Do you need a special gift for a new baby, expectant family or toddler? Author and store founder Judy Blume will curate a Starter Library especially for your little one.
She will choose books that she loves and knows your baby or toddler will too. Start by filling out our personalized gift form.
You tell us your price point and we’ll gift wrap and send with a personal note from Judy.
The Reformatory is a novelized account of the Dozier School and all of the horrors perpetrated against its residents. Set in the time of the Jim Crow south, a 12-year-old boy sentenced to the school finds that his ability to see and speak to ghosts takes him on a dark journey to the true violent history of the school.
A horror masterpiece that will stay with you long after you finish the book.
~ Lori
Ed note: Like horror? Check out this round up of Black Horror.
Our Black History Month display features a wide range of books showcasing the diversity of experiences of Black Americans, but riffing off of Lori’s featured staff pick this month, here are some titles to terrify you:
All The Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby – This was Lori’s October featured staff pick. Read her review.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle – Out in paper, Feb. 6.
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, edited by Jordan Peele – If you’re new to the genre, anthologies are a great way to try out a new bunch of authors.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron – A creepy, fun YA take on a camp slasher.
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown – Horror in space.
The Black Guy Dies First by Robin R. Means Coleman & Mark H. Harris – Nonfiction on Black Horror at the movies.
Here are a handful of new and favorite Romance books for Valentine’s Day. We have many more in store, ask a bookseller for their favorites!
Enchanted to Meet You by Meg Cabot
Bride by Ali Hazelwood (Feb. 6)
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford
Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander
Funny Story by Emily Henry (April 23)
When I picked it up, I thought Starling House by Alix E. Harrow would be a haunted house story, but it’s really more a haunted people story.
“The house calls someone new—someone lost or lonely, someone whose home was stolen or sold or who never had a home in the first place. It calls them, and they come, and they are never homeless again.
All it costs is blood.”
For Opal having a place to belong is worth the price, and as each iteration of the story of Starling House gets told and secrets come to light, Opal finds she has more resources and allies than she knew.
Starling House is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but it also strongly invokes classic gothic tales like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It is an atmospheric, layered story that will please readers of Harrow’s other books, and fans of fairy tale retellings like T. Kingfisher’s Nettle & Bone. The most fun you can have reading about someone cleaning a house!
Don’t be fooled by the title, or its listing as fiction. This is a brilliant biography of the greatest genius of the 20th century, John von Neumann, inventor of Game Theory and the modern digital computer (known by the acronym MANIAC, which his wife Clara called the JONNYAC) that was first used to design the hydrogen bomb.
Rather than taking us dryly through von Neumann’s endless accomplishments, many of which are beyond explaining to laymen, the author beguiles us with the voices of the genius’s celebrated scientific colleagues (who either loved or hated him) and his wives (who felt the same). We thus become witness not only to von Neumann’s triumphs but also his peccadillos and (in)humanity. The book is full of vignettes, from private meetings to marital quarrels, which give it a fascinating and compelling life.
He was a consultant to the Manhattan Project, drifting in from time to time and quickly solving problems other mental giants had been struggling with, and went on to a fruitful career with the U.S. Defense Department. But the problem that challenged him most was trying to generalize the process uniting biology, technology, and computer theory to explain all self-replicating phenomena, from life on earth to the possibility of machines doing the same.
He died at only fifty-six from cancer, in 1959, in a special suite provided for him by the government at Walter Reed Hospital, surrounded by dignitaries and attendants, hoping to catch the last pearls of wisdom from the fruitful mind of this singular polymath.
When asked what it would take for a machine to think and behave like a human being, he said it would have to “understand language, to read, to write, to speak. And it would have to play like a child.” But his death preceded the development of the truly powerful computers of today (still operating on the fundamental principles of MANIAC) that are doing just that. The very first project of DeepMind, a leading Artificial Intelligence machine, was playing Go, the game universally acknowledged to be the most intellectually difficult, and beating its human master. (The book concludes with a dramatic blow-by-blow description of this five game challenge match.)
When asked how he could bring together his ideas on computers and self-replicating machines with those on the brain and mechanisms of thought, von Neumann offered: “Cavemen created gods, I see no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.”
Don’t miss this book if you’re interested in biography, science or even science-fiction, because both were part of von Neumann’s world.
~ George Cooper
We said goodbye to Bookseller Riona recently, but she’s not going far. She’s joining the team at the Key West Library and planning to start a Masters in Library and Information Science through distance learning at the University of South Florida. For old time’s sake, we asked Riona a few questions and she offered up a few book recommendations.
Q: What will you take away about your time at the bookstore?
A: I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Books & Books, and have especially enjoyed branching out into other genres. I have read fantasy and literary fiction, but have branched out into science, history, and romance. The bookstore’s lifeblood is its booksellers and volunteers, who always have a great recommendation and kind word ready! I will take away the vibrant passion everyone has for connecting readers to the right book at the right moment.
Q: What are you looking forward to at the library?
A: At the library, I’m looking forward to continuing to connect readers to new books and authors. I am also excited to help the community engage with all the resources and programs accessible through the library, such as clubs and online options, such as Libby for ebooks and audiobooks.
Q: What was your favorite book of 2023 or what are you reading now?
A: This is a tough one! I have devoured a slew of great books this year. I just finished listening to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty and am about to finish Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. Both are audiobooks through Libro.FM with dynamic narrators and fantastic stories. I’m eagerly awaiting Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff, the sequel to Empire of the Vampire (which was incredibly engrossing). I am also on the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame bandwagon; such fast-paced and fun books! I have a lot of friends expecting new babies this year, and have loved gifting Jory John’s Nothing’s Wrong! picture book. It’s a blast to read and the illustrations are whimsical!
Wellness by Nathan Hill tops store co-founder Judy Blume’s list this year. She wrote, “Wellness is compelling and quirky and yes, funny, because this is Nathan Hill writing, but it sometimes broke my heart. It goes deep but never tries too hard, never shouts look at me!” Read her full review.
She also recommends, Absolution by National Book Award winner Alice McDermott.
Bookseller Leslie loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. She writes, “This book was a surprise because I almost didn’t pick it up since it was ‘about gaming’ a topic that I’m not all together interested in. To me, it’s not really about gaming, but people, and relationships. I was so invested in the characters, and really cared about all of them.”
Store manager Emily loved Go As a River by Shelley Read, a debut novel inspired by the destruction of a town in the 1960s.
S. A. Cosby has another hit in All the Sinners Bleed, which was Lori’s featured staff pick in October, which she calls “a wild, wild ride!”
You know we’re giving you the good stuff with our featured staff picks. This month’s pick The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut, also tops co-found George Cooper’s year-end list. “Don’t be fooled by the title, or its listing as fiction. This is a brilliant biography of the greatest genius of the 20th century, John von Neumann, inventor of Game Theory and the modern digital computer,” George writes.
Social Media Manager Robin writes of Camille Dungy’s Soil, “This is a smart, beautiful, wide-ranging book that will draw you in and change how you look at the world around you.”
Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery, and illustrated by Matt Patterson is Bookseller Gina’s favorite book of the year. “Did you know that turtles lived with the dinosaurs?” asks Gina. “Ever watched Jurassic Park? The sound of a Velociraptors “bark” in the movie is actually the sound of giant tortoises mating! With another amazing tale of rescue, release (sometimes) & the humans behind the scenes, Sy Montgomery will captivate your heart, mind, and make you think about driving safer with this great book.”
And, she adds, “the pictures are astounding!”
Bookseller Camila loved Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel.
Bookseller Sara brings two books to your attention:
Lighter by Yung Pueblo. She writes, “I was on a self development path when I came across the author Yung Pueblo and this book was everything I was looking for. Lighter is a book that will bring you towards a deeper understanding of yourself.”
And Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. “This was a book that I couldn’t put down. It was witty, empowering and demonstrated Elizabeth’s determination to challenge societal norms of being a woman in the 1960s in her unconventional way. As a chemist, she navigated her new career path as a host in a television show by staying true to herself – cooking using scientific reasoning with trial and error to make the perfect dishes for dinner at six.”
Share with us on social media what your favorite books of the year were, and stay tuned for more excellent reading in 2024.
Time’s Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance by Jeremy Eichler (Knopf), picked by bookseller Leslie
First line: “It is the hiss and crackle of the old recording that first reaches the ear.“
I’d like to start by saying I am not an expert in classical music at all and don’t play or read music. What got me hooked on this book was the way history is told and explained by Jeremy Eichler through the stories of individual lives and the music written by the four composers highlighted: Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, Dmitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britton. All four men created moving works of music to express emotions and attempt to understand atrocities of WWII.
The writer is meticulous in telling these stories through archival research and traveling to such places as Goethe’s Oak, the home of Strauss in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Walchensee lake (and many others).
I wondered as I was reading: “how is it possible to have man’s most horrific actions and most creative on display at virtually the same intersection of time?” This book is disturbing, beautiful, horrific, and deeply moving all at once.
~ Leslie
If you’re a dog person, your dog is probably one of your favorite people, but you might not know just how important that relationship is.
“Every dog lover knows how valuable their relationship is with their dogs and considers their dogs to be part of their family,” write Jen Golbeck & Stacey Colino, authors of The Purest Bond: Understanding the Human–Canine Connection. “But they may not realize the profound ways their beloved pooches affect their health and well-being, physically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively, as they will discover in The Purest Bond. Our hope is that the book will give readers a new appreciation for all the ways their dogs make their lives richer, healthier, happier, and more meaningful—and that they’ll discover the extent to which the benefits from this relationship are reciprocal. Dogs love us back just as much as we love them!”
We had the opportunity to find out a bit more about Jen & Stacey, and their pets, prior to their signing event on Nov. 18. Come meet them in the store Nov. 18 from 11am-1pm and get your copy of The Purest Bond signed. This is not a seated event, come anytime between 11 and 1 for an informal signing and meet & greet. Can’t make it on the 18th? Preorder The Purest Bond and leave signing information in the order comments.
Q: Please, tell us a little about your rescue work and The Golden Ratio?
A: Jen and her husband live on Sugarloaf Key and rescue special needs Golden Retrievers, usually those with complex medical needs, seniors, and hospice cases. They usually have between five and seven dogs, and share their lives on social media as @theGoldenRatio4 where they give followers a wholesome look at the happy, gentle, love-filled life they get to have here in the Florida Keys. At this point, the Golden Ratio has more than 1 million followers from around the world.
Jen and her husband currently have five dogs in The Golden Ratio squad: Guacamole, Chief Brody, Venkman, Remoulade, and Feta. Stacey and her family have Sadie, a chocolate-Lab/shepherd mix they rescued in September 2020.
Q: What’s something that will surprise most people about dogs?
A: As we did research for the book, we uncovered lots of surprising things about how dogs relate to humans—and how sensitive they are to our emotions and other changes in us. It may surprise people to discover the extent to which dogs experience the world through their noses. They can see into the past with their sense of smell, being able to tell whether someone they know was previously in their space based on their lingering scent. And they can detect subtle changes in the chemicals human bodies produce that could point to infections, the presence of diseases (like cancer), changes in blood sugar among people with diabetes, and in the scent of sweat before a seizure in those with epilepsy. We, humans, wouldn’t be able to do that.
Q: What was the collaboration process like for the two of you?
A: It was beautiful! We met during the process of conceptualizing and writing this book and really became friends. We bonded over our love of dogs, among other things, and we turned out to have perfectly compatible working styles. We liked the process so much that we’re now working on a second book together!
Q: Besides your own, what books would make good holiday gifts for animal lovers?
A: There are lots of good books in this category. We highly recommend: The Soul of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human by Vint Virga, D.V.M.; Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You by Clive D.L. Wynne, Ph.D.; and The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy—and Why They Matter by Marc Bekoff (new edition coming April 2024).
