By Elaine Mattson
For some reason, our little corner of the world is chalk full of authors. Theories abound. My favorite has to do with the fact that while attempting to stay out of the rain, we have plenty of time for indoor activities. (Why so many of the books end up twisted, dark and mysterious is an entirely different conversation!)
Plenty of big fall books this year from local authors and with local interest. A few of the highlights:
“The Future Remembered: The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and Its Legacy” a new book about the history of the 1962 World’s Fair and Seattle Center written by Paula Becker and Alan J. Stein. Astronauts and space craft. Royalty and Cold War tension. Science and art. The Kennedys. Religion and sex. Fashion and futurist speculation. Freakish weather and Belgian waffles. Elvis and his excitable fans. The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair had it all. Officially named Century 21 Exposition, the fair drew 10 million visitors and even made a little money — remarkable success for an event staged in a little-known, geographically isolated city.
“Ed King” by David Guterson. How would a modern man go about killing his father and marrying his mother, just like Sophocles’ Oedipus? Guterson’s vivid re-creation is set in the Northwest starting in 1962!
“reamde” by Neal Stephenson. The author returns to the terrain of his groundbreaking novels “Snow Crash” and “Cryptonomicon” to deliver a high-intensity, high stakes, action-packed adventure thriller in which a tech entrepreneur gets caught in the very real crossfire of his own online war game.
And for kids, too:
“The Sniffles for Bear” by Bonny Becker. Tragedy has struck — at least in the opinion of Bear, who languishes with a cold and who “was quite sure no one had ever been as sick as he was.”
“The Wildwood Chronicles, Book I” by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis (Illustrator) is a spellbinding tale full of wonder, danger, and magic that juxtaposes the thrill of a secret world and modern city life. Original and fresh yet steeped in classic fantasy, this is a novel that could have only come from the imagination of Colin Meloy, celebrated for his inventive and fantastic storytelling as the lead singer of the Decemberists. Chosen for IndieBound.
November Events at the Edmonds Bookshop.
Our Book Club book for Nov. 3 & 16. “Girl Who Fell From the Sky” by Heidi Durrow.
Nov. 5. Saturday, 12 noon. Mary Volmer, author of “Crown of Dust” will join us to chat and sign her book.
“Volmer’s distinctive, beautifully written debut is set in the California gold rush country in the mid-19th century…[her] prose is taut and restrained, moving the story along at a healthy clip as her hardscrabble characters rumble and stumble through their dusty domain. Volmer’s found a fat vein of gold in some heavily mined territory.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Visit her website to learn more.
Third Thursday Art Walk. Nov. 17, 5 – 8 pm. We are thrilled to announce the debut of Georgia Neill as Third Thursday Artist. Now 12 years old, Georgia has been an artist all of her life. She will bring with her some of her drawings, paintings and mixed-media pieces. She will also be demonstrating some of her techniques during the art walk.
Recent paperback releases:
“At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson. In paperback! Chosen for IndieBound.
“Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson. In paper.
Recent hardcover releases:
“Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life. Review in The Seattle Times.
“The Litigators” by John Grisham. A tremendously entertaining romp, filled with the kind of courtroom strategies, theatrics, and suspense that have made John Grisham America’s favorite storyteller.
“1Q84” by Haruki Murakami.
“The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales” by Chris Van Allsburg. This inspired collection of short stories features many remarkable, best-selling authors in the worlds of both adult and children’s literature.
“Zone One” by Colson Whitehead. The living dead take Manhattan in a harrowing thriller about zombies in New York — and a cheeky commentary on the ‘flatlined culture’ of modern society. Review in The Seattle Times.
“The Stranger’s Child” by Alan Hollinghurst. This magnificent new novel explores how a living, breathing existence can become, decades later, a biographical subject riddled with omissions and distortions. Review in The Seattle Times. Also in the New York Times.
“The Puppy Diaries : Raising a Dog Named Scout” by Jill Abramson. Great review in the New York Times.
“The Marriage Plot: A Novel” by Jeffrey Eugenides. His new book is a love triangle turned on its head — telling the story of three struggling young people, set in the pre-Internet, pre-cell phone 1980s, caught in a love triangle. Lovely review in The Seattle Times. Great review in the New York Times.
“The Death Cure (Maze Runner Trilogy)” by James Dashner. The 3rd in the trilogy!
“Seriously…I’m Kidding” by Ellen Degeneres.
Coming in November:
“11/22/63: A Novel” by Stephen King. Nov. 8
“The Prague Cemetery” by Umberto Eco. Nov. 8
“Inheritance (Book 4 of The Inheritance Cycle)” by Christopher Paolini. Finally! Nov. 8
“Kill Alex Cross” by James Patterson. Nov. 14
“V is for Vengeance : A Kinsey Millhone Mystery” by Sue Grafton. Nov. 14
For ages 9 – 12: “Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)” by Jeff Kinney. Nov. 15
“Explosive Eighteen” by Janet Evanovich. Nov. 22
For ages 9 – 12: “Warriors: Omen of the Stars #5: The Forgotten Warrior” by Erin Hunter. Nov. 22
“Micro: A Novel” by Michael Crichton. Nov. 22
“The Third Reich: A Novel” by Roberto Bolaño. Nov. 22
“The Drop : A Harry Bosch Novel” by Michael Connelly. Nov. 29
As always, check our website for all the latest in book news.
Happy reading!
Edmonds native Elaine Mattson has worked at The Edmonds Bookshop off and on since she was 12 years old, and has also worked at a book wholesaler, a book publisher, and for the book publishing division of a large local software company (yes, that one). “I was raised a book lover [thanks, Mom!],” Mattson says. “We got book lights by our beds as soon as we were old enough to read. And then I probably got in trouble for reading too late the very next night. And I still read too late!”
