By Elaine Mattson

Happy New Year to you all!

What books on your list did you not get? Time to rectify the oversights and do your own shopping! The following lists [alphabetical by author], though not at all scientific, are a few of the titles that were favorites of gift-givers.

Fiction:
• “The Orchardist” by Amanda Coplin

• “The Bartender’s Tale” by Ivan Doig

• “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich

• “Flight Behavior: A Novel” by Barbara Kingsolver

• “A Thousand Mornings” by Mary Oliver

Non-fiction:
• “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher” by Timothy Egan

• “Because I Said So! : The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids” by Ken Jennings

• “Help, Thanks, Wow” by Anne Lamott

• “I Could Pee on This” by Francesco Marciuliano

• “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power” by Jon Meacham

Young Adult:
• “The Edge of Nowhere” by Elizabeth George

• “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

How about you gift receivers? What books do you wish you had been given?

January Events at the Edmonds Bookshop
Our January Book Club title is “Wolf Hall: A Novel” by Hilary Mantel. Winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize. In the ruthless arena of King Henry VIII’s court, only one man dares to gamble his life to win the king’s favor and ascend to the heights of political power. If you are now watching re-runs, or ever watched part of the Showtime series “The Tudors,” then you have seen some of the history covered in this novel. [Anyone else get sucked into the New Year’s Day marathon?! Anyone else say to themselves “hey! I know that name!” when the characters decided to make an unannounced visit to Wolf Hall, home of the Seymore family?!]

Fun bonus trivia: the sequel, “Bring Up the Bodies” also won the 2012 Man Booker Prize!

Find more details on our Book Club page.

Jan. 17, 5-8 p.m. Third Thursday ArtWalk. We welcome, as our Third Thursday Artist: YOU! Using the pages of the book, “Made to Play: Handmade Toys and Crafts for Growing Imaginations” by Joel Henriques, as inspiration, we will have all sorts of crafty supplies for you to play with and to get your imagination flowing! Visit the author’s web site, Made by Joel, for all kinds of great ideas!

Recent book releases of note:
“The Twelve Tribes of Hattie” by Ayana Mathis. Oprah has chosen this debut novel for her book club. An author interview will be aired February 3, 2013 on the “Super Soul Sunday” program on Winfrey’s OWN network. The entire Seattle Times article here. Also chosen for January 2013 IndieBound.

“Because I Said So!: The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales, and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to Its Kids” by Ken Jennings. With his trademark wit and genius, the author and Jeopardy! champion dissects common phrases most adults say to their children at one time or another. Using solid research, he judges whether long-held beliefs are true or false and imparts wisdom and good sense in this highly entertaining and oddly educational book. Chosen for December IndieBound.

“Two Graves” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Preston and Child’s high-adrenaline 12th thriller featuring maverick FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast wraps up the trilogy that began with 2010’s “Fever Dream” and continued with 2011’s “Cold Vengeance” with a bang.

“Pow!” by Mo Yan. The Nobel laureate’s new novel is an earthy, larger-than-life look at one family in a village in China. Great review in The Seattle Times.

“On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Works” by Simon Garfield. Innumerable modes of seeing the world unfold in this exuberant history of maps. Garfield’s droll humor and infectious curiosity will keep readers engrossed as he uncovers surprising ways in which maps chart our imaginations as much as they do the ground underfoot. Great review in The Seattle Times.

“Me Before You: A Novel” by Jojo Moyes. This new novel brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

“The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?” by Jared Diamond. This is Jared Diamond’s most personal book to date, as he draws extensively from his decades of field work in the Pacific islands. A characteristically provocative, enlightening, and entertaining book. Short interview in The Seattle Times.

“To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others” by Daniel H. Pink. From the bestselling author of “Drive” comes a surprising–and surprisingly useful–new book that explores the power of selling in our lives. Whether we’re employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs enticing funders to invest, or parents and teachers cajoling children to study, we spend our days trying to move others. Like it or not, we’re all in sales now.

And coming later in January:

“Y” by Marjorie Celona. Chosen for the lead review in the January 2013 IndieBound. Jan. 8

“1356: A Novel” by Bernard Cornwell. September 1356. All over France, towns are closing their gates. Crops are burning, and through-out the countryside people are on the alert for danger. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“The Lifeboat” by Charlotte Rogan. In paperback. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“Hikikomori and the Rental Sister: A Novel” by Jeff Backhaus. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road” by William Least Heat-Moon. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“The River Swimmer: Novellas” by Jim Harrison. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“Tenth of December: Stories” by George Saunders. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 8

“Little Wolves” by Thomas Maltman. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan.8

For middle grade readers. “Hokey Pokey” by Jerry Spinelli. Master storyteller Jerry Spinelli has written a dizzyingly inventive fable of growing up and letting go, of leaving childhood and its imagination play behind for the more dazzling adventures of adolescence, and of learning to accept not only the sunny part of day, but the unwelcome arrival of night, as well. Jan. 8

For middle grade readers. “Navigating Early” by Clare Vanderpool. At the end of World War II, Jack Baker, a landlocked Kansas boy, is suddenly uprooted after his mother’s death and placed in a boy’s boarding school in Maine… Jan. 8

“Gypsy Boy : My Life in the Secret World of the Romany Gypsies” by Mikey Walsh. Now in paperback. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 15

“The Age of Miracles” by Karen Thompson Walker. Now in paperback. Recommended tag in the Bookshop and chosen for IndieBound Jan. 15

“My Beloved World” by Sonia Sotomayor. The Supreme Court Justice candidly and intimately recounts her journey from a Bronx housing project to the federal bench. Jan. 15

“Snow White Must Die” by Nele Neuhaus. Chosen for IndieBound. Jan. 15

“Truth in Advertising: A Novel” by John Kenney. Debut novel. Jan. 22.

“Speaking from Among the Bones: A Flavia de Luce Novel” by Alan Bradley. Jan. 29.

As always, check our website for all the latest in book news! [www.edmondsbookshop.com/booknews.htm]

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!”