with Black History Month, in February, bookseller Lori picked Yonder by Jabari Asim (Simon & Schuster, out in paper Jan. 10), which she especially recommended for readers who enjoyed The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. (out in paper, Feb. 8). Read Lori’s review.

Social media manager Robin is still thinking about Black Cake months later. “Twisty, fun and moving, you’ll enjoy this book where everyone has (a lot of) secrets,” Robin wrote. Read her review.

“Taste reminds me that whomever you are and wherever you come from the sharing of food connects us,” wrote bookseller Gina about Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (Gallery Books). “Plus,” she notes, “I learned how to make the ‘perfect’ martini!” Read her review.

Store co-founder George wrote of Booth by Karen Joy Fowler (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), “This is historical fiction at its finest.” He continues, “When I learned that Fowler, author of the witty and surprising We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves had a new novel, I jumped at the chance to preview it.” Read George’s review.

“This is an enthralling tale that will sweep you off into the night,” bookseller Riona Jean writes of
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (Harper Voyager). Read Riona’s review, dive into Daughter of the Moon Goddess and it’s sequel, Heart of the Sun Warrior.

July was a double feature. Store co-founder Judy picked Love Marriage by Monica Ali and George picked River of the Gods by Candice Millard. Read what they had to say.

“This isn’t the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince. It’s the one where she kills him,” reads the jacket copy for Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (Tor Books, look for the paperback Feb. 28). Bookseller Camila loved it, calling it “a perfect summer read, a blend of fantasy, horror, unforgettable characters, humor, and a brave feminist protagonist.” Read Camila’s review.

Written for a middle-grade audience, Unseen Magic by Emily Lloyd-Jones (Greenwillow Books, look for the paperback Feb. 21) will also appeal to adults looking for a charming mystery with Scooby-Doo vibes. Read Robin’s review.

“Do you love weird animal facts? Do you love academia? Do you love sticking it to the patriarchy?” Then bookseller Riona Jean has just the book for you. Read her review of Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke (Basic Books).

Assistant manager Allison calls A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt (W. W. Norton & Company) “A gorgeously written debut novel that poses the question, how can I write a novel, how can I expose myself to life and love through the lens of queer indigenous authenticity.” Read her review.

“Tragic, but hopeful and completely enthralling. The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton (coming Dec. 6, Grand Central Publishing) is an essential read.” Read Emily’s review and don’t miss our event with author Lily Brooks-Dalton, Judy Blume and Emily in-person December 8.

Find even more books we love, on our staff recs shelf and scattered around the store, and online on our staff recs page.