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Female Friendships

In Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship(Dutton, $17), journalist Kayleen Schaefer explores the role of female friendship in contemporary life. She draws on her own experience, as well as examples of how these kinds of friendships are portrayed in the media, to shape a slim but powerful tribute to the potential of female friendship to be a defining (if not the defining) relationship in one's life.

'Hell of a Year, Isn't It?'

"Hell of a year, isn't it--Mr. Frost, Ted [Roethke], & now Louis [MacNiece], whom I loved. Keep well, be good, the devil roams." This sentence, also appropriate for 2020, opens a letter in 1963 to Robert Lowell that is included in The Selected Letters of John Berryman, edited by Philip Coleman & Calista McRae (Belknap Press). Sylvia Plath and William Carlos Williams also died in '63. Hell of a year indeed.

Gift Books for Kids, Tweens & Teens--Plus, Vampires Are Back!

I love this gift book issue because it gives me a chance to design a list for readers of all ages that includes fiction, nonfiction, classics and books that invite engagement through puzzles, journaling and crafting. Even more, I love using this space to tell you about a few more titles that would be great for gift-giving. The theme? Vampires!

A Unified Theory of Gifts

With all the uncertainty this year has brought, the holidays are going to be different for many folks. One thing is for sure, buying gifts from your local indie bookstore, and buying them early, can take a lot of the stress out of the situation. Below, you'll find reviews of 15 of our gift recommendations and, to start things off, I have a few more suggestions.

Beyond Hidden Figures: Women in STEM

The female mathematicians of NASA, many of them Black, made vital contributions to the U.S. space program. Margot Lee Shetterly gave their stories a huge boost in her blockbuster book, Hidden Figures (Morrow, $17.99), which inspired a hit film. But women have been making standout contributions in STEM fields for decades, and their stories take both fictional and nonfictional forms.

Inside the White House

Could former President Barack Obama have known into just what world his reflections on the 44th presidency, A Promised Land(Crown, $45), would be released?

Lady Lawyers

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing marks the end of an era for the first generation of female U.S. Supreme Court justices. It's been a comfort to read about some of the fearless women who paved the way for her career as a lawyer and jurist.

Food, Race and American History

The best cookbooks are windows into other kitchens, other cultures, other countries--an invitation to step into someone else's food traditions and, in so doing, better understand the world around us and ourselves. That's why cookbooks will forever beat any Internet recipe collection in my world; I am as hungry for the stories and the photos cookbook authors prepare as I am for the dishes they promise I can make at home.

Audiobooks for a Trying Political Year

To say that 2020 has been trying is somewhat of an understatement; throw in the stress of the upcoming U.S. election, and I, for one, find myself too distracted to sit still with a book. Instead, I've been walking--and listening to audiobooks to help me make sense of this strange, uneven time:

One of the Good Ones

"Maika Moulite & Maritza Moulite have done it again, and more, with their sophomore novel, One of the Good Ones. This book kept me up into the early morning hours, furiously flipping pages, needing to know where things would end up for the Smith sisters. The story takes you on a journey, jumping through history and back again, dissecting race relations in America with an unflinching eye; it is beautifully written, heartbreaking, disturbing and yet, ultimately, hopeful. I can't recommend it enough.” - Cristina Russell, Books & Books Kids & YA Book Buyer

Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!

Early in the first Saturday Night Live episode to air after the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, speaking to an audience and nation still shaken, SNL creator Lorne Michaels asked then-mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani, "Can we be funny?" Giuliani's comeback: "Why start now?"

Nifty Board Book Tricks

Fun format surprises in the board books below--color changes, mix and match, flaps and die-cuts--will likely capture the attention and spark the excitement of pre-readers. 

Take a Seat at the Writer's Desk

These three books by masters of narrative nonfiction are a godsend to aspiring writers looking for an inexpensive alternative to a costly MFA degree.

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