Happy June.  The rain is warmer. And the sun is setting later – even if we don’t see it! We must be getting close to summer!

For the very first time, Edmonds Bookshop will have a booth at the Edmonds Arts Festival!

We will be a part of the new addition to the festival this year: Edmonds Plaza, a newly refocused venue at the Edmonds Arts Festival, showcasing a variety of artists and artisans who reside or show in Edmonds. Here, in addition to unique local art for sale, participants can meet the artists, see demonstrations, and find information about educational opportunities and art-focused groups in Edmonds. We cannot wait – what a great weekend!

Working in partnership with EPIC Group Writers, we will be featuring local authors and their books — with guest appearances by so many of the authors all weekend. Books by all of the authors [plus a few whose schedules did not allow for appearances] will be featured and available to purchase! Most are also available to purchase online on our website, here. Some will only be available for purchase at the special event at the arts festival. Do join us!

Sneak peek at a list of the local authors that will be joining us over the Arts Festival  weekend*:  Kizzie Jones, Nicole Chen, Nova McBee, Wendy Kendall, Tess Marset, Catherine Alexander, Erica Miner, Ingrid Wolsk, Kelly Jones, Laura Moe, Catherine Linka, Kim Helleren, Tom Frank, Priscilla Long, Judith Works, Richard Taylor, Doug Warren, Paddy Eger, Brad Holden, Rachel Gardner, Chamroeun Pen, Kira Jane Buxton, Naomi Wark, Mimzi Schradi, Jeffrey Briggs, Terry Woods, Anna Dahland, Gerald Bigelow, Valerie Ramer, Alan Hardwick, Stacy Flood, Harriet Cannon, Kathleen Glassburn, Roxanne Dunn.
*not a final list, individual schedules subject to change, etc.

We have posted the author appearance schedule on our website here, with all the usual caveats: subject to change, we never know what the weekend may bring!
Visit EPIC Group Writers website for so much information!

The 2022 Edmonds Arts Festival is June 17-19 at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Visit the Edmonds Arts Festival website for all the information.

Edmonds Bookshop Events

Edmonds Bookshop Book Club.
Easing into the new “normal”: We are hybrid again in June! We will still be doing Zoom meetings, but also – welcoming back anyone who wants to join us in person.

Wednesday morning June 15, 2022. 9-10 a.m. At the bookshop or online…

“The Cold Millions: A Novel” by Jess Walter.

From the bestselling author of “Beautiful Ruins” comes another “literary miracle” (NPR)–a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two brothers swept up in the turbulent class warfare of the early 20th century.
Great review in The Washington Post: “The Cold Millions,” Jess Walter’s celebration of forgotten heroes, is one of the most captivating novels of the year. The review here.

2021 Washington State Book Award Winner.
Staff recommended!
More information about the book and our book club is here.

Send us an email here to register your email for book club membership. We will send you an invitation with a Zoom Meeting link as each book club meeting is scheduled. Once you accept the invitation it will show up in your calendar.

Thursday, June 16, 2022. 6-7 p.m. Third Thursday Art Walk — Live, in-person event! [and recording live for Facebook…]

Meet Harriet Cannon with her new book, “Exiled South”
A psychotherapist’s debut novel takes on family identity and second chances….
After a shameful incident in college, Lizbeth Gordon fled the South for the Pacific Northwest. Twenty years later, her husband dies in a strange accident with consequences that push her home to South Carolina to start over.

Harriet Cannon will be in conversation with Sarah Cannon, author of “The Shame of Losing,” and Harriet’s daughter! The conversation should be all kinds of fun and fascinating!

All the information on our website here.

Saturday June 25, 2022. 10 a.m. – noon. We are so looking forward to this event! Join us to meet Shelby Van Pelt and her debut novel, “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” We will start at the bookshop, with meeting and greeting Ms. Van Pelt; a bit of readings from her lovely book; time for Q&A’s…
Then join us, if you are available, as we move the party to the beach. Michelle will lead a low-tide beach walk. You ever know what we may find at the beach! Probably not a curmudgeonly giant pacific octopus [GPO, to those of us in the know!], but one never knows what low tide might reveal!  More information on our event page, here.

Recent book releases of note:

“Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel” by Shelby Van Pelt. “Meet a hardworking widow, a lost soul, and a giant Pacific octopus (yes, an octopus) in this heartfelt story that reveals there’s still plenty of living to do for those with their eyes — and hearts — open to the unexpected. A bright debut!” —Annie Romano, An Unlikely Story, Plainville, MA. Staff recommended. Lovely review in the Washington Post here. We are hosting a unique author event! We will be wandering about Edmonds beach at low tide with the author and a former Beach Ranger! Who knows what we may find! [probably not a giant octopus named Marcellus, but…] The event details are here.

“Book Lovers” by Emily Henry. One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming… In paperback. Chosen for IndieNext.

“Damnation Spring” by Ash Davidson. Debut novel with rave reviews. Now in paper. Staff recommended. Chosen for May IndieNext.

“Trust” by Hernan Diaz. How did one devious Wall Street financier survive the crash of 1929 and make his fortune? Four books within a book compete for the truth in “Trust.” IndieNext May Choice.

“Book of Night” by Holly Black. Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make. The bestselling author makes her stunning adult debut, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies. IndieNext May Choice.

“When Women Were Dragons: A Novel” by Kelly Barnhill. “This story of an alternate 1950s America, in which rebellious women turn into dragons, is thrilling, subversive, and original.—Gwen Papp, Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI. Chosen for IndieNext.

“The Book Woman’s Daughter” by Kim Michele Richardson. In paperback. Chosen for IndieNext.

“Fly Girl: A Memoir” by Ann Hood. The author beautifully captures the nostalgia of the golden age of air travel in her memoir of her adventurous years as a TWA flight attendant.

“By the Book: Meant to Be #2” by Jasmine Guillory. A tale as old as time—for a new generation…  In paperback.

“Broken (in the Best Possible Way)” by Jenny Lawson. In paperback.

“Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook” by Rick Martínez. The columnist and food editor introduces home cooks to the diverse culinary treasures of Mexico.

“The Summer Place: A Novel” by Jennifer Weiner. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, this is a love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us. Chosen for IndieNext.

“The Lioness” by Chris Bohjalian. Hollywood starlet Katie Barstow has just flown out all her high-power friends to the Serengeti. Instead of a vacation they find themselves in the middle of a kidnapping gone wrong. Another surprising adventure with twists and turns that sneak up on you like a lioness in the long grass.

“Bad Actors: A Slough House Novel #8” by Mick Herron. In London’s MI5 headquarters a scandal is brewing that could disgrace the entire intelligence community. Over at Slough House, where Jackson Lamb presides over some of MI5’s most embittered demoted agents, the slow horses are doing what they do best, and adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation. Now streaming – first book in the series is “Slow Horses.”

“The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Novel” by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Now in paper.  Winner of the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award. Information here.

“Facing the Mountain: An Inspiring Story of Japanese American Patriots in World War II” by Daniel James Brown. Now in paper. Staff recommended.

“This Time Tomorrow” by Emma Straub. With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes, and a different kind of love story. What if you could take a vacation to your past?

“The Island” by Adrian McKinty. It was just supposed to be a family vacation. A terrible accident changed everything. You don’t know what you’re capable of until they come for your family. Chosen for May IndieBound.

“You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty” by Akwaeke Emezi. In Emezi’s seductive and powerful tale, a dazzling celebration of life’s complexity, artist Feyi Adekola finally feels ready to date again five years after losing the love of her life in a car accident. She intends to keep things simple, but instead she ends up on a tropical island and entangled in forbidden desire.

“Happy-Go-Lucky” by David Sedaris. His first new collection of personal essays since the bestselling “Calypso.”

“Sparring Partners: Jake Brigance Stories” by John Grisham. By turns suspenseful, hilarious, powerful, and moving, these are three of the greatest stories John Grisham has ever told.

“Meant to Be” by Emily Giffin. Joseph Kingsley is American royalty, but his recklessness doesn’t fit the role he’s supposed to play. Enter Cate Cooper, a highly sought-after model who never feels like she belongs. The attraction is immediate and intense. But with both of their lives (rumored to be based on JFK Jr. and Carolyne Bassette) in the spotlight and a rumored curse surrounding the Kinglsey family, is it possible for their relationship to survive?

Some books of note being released in June:

“Horse: A Novel” by Geraldine Brooks. Based on the true story of a record-breaking thoroughbred, “Horse” finds a Smithsonian scientist and Nigerian-American art historian connected through a horse and its unsung Black horseman. June 2, 2022. Staff recommended.

“James Patterson: The Stories of My Life” by James Patterson. The bestselling author tells how a boy from small-town New York made it to literary stardom. June 6, 2022.

“Nightcrawling” by Leila Mottley. A dazzling novel about a young Black woman who walks the streets of Oakland and stumbles headlong into the failure of its justice system–the debut of a blazingly original voice that “bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole”  — Tommy Orange, best-selling author of There There. June 7, 2022.

“We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power” by Caleb Gayle. The extraordinary story of the Creek Nation, a Native tribe that two centuries ago both owned slaves and accepted Black people as full citizens. A landmark work of untold American history that reshapes our understanding of identity, race, and belonging.  June 7, 2022.

“Ordinary Monsters: A Novel (The Talents #1)” by J. M. Miro. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness–a man made of smoke. This book is on all kinds of lists of books people are looking forward to! June 7, 2022.

“Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original” by Howard Bryant. The definitive biography of Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, baseball’s epic leadoff hitter and base-stealer. June 7, 2022.

“Cult Classic: A Novel” by Sloane Crosley. Hilariously insightful and delightfully suspenseful, this is an original: a masterfully crafted tale of love, memory, morality, and mind control, as well as a fresh foray into the philosophy of romance. June 7, 2022.

“The Seaplane on Final Approach: A Novel” by Rebecca Rukeyser. A lusty young woman seeks out experience on a remote Alaskan homestead in this erotic and darkly humorous novel that perfectly telegraphs the suspended animation of tourist-trap life within an eerie life-changing season, the gravity of which will only be felt decades later. June 7, 2022.

“Counterfeit: A Novel” by Kirstin Chen. Two Asian-American women turn a fake handbag scheme into a global enterprise. June 7, 2022.

“The Night Hawks:  Ruth Galloway Mysteries” by Elly Griffiths. In paperback.  Staff recommended series! June 7, 2022.

“The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War” by Malcolm Gladwell. Now in paper. June 7, 2022.

“Tracy Flick Can’t Win” by Tom Perrotta.  Yes, class president wannabe Tracy Flick is back, and she’s middle-aged and working at a high school. June 7, 2022.

“What Strange Paradise” by Omar El Akkad. A beautifully written, unrelentingly dramatic, and profoundly moving novel that looks at the global refugee crisis through the eyes of a child. Now in paperback. June 7, 2022.

“How to Raise an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi. The book that every parent, caregiver, and teacher needs to raise the next generation of antiracist thinkers, he combines his personal experience as a parent with his scholarly expertise in showing how racism affects every step of a child’s life. Read an essay in the Atlantic Monthly adapted from a chapter in Ibram X. Kendi’s book “How to Raise an Antiracist,” here.  June 14, 2022.

“The Hotel Nantucket” by Elin Hilderbrand.  A summer of scandal at a storied Nantucket hotel in this immensely satisfying page-turner.  June 14, 2022.

“Lapvona” by Ottessa Moshfegh. In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot of a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel. June 21, 2022.

“The House Across the Lake” by Riley Sager.  Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, this is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required. June 21, 2022.

 “Dele Weds Destiny” by Tomi Obaro. The story of three once-inseparable college friends in Nigeria who reunite in Lagos for the first time in thirty years–a sparkling debut novel about mothers and daughters, culture and class, sex and love, and the extraordinary resilience of female friendship. June 28, 2022.

“Thrust” by Lidia Yuknavitch. As rising waters—and an encroaching police state—endanger her life and family, a girl with the gifts of a “carrier” travels through water and time to rescue vulnerable figures from the margins of history. A dazzling novel of body, spirit, and survival. June 28, 2022.

“The Locked Room:  Ruth Galloway Mysteries” by Elly Griffiths. Pandemic lockdowns have Ruth Galloway feeling isolated from everyone but a new neighbor–until Nelson comes calling, investigating a decades-long string of murder-suicides. June 28, 2022.

“Hell of a Book: A Novel” by Jason Mott.  Unforgettably told, with characters who burn into your mind and an electrifying plot ideal for book club discussion. And in its final twists, it truly becomes its title. In paperback. June 28, 2022.

“Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks” by Patrick Radden Keefe.  A collection of New Yorker pieces about criminals and rascals, sounds irresistible.  June 28, 2022.

Some fun blog posts: June books recommended by The Washington Post on our blog post; 13 feel-good books for summer reading recommended by The Washington Post; Time magazine recommends the best books of summer, blog post here.

We will keep posting our favorite reads, along with links to all kinds of book-related interesting things! In all the places: on our website, facebook, Instagram, and twitter.

You may pre-order any forthcoming title by visiting our website.

Stay safe. Enjoy the little things. And as always: 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!