A local and store favorite Home at the End of the World by Rita Troxel was recently featured in the New York Times. “There’s no better way to capture the weird, wild, magical Key West of the 70s and 80s than in the words of the people who lived it, loved it, and miraculously managed to remember it,” say bestselling author Carl Hiaasen. “The island is one of those rare places where the true stories outshine the lore.”
Click here to read the article.
Click here to order your copy.
RAISING HARE is an exceptional book that takes you along on Chloe Dalton’s unexpected journey with her little leveret, or baby hare. Chloe moves to her country home in the English countryside at the start of the pandemic, leaving her life in London as a political consultant and writer.
Adding to the book’s character and charm are two things that always draw me in – illustrations and the use of quotes to begin each chapter. Denise Nestor, an Irish artist and illustrator, captures the personality of the hare with her lovely drawings.
My favorite quote used in the book:
“What a destructive, cruel being man is, how many living beings and plants he annihilates to maintain his own life.”
~Leo Tolstoy, HADJI MURAT, 1912
But don’t get the wrong idea, this book is not a downer or even a commentary on man’s self-centered ways. This book is the antidote to our oh so very busy and important lives and the chaos of the world we live in. It’s not preachy at all. We are simply enjoying Chloe Dalton’s experience with her hare. It’s not her pet; she does not name her because that implies ownership. She allows the hare to be herself, and in exchange is witness to the life of this magnificent creature, including motherhood. She turns her home over to the hare and becomes attuned to the gardens, trees, and wildlife as never before.
I’m not going to tell you exactly what happens here in the recommendation. I will leave that to you to enjoy as the story unfolds. Consider what Chloe writes toward the end of the book:
“She has taught me patience. And as someone who has made their living through words, she has made me consider the dignity and persuasiveness of silence. She showed me a different life, and the richness of it. She made me perceive animals in a new light, in relation to her, and to each other. She made me re-evaluate my life, and the question of what constitutes a good one.”
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month seeks to highlight and celebrate the traditions, history, cultures and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Here are some titles we are reading and recommending from AAPI authors or touching on AAPI history or contemporary experiences:
Real Americans by Rachel Khong
In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.
Exuberant and explosive, Real Americans is a social novel par excellence that asks: Are we destined, or made? And if we are made, who gets to do the making? Can our genetic past be overcome?
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
Tracking the natural beauty that surrounds us, The Backyard Bird Chronicles maps the passage of time through daily entries, thoughtful questions, and beautiful original sketches. With boundless charm and wit, author Amy Tan charts her foray into birding and the natural wonders of the world.
The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin, publishing May 6
Preorder now and receive the gorgeous DELUXE LIMITED EDITION while supplies last―featuring stenciled designed sprayed edges, as well as a foil case stamp and designed endpapers. This must-have special edition is only available on a limited first print run while supplies last in the US and Canada only.
From award-winning and bestselling author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin comes a gorgeously full-color illustrated story about a lion cub and a girl who must open a portal for the spirits, based on Chinese folklore.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.
Read Camila’s review.
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
The author of the New York Times bestselling horror phenomenon She Is a Haunting is back with a novel about the monsters that swim beneath us . . . and live within us.
Soy Sauce! by Laura G. Lee
A joyful picture book for kids and foodies of all ages (with real soy sauce as paint!) that celebrates the iconic kitchen staple and the magical way food connects family and friends across the world.
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
New York Times bestselling author and artist Chanel Miller tells a fun, funny, and poignant story of friendship and community starring Magnolia Wu, a ten-year-old sock detective bent on returning all the lonely only socks left behind in her parents’ NYC laundromat.
Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet: Essays and Interviews by Adrienne Su
In Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, Adrienne Su contemplates her own use of food as a recurring metaphor, influential teachers and peers, the push and pull between cooking and writing, changing expectations around English usage, and craft questions such as: Why does some subject matter refuse to cooperate in the creative process, even when it appears close to home? How does one write a good poem about being happy? Why write in rhyme when it’s time-consuming and mostly out of style? What is a poem’s responsibility to the literal truth?
Su’s essays are driven by the tensions between worlds that overlap and collide: social conventions of the northern and southern United States; notions of what’s American and what’s Asian American; the demands of the page and the demands of the home; the solitariness of writing and the meaningful connection a poem can create between writer and reader. In interviews, often with fellow poets, she discusses a range of topics, from her early days in the Nuyorican poetry-slam scene to the solace of poetry and cooking during Covid-19 lockdown. While Su’s previous books are all collections of poetry, she has been publishing individual essays for many years. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet gathers the best of them into one volume for the first time.
Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto
Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s wrenching and sensational debut story collection presents a Hawai’i where unruly sexuality and generational memory overflow the postcard image of paradise and the boundaries of the real, where the superstitions born of the islands take on the weight of truth.
Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare is both a fierce love letter to Hawaiian identity and mythology, and a searing dispatch from an occupied territory threatening to erupt with violent secrets.
Do you read ebooks, at least some of the time? Now, when you purchase ebooks, you can support our store. Bookshop.org is partnering with indie bookstores to offer an ebook option.
Here’s how it works:
In order to avoid paying Apple and Google big chunk of the money, you can’t buy the ebook directly from a phone/pad app. Instead, you have to log onto the Bookshop.org website.
See example below:
Learn more or get started: https://bookshop.org/ebooks
You can also order a physical book from Bookshop.org, and you’ll also be supporting our store. But for physical books we recommend that you use our online store at http://Shop.BooksandBookskw.com so that you can get our personal service and benefits, like signed Judy Blume books.
This program replaces our old Kobo ebook system. If you wish to continue using that system, please feel free to call us at 305-320-0208 for technical assistance.
Isola by Allegra Goodman is based on the true story of a young woman who sails from France to the New World in 1542 and is abandoned on an island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with her forbidden lover and nurse. This was a historical fiction read that was easy to get wrapped up in.
Marguerite de La Rocque de Roberval, a French noblewoman, who in the mid-sixteenth century grew up destined for a life of prosperity, is orphaned and left with her guardian – her uncle, a volatile and self centered man, who spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on his new adventure to New France. During this adventure you learn more about her character and who on the ship can be trusted. As Marguerite challenges her uncle, you can’t help but cheer her on as she keeps her loved ones safe even when faced over and over again with adversity. When she is left by her uncle on an uninhabited island, you immerse yourself in her journey of self-discovery, courage and strength as she is in the mercy of nature to survive. Battling hunger, lack of resources, adverse weather conditions, she searches for tools to build their new home. You will be delighted as she finds the little joys in this secluded place and how she embraces a faith that she never had before.
This book has it all – a woman fighting for survival in this timeless story about love, resilience and finding the strength within to survive against all odds. I mean, she even fights a bear!
~ Sara
Plan to join us or the indie bookstore in your neighborhood on Saturday, April 26 for Independent Bookstore Day. Bookstore Day is a nationwide celebration of what makes indie bookstores special – and of the people who love them.
Can’t join us in Key West? Find your local participating store on this interactive Bookstore Day map.
Here in Key West, expect, mimosas, freebies, a couple of raffles, and, of course, the Bookstore Day exclusives.
Our party will include:
And, join us for Spirit Week! We’ll special promos going all week!
“On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see a cozy ramen restaurant. And only the chosen ones—those who are lost—will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.” ~ from the Water Moon book jacket
Sometimes a choice weighs heavy on your soul. What if you had the opportunity to “pawn” your biggest regret and erase that choice and all its repercussions from your life? Would you do it? Which choice would you pawn?
Hana Ishikawa wakes up a little groggy after an evening of celebrating her father’s retirement. This would be her first day taking over the pawnshop that has been in her family for generations. As she heads down the stairs to the eerily quiet shop, she realizes something is amiss. The pawnshop is ransacked, her father is nowhere to be seen, the front door is open, and a choice is missing… through the open door a stranger appears and offers assistance.
Water Moon is a magical journey through a fantastical world created by Samantha Sotto Yambao. Readers will get lost in this beautifully written whimsical fantasy, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films. Water Moon is a heartfelt tale about love, loss, and the weight of choices. Let your imagination soar like the origami cranes that whisk Hana & Keishin off on their journey through her world to find her missing father, and along the way, solve a heartbreaking mystery from her past. If you enjoy well written fantasy and imaginative world building, this is a must read! I loved this book!
I’ve enjoyed the poetry of Ms. Giovanni for over 50 years! In this collection, the poems are erotic, introspective and bold. I see the bicycle as a metaphor for the ways in which we move ourselves away from the past, through the present, and into the future.
Favorites: I Am the Ocean, Bicycles, and Love (and the Meaning of Love).
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster), picked by store co-founders Judy Blume & George Cooper
George raved about this novel so I had to see for myself. And I came away equally enthusiastic. It’s dark and different.
~ Judy
It’s 1961, the terrible war with a German occupation has settled into the past, and Isabel is living alone in the family home in the East of Holland, a house she shared with her mother until the mother’s recent death. Title to the house is held by her uncle, who has no interest in living there, nor do her two brothers, who have busy lives elsewhere.
But the uncle still believes the house will be for the older brother Louis once he marries and begins a family. So when Louis asks Isabel to take in his new girlfriend Eva for a short time, she feels compelled to do so, even though she finds the girl crude and unpleasant.
Thus begins a tale with more twists than a plate of fusilli, and a political revelation that will shake your beliefs in the humanity of the Dutch.
~ George
We read a lot of great books this year! We hope you did, too.
Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp, was “hands down,” store manager Emily’s favorite book of the year. “It’s really hard to express just how incredibly special this novel is in just a few sentences… Just trust me!” she writes.
And store co-founder, Judy Blume, concurs. “I couldn’t agree more!”
Bookseller Joey’s favorite book of the year is his most anticipated book, the eagerly awaited fifth book in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series, Wind and Truth. Joey is sure he’ll love it!
This year, we read books to help you understand the current moment, shape the current moment, and escape the current moment.
Co-founder George Cooper writes of The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, “There’s nothing so interesting as reading a history of a profound event when you have an uncomfortable dread that you are living through a run-up to its successor.” Read George’s full review.
Sara, our assistant manager, found inspiration in The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. “One takeaway from the book is that we are all creators of something in our daily lives,” she writes. “It does a great job capturing the sacred practice of trusting one’s own intuition and being free to experiment with finding ways to express yourself. My favorite quote from the book reads, Look for what you notice but no one else sees.” Read Sara’s full review.
If you’re a regular reader of our newsletter, you’ve seen a number of these titles before. Several of our favorites were monthly featured staff picks. (Click the book cover for a link to the review.)
Social media manager Robin recommends We Solve Murders by Richard Osman as a Libro.fm audiobook.
Bookseller Camila really loved James by Percival Everett, but she also has a few bonus picks for you:
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
What did you read and love this year?
