Local Bookshop: Hot Books This Holiday Season

If you are looking to give a book as a gift this season, look no further. Books and Books of Westhampton Beach has provided the following list of fiction, non-fiction and children's books that are expected to be hot sellers this holiday season. 

FICTION

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Winner of the 2012 National Book Award for Fiction, The Round House begins on a Sunday in the spring of 1988, with the attack on a reservation in North Dakota. The details are slow to surface and Geraldine Coutts is too traumatized to reveal what happened. Her young son sets off with his friends to investigate things himself, which leads them to the Round House, a sacred space and place of worship for the Ojibwe. Erdrich’s tale of injustice is brilliant and entertaining, and provides an authentic reflection of the reality of our world today.

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

Pulitzer-Prize-winner Junot Diaz is back with a haunting collection of stories focusing on the impossible power of love in all its forms. A dooming relationship flounders in the Dominican Republic, a woman does her lover’s laundry and thinks of his wife in New Jersey, and a man buys his love child a first baseball bat and glove in Boston. Centering on the young hardhead Yunior, and told in energetic prose, the stories in This is How You Lose Her bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of love.

Back to Blood by Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe is back with another detailed, high-energy novel, with a panoramic view of new America and the way we live today. As a police launch speeds across Miami’s Biscayne Bay, Wolfe is in tow and introduces the Cuban mayor, the black police chief, a young journalist and his Yale graduate editor, and several more quirky characters. Both brilliant and hilarious, Back to Blood is spot on.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

McEwan’s first female protagonist since Atonement, Cambridge student Serena Frome is both beautiful and intelligent, and the ideal recruit for MI5. It’s 1972, the Cold War is still brewing, and the legendary intelligence agency is determined to manipulate the cultural conversation through writers whose politics align with the government. The operation code is “Sweet Tooth.” Serena is the perfect candidate to infiltrate young writer Tom Haley. Deft and witty, Sweet Tooth is a story of love and the invented self.

Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro

Infused with Munro’s clarity of vision, these are stories of departure and beginning, accidents and danger, and outgoings and homecomings. While most take place where Munro grew up, in the small Canadian towns surrounding Lake Huron, the characters venture to cities and the book circles back to her hometown in the time period she grew up. From poets to young soldiers and wealthy socialites, each character is forever altered by a chance encounter or action not taken. 

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

A NorCal epic set to the beat of classic vinyl soul-jazz, this is the great American novel of our century. The summer of 2004 is ending, and Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe, longtime friends, bandmates and co-regents of Brokeland Records, and their wives, the Berkeley Birth Partners, semi-legendary midwives, are still hanging on in the dented utopia of Brokeland. Funny, moving, triumphant – Chabon’s best yet.

KIDS

How do Dinosaurs say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen

America’s favorite dinosaurs celebrate Chanukah. A joyful romp full of tumbling dreidels, melting gelt and a little bit of mischief. A laugh-out-loud tribute to the candles of the menorah, the family gatherings and all that makes the Festival of Lights. These dinosaurs say Happy Chanukah with love and gratitude.

Splat Says Thank You by Rob Scotton

Splat the cat’s mouse friend Seymour needs some cheering up and Splat is on a mission to help. So what’s his plan? A thank you book – full of sweet and hilarious reasons he is thankful for his friend. The authentic illustrations and laugh-out-loud text are full of adventure.

Pete the Cat Save’s Christmas by James Dean

“Twas the day before Christmas and Santa was ill. In the cold winter wind he had caught a bad chill…” With a new spin on the classic tale The Night Before Christmas, Pete the Cat teaches us that giving your all in the spirit of Christmas is what the cool cats do.

The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood

The holidays may be filled with joy and noise, but Christmas can sometimes be quiet too. This book gives us some great examples: “Searching for presents quiet,” “Getting caught quiet,” and “Hoping for a snow day quiet.” The soft-colored pencil illustrations of bunnies and bears paint a magical picture.

Reached by Ally Condie

In book three of the Matched trilogy, Cassia’s journey continues. It began with a glitch, she crossed canyons to break free, and now she waits in silk and paper, ready to take on the final chapter. The wait is over. Cassia’s quiet revolution is about to explode, as she rages against those who took away her family, love, and choice - a gripping conclusion to the bestselling trilogy.

The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

In book seven of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, love is in the air. A Valentine’s Day dance at the middle school has turned Greg’s life upside down as he scrambles to find a date. Luckily, his best friend Rowley doesn’t have any prospects either. An unexpected twist lands Greg a partner and leaves Rowley the odd one out, but a lot can happen in a night.

NON-FICTION

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Winner of the 2012 National Book Award for Nonfiction, Boo’s first book follows the life of a group of youngsters in a slum called Annawadi, near Mumbai’s Sahar airport. In danger from corrupt policemen, their livelihoods, and often their parents, these children are prey. Boo gets into the children’s minds, where these awful circumstances are ordinary, and introduces the reader to the individuals, not the statistics. Behind the Beautiful Forevers reaches beyond journalism to a deep psychological understanding of the lives of these children.

The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw

Celebrated historian David Nasaw tells the full story of Joseph P. Kennedy, founder of the twentieth century’s most famous political dynasty, in this pioneering biography. As the only biographer granted unrestricted access to the Joseph P. Kennedy papers in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Nasaw looks beyond the popular icon to answer questions about his life, times and legacy that haunt the historical record. A must read for historical biography lovers.

Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion and Franklin and Winston is back with a vivid account of an extraordinary man and his times. Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power brings the reader into the life of the politician and president, as well as the complex human being behind the genius and philosophies. Jefferson’s story continues to resonate today because it embodies the eternal drama – the struggle for leadership in a difficult world.

20th Century World Architecture: the Phaidon Atlas by the Editors of Phaidon

This masterpiece is an overview of the finest built architecture from around the world, completed between 1900 and 1999, in a collection of 750 key buildings. The start of the atlas includes specially designed graphics that explore the changing economic and political contexts of architectural production throughout the century. Divided into six world regions and 29 sub-regions, the atlas represents over 80 countries.

Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller

This collection is a dazzling array of American and French baked goods, from Keller’s take on American classics such as Oreo’s and Ho Ho’s to French classics like baguettes and macaroons. Co-author Sebastien Rouxel is an executive pastry chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. The stunning photographs and recipes from the famed Bouchon Bakery make this a must have for any baking fiend.

Building Stories by Chris Ware

This new graphic novel is truly original – a protagonist wondering if she’ll ever move from the rented close quarters of lonely young adulthood to the mortgaged expanse of love and marriage. A pictographic listing of all 14 items contained appears on the back, with suggestions for appropriate places to set them down in the average home. Building Stories is perfect for all those who feel lonely, and it will sympathize with time wasted and opportunities missed. 

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