All the Broken Places by John Boyne

“You can’t prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel.” —John Irving, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The World According to Garp

“Exceptional, layered and compelling…This book moves like a freight train.” —Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In Love

From the New York Times bestselling author John Boyne, a devastating, beautiful story about a woman who must confront the sins of her own terrible past, and a present in which it is never too late for bravery

Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby has lived in the same well-to-do mansion block in London for decades. She lives a quiet, comfortable life, despite her deeply disturbing, dark past. She doesn’t talk about her escape from Nazi Germany at age 12. She doesn’t talk about the grim post-war years in France with her mother. Most of all, she doesn’t talk about her father, who was the commandant of one of the Reich’s most notorious extermination camps. 

Then, a new family moves into the apartment below her. In spite of herself, Gretel can’t help but begin a friendship with the little boy, Henry, though his presence brings back memories she would rather forget. One night, she witnesses a disturbing, violent argument between Henry’s beautiful mother and his arrogant father, one that threatens Gretel’s hard-won, self-contained existence.

All The Broken Places moves back and forth in time between Gretel’s girlhood in Germany to present-day London as a woman whose life has been haunted by the past.  Now, Gretel faces a similar crossroads to one she encountered long ago. Back then, she denied her own complicity, but now, faced with a chance to interrogate her guilt, grief and remorse, she can choose  to save a young boy. If she does, she will be forced to reveal the secrets she has spent a lifetime protecting. This time, she can make a different choice than before—whatever the cost to herself….

Butts: A Backstorty by Heather Radke

*ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF FALL: Esquire, Time, LitHub, The Every Girl, BookPage*

“Lively and thorough, Butts is the best kind of nonfiction—the kind that forces you to see something ordinary through completely new eyes.” —Esquire, Best Books of 2022 So Far

“One of the year’s most ingenious and eye-opening cultural studies.” —Publishers Weekly, Best Books of 2022

Whether we love them or hate them, think they’re sexy, think they’re strange, consider them too big, too small, or anywhere in between, humans have a complicated relationship with butts. It is a body part unique to humans, critical to our evolution and survival, and yet it has come to signify so much more: sex, desire, comedy, shame. A woman’s butt, in particular, is forever being assessed, criticized, and objectified, from anxious self-examinations trying on jeans in department store dressing rooms to enduring crass remarks while walking down a street or high school hallways. But why? In Butts: A Backstory, reporter, essayist, and RadioLab contributing editor Heather Radke is determined to find out.

Spanning nearly two centuries, this “whip-smart” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) cultural history takes us from the performance halls of 19th-century London to the aerobics studios of the 1980s, the music video set of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” and the mountains of Arizona, where every year humans and horses race in a feat of gluteal endurance. Along the way, she meets evolutionary biologists who study how butts first developed; models whose measurements have defined jean sizing for millions of women; and the fitness gurus who created fads like “Buns of Steel.” She also examines the central importance of race through figures like Sarah Bartmann, once known as the “Venus Hottentot,” Josephine Baker, Jennifer Lopez, and other women of color whose butts have been idolized, envied, and despised.

Part deep dive reportage, part personal journey, part cabinet of curiosities, Butts is an entertaining, illuminating, and thoughtful examination of why certain silhouettes come in and out of fashion—and how larger ideas about race, control, liberation, and power affect our most private feelings about ourselves and others.

December Staff Pick: The Light Pirate

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

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

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.

None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive by Carolyn Prusa

Perfect for fans of Maria Semple and Jennifer Weiner, this smart and witty debut novel follows Ramona through the forty-eight hours after her life has been upended by the discovery of her husband’s affair and an approaching Category Four hurricane.

Ramona’s got a bratty boss, a toddler teetering through toilet training, a critical mom who doesn’t mind sharing, and oops—a cheating husband. That’s how a Category Four hurricane bearing down on her life in Savannah becomes just another item on her to-do list. In the next forty-eight hours she’ll add a neighborhood child and the class guinea pig named Clarence Thomas to her entourage as she struggles to evacuate town.

Ignoring the persistent glow of her minivan’s check engine light, Ramona navigates police check points, bathroom emergencies, demands from her boss, and torrential downpours while fielding calls and apology texts from her cheating husband and longing for the days when her life was like a Prince song, full of sexy creativity and joy.

Thoroughly entertaining and completely relatable, None of This Would Have Happened if Prince Were Alive is the hilarious, heartwarming story of a woman up to her elbows in calamities and about to drive off the brink of the rest of her life.

Great Short Books by Kenneth C. Davis

A delightful, entertaining guide to some of the best short novels of all time from a bestselling historian, author, and lifelong reader.

Fall back into the joys of literature with an extraordinary book for book lovers: a compulsively readable, deeply engaging list of great short novels. A journey into short fiction designed with our contemporary attention spans in mind, Great Short Books suggests fifty-eight excellent short novels, all easily readable in a week or less—a “baker’s dozen” approach to a fun, fascinating year of reading.

From hard-boiled fiction to magical realism, the 18th century to the present day, Great Short Books spans genres, cultures, countries, and time to present an enchanting and diverse selection of acclaimed and canonical novels. From works in translation like Yu Miri’s ​Tokyo Ueno Station and Marguerite Duras’s The Lover to popular, acclaimed authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Stephen King, this compilation is a celebration of classics from the historic to contemporary—plus a few bestsellers. Each entry includes the novel’s opening lines, a spoiler-free plot summary, a “why you should read it” section, and suggestions for what to read next.

Just like browsing in your favorite bookstore, this eclectic collection is a fun and practical book for any passionate reader hoping to broaden their collection—or anyone who wants to find an entertaining and effortless reentry into reading.

She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa

For fans of Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs and Murata Sayaka’s Earthlings, this Japanese bestseller from renowned anime director Makoto Shinkai features four inspirational and heartwarming vignettes following women and their cats in their quests for love and connection.

Lying alone on the edge of the sidewalk in an abandoned cardboard box, a nameless narrator contemplates the indifferent world around him. With his mother long gone, his only company is the sound of the nearby train. Just as he fears that the end is near, a young woman peers down at him, this fateful encounter changing their lives forever.

So begins the first story in She and Her Cat, a collection of four interrelated, stream-of-conscious short stories in which four women and their feline companions explore the frailty of life, the pain of isolation, and the limits of communication.

With clever narration alternating between the cats and their owners, She and Her Cat offers a unique and sly commentary on human foibles and our desire for connection. A whimsical short story anthology unlike any other, it effortlessly demonstrates that even in our darkest, most lonesome moments, we are still united to this wonderous world—often in ways we could never have expected.

The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book by Jerry Seinfeld

A celebration of and behind-the-scenes look at Jerry Seinfeld’s groundbreaking streaming series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.

In his streaming show, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Jerry Seinfeld has engaged with some of the funniest people in history in classic cars, coffee shops, and diners. He has reminisced with Larry David; bantered with legends Steve Martin, Tina Fey, and Eddie Murphy; reunited with the cast of Seinfeld; and even paid a visit to President Barack Obama in the Oval Office. These and dozens of other guests talked about the intricacies of stand-up, the evolution of their careers and personal lives, and whatever else popped into their brilliant minds. Seinfeld’s carefully crafted episodes have reimagined the talk show format, each one a unique, hilarious, and yet intimate conversation—a rare opportunity for viewers to witness their favorite performers unscripted and unvarnished. But in producing eighty-four episodes over eleven seasons, he has also created arguably the most important historical archive about the art of comedy ever amassed, with episodes featuring Garry Shandling, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles, Carl Reiner, and Norm McDonald already serving as permanent shrines for legendary comedians.

Timed to the 10th anniversary of the show’s debut and with an introduction from Jerry Seinfeld, this book isn’t just a record of the show but instead an inventive tribute full of behind-the-scenes photos and anecdotes. The book dives into the inspiration and creation of segments, the most unforgettable lines from guests, an index of the cars, and some of the most memorable moments from crew members. Originally conceived as an “anti-talk show,” Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee earned multiple Emmy nominations and helped lead the streaming revolution.

Perfect for gift giving season, The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book is a beautifully designed book with iconic, never-before-seen production photos which will appeal to comedy lovers, car aficionados, coffee connoisseurs, and Jerry Seinfeld fans.

Trespasses – Louise Kennedy

Cushla Lavery’s affair with a married man and motherly relationship with her young student Davey will have disastrous results for all three families. The divide of Catholic and Protestant beliefs in Northern Ireland in the 70’s comes to everyday life with Kennedy’s well drawn characters. If you love Derry Girls read this! P.S. You’ll want to smoke a cig!

Allison (Staff)

Order now