Wellesley Books Newsletter May 1st, 2024 | |
Book seller Shanna is sporting some beautiful May bouquets! (All those gardening books sure paid off...) Every spring we welcome color to the store with artful planters done by Deborah Trickett at The Captured Garden. This year features pussy-willow arches, bright pansies and bountiful parsley. Stop by not only to pick up your mother's day gifts and cards, but to admire the captured gardens at the front and back of our store! | | |
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Tuesday, May 7th at 7 PM (in-person)
Henriette Lazaridis, author of The Clover House, joins us to discuss her new novel, Last Days in Plaka.
Today's Athens is a city of contradictions and complexity—it is grand and scruffy, ancient and modern, full of strivers, refugees and old-timers—and nowhere more so than the neighborhood of Plaka, where the Parthenon looms overhead and two women grapple with what is right and what is true, and how to live your life when you are running out of time.
An immersive and multifaceted novel—The Talented Mr. Ripley by way of Elena Ferrante—that explores the lies at the heart of an old woman’s identity and the desperation of a young woman’s struggle to belong.
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Tuesday, May 14th at 7 PM (in-person)
Tom Seeman joins us on publication day to celebrate the release of new book, Animals I Want To See: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds. Tom will be in conversation with William Martin, author of December '41 and Back Bay.
A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, Animals I Want To See explores themes of identity, ambition, religion, and friendship—often across racial and social lines—as it spotlights a family of fourteen and tracks a boy’s journey from a child janitor with big dreams to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard.
“When Tom Seeman told me the story of his childhood, I immediately said that he should write it all down and share it with the world. I am so glad he did. Animals I Want to See is a terrific and moving memoir about dreaming big and making great things happen.” —President Bill Clinton
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Thursday, May 16th at 7 PM (in-person)
Melanie Brooks, author of Writing Hard Stories, joins us to discuss her new memoir, A Hard Silence. Melanie will be in conversation with Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog and his latest novel, Such Kindness.
A Hard Silence is an intimate glimpse into Melanie's memories of coping with the tragedy of her father's illness and enduring the loneliness and isolation of not being able to speak. With candor and vulnerability, Melanie opens her grief wounds and brings her reader inside her journey, twenty years after her father died, to finally understand the consequences of her family's silence, to interrogate the roots of stigma and discrimination responsible for the ongoing secret-keeping, and to show how she's now learned to be authentic.
“A profound and riveting journey through shame and grief, A Hard Silence is, quite simply, unforgettable.” Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys
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Bookseller recommendations | |
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Lorna recommends: Real Americans by Rachel Khong
Brilliantly written from three perspectives--a mother, a son, and his grandmother--this nonlinear novel captures the lives of three generations of Chinese Americans, but it is much more than a simple immigrant story. There is so much within these lives. Khong explores questions about science, culture, race, class, and time.
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A memory, a moment, they never really end, and in this poetry collection Ondaatje explores these echoes of time. The poems and lyrical prose are homages to places, people, and versions of the poet himself and what it means to reflect on and outgrow your memories. It was so nice to see another poetry collection by Michael Ondaatje!
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Bookseller recommendations for Young Readers | |
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I read this gorgeous queer love story--set in a Catholic high school--in one sitting. Bea and Mitra have been best friends since they were thirteen, bonding over their love of poetry. In senior year, their friendship evolves into something more. First love!
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Lorna recommends: The International House of Dereliction by Jacqueline Davies
Paperback pub date 5/21/24
Preorder now!
Another fun, interesting middle grade novel from our friend and local author Jacqueline Davies. Alice lives with her parents in campus housing at the college where her mom is a professor. Because of her dad's ability to fix anything--a talent Alice has inherited--they have been moved from one dilapidated house to the next. Determined not to move again, her mother forbids them to fix anything. Alice investigates the abandoned house next door, and after deciding to fix it up instead, she discovers that the house, and the ghosts that live in it, can use all the help Alice can give them.
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New Books for Young Adults | | |
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A Child's Library and Middle-Grade Monthly are our two book subscriptions for children aged 0-5 and 8-12, respectively. Each month, Lauren and Kali select a newly-published picture book or middle-grade novel. Subscriptions can be purchased on a month-to-month basis, or for a year, and may be shipped to the child's home or picked up in-store. Our May selections are Built to Last by Minh Le and With Twice the Love, Dessie Mei by Justina Chen. Please click on the covers for more information. | |
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Spring colors have arrived in the gift department! We have new varieties of candies, flashy earrings, delightfully scented shower steamers and personal care items like facial masks. In case you were having trouble picking out a mother's day gift... | | |
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Double your support for incarcerated readers with your purchase from April 27 to May 14!
You can buy books from Wellesley Books to support local nonprofit, Prison Book Program, all year round – but right now you have a chance to double your impact! In honor of independent bookstores and the vital role they play in our communities, a generous donor will match any purchases you make from PBP's Wellesley Books Wish List in cash. From April 27 to May 14, grab a book or two for PBP to send to readers in prison -- then share the list with a friend so they can do the same!
The Prison Book Program has been sending free books to individuals since 1972. To learn more, visit our wish list page for links.
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Madeline is a 14 year old Coton de Tuleur. She loves taking gentle long walks and enjoys a good nap afterwards. Maddie stays at home with her mom while she works. If you had to offer Maddie a toy, she would always pick a rope: it's the only toy she'll play with!
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Thank you for supporting your community independent bookstore!
Sincerely,
Sarah Cyr
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