| The days are getting shorter, the sun is beaming down, and the cicadas have taken center stage to perform their seasonal evening set – it’s not hard to tell it’s August.
After all the jet-setting and world-traveling that you no doubt did in the first couple of months of the summer, that backyard hammock and dockside Adirondack chair are looking like pretty nice places to just sit, relax, and enjoy the summer breeze. While that scenario sounds wonderful, we can think of one tiny addition that would make it absolutely ideal – a great book!
The summer might be winding down, but that doesn’t mean that book releases are slowing down at all. We’re still getting lots of new, exciting, titles tumbling into the store every day. When sweetness and romance are the order of the day, Jeffrey Bartsch’s Two Across is the perfect fit. Full of the trials and tribulations of first love, Stanley and Vera will charm any reader with their wit, their intelligence, and their undying love of crossword puzzles. Sarah Maine, a debut author who spent part of her childhood in Canada, has a style that’s been described as “Kate Morton meets Daphne du Maurier.” The House Between Tides features not only an old family estate, some unidentified human remains, and the forgotten history of an intriguing turn of the century artist, but our heroine inevitably stumbles across a hundred year old mystery that will cause more than ripples in the surrounding community.
Mystery fans rejoice! It is almost time for the new Louise Penny book to hit our shelves! While you’re waiting for A Great Reckoning to arrive towards the end of August, why not take comfort in Penny’s newest paperback Gamache novel, The Nature of the Beast? Alternatively, Maureen Jennings’ new Inspector Tom Tyler mystery has just arrived, hot off the press. Dead Ground In Between is the fourth book in the series, appearing hard on the heels of its predecessor, No Known Grave. On the adventure side of things, Dave Eggers’ new novel, Heroes of the Frontier, is a contemporary family story which takes us on a journey through wildfire-plagued Alaskan wilderness. With a beautiful jacket sure to catch your attention, Dancing with the Tiger is Lily Wright’s debut novel after years of non-fiction writing. Set in Oaxaca, this witty, thrilling, sophisticated novel is full of discredited art collectors, sinister artifact dealers, mysterious painters – the perfect story to get lost in.
For some of us, it can be just as satisfying to get lost in a good non-fiction book instead of a novel. If you can’t physically get lost among the glens, hills, and vales of the British Isles, why not let Robert Macfarlane help your mind do the wandering instead? Landmarks, the newest release from this bestselling author of The Old Ways, takes us on a meandering linguistic tour through the various communities and cultures that make up this multi-faceted European gem. With a slightly more concentrated eye, Ted Sandling’s newest book, London in Fragments, carries readers along the banks of the mighty Thames, uncovering precious bits and pieces of London’s history – from ancient Roman tiles to Georgian pottery. Skipping across the Channel, Van Gogh’s Ear by Bernadette Murphy is a brand new book that sets out to discover the mystery behind this beloved artist’s most famous act: the severing of his own ear. A compelling story of love, madness, and obsession, this is a great read for art and history lovers alike!
Of course, no newsletter would be complete without mentioning the highly anticipated (and hot off the press) addition to the Harry Potter canon, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Unlike its predecessors, this new Potter book is in fact a bound screenplay of the new play by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling that just debuted in London. As such, it offers not only the same appeal as Harry’s previous adventures, but gains a certain sophistication that Potter fans will surely appreciate. Here are some more titles to keep an eye out for as the month progresses: Three Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory, the newest historical novel about Henry VIII and his many wives; By Gaslight by Steven Price, an intriguing historical thriller for fans of Eleanor Catton’s The Luminaries and Patrick DeWitt’s The Sisters Brothers; and Serial Monogamy by Kate Taylor, a novel about a woman who finds comfort in her newest writing project even as she tries to deal with a cancer diagnosis and mend the rifts in her marriage – it hasn’t even been published yet, and it’s already a staff pick!
Even though we’ve only just entered the eighth month of the year, some of us have already turned our eyes to 2017. If you count yourself as part of that group, why not come by the store to see the 2017 calendars that are already gracing our shelves? From New Yorker Cartoons to Edward Gorey Art, Mom’s Family Calendar to Inuit Art of Cape Dorset, there’s a little something for everyone!
Whether you’ll be spending these dog days of summer hiking through a national park, lounging by a pool, or just hanging out in the dappled sunshine with your pooch, we hope your backpack and beach bag are playing host to at least one reasonably-sized tome of infinite knowledge and entertainment. Be prepared for any eventuality – pack a book!
Happy August and Happy Reading!
-The Staff of Books on Beechwood |