The Thread's Must-Read
Bookseller favoritesEvery week, I ask booksellers around the country to answer one simple question: What book are you most excited about right now? (Sometimes choosing just one is not actually that simple.)
I’ve talked to booksellers in all fifty states, from the westernmost bookstore in the country (Talk Story Bookstore in Kauai, Hawaii) to the coast of Maine (Print: A Bookstore in Portland). And they have delivered a delightfully strange and wonderful mix of books all year long.
As we close out 2017, I’m sharing a few of my favorite recommendations:
• The story of the “last true hermit,” who lived alone in the woods for 27 years: Tom Lowenburg, one of the owners of Octavia Books in New Orleans, recommends “The Stranger in the Woods”
• A cookbook made for tiny, unconventional kitchens: Katharine Nevins of MainStreet BookEnds in Warner, N.H., recommends “The Tiny Mess”
• A literary mystery planted around Monet's water lilies: Vicki Burger of Wind City Books in Casper, Wyo., recommends, “Black Water Lilies”
• “If you ever want to understand the immigrant experience,” read this book: Angela Maria Spring of Duende District, a new bookstore in Washington, D.C., recommends “A Cup of Water Under My Bed”
• A family locks itself away after a series of murders: Kendra Adkins of Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown, W.V., recommends Shirley Jackson’s terrifying classic, “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”
-Tracy Mumford
Best poetry collections of 2017: Poets' picks Poets from around the country share their favorite new collections.
More
Why teens find the end of the world so appealing Dystopian novels are all about consequences, choices and gray areas. And psychologists say that plays right into the sweet spot of the developing teenage brain.
More
Examining how fear crept into American life "Fortress America" by Elaine Tyler May
Buy this book
Historian Elaine Tyler May says that since the Cold War, fear has crept into American life. Her new book, "Fortress America," examines key events that shaped today's political climate.
More
More
Ursula K. Le Guin's voice rings out in a new nonfiction collection "No Time to Spare" by Ursula Le Guin
Buy this book
Ursula K. Le Guin's mastery of fiction has remained so consistent, it's easy to overlook her accomplishments in other forms — but her new nonfiction collection goes a long way towards fixing that.
More
As she turns 90, suspense still thrills author Mary Higgins Clark Known as the "queen of suspense," Higgins Clark still publishes two books a year. She says the greatest compliment she gets is when someone tells her, "'I read your darn book till 4 in the morning.'"
More
The best fantasy book ever published? "Little, Big" by John Crowley
Buy this book
Bookseller Corey Mesler doesn't usually pick up fantasy novels — but John Crowley's "Little, Big" won him over.
More
Best fiction of 2017 Murder mysteries, family secrets and the end of the world — the best fiction of 2017 features dark tales and moments of beauty.
More
Best nonfiction of 2017 Sharks, war and beloved Schwinn bikes make appearances in our favorite nonfiction reads of the year.
More
Best young adult fiction of 2017 Thieves, magic, grief and growing up fill The Thread's favorite young adult novels of 2017.
More
