Four Books a Fortnight

Did you get your photo taken with Rabbit the Bookstore Cat Cutout? If not, you probably missed our 5th Birthday Party. Too bad. But not worries: There will be more parties. This week, Sam is caught up in the new Haruki Murakami, but Hannah luckily has three books to talk about, so it's not a disaster. Here's the lineup:

- "Fourth Wing," by Rebecca Yarros — Hannah's been saving it and it reminds her of the time we discovered Philip Pullman (but, no, it's not that good). Perfect vacation reading. - "The City and Its Uncertain Walls," by Haruki Murakami — Sam is wondering if Haruki is trolling us at this point. Cats! Spaghetti! A record store! Teenage girls! But it's still oddly compelling. - "The Collaborators," by Michael Idov — Hannah thought this was pretty good. It's international espionage. With Russia. It's just not always clear why we're supposed to care. - "The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You," by Neko Case — Hannah is highly enamored of this, and doesn't think it matters if you can name a song by her. Some messed up shit happens in Neko's life. Also, no, we didn't get our act together to post this in time for Valentine's Day. It's nobody's fault.

It's another episode of "John Updike's Ghost After Dark," a wild and crazy recording that finds Sam with a blanket on his lap and Hannah reading books infused with the number three (and using the word "tome"). We move from Anne Tyler (don't worry, she's a little bit funny) to weird French YA and cover a lot of ground in between, including:

- "Three Days in June," by Anne Tyler (Sam thinks he read "The Accidental Tourist") - "Infinite Jest," by David Foster Wallace (just touching on it, really) - "Beta Vulgaris," by Margie Sarsfield (kinda like "Lazy City," except totally crazy with evil sugar beets, and a little bit like "Banal Nightmare," except scary instead of funny) - "The Three Lives of Cate Kay," by Kate Fagan ("it's all so ridiculous," romantic without being a romance, a book that makes grand statements; this Kate woman is crazy impressive) - "The Bookshop," by Evan Friss (Sam mispronounces his name, sorry; this one is a little close ot the quick; please remember that Sam considers "weirdos" a compliment) - "The Missing of Clairdelune," by Christelle Dabos (completely out-there French YA, so good) - "Water Moon," by Samantha Sotto Yambao (completely you-there Japanese YA, so good; "this book delivers" and is NOT cozy) Also, come to our 5th birthday party. You'll know when it is if you listen to the end.

It's the post-holiday lull, which luckily gives us plenty of time to plan our 5th Birthday party! Hannah's buying the cake, Sam is DJing. Don't miss it. You have to listen to find out when it is. When you arrive, we can talk about these books (and others): - "Dream Count," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Hannah is a little perplexed by this much-awaited big deal, with its women being idiots about men; the marketeers are struggling) - "Good Girl," by Aria Aber (this book is going to be hot; maybe even as good as Morgan Talty's cover blurb, but not because of the sex stuff, which is, in fact, done well) - "A Sea of Unspoken Things," by Adrienne Young (there's a twin-magic thing that Hannah is not really feeling) - "Heartbreak is the National Anthem," by Rob Sheffield (this is music-writing at its best, a celebration of what we love about pop music as a collective thing) - "The Queens of Crime," by Marie Benedict (featuring much discussion of when, exactly, Agatha Christie disappeared and then reappeared) And, of course, so much more.

The Shop is bursting at the seams here at Christmas-time, but Hannah and Sam haven't stopped reading! With their favorites of the year behind them, they look to the past and future for new things to consume (such as "Minority Report" and "The Dream Hotel"). But you'll have to wait for the full discussion on that. On the full agenda this episode is: - "Age of Innocence," by Edith Wharton - "The Quiet American," by Graham Greene (from 1955, NOT the 1970s, Sam) - "Rental House," by Weike Wang - "The Ladies of Grace Adieu," by Susanna Clarke - "What the Chicken Knows," by Sy Montgomery (much giggling ensues) - "Persepolis," by Marjane Satrapi - "What Happened to the McCrays," by Tracey Lange (with much middle school hockey discussion) - "The Last Dragon on Mars," by Scott Reintgen

• James, by Percival Everett
• Brightly Shining, by Ingvild Rishoi
• Fire Exit, by Morgan Talty
• Long Island Compromise, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
• Sandwich, by Catherine Newman
• The Safekeep, by Yael van der Wouden
• Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley
• The Book of Love, by Kelly Link
• The Guide, by Peter Heller
• All Souls, by Michael Patrick McDonald

• The Most, by Jessica Anthony
• On the Calculation of Volume, Book 1, by Solve Balle
• Banal Nightmare, by Halle Butler
• Fire Exit, by Morgan Talty
• The Bright Sword, by Lev Grossman
• The Book of Elsewhere, by Keanu Reaves and China Mieville
• The Physics of Sorrow, by Georgi Gospodinov
• King Nyx, by Kirsten Bakis
• Charlie Hustle, by Keith O'Brien
• ​​​​​​​Rebel Girl, by Kathleen Hanna

The front window has been well decorated by mom and dad, the Polar Expresses have been ordered, and it is officially Holiday Season. So, what books are you going to buy for your friends and families? Well, let us tell you: - "James," by Percival Everett, Hannah's pick for book of the year (even if it didn't win the Booker). - "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey, which Sam somehow hasn't read yet, but is about astronauts and what it's like to be human (also, it's "James S A Corey," the fake name of two guys who wrote the Expanse series, not "S A Andrews" who doesn't seem to be a person). - "Lazarus Man," by Richard Price, which should be big, by all rights, but who knows? Seems like a good book for literary dudes. - "The Serviceberry," by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which is great for the right open-minded reader. They have to be anti-capitalist, probably. - "The Backyard Bird Chronicles," by Amy Tan, who is very much alive despite having been in a band with Stephen King in the 1990s, we think. We also use the word "flexi-bound" in describing this book. - "The Boston Globe Story of the Celtics," by Chad Finn, who really lucked out with the Cs winning the championship just as he was finishing up. - "Why We Love Football," by Joe Posnanski, a follow-up to "The Baseball 100," which is easily digestible and fits with the attention spans of teenaged boys. - "Be Ready When the Luck Happens," by Ina Garten, a memoir by the super-famous chef, who Sam has never encountered in any way for some reason. This involves a sidebar on Martha Stewart. - "Heartbreak Is the National Anthem," by Rob Sheffield, which is shaping up to be one of the first important examinations of what Taylor Swift means for the future of popular music. - "Small Things Like These," by Claire Keegan, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a movie. - "Say Nothing," by Patrick Radden Keefe, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a limited series. - "Wicked," by Gregory Maguire, which is going to be even huger, now that there's a movie, and may get you to buy others of his books, which will likely disappoint you. - "The Women," by Kristen Hannah, which is emerging as maybe Hannah's most important book, dealing with the Vietnam War as it does and speaking to women about that time in a unique way. - "Impossible Creatures," by Katherine Rundell, which is emerging as the best book for middle schoolers of the season.

It's getting cold, the election season has been busy, and we're reading books all over the map. Sam's on a philosophical bent and just saw "The Wild Robot"; Hannah's mildly unprepared, but rallies. All told, we tackle: - "The Other Valley," by Scott Alexander Howard, which explores regret, but has some weird world-building. - "Blood Test," by Charles Baxter, who you should know, and has penned a story about a blood test for propensity for murder. - "Interview with the Vampire," by Anne Rice, which holds up great and is not an easy book and engages with serious philosophical questions. - "Colored Television," by Danzy Senna, about middled-aged artists who get to pretend to be rich and make bad choices. - "The Wild Robot," by Peter Brown, which we talk about mostly because Sam saw the movie. It's not as good as the book. Shocker! And then we finish up with some Christmas stuff because Matt Tavares is coming to the Farms on Dec. 7, which will be great.

High on the success of the Boozy Book Fair (it was, according to Sam, "really banging"), a great in-shop reading and signing, and a couple days off for Indigenous Peoples Day, Sam and Hannah are in a mood, with nothing to complain about. Also, no dudes allowed, this week, with a shout out to the guy who really likes Rachel Kushner. - "The Time Keepers," by Alyson Richman, which, sorry, is rather maudlin and bad. It's not a time travel book. - "The Plot," by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which Hannah read mostly because "The Sequel" just came out. The second half was entertaining, anyway. - "The Road to Dalton" and "Where the River Meets the Sea," by Shannon Bowring, a librarian who grew up in the County in Maine. You really should have come to see her speak a couple weeks ago. - "Deep Cuts," by Holly Brickley, which comes out in, like, February, but it was the bottom of the TBR pile and about a fictional music writer, so Sam read it anyway. It's a major nostalgia trip if you ... like music. - "From Here to the Great Unknown" (not, actually, "From Here to Eternity"), by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. Hannah actually listened to it, mostly because Julia Roberts is the narrator, but also really enjoyed it.

The road in front of the Book Shop is freshly paved and Sam and Hannah are all sorts of amped up about it. No, you didn't screw up and set it to 1.5x. We're just talking really fast about: - "Factory Summers," by Guy Delisle. Sam's daughter gave him this graphic novel and it is properly obscure and entertaining. It doesn't smell bad, even though it's about papermaking. - "Full Speed to a Crash Landing," by Beth Revis. It's sorta like the Murderbot series, but without the body count, and the first in a trilogy. - "The Lodge," by Kayla Olson. Sam's reading cosy romances about skiing. There isn't even any sex. It's "set" at Stowe, but it's unclear whether the author has ever been to Vermont (but Sam is wrong that there is, indeed, a gondola at Stowe. Sorry). - "Death at the Sign of the Rook," by Kate Atkinson. The new Jackson Brodie book! He's in his 70s now, but doesn't play pickleball. - "The River," by Peter Heller. Hannah's been talking about how amazing Peter is. Sam had to investigate. It's really, really good. The hype is true.