The first weekend in November has the best night of the year: We get to turn our clocks back an entire hour! And you know what that means – an entire extra hour to read! You don’t _have_ to wake up at 2 a.m., change the clocks to 1 a.m., and then read for your bonus hour…. But it is kind of fun to do it that way!! [if you don’t need to be awake early on Sunday, of course!]

In case you need suggestions of what to read next, winners of 3 literary awards were announced this past month:

• The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2014 was awarded to the French author Patrick Modiano. The official Nobel Prize web site with all of the details here.
• 2014 Washington State Book Award winners announced:
  • Poetry: “Rough Day” by Ed Skoog
  • Fiction: “Hild” by Nicola Griffith
  • Biography/memoir: “The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century” by David Laskin
  • History/general nonfiction: “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown

The LitLife column, with more information, here.

• 2014 Man Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded to Richard Flanagan for “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.” More information at the official website.

First Novel Report, what I read in October:
“High as the Horses’ Bridles” by Scott Cheshire. (published 7/8/2014). The author has a beautiful way with words. More than once, I re-read a sentence or a paragraph, because it was indeed beautiful. But. I did not care so much about the people in the story/stories. Different time periods [early life of main character; then the 20s/30s of main character; then brief view into life of ancestor of main character]. This book got all kinds of great reviews …. My Verdict: meh. I will not be recommending this one. If the other reviews you see sound great to you – please enjoy! The writing is indeed worthy.

November Events at The Edmonds Bookshop.

Nov. 6 & 19, 2014. Our November Book Club title is “Caleb’s Crossing” by Geraldine Brooks.

Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. Inspired by a true story and narrated by the irresistible Bethia, it brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance. A New York Times bestselling tale of passion and belief, magic and adventure from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author.

We have chosen the books for the first half of 2015! They are listed on our Book Club page. [https://www.edmondsbookshop.com/bookclub.htm]

Nov. 11, 2014. Tuesday at 2 p.m.. We are thrilled to welcome Tory McCagg and her first novel, “Bittersweet Manor.” She is in the midst of an amazing publicity tour, and while on her West Coast swing, she will be here at The Edmonds Bookshop!

After a four-month estrangement from her family, 32-year-old Emma Michaels visits The Harbor View Assisted Living Home to tell her grandmother that she has made a decision: She’s going to sell the family property—her inheritance. Sitting on a dock in Connecticut, looking across the harbor to their family’s longtime home, the two women debate Emma’s choice—and their conversation lays the framework for the book. Expectations passed down through the generations. Subtle. Unspoken. Implacable.

Nov. 20, 2014. Third Thursday Art Walk, 5-8 p.m. First Dibs Night! The town will be all kinds of festive, and many shops will have special sales or deals for one night only!
Join us for snacks & beverages and to get started on that holiday shopping!! Or at least start making your lists!

Recent book releases of note:
“Lila” by Marilynne Robinson. This third of three novels set in the fictional plains town of Gilead, Iowa, follows “Gilead” and “Home;” it’s called a “masterpiece of prose” by Publishers Weekly. Chosen for IndieBound.
“Some Luck” by Jane Smiley. Smiley’s new novel follows an Iowa family, from the years after WWI through the early 1950s, from the family farm outward into the increasingly complicated world. The first in what may be a trilogy.
“Deadline: A Virgil Flowers Novel” by John Sandford.
“This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage” by Ann Patchett. In paperback.
“Leaving Time” by Jodi Picoult. A daughter refuses to believe that her naturalist mother abandoned her more than a decade before. Helped by a disgraced psychic and a cynical private detective, she searches for the truth.
For little kids “Sam and Dave Dig a Hole” by Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen. Barnett and Klassen’s previous collaboration, “Extra Yarn,” received a Caldecott Honor. Now, they’re back with a droll picture book about two boys on the hunt for something “spectacular” while digging in their yard.
“Gray Mountain: A Novel” by John Grisham. Samantha was a third year associate at New York City’s largest law firm, until she lost her job, her security, and her future.
“The Peripheral” by William Gibson. The brainy, highly imaginative speculative fiction writer publishes a novel set in “multiple futures” in America.
“Falling from Horses” by Molly Gloss. The lyrical Portland writer returns with the story of a ranch hand that moves to Hollywood in 1938, hoping to become a stunt rider and to put a family tragedy behind him.
“The Slow Regard of Silent Things: A Kingkiller Chronicle Novella” by Patrick Rothfuss. A brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, and a small adventure all her own, at once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes…..

Books of note coming soon:

“The Forgers” by Bradford Morrow. When a reclusive rare book dealer, Adam Diehl, is found dead in his Montauk home, surrounded by books and original manuscripts vandalized beyond repair, Adam’s sister and her lover, a convicted if unrepentant literary forger, find themselves in peril. Chosen for IndieBound. Nov. 4, 2014.
For young readers “The Long Haul: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 9” by Jeff Kinney. Nov. 4, 2014.
“Let Me Be Frank With You: A Frank Bascombe Book” by Richard Ford. Frank Bascombe is back! The funny, profane and always observant protagonist of three previous books, he now adjusts to retirement from the real estate business and grapples with the catastrophe created by Hurricane Sandy. Nov. 4, 2014.
“The Laughing Monsters: A Novel” by Denis Johnson. The National Book Award-winning author writes a literary spy thriller, set in Africa in a dangerous post-9/11 world. Chosen for IndieBound Nov. 4, 2014.
“The Three-Body Problem” by Cixin Liu. A broad-scope near-future adventure from China’s most popular science fiction writer. Nov. 11, 2014.
“Revival: A Novel” by Stephen King. An eerie tale, fraught with echoes of Poe and Hawthorne, set in a small town. When tragedy strikes a New England minister’s family, the charismatic preacher curses God. Years later, a young man who knew the family meets him again and learns that the word “revival” has several different meanings. Nov. 11, 2014.
12 and up “Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian’s Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive” by Laura Hillenbrand. The bestseller—soon to be a major motion picture—has now been adapted by the author for young adults. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this riveting biography includes more than 100 black-and-white photos, as well as exclusive content, “In Conversation,” with Laura Hillenbrand and Louie Zamperini. Nov. 11, 2014
“Hope to Die : The Return of Alex Cross” by James Patterson. Detective Alex Cross is being stalked by a psychotic genius, and is forced to play the deadliest game of his career. Nov. 17, 2014.
“My Heart Is a Drunken Compass: A Memoir” by Domingo Martinez. The Seattle author’s second installment of his memoir. The first, “The Boy Kings of Texas,” was a surprise finalist for the National Book Award. Nov. 18, 2014.
“Dangerous Women #3” edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. Volume 3 features an entirely new 18,000-word novella by bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, and a new story of Harry Dresden’s world by bestselling author Jim Butcher. In paperback. Nov. 25, 2014.

As always, check our website for all the latest in book news!

Happy reading!

– By Elaine Mattson

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!”