Lynn: So I think memoirs are a good way to get to know an artist, whether it's a musician, a writer鈥� I fell in love with 鈥淒on't Let's go to the Dogs Tonight鈥� by Alexandra Fuller. It's a memoir about her childhood in Africa, and it was so engaging, and it read like such an adventure story, that I wanted to read everything that she had written. So I did. I think that it鈥檚 such a sweet story, full of adventure and full of family. And if you don't know who Alexandra Fuller is, then you should find out. Let's see: She did a whole series about her family in Africa. She did a book called 鈥淭he Legend of Colton Bryant,鈥� which was based on a true story about one of the oil field workers - what happened to him, and about things changing for the better, for safety. Another one of her books was called 鈥淐ocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness," which is about her family. Her parents were quite adventurous.
Another person, a musician, who I really admire, is Patti Smith, so I've read pretty much everything she's ever written. But this is a newer book, and it's called 鈥淎 Book of Days," and it goes through every day of the year, even if it's a leap year, with a little blurb and a picture. Some are the pictures she has taken, others are just pictures that she has collected, but it's a really nice way to kind of get inside a person's head. And I love being inside Patti's head. So sometimes it's nice and it's a book that you can always pick up and open it to a day - maybe it's the day that you're in, or a day you're looking forward to - and just to see how she's captured it in her memory. So I highly recommend it, and anything by Patti Smith.
"All flourishing is mutual."Robin Wall Kimmerer in "The Serviceberry"
The third book is a really special book. This book just came out. This is 鈥淭he Serviceberry.鈥� You're going to recognize Robin Wall Kimmerer, who wrote 鈥淏raiding Sweetgrass鈥�. And this little treasure is really about the abundance and reciprocity that we should look to the natural world to see what she calls the 鈥渆conomy of reciprocity.鈥� Something I'd like to say here is that she states, 鈥淥ur economy is rooted in scarcity, competition and the hoarding of resources, so we should look to nature to see how gratitude and reciprocity is really sustaining for everyone.鈥� And she has a little blurb on the back that says 鈥淎ll flourishing is mutual.鈥� So it's a really good lesson to look to see about where you live. I think JPR is that: It's about gratitude, and it's about reciprocity. You know, they're giving us something. We're grateful. So we're sustaining it. We sustain each other. So, I think that's a little treasure that 's been a little hard to come by, but now it's out. For some reason, the publisher just dropped the ball, and people were asking for this book all through the holidays, and we couldn't get it, but now we have it.
Vanessa Finney: Yeah, her other book, 鈥淏raiding Sweetgrass,鈥� was a sleeper hit.
Lynn: Oh yeah. It took years, and then once it hit, then everybody was [into it] because everybody's looking around them and seeing what's going on, and there's a reason to be concerned, you know. And so it's a good way for us to be reminded that, yes, if we sustain the earth, it's going to sustain us.
VF: Is memoir especially fitting for the winter season, or is that what you would gravitate toward when the weather's cold?
Lynn: Yeah, but maybe a memoir about someone's first time going to Italy or someplace warm, I think. When I read "Under the Tuscan Sun," it was a February, and it was very rainy, and people would come in - I was working a little coffee shop - and I'd be reading in between. They'd be like, "Oh, so where are you?" And I'd go, "Oh, right now I'm spending my afternoon in Italy, and it's quite divine. The sun is shining. We're drinking wine, and meanwhile....here we are."
Kat: My name is Kat, and I have pulled together three books that talk about nature. The first book I'm recommending is 鈥淎 Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman. She writes about natural history. It's an exploration of the five senses. It's described as an aphrodisiac for this sense receptors.
The next book I have to recommend is 鈥淭he Universe in Verse by Maria Popova. This book was actually given as a gift from the store's owner to all of us here, and it covers essays on different naturalists in science, poetry and nature. It also includes one of Diane Ackerman's poems. [Reading from book jacket.] In 鈥淭he Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science and Poetry鈥� by Maria Popova, poetry and science individually - but especially together - are instruments for knowing the world more intimately and loving it more deeply. We need science to help us meet reality on its own terms, and we need poetry to help us broaden and deepen the terms on which we meet ourselves and each other.
The next book I have to recommend is called 鈥淭his Wild Life: Heroines in the History of Botany, 1650, to 1850鈥� by one of our local authors, Lucretia Saville Weems. This is one of our recommended titles that we keep up front and also in our local authors bookcase. The women in these pages led amazing lives, from witnessing historic earthquakes to encounters with pirates to visits from the queen. Each was a true heroine who contributed dramatically to plant knowledge before the word botany ever existed.
Megan of Bloomsbury Books:
VF: So Megan, it's the first week of January. What are you recommending for reading this season?
Megan: Well, I mean, at Bloomsbury, we are so gifted in our staff recommendations, so I highly encourage folks to come on in and chat amongst our staff and each other, because that's where the best recommendations come from. We have such a diverse taste set in our store. But, you know, touching on some of the books that are coming up that we're excited about, there's a book called 鈥淭he Granddaughter鈥� by Bernhard Schlink that we're very excited about. It should be arriving in the next week or so. Bernhard Schlink is a German author who wrote another fantastic book called 鈥淭he Reader.鈥� It鈥檚 about the protagonist named Casper, who is actually a bookstore owner in his 70s, and he finds his wife dead in a bathtub in their Berlin apartment and uncovers all sorts of secrets that she was writing about in an unfinished book. And this is in post-war East Germany. So it sounds like some really thrilling and mysterious historical fiction.
Another one we're excited about is by Han Kang, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024 and she has a book coming out called 鈥淲e do not Part.鈥� It's supposed to be just riveting. Han Kang also wrote 鈥淭he Vegetarian,鈥� which is also a fantastic book. So 鈥淲e do not Part鈥� is written by a South Korean novelist, and this book is about a woman who receives an urgent message from her friend to visit her at a hospital in Seoul, who has injured herself in an accident. She is begging her to save her beloved pet, which is a white bird. And a snowstorm hits the island when the protagonist arrives, and the questions are, 鈥淐an she save the animal?鈥� There's a terrible cold spell that envelops her, and she becomes lost in this world of snow and plunges into the darkness at her friend's house and a lot of harrowing scenes supposedly ensue from then on.
VF: Intriguing - and that one is set in winter.
Megan: It is, yes. And then another book that we are excited about is called 鈥淰ictorian Psycho鈥� by Virginia Feito. And it's a mystery, horror, historical fiction novel. Virginia Feito is also the author of 鈥淢rs. March,鈥� which was a very popular fiction book last year of the same genre. And this is about a protagonist named Winifred Naughty who arrives at the Ensor house to play the perfect Victorian governess to a family. The family starts joking about eating children, and Winifred Naughty believes it's a joke until she starts uncovering all sorts of secrets about this family's horrid past. It takes place in winter as well. So it sounds like the perfect gory read for winter, for those who love gory reads.
VF: 鈥�.and for those of us who don't?
Megan: Well, I have to say one book that has just wowed us all and continues to be one of our best selling books at Bloomsbury is 鈥淛补尘别蝉鈥� by Percival Everett, and it won the National Book Award for Fiction. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend picking it up. It's a reimagining of Huckleberry Finn, and it's action-packed and turns this cult literary classic upside down on its head. It's just a phenomenal book that stands the test of time last year, next year, and I'm sure for decades to come.
VF: Excellent. Now I'm gonna put you on the spot. Have you read that yourself yet?
Megan: Yes.
VF: Okay, what was your impression?
Megan: You know, I thought it really shed light on a character in a way that was unexpected. And I mean, to me, it was just phenomenal. I really enjoyed it.
VF: Okay, what's next on the list?
Megan: So in the nonfiction department, many of you may know that Ina Garten has an autobiography called 鈥淏e Ready When the Luck Happens.鈥� And it's just a really interesting genre in that it's a cookbook writer's autobiography. She has such an interesting history and has built such an empire and become a very relatable icon in the cooking world. It's been a really good seller at Bloomsbury as well.
VF: That friendly face on the cover draws people in.
Megan: It's very warm and should help us all get through the cold winter months. In the middle school grade department, we love the book 鈥淚mpossible Creatures,鈥� by Katherine Rundell. It's wonderful, and it's the first in a series, and we highly recommend that book. It came out last year, but continues to be one of our best sellers for our younger readers. And along those lines, one of our much anticipated books for younger readers is called 鈥淏ird of 1,000 Stories鈥� by Kiyash Monsef, who also wrote a beautiful book called 鈥淥nce There was.鈥� 鈥淏ird of 1,000 Stories鈥� is a companion to 鈥淥nce There was,鈥� and it's also perfect for fans of 鈥淚mpossible Creatures.鈥� It's a mythical book about a bird in terrible danger whose fate determines the future of the world. And it's such a fantastic journey for all ages, I would say.
For our even younger readers, we have a beautiful book called 鈥淔rost Fire鈥� by Ellie McKay. It's gorgeously illustrated. And it follows a dragon expert named Miriam and her curious friend Celeste as they take a magical winter's day walk through a garden where a Snow Dragon just might be hiding. It's just beautiful and enchanting and perfect for winter.
VF: Okay - a list full of magical creatures and winter settings and a couple of mysteries.
Megan: That's right, the perfect recipe to get us all through the winter and beyond.
These interviews have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
