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).
This year’s Black History Month theme, from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, is African Americans and Labor, celebrating and investigating the many ways work is critical to an understanding of the experiences, history and culture of Black people in the United States.
Our display centers the wide range of experiences and expression in the work of the literary life. Here are a few of the titles we are reading and recommending for Black History Month this year:
Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
I Am Nobody’s Slave: How Uncovering My Family’s History Set Me Free by Lee Hawkins
The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert
Let Us March On by Shara Moon
A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary McLeod Bethune by Noliwe Rooks
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.
Historical, mythological, sports-themed or contemporary, full of fake dating, mistaken identity, miscommunication and grand gestures, there’s a romance for every reader. Some of them even have sprayed edges!
Here are a few of the romances we are reading and recommending:
Unromance by Erin Connor
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
Bull Moon Rising (Royal Artifactual Guild #1) by Ruby Dixon
Scythe & Sparrow: The Ruinous Love Trilogy by Brynne Weaver (out Feb. 11)
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
Spiral (Off the Ice #2) by Bal Khabra
Triple Sec by TJ Alexander
I Think They Love You by Julian Winters
As soon as you see upcoming books getting buzz, you can pre-order them. Buy it while you’re thinking about it and get a happy surprise later. Want something you don’t see here? Email us at booksandbooks@tskw.org or ask a bookseller!
Here are a few books we are looking forward to:
Show Don’t Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld
A funny, fiercely intelligent, and moving collection exploring marriage, friendship, fame, and artistic ambition—including a story that revisits the main character from Curtis Sittenfeld’s iconic novel Prep—from the New York Times bestselling author of Eligible and Romantic Comedy
“[Sittenfeld’s] perfectly contained stories are a joy.”—Booklist, starred review
In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.
In “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In “A for Alone,” a married artist embarks on a creative project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in “Lost but Not Forgotten,” Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an alumni reunion at her boarding school.
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld’s stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
Coming February 25, 2025. Pre-order now.
The Socialite’s Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets (A Pinnacle Hotel Mystery #3) by S. K. Golden
Hotel heiress Evelyn Murphy is on the hunt for a cunning killer and a mysterious thief in the third Pinnacle Hotel mystery, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.
New York, 1958. When Evelyn’s mail is delivered during a luncheon in the Gold Room, she’s surprised to find she has received a diamond tiara, which catches the attention of a costume jewelry sales team lunching nearby. Their leader, Lois Mitchel, is especially interested, but by the end of the lunch, Lois has choked and fallen into Evelyn’s lap—and by the end of the day, she’s dead.
The papers report on the death the next day, while also spreading news of a Gentleman Thief who’s been leaving behind a red pocket square after robbing the city’s wealthiest. Determined to figure out what happened to Lois, Evelyn devotes herself to the investigation.
The truth is as rare as a diamond and just as hard to crack, and Evelyn swiftly discovers that this particular mystery is multifaceted, too. From costume jewelry hawkers to wannabe Robin Hoods and a detective in residence at the Pinnacle, nothing is simple. But neither is Evelyn—and this case is hers to solve.
Coming March 11, 2025. Pre-order now.
Editor’s note: You can get The Socialite’s Guide to Sleuthing and Secrets signed by the author, just note in the order comments that you’d like the book signed.
How to Love Better: The Path to Deeper Connection Through Growth, Kindness, and Compassion by Yung Pueblo
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lighter offers a blueprint for deepening your compassion, kindness, and gratitude so you can truly grow in harmony with another person and build stronger connections in all your relationships.
“Personal transformation that is grounded in self-love and has greater inner peace as the goal will naturally teach you how to love better. Seeing yourself clearly opens the door to compassion for yourself and for other people.”
Love enters our lives in many forms: friends, family, intimate partners. But all of these relationships are deeply influenced by the love we have for ourselves. If we see our relationships as opportunities to be fully present in our healing and learn to love one another better, then, Yung Pueblo assures us, we can transform and meet one another with compassion instead of judgment.
In How to Love Better, Yung Pueblo examines all aspects of relationships, from the rose-colored early days when you may be hesitant to show your full self, to the challenges that can arise without clear communication, to dealing with heartbreak and healing as you close a chapter of your life. The power of looking inward remains at the core of Yung Pueblo’s teachings. Ego and attachment can become barriers in a relationship, so the more self-aware you become, the more you can support both your partner and yourself.
Yung Pueblo’s insights on embracing change, building a foundation of honesty, and learning to listen selflessly will resonate regardless of where you are in your healing journey. And his unique combination of poetry, personal experience, and thoughtful advice will help you grow and strengthen all of your relationships.
Coming March 11, 2025. Pre-order now.
Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn
Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age.
After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone…literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.
Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.
Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive.
Coming March 11, 2025. Pre-order now.
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things, a sparkling and funny new novel of entertainment, ambition, art, and love.
Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she’s a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Between her clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she’s always hustling. Not to mention balancing her judgmental mother, her messy love life, and her equally messy community of fellow performers.
Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent—a much older lesbian magician—who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business, and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot’s mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell. It’s not long before Cherry must decide how much she’s willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act—and what kind of clown she wants to be under her suit.
Equal parts bravado, tenderness, and humor, and bursting with misfits, magicians, musicians, and mimes, STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE is a masterpiece of comedic fiction that asks big questions about art and performance, friendship and community, and the importance of timing in jokes and in life.
Coming March 18, 2025. Pre-order now.
Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen
From RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and host of HBO’s We’re Here comes an inventive, wondrous novel about American hero Harriet Tubman that remixes history into a fresh, dynamic novel about love, freedom, salvation, and hip-hop.
In an age of miracles where our greatest heroes from history have magically, unexplainably returned to shake us out of our confusion and hate, Harriet Tubman is back, and she has a lot to say.
Harriet Tubman and four of the enslaved persons she led to freedom want to tell their story in a unique way. Harriet wants to create a hip-hop album and live show about her life, and she needs a songwriter to help her.
She calls upon Darnell Williams, a once successful hip-hop producer who was topping the charts before being outed on a BET talk show. Darnell has no idea what to expect when he steps into the studio with Harriet, only that they have a short period of time to write a legendary album she can take on the road. Over the course of their time together, they not only create music that will take the country by storm, but confront the horrors of both their pasts, and learn to find a way to a better future.
Original, evocative, and historic, Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert is a landmark achievement that will burrow deep into our hearts (and ears).
Coming March 18, 2025. Pre-order now.
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
Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West is pleased to serve as the official bookstore of the Key West Literary Seminar. This year’s theme celebrates and interrogates the many meanings of the word “family,” and, as always, brings a stellar line up of writers to speak on the topic. Check the schedule for Sunday sessions open to the public, and learn more about the Seminar on their website.
Here are a few books by some of the authors attending (check the Seminar’s website for the full list of authors) to whet your appetite:
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Wellness by Nathan Hill. Read Judy Blume’s Sept. 2023 review of Wellness.
All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby. Read Lori’s Oct. 2023 review of All the Sinners Bleed.
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett. Read Robin’s 2019 review of Mostly Dead Things and look for Arnett’s new book, Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One, out March 18.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
We Loved It All: A Memory of Life by Lydia Millet
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro
Aimless Love by Billy Collins
If you’re looking to take up a new hobby in 2025 or shake up your regular routines, there’s a book for that!
Assistant manager Sara, writes, “With The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, I found myself going back to it whenever I needed a little inspiration. It is an extraordinary book that captures the practice of creating.” Read her April 2024 review.
Here’s a short list of books to help you expand your reading life, or add a few new recipes to your repertoire, or destress by coloring or journaling:
Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge from the American Library Association by American Library Association (ALA)
Easy Weeknight Dinners by Emily Weinstein & New York Times Cooking
Leaf, Cloud, Crow: A Weekly Backyard Journal by Margaret Renkl
Shitty Craft Club by Sam Reece, photographed by Lizzie Darden
1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg
Secret Garden: 10th Anniversary Special Edition by Johanna Basford
Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel
Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount
Bonus tip: A great way to read more is audiobooks. Check out Libro.fm!
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?
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson (Mariner), picked by social media manager, Robin
Ernest Cunningham’s 7 Commandments of Holiday Specials:
3. The detective must, at some point, learn the true meaning of the word Christmas.
And, indeed, Ern, does. You, Dear Reader, will not, unless your holiday is even more skewed towards murder and mayhem than the typical holiday get-together.
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson, our December featured staff pick, is a fun take on the holiday mystery, and as this series is known for, full of classic misdirection. Full of secret Santas, advent calendar clues, and rigged magic tricks, it’s a great way to spend a cozy afternoon.
And here’s a few more seasonal reads to get you in a holiday mood:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Most Wonderful: A Christmas Novel by Georgia Clark
Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishøi, translated by Caroline Waight
Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. And the audiobook is currently on sale via Libro.fm!
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir Edited by Tod Goldberg
