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All Fours by Miranda July. What ensues when a woman unbuttons her life and steps outside the midlife malaise gripping her marriage to take stock of her neglected interior self and sexual desire? This bangin' book... My god, is it bangin'. Miranda July makes me want to run outside in the dark of night and howl at the moon, howl at the world and all the other women in midlife also awake at 2am to read this dazzling and deeply sexy masterpiece. An all-time favorite. - Hannah
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The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain: Lyrics for Stacey Kent by Kazuo Ishiguro. What a fun and unique book! In the intro, Ishiguro writes that he considers himself as much a songwriter as a writer of stories. Who knew??? Jazz singer Stacey Kent asked him to write lyrics for her, her only instructions were they had to have an element of hope, she having noticed Ishiguro’s writing was often ‘pretty sad’. Combined with dream-like illustrations from Italian comic artist Bianca Bagnarelli, the result is an engaging, thoughtful, and compelling book and for me fully fulfilled Ishiguro’s wish that the reader finds the book a ‘gateway to a special world’. Dip in and be swept away! - Eric
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The Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing by Adam Moss. This is such a cool book (the cover notwithstanding) - an intriguing guided tour of artistic creativity, courtesy of former New York magazine editor Adam Moss. He interviews 43 artists across a range of disciplines in an effort to trace the evolution of their creations. Each chapter focuses on an artist and one of their works, as Moss uncovers the process that led to great art. And check out the layout of the pages, which is both original and graphically interesting. - Hut
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The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon (now in paperback). I flew through this book in two days and I was still thinking about it weeks later. A beloved widower of a small town is keeping many secrets which we learn about in alternating chapters from the three women in his life: his daughter, his new crush and the one he's held captive for five years. His tightly controlled world starts to unravel when he's forced to move to a new home. A riveting thriller that had me engaged to the very end! - Carolyn
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This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune (in paperback). For all the ladies out there who grew up reading and loving Anne of Green Gables, and who have grown into women who devour sweet contemporary romances, this one is for you. Carley Fortune (author of Every Summer After and Meet Me At the Lake) lands her newest romance on Prince Edward Island at the height of summer, think freshly-shucked oysters and glasses of crisp vinho verde, walks on sun-kissed dunes, and lots of Anne references (including a nostalgic trip to Green Gables). When Lucy arrives on PEI ahead of her best friend and meets super hot/charming/well read Felix, their chemistry is palpable. But when Lucy learns (a little too late) that Felix is her best friend's little brother and Lucy has been told he's strictly off limits, their attraction to each other gets a lot more complicated. - Hannah
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Did I Ever Tell You? by Genevieve Kingston. Gwen Kingston’s mother passed away when she was just 11 years old but left her with letters and gifts meant for key, forthcoming milestones in her own life. In sharing personal keepsakes, stories, and life lessons, her mother continues to be a nurturing presence even in death. The book is a beautiful reverse love letter that honors her mother and the everlasting strength of legacy and maternal love. - Jessica
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To & Fro by Leah Hager Cohen. What a fun book, not like anything I’ve ever read before! It’s a flip-book with two very separate but very linked tales, one starting from the “front” of the book and the second from the “back” and then merge in the middle (check it out, page 200, it actually works!) You can start from either end, but I recommend “To”. One half is an enjoyable and compelling fable and the other is sorta current Manhattan, each featuring a charming and thoughtful young girl finding her way in the world. Filled with tons of amusing wordplay and unexpected instances of interweaving between the two, it’s a keeper. - Eric
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The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I devoured this book, a twisty time travel tale set in near-future London about a young woman tasked with being a "bridge" (a personal guide) to an Arctic Explorer from 1874. It's a story about self discovery and exploration—of history, of territory, of culture, of relationships, of the human heart. Is it a dystopian love story? Is it a thrilling mystery? Is it a comedic take down of colonialism? Yes, yes, and yes. Is it charming and fun and intensely readable? A thousand times, yes. - Hannah
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 |  | The Whole Staggering Mystery by Sylvia Brownrigg. Sylvia‘s father Nick didn’t see the package, including a heartfelt missive his grandmother wrote him 50 years before, when it was intended for him, when he came of age at 21. It was actually a scrapbook of letters and articles put together about his father, Gawen, who had moved to British Kenya in 1938 and died suddenly there. In fact, Nick didn’t see the scrapbook for decades, until his daughter Sylvia read it to him, and by that point he was losing his memory, and it was unclear if he understood, or cared about his history. Sylvia breathes life into characters that are revealed to her as she studies the scrapbook - of her great-grandma Lady Beatrice in London just before WWII, and her grandfather Gawen’s ups and downs in Kenya. Then it’s as if Sylvia bursts into song by switching to a fictional voice to tell the story of her dad Nick, who is really the star of the show. The adventures of visiting him at the Circle C Ranch near Mendocino are a delight to follow along with. The awe, fear, respect and frustration she feels for her eccentric father are portrayed perfectly. Heartbreak, family love and humor pulse through these chapters. Such a rich tale! - Heida
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Death Valley by Melissa Broder (now in paperback). Death Valley is weird and wonderful, a bona fide mental trip, both an escape from reality for our 40-something writer protagonist into the literal desert of Southern California, and a pilgrimage into the desert of her soul as she attempts to manage the layers of anxiety that accompany the future promise of grief. Broder has knuckled out another uniquely Broder-esque novel, one whose whimsical and kinky humor belies a deeper truth about what it means to be present and alive in body and mind when loved ones’ bodies fail and Death looms large. Every Melissa Broder novel is a surprise, an unexpected gift to the world, and I can’t wait to see what she conjures next. - Hannah
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Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash (now in paperback). This is a gorgeous, stunning debut set between 1940 and 1965 about a young girl whose parents decide to send her to live with a family in Boston to avoid the perils of war in her home city of London. Short, beautifully written chapters follow the different characters through time as we learn of their lives, loves and sorrows and how they are all impacted for decades by a seemingly benign decision. I was utterly captivated and at times a tearful mess; this story and these characters will be with me for years to come. - Carolyn
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Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor. Known for her short stories, Elizabeth O'Connor is an author who writes the natural world and her characters with a tender reverence. Set on a small, sparsely populated island off the coast of Wales in 1938, Whale Fall is told from the perspective of Manod, an intelligent but sheltered young woman on the cusp of adulthood. With few options available to her, she ponders what she wants and what her life could be. O'Connor tells Manod's story with such a gorgeous and subtle exactitude it's hard to believe this is a debut novel. - Hannah
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Hell If We Don't Change Our Ways by Brittany Means. This memoir by Brittany Means in which she excavates her childhood—years spent in poverty, debilitating memories of sexual assault, being shuttled from relative to relative, watching her mother in the vice-grip of addiction—gave me all the feels. It is a propulsive, heartbreaking and breathtaking, one-sitting read, one you can't and won't look away from in order to bear witness with this bright young woman intent on facing the horrors of her past. - Hannah
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A SPECIAL EDITION PERFECT FOR
GIFT GIVING!
We have a limited number of special Gift Edition copies of Lessons In Chemistry. The volume offers special packaging - a unique clothbound cover design, designed four-color endpapers, premium colored edges, and a ribbon bookmark. It also features bonus material, including a chapter called “Six Thirty and the Moms” as well as an interview with the book's endearing main character, Elizabeth Zott.
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SIMON VAN BOOY, shown here with Mrs. Dalloway's co-owner JESSICA GREEN, came by and signed our stock of his new novel, Sipsworth, a story of second chances in which, over the course of two weeks in a small English town, a reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live. | |
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MAY IS ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN,
AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH!
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Here are just some of the wonderful children's books by AANHPI authors and illustrators you can find at the store. Click here for a list of more great books perfect for reading every month of the year, not just in May! | |
RACHEL RUECKERT went all out for our pirate-themed event celebrating her novel, If the Tide Turns: A Thrilling Historical Novel of Piracy and Life After the Salem Witch Trials. Set during the Golden Age of Pirates, her literary debut is inspired by the captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy. She was a great presenter, educated the audience about true-life pirates, played trivia, and gave out prizes and goodies. Many attendees dressed up, including three of our staff - left to right, Cynthia Haltner, Jessica Green, and Eric Green. | |
Novelist MELISSA BRODER engaged a highly receptive audience with readings from the paperback edition of Death Valley, which Mrs. Dalloway's bookseller Hannah deBree called, "weird and wonderful, a bona fide mental trip, both an escape from reality for our 40-something writer protagonist into the literal desert of Southern California, and a pilgrimage into the desert of her soul as she attempts to manage the layers of anxiety that accompany the future promise of grief." | |
SIGNED COPIES AT MRS. DALLOWAY'S | |
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PRE-ORDER THE NEW TEEN ROMANCE NOVEL FROM
EVA DES LAURIERS
(Click on the image for details)
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Help start a library for a young reader in your life with Mrs. Dalloway’s Little Library subscription service! Every month for the length of your subscription, we'll gift wrap and send your recipient a book that fits their age and interests. Our experienced staff selects titles from our ever-changing inventory of new titles and rediscovered hidden gems. To find out more and sign up, click here.
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LISTEN UP!
Audiobooks from Libro.fm
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We're delighted to be offering our customers an independent source for audiobooks, offered through our partnership with Libro.fm. Here's a little about the company, in its own words:
"By choosing Libro.fm over other audiobook services, you support your local bookstore and invest in your local community. We offer over 125,000 audiobooks via our premium platform (which we built with love from scratch) and give you bookseller recommendations for great audiobooks. And when you contact us, you'll hear directly from one of our team members who will ensure your listening experience is unmatched."
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