Live from the Book Shop: John Updike's Ghost

Oh, was the sound crappy last week? Well, we've fixed that. New mic! Holy smokes! You're really going to like this. It's so much better. And now that we're done with Newburyport Literary Festival and Independent Bookstore Day, it's all systems go heading into summer, and we've got lots of books to talk about, including:  -  "The Lion Women of Tehran," by Marjan Kamali, who was the star at Newburyport, and who really captured the audience. - "Endling," by Maria Reva, a meta sort of novel set in Ukraine and grappling with the Russian invasion and how to make sense of it.  - "Heartwood," by Amity Gaige, which Hannah started and stopped and ended up finishing, but isn't convinced is really a "thriller." Also, Amity's understanding of Maine seems ... limited. - "The River Has Roots," by Amal El-Mohtar, which is more of a novella, but is really pretty, and a lovely addition to the faerie canon. And it really gets the musical portion of the plot right.  - "The Doorman," by Chris Pavone, which is a little different, not an international spy thriller, and shares some qualities with "Only Murders in the Building," but isn't, like, funny at all. Some twists and turns, though.  Next time, Sam reads some blockbusters and Hannah gets literary. Maybe. 

Back to normal! No guests this week, just a bunch of books to talk about, including some big names. Is Sam's mic kind of wonky early? Yes. Just get by that. It doesn't last long. And you really want to hear about: -  "Great Big Beautiful Life," by Emily Henry, which is just enough different from her previous beach reads to make a great beach read. It's a ridiculous biography contest set in Georgia.  - "The Name of this Band is R.E.M.," by Peter Ames Carlin, which Sam found a little boring, but it's hard to tell if that's just because R.E.M. is a boring band.  - "Raising Hare," by Chloe Dalton, which really is about raising a bunny, but not a bunny, a hare, which is a different mysterious kind of animal. Better than that sounds, though.  - "Everything is Tuberculosis," by John Green, which has a terrible name, but is very readable because John Green can write like crazy. This leads to talk about Reddit forums detailing woo-woo mom forum posting, for reasons, and discussion of the term "vlogger."  - "Whyte Python World Tour," by Travis Kennedy, an absolutely absurd and often funny tale of a hair-metal band secretly working for the CIA to bring down the Wall in the late 1980s. Sam doesn't know what to make of it.  - "Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries," by Heather Fawcett, which is delightful, about an academic cataloging faeries in Norway. It's cozy and quite charming.  Also, no, we didn't get this posted in time for Bookstore Day or the Literary Festival, but just try to look past that. It's already happened and you missed it. But there will be other stuff that's awesome in the future, we promise. 

Okay, Hannah's back, but that doesn't mean we're done with guest hosts! This week we're joined by author Nina MacLaughlin, editor of the brand-new New England Literary News newsletter, and we've got the Newburyport Literary Festival on the brain (oh, and sorry, Nina, about putting you on the spot various times, but we did enjoy, "there's just so much garbage being published"). And Indie Bookstore Day, too! But we talked about lots of books, as well, including: - "Jailbreak of Sparrows," by Martin Espada - a poet who will be a Newburyport, where we are selling books, BTW. - "Little Great Island," by Kate Woodworth - which has "Road to Dalton" vibes and a great cover (another Maine book, yes). - "Lobster," by Guillaume Lacasble - easily the weirdest book Sam has read in a while, with, yes, lobster sex. - "On the Calculation of Volume (Book II)," by Solvej Balle - a continuation of Book I, still awesome, but could have moved forward more. - "Sad Tiger," by Neige Sinno - a very heavy memoir that manages to still be quite beautiful. And make sure to stay to the very end for some great New England poet recommendations! 

Hannah's been busy grinding out elementary school book fairs (drug-dealer mentality for the win), so the John Updike's Ghost podcast has put in a call to the bullpen, and out walks ... Cyndle Plaisted Rials! Cyndle is a writer and creative writing teacher who teamed with Sam on a book earlier this year, as well as the Beer & Weed project, so you know she's ready to go. She has not, however, read "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Of Mice and Men," so weird stuff is on the way.  Here's what she and Sam had to chat about this week: - "All the Pretty Horses," by Cormac McCarthy — Sam has never read this, but it's awesome. If you've never read it, you should do it now. Just be prepared for very few commas.  - "Lady Macbeth," by Ava Reid — Cyndle finds this a little better than Shakespeare's historical works, anyway. It's a little bit of a "Wicked" situation and it might help to read the original; what is Lysander doing in this book? Decent audiobook.  - "Pickleballers," by Ilana Long — A racy book about people who play pickleball and like to bang. Sam laughed a few times, but didn't manage to finish this. Still, if you like romantic comedies, this is fine.  - "Rejection," by Tony Tulathimutte — You might have seen the story "The Feminist"? That's the lead story in this collection, which is a serious collection of bad dudes. And hyper-online.

It's Daylight Savings and we are alternately miserable and happy about it. Which is a good reflection of the books we've read this week. We love them and not! Here's what's on the agenda: - "Wild Dark Shore," by Charlotte McConaghy — if you like one of her books, you're going to like this one. Hannah's a big fan. Nevermind the sleeping with the seals.  - "A Thousand Splendid Suns," by Khaled Hosseini — also, like "The Kite Runner," not a memoir. Sam was confused. Kinda miserable. Hope the U.S. doesn't wind up like this.  - "Lion," by Sonya Walger — she's "Penny" from "Lost," and here she is with an autobiographical novel. The lion in question is her father, who's a crazy rich guy.  - "How To Lose Your Mother," by Molly Jong-Fast — did everyone else know that Erica Jong was Molly's mom? Read this, regardless, because Molly can write like hell.  - "I Heard There Was a Secret Chord," by Daniel Levitin — an exploration of music therapy and why it works. Sam was already a convert, but you should read it if you're not.  - "Parable of the Sower," by Octavia Butler — after some confusion with how this dovetails with the Patternist novels (it doesn't), we come around to discussion why this novel is must-read. 

It's a very special episode this week, as we're joined by Sabrina Baeta, senior program manager on the Freedom to Read team at PEN America, an organization founded by authors more than 100 years ago to protect the freedom to write and read whatever you want. Sabrina's here to talk about book bans, which are a priori uncool, and which she works to defeat. There have been more than 10,000 efforts in the past year alone to ban individual books in school settings across the United States, and efforts to ban books are increasing rapidly, particulary books for younger kids. That's bad. So, we all read some banned books, including: - "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and Henry Cole - "Queer Ducks," by Eliot Schrefer and Jules Zuckerberg - "A Court of Mist and Fury," by Sarah J. Maas  - "Gender Queer," by Maia Kobabe - "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini - "The Fire Next Time," by James Baldwin - "James," by Percival Everett - "Red, White, and Royal Blue," by Casey McQuiston Y'all, there are some really good arguments against banning books in this episode and some great discussion of the power of literature. You need to listen to it! 

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.

Sam's had himself a little skiing accident, but powers through a mild concussion to lead us thorugh a discussion of Christmas gift-giving (with a deviation into the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood) and the joys of reading books written quite a while ago. But don't worry! We're reading stuff from 2024 and 2025, too. It's a wiiiide-ranging chit-chat here in the New Year, with some deep philosophical stuff, and a focus on: - "Anti-Semite and Jew," by John-Paul Sartre (which is in print, thanks Knopf) - "Playground," by Richard Powers - "Superbloom," by Nicholas Carr (who posits Martin Luther as the world's first influencer) - "Heir," by Sabaa Tahir (which we decided is NOT YA; Sam was confusing it with "Black Sun") - "The Forever War," by Joe Haldeman (this is important stuff) - "The World She Edited," by Amy Reading (Katharine White was, indeed, EB White's wife)

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

Did we get this out in time for Thanksgiving travel? We did not. But we did get this out in plenty of time for you to grab one of these bangers as a present — or for yourself to read and be a part of the big community discussion. This week it's simple stuff: Our favorite books of the year. No, not the "best" books (since we only read about 75 books each this year), but the ones we liked the most. Here's the list, in no particular order. Listen up to hear why:  HANNAH'S PICKS 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 SAM'S PICKS 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. 

Have we read all of the NBA fiction longlist books? We have not. Do we have thoughts on the ones we have read? We do! Jessica Anthony! Amazing! But we also read a bunch of other books for this episode, even if Sam has trouble remembering which ones (much as he could not remember the word "seersucker"). Here's what's on tap: - All of the National Book Award Longlist for Fiction. Find it here. A lot of great choices; a few headscratchers! - "The Life Impossible," by Matt Haig. It's uplifting! About grief and getting past it.  - More on "The Light Pirate," which starts kind of boring but gets awesome. - "You Are Here," by David Nicholls. Yes, now Sam has read it, too.  - "Brooklyn," by Colm Tóibín. Hannah's not sure why people love it so much. What is she missing? - "Clark and Division," by Naomi Hirahara. Sam doesn't like historical fiction, but he likes this.

Sam is well outside his comfort zone this week, with a read of his first Nicholas Sparks book (it's not terrible!), and a GMA Book Club pick. Hannah's got an early line on the new Sally Rooney. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Here's what's on tap: - "Counting Miracles," by Nicholas Sparks (lots of Bible stuff!) - "Intermezzo," by Sally Rooney (it's "very excellent," if imperfect — everyone thinks the same) - "The Light Pirate," by Lily Brooks-Dalton (a strong climate disaster novel) - "Burn," by Peter Heller (it's a Maine book, turns out Sam's wrong and out-of-staters do get 8% of moose hunting permits; still don't think Maine's going to secede) - "Westfallen," by Ann and Ben Brashares (some dark-ass stuff for middle readers) - "The Serviceberry," by Robin Wall Kimmerer (here comes some anti-capitalism!) If you liked "Braiding Sweetgrass," you won't be disappointed in Robin's latest. 

The Emotional Support Chicken has been named — Page Turner won out — and Hannah and Sam are satisfied with the results. Can the same be said for the books they've read this week? Yes and no. Here's what's on tap: - "Tell Me Everything," by Elizabeth Strout (shoutout, Emma Straub) - "Shift," by Hugh Howey (with some Common commentary) - "Long Island Compromise," by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Hannah "frickin' loves this book") - "Caliban's War," by James S. A. Corey (audiobook, specifically) - "On the Calculation of Volume, 1," by Solvej Balle (spoiler alerts on this one, we guess)

Hannah's been on vacation, where she read her pants off. She's got books. And she and Sam have a bet as to whether any of you will take advantage of the big discount code embedded in this episode. We'll see what happens. As for books, we tackle: - "Margo's Got Money Troubles," by Rufi Thorpe - "The Most," by Jessica Anthony - "Death at the Sanitorium," by Ragnar Jónasson - "Creation Lake," by Rachel Kushner - "You Are Here," by David Nicholls Then we finish up with a thought experiment on why book sequels don't use a "II," live movies.

We may not be winning the SEO battle, but we're reading some cool books this summer, including the latest from Laura Dave, who has a standard cover treatment for a reason. People are looking for the next one!  Then it's on to ultra-feminist badass Kathleen Hanna (Carrie Brownstein was in Sleater-Kinney, sorry Sam couldn't remember), whose "Riot Girl" is a must read for music fans and feminists alike. Kurt Cobain stories! Next up is a "speculative" novel "Hum," by Helen Phillips, which pulls a switcheroo on you, opening with some future tech, but finishing with a story that's just an exploration of the family unit, aka a "mom novel." It'll make you rush back to the first page when you hit the end.  You know exactly what happens at the end of "Big Time," by Ben Winters, which might not be as good as "Golden State," but is still a tidy little piece of near-future science fiction (what we now apparently call "speculative fiction"). And then we finish up with "The Wedding People," which would never happen in real life, but that's why we read fiction, right?

Dock sitting for the July 4 extended weekend means we've got books to talk about! Hannah pulled Peter Heller's "The Guide" off the camp shelves and found herself thinking, "the writing is so insanely beautiful." Pretty high praise. Heller even makes fly-fishing enthralling — she read it in a day. Meanwhile, Sam was consumed for multiple days with Lev Grossman's brand-new "The Bright Sword," a new take on the Arthurian legend that runs a thousand pages or so, but still reads quick. If you're a "Magicians" fan, you'll love this — even if things are getting more and more earnest nowadays.  Next up is "Trust Her," a follow up to Flynn Berry's "Northern Spy," a domestic story of the IRA in the 1980s. Hannah loved the first book; this one could have gotten started a little quicker. Sam had no such qualms about "Banal Nightmare," an early candidate for his favorite book of the year. Dang, it's funny. Halle Butler can bring it. Hannah is less enthused by "One of Our Kind," by Nicola Yoon, which just was too predictable and familiar to land, despite great sentence-level work. Hanif Abdurraqib's "There's Always This Year," on the other hand, is an important work you probably need to read right now if you're interested in explorations of Black culture. Sam loves it. So much to chew on this week! 

Sam has been doing research into the family tree, which is largely irrelevent, but does have him fired up to talk books. Hannah's right there with him, with brand-new reads hot off the presses. But we're not quite done with "Fire Exit" yet and start things out with some closing thoughts and a great deal more context (the Press Herald reviewer that we mention is named Genanne Walsh). With that sorted, we've got a quick overview of some summer reads by North Shore authors, a look at the brand-new "Choice" from Booker-nominated Neel Mukherjee (who skewers the well-meaning liberal), and Hannah raves about Catherine Newman's brand-new and very funny "Sandwich." It's a triple entendre. She likes it almost as much as Sam likes "Lexicon," a 10-year-old novel that asks us to consider why people are persuasive and why we're eager to be persuaded. Finally, we wrap with the very strong "God of the Woods," by Liz Moore, about a summer camp gone wrong (we're going with "literary mystery") in 1975; plus a sneak peek at the new Halle Butler. Find some great books for your July 4 time in the beach chair!

It's summer for real now, and we're hyped for our upcoming event at Hastings House in Beverly Farms, featuring four summer-read authors. This is a legit literary genre at this point, folks. So we fire things up with Elin Hilderbrand's final (maybe) summer novel, fittingly titled "Swan Song." What makes this new literary tradition so attractive? Sam and Hannah both have thoughts, comparing her to Edith Wharton and Jane Austen. She's incredibly efficient in setting a scene and establishing character, and even created a collective first person that's incredibly effective. It leads to a discussion on voice, especially in "Fire Exit," Morgan Talty's new gritty and real novel about identity and family. It's a special novel, for sure, and you should expect it to be on all the awards lists at the end of the year. How intimately linked are our identities to our DNA? "Becoming Little Shell" has some non-fiction thoughts on this as well. We go on and on about this, kinda. It's really good.  Hannah is less enthused by "The Return of Ellie Black," by Emiko Jean, which she listened to and felt a little bit like masochism. But she did get hooked and wanted to figure out what happpens. It's a lot different from her "Tokyo Ever After," a very sweet YA book. Definitely not sweet is "The Book of Elsewhere," a book co-written by none other than Keanu Reeves and China Mieville, which is really violent, but also super interesting and thoughtful. After powering through the beginning, Sam kinda loved it. Finally, Hannah has just finished "A Good Life," a bestseller from France now in translation about two sisters in the French countryside who teamed up to survive their mom. 

Hannah and Sam are at Clearwater Pond on Memorial Day Weekend and they are ready to rock and roll for summer's many hours of lazy water-side reading. First up is Ann Hood, pride of Rhode Island, and her "The Stolen Child," which features travels to France and Italy with a pair of mis-matched travelers who develop a deep and abiding friendship and is quite charming. This leads to the really-quite-feminist 1939 novel "The Damned Don't Cry," by Harry Hervey, which you can only really get in Savannah. Sorry. But it's awesome. Sam loves it. Like a pre-WW2 Kristin Hannah. In a good way. And totally the opposite from "The Search Party," the new thriller from Hannah Richell, where college friends get together and someone's dead and they've been cut off from the outside world. It's entertaining! It keeps you guessing!  That's less true of Monica Wood's new "How To Read a Book," which is very Maine, and that might make it more your flavor than it is Sam's, since it's a little too familiar to seem real if you live there. It's like watching a Disney version of your actual life. Finally, Hannah's got "Pink Whales," a classic summer read by Sara Shukla, who's written a novel about a summer in a spot much like Beverly Farms. It's fun. Lots of juicy gossip! 

Hannah is at the New England Independent Booksellers Association Spring Fling (or something like that), and it's a late-night recording to beat the band. Mostly, both Hannah and Sam are fired up about the release of "Ministry of Time," which they've been wanting to talk about since they read it as an advanced-reading copy. Yes, it's a time travel book, but we never really leave this time, so don't get scared. We promise: It's not sci-fi! (Or, of course it is, if you like that sort of thing.) But we've also got thoughts on "Real Americans," an obscure Marvin Gaye biography, the big hit Bulgarian book of 2012, and "Sipsworth," which is about an old woman who makes friend with a mouse, but isn't as boring as that sounds. 

It's a special edition of "John Updike's Ghost," recorded live from the Newburyport Literary Festival, with special guests Jami Attenberg and Steve Almond, veteran authors who have both penned great new books about writing. Steve's "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow," is an instruction manual that allows for failure along the way; Jami's "1000 Words," an outgrowth of the writing community Jami has built largely on Twitter, offers encouragement and advice on moving forward. But how does being in the writing community affect how you read? Jami and Steve both have great thoughts about how that works and tons of titles to discuss. If you're looking for a big discussion of cultural mores, deconstructionism, separating the art from the artist, hate-reading, working with young writers, the joy of children's books, capitalism getting into the ears of writers, and so much more. If you're looking for a wide-ranging and heady literary discussion, this is it!

Hannah has absconded to New York City, but no one will go to the Beatrix Potter exhibit with her. Such a shame. No matter! We're fired up about the Newburyport Literary Festival, and ready to talk books, starting with a recap of Leigh Bardugo's brand-new "The Familiar," which Sam has decided he likes quite a bit. Maybe not quite as much as both of us like "The Secret Commonwealth," but not everyone can be Philip Pullman. Dude is just unparalleled in his ability to ask giant questions (religion! fascism!) with effortless storytelling.  Not sure Sam would say the same about Christine Ma-Kellams, whose debut novel, "The Band," is among the strangest books he's ever read and he's not quite sure what to make of it. If you at least know what we mean when we say "K-Pop," you might be into it. But Hannah is super into "I Cheerfully Refuse," the latest from Leif Enger and a novel that offers a bit of hope-punk future along with multiple sentence that just hit you right in the chest. Finally, we wrap with a look at John Le Carre's "Call for the Dead," which is a George Smiley novel, and Sam now knows that Smiley is, indeed, his greatest recurring character. If you haven't read a book from 1961 in a while, give it a shot. It's a good way to get influencer culture off the palate. 

Just off a big night out on the town in Beverly, Hannah and Sam are focused on brand-new releases, of a wide variety, plus an older book that is very much NOT related to the website it shares a name with. That book is "Storm Front," the first in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series, an older book (2000) recommended to Hannah by a customer, which has a great combination of noir and magic, but also some tawdry sex, which is mildly offputting. Orgies! Which provides a transition to "A Short Walk Through a Wide World," the debut novel from librarian Douglas Westerbeke, which has some odd sex scenes and lots of bloodiness, but not a lot of plot. That leads to "Rainbow Black," by Maggie Thrash, a Satanic Panic story where our main character finds her parents in the clink for Satanism. It's a little witch-hunty.  That leads us back in time to "Clear," a story where you learn all about Scottish history and how the landed gentry were evil bastards, but Sam is highly skeptical of the way it all wraps up. It reminds Hannah of "The Colony." But also of "The Safekeep," which Hannah dubs, "fantastic." It comes out in late May. Look for the big twist! Finally, Sam wraps up with some thoughts on the new Leigh Bardugo adult novel, "The Familiar." He enjoys it so far and isn't clear on why Hannah was down on it. Better than "Ninth House" and "Hell Bent," anyway. 

It's a late-night edition of John Updike's Ghost and Hannah and Sam are ready to rock and roll. First up is Tana French's new thriller, "The Hunter," a follow up to "The Searcher," which Hannah hasn't read, but she wasn't bothered by this. Brilliant audiobook experience. Sticking with violent acts, Sam talks about how seeing the new Bob Marley movie (awesome) got him reading Marlon James' "A Brief History of Seven Killings" (also awesome), and how they make an amazing one-two punch. Also involving people getting shot and not dying, but a little closer to home, Hannah has read "All Souls," by Michal Patrick MacDonald, a story of growing up in Southie in the late 1970s (busing! racists!), which was a great community, but ultimately really not great (though does trigger Sam doing his Southie accent). And speaking of bad communities that probably felt good at the time, Sam has read the new Pete Rose book, "Charlie Hustle," by Keith O'Brien ("Fly Girls," "Paradise Falls"), and is excited to talk about it with Keith and Chad Finn at the Newburyport Literary Festival. Do you like Pete Rose? Read this book and see if that's still true (also, Sam mentions "Big Red Machine," but the book is actually just called "The Machine").  Finally, Hannah LOVES "James," the new re-telling of Huckleberry Finn, from Percival Everett. You need to read it now, whether you've read the Mark Twain recently, or not at all. Are you one of those readers who thinks Finn is too sacred retell? Don't be. Oh, and there's a coda for "Holly," where Sam explains why it's not as bad as he thought (the "other book" is "If It Bleeds," short stories).

Is March Fourth a "declarative sentence"? No, Sam, it's an imperative sentence. But it's Hannah's birthday and at least he remembered that, if not his grammar lessons. Not to worry, though, this episode is chock full of weighty discussion, starting with "Women and Children First," the biography of the pioneering Dr. Susan Dimock (with a side bar on the enshittification of Google), and the subject of our first Sunday Salon on March 10 in Beverly Farms. From there, we head into discussion of a cool little collection of Jonathan Lethem essays, interviews, and short stories from PM Press, which got Sam buzzing, and not just because Lethem is living in Maine right now. This leads to a solid discussion of what makes for a good interview (or a bad one) — and that dovetails perfectly into Hannah's read of "Supercommunicators," by Charles Duhigg, which leads into a discussion of ski instructors who could really use the book and communication techniques that may seem obvious, but also work.  Someone who doesn't need much advice about communication is Philip Pullman, whose "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" is a triumph and has Sam very excited, despite the fact it was released 13 years ago. He's not sure how he missed it. If you're interested in mythmaking and Christianity's core stories, you have to read it. And, speaking of mythmaking, Hannah has read the new Katherine Arden, "The Warm Hands of Ghosts," and it does seem to deliver on all of her promise from the "Bear and the Nightingale" trilogy, which makes Sam hyperbolic. It's dark and makes clear that war is, indeed, very bad. The new Stephen King, though? Yeah, it's also pretty bad. Sam's going to finish "Holly," but he's not sure why. The phrase "social commentary for three-year-olds" may have been uttered. However, it does trigger a pretty good discussion about whether you can write a good book that's only for a certain subset of people or if truly good books are "for everyone." Like Paul Lynch's "Prophet Song," which everyone really needs to read. As a reminder. 

Hannah is back from Winter Institute and she has all sorts of thoughts on the state of the bookselling industry (900 booksellers in the same place is NOT illegal, it turns out). She's not sure she's a hero, exactly, but not every bookseller is in tony Beverly Farms. Also, it turns out she didn't learn all that much about what's coming down the pipeline, but she did get a little jazzed about "Our Hidden Conversations," by Michele Norris, and she's really jazzed about "The Other Valley," the debut novel from Scott Alexander Howard (it's "speculative," which is apparently "all the genres that depart from realism"), who studied philosophy at the University of Toronto. Depending on your view of the current state of the world, you might find Paul Lynch's "Prophet Song" either speculative or all-too-realistic — Sam loves it. A look at the domestic side of fascism's rise that forces you to consider what happens when it comes to your front door.  Even more dystopian is "Earth Abides," George R. Stewart's classic from 1949, which is back in print and in development for an Amazon series. You may feel like you've read it before, but that's because it spawned a ton of imitators. Thanks to Cincinnati's Downbound Books for the find! Finally, Sam can't figure out why Colson Whitehead's "Crook Manifesto" didn't hit the way "Harlem Shuffle" did. It's great, a continuation of Whitehead's exploration of the mid-century Harlem underground with his trademark sentence-level excellence and expert ability to show, not tell. 

Sam has covid, but it's been a good four-year run of not getting it, and it's an easy way to remember it's our fourth anniversary of buying the Book Shop. We start off this week with a little look back on things we didn't expect when we got into this mess (why are publishers so mean? How do you stock all the books that people want?), and then launch into a book discussion proper. First up is Lois Lowry's classic, "The Giver," which is an absolute banger that you need to read right now if you haven't already. And probably even if you have. Second is Hannah's effort to brand "Joan January," whereby she reads Joan Didion at the beginning of each year, and this year it's "A Book of Common Prayer," an odd little novel from the 1970s that reminds Hannah of Gatsby and would be a good book club book. Then Sam is back in middle school for "The Glass Sentence." by S.E. Grove, which is a triumph and he was happy to read again. Magic maps!  We're doing a whole new paragraph now, because next up is "A Love Song for Ricki Wilde," by Tia Williams, for which we have no transition, but Hannah is listening to and loves the dialog. Great V-Day book. And it's got a little vodou, just like "Devil Makes Three," which Sam didn't get and stopped reading. Oh well. You might like it if you like Haitian history and the CIA. Luckily, Hannah has just read most of "The Orchard," by Adele Crockett Robertson, which she really likes, and is based in Ipswich, and features a much more realistic badass woman. Finally, we finish up with some Pullman, some Winter Institute, and some self-promotion. Don't miss it! (Also, at the end, there is a rare instance where Sam actually remembers something correctly, and Hannah is wrong.)

Sam is just back from Dallas, where he visited Interabang Books and learned of Dallas writer Ben Fountain, and so has his brand-new "Devil Makes Three," instead of a Larry McMurtry book. In the meantime, Hannah has read the new Kelly Link, "The Book of Love," which she is big-time into ("It was so. good."), which leads into a discussion of why we like books about magic, including magic and dragons, like the new "Murtagh," after a quick sidebar on Hannah's twisted ankle.  That leads to talk about books on airplanes, books that 17-year-old boys like, the NYT 10 best books of the year, and then the very-well-narrated new Kiley Reid audiobook, "Come and Get It." Sophomore efforts can be difficult, but the book did get Hannah to say "denouement." Finally, a quick note about a great book for family purchases, which leads to a chat about the Newbury Medal-winning "The Eyes & the Impossible," which Sam really liked. Oh, also, George Harrison was kinda weird. 

After a quick treatise on the Murderbot Diaries, Sam's all jazzed up about the new release coming in February from Kirsten Bakis, who has taken 25 years to release a second novel after the revelatory "Lives of the Monster Dogs." A classic gothic tale, "King Nyx" is a creepy feminist text you need to read ASAP. Unfortunately, Hannah is less jazzed about the new Alex Michaelides, "The Fury," which Hannah found at times "unacceptable." Just how much unreliable narrator can one book have? And just how many islands are there in the world? Seems like every novel is set on one nowadays, including Rachel Lyon's "Fruit of the Dead," which is, like King Nyx, is on an island and features some Hades mythology.  Maybe islands make things intersting, since Hannah thought "Mercury," set in middle America, was kinda boring, with not much happening. Is this only set in the '90s so Amy Jo Burns didn't have to deal with phones? It's unclear. Then we get into a bit of a grab bag, including a graphic novel in the Grishaverse; a new YA amnesia number called "That's Not My Name" that Hannah found satisfying; the new George Harrison biography; and a book by a fantasy writer called "Listen" about how and why we listen to music. Finally, we wrap up with a tease of Kelly Link's debut novel, which, WATCH OUT.

Christmas is over and we've got some time to relax (especially since no one gave Hannah any books for Christmas, though she bought herself "Mistletoe Malice," not "Mistletoe Mayhem," as she says on the pod, as a present to herself). That means, we've got our lists ready — 12 books each, and maybe some more — of favorite books of the past year! We start with literary novels (we're not going to list them all here in the description; see the pod home page for the full list) and then move into sort-of genre books, which can be literary (is "Chain Gang All-Stars" dystopian? Um, yes). That leads to some books that are funny and literary and satisfying, which are fun, with smaller problems. Then we finish up with historical fiction (which is probably literary, as well, to be honest) and YA (which is probably the most literary of the YA we read), before finishing up with some non-fiction, since we felt like we had to include some. In all, we talk about more than 30 books!

This week, we're in the thick of it, busy with all the things the holiday season brings to little retail shops like ours. It's a stressful time. So, Sam's been reading the Magicians, along with the Magician King and the Magician's Land, as a bit of comfort reading. He's discovered he's not being mocked by them. But don't worry! Hannah's been reading more substantive fare, including "We Must Not Think of Ourselves," which left her "really seriously crying, in a way that I love." Author Lauren Grodstein is her former writing teacher from Brooklyn, too. Then we get into a little segue on buying poetry — Sam's been reading Betsy Sholl and Phil Kaye and enjoying them immensely. In her audiobook listening this week, Hannah was a bit underwhelmed by "The Other Half," a mystery that has what feels like a betrayal at the end, but "The Frozen River," by Ariel Lawhon, a book set in Hallowell, Maine (though it wasn't Maine yet), is a lot more enjoyable, with a midwife, and a murder trial, and so much more. Just give it some time to get past the archaic dialogue. 

This week, it's nothing but naked capitalism, as Sam and Hannah challenge each other to suggest the ideal book-gifts for all your potential giftees. Of course, Hannah's in the mobbed bookstore, so a little stressed and nervous for this challenge. The mail is even being delivered as we record. Crazy stuff. Seriously, though, we've got great ideas for: Your teenaged niece or nephew (Sam really did tear up during this read; but he misremembered and someone does, in fact, die). Your voraciously reading mom/teacher/hostess (Clarie Keegan!). The sports-loving dude in your life. The chef in your life who's already got all the basics (get loose in the kitchen with Erin French!). Your music-loving uncle (Sam does, in fact, know that Neil Peart was the drummer for Rush). Anyone who has a coffee table (Dolly! Willie!). Anyone looking for something trashy (who isn't?). Someone how loves Christmas mysteries (who doesn't?), or mysteries of any kind. Someone who already has "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse" (or anyone going off to college or otherwise needing life advice).   Your grumpy grandfather, who still cares deeply about WW2. Your aging parents. No, really.  The children in your life (very young, young, and middle readers — lots of ideas!). Really, we've got ideas for everyone on your list this giving season. Listen up!

This week, Hannah and Sam are just back from the New England Crime Bake, where crime-fiction authors gather, along with murder consultants and the like — don't miss people like Elly Griffiths, Deborah Crombie (the new one was "A Killing of Innocents"), and Chris Fabricant, who calls into question the way prosecutors use evidence in "Junk Science." Then we move into Hannah's love for "The Unmaking of June Farrow," by Adrienne Young, which has strong "Time Traveler's Wife" vibes, with time travel, romance, and mystery. Don't worry: It's not like "The Girl on the Train." Sam isn't quite as enamored with the new Paul Auster book, "Baumgartner," and is mildly troubled by the fact he's read three books this year, now, that feature 70-year-old men having sex. Sam says it's like "Wonder Boys" without any weed (Auster's book about a man whose sons and wife have died is "Book of Illusions," FYI). On the other hand, Hannah also loves "Down Here We Come Up," Sara Johnson Allen's debut novel, and not just because Sara lives in Ipswich. You can tell, in a good way, that Sara worked on the book for 15 years, a story of con artists and heart. Unfortunately, Sam follows with a couple books he just couldn't finish. Meh. Lessons learned. Not for him. Luckily, Hannah rescues the vibe with "Hotel Nantucket," her Elin Hilderbrand dive in preparation for our big event (it's not much like "Hotel New Hampshire," though), and Sam does like the new John Prine book (don't know who John Prine is? Ho boy, you're in luck). We're all over the map this week, folks, but next week we're doing a "gift-giving" thing, so stay tuned. 

For the first time recording in the ... afternoon ... Hannah and Sam are perhaps more lucid than normal and have a lot of books to chat about after a brief sidebar on Reddit posting (Sam's getting tooled on). First up is "The Future," from Naomi Alderman, which is an important novel that people really need to read, a commentary on where we are and where we're going that Sam highly recommends. Why are we still using social media, again? Next up is "Starling House," by Alix Harrow, a piece of "horror-light" that took Hannah a bit to warm up to. Then we hear about Sam's new project taking out new books from the library, which he has already violated by going back in time to read the first book in Christopher Paolini's "Fractalverse" series, "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars," which is VERY long and has lots of scenes with people eating in space, but Sam generally liked as impressive new science fiction. Hannah's reading a different kind of book with stars in the title, Tommy Orange's new "Wandering Stars," which is a highly anticipated follow up to "There There" (a novel, not short stories, as Sam believed). It's another must-read, if not an easy read, a multi-generational look at the Native American experience in the United States that makes a nice pair with Jesmyn Ward's new "Let Us Descend." This is how you grapple with the horrors of our history.  Then we transition into "Lazy City," which Sam says is like a Gen Z "Bright Lights Big City," a look at the culture of people in Belfast, Ireland, in their 20s, with all the dating and partying you might imagine. It's bleak, but a great read for understanding "what's going on with the kids these days." Watch out, though, there are no quotation marks. But, wait, there's more! Hannah listened to Britney's memoir — read by Michelle Williams! It's amazing. But the people around Britney are despicable. And, finally, Sam sings the praises of "Of Boys and Men," an examination by Richard Reeves of why men are struggling in today's society, and why policymakers aren't doing anything about it. 

After embarrassing himself by trying and failing to give Mark Zuckerberg money, Sam describes his first experience with reading Kristin Hannah, in particular her upcoming "The Women," which is about nurses in Vietnam, and shares some qualities with "A Little Life," for good and ill. If you don't have a great feel for post-Vietnam U.S. culture, this is a solid read. And guess what? Hannah's reading the new Alice McDermott book, "Absolution," which is ALSO set in Vietnam. And is maybe a little more literary. Are there truly any selfless acts? Maybe see what Kurt Vonnegut thinks; the graphic-novel adaptation of "Slaughterhouse Five" is a triumph. It's hard not to think it was written yesterday, sometimes, particularly in the context of what's happening now in Israel-Palestine. For lighter fare, Hannah has read "West Heart Kill," a murder mystery set at a hunt club, with some fourth-wall interludes that's a bit mansplainy. Finally, Sam reads an actual romance for the first time, a first adult romance from the young-adult National Book Award-winning Kacen Callender, who has written what is very much not a YA book. Sam is largely charmed, even if he's outside his comfort zone.  

Big things are afoot in the Book Shop — new shelving! With that highly engaging development discussed, we move on to chat about the newest from Melissa Broder ("Death Valley" is very meta, a treatise on grief, but we've had similar journeys) and Keigo Higashino ("A Death in Tokyo"; if you like procedurals, this is the Japanese master of the form). Plus, Hannah has picked up last year's "The Twyford Code," which doesn't involve magicians, but does involve the death of a children's author during WW2 and lots of transcribed audio recordings. And it's "mind tingling." The book Sam is reminded of is, indeed, called "The Puzzle Master." Finally, Hannah discovers she actually worked with some of the folks featured in Kristi Coulter's new memoir, "Exit Interview," about rising and falling at Amazon, which is just as bonkers and evil as you think it is. This leads to a pretty wonky discussion about the history of Amazon as a publisher and deals with the devil publishers had to make. But Amazon sorta failed and that was awesome. Oh, and RIP Tim Wakefield — his death at 57 is a very unfair thing. (And prepare yourself for the "pause," which is proof we actually have customers come in sometimes.)

Indeed, it's our 50th episode, which is a wicked big deal, and Sam and Hannah are high on the successful Andre Dubus III event they have just completed, and so you get a recaap of that and some behind-the-scenes stuff (he is very charming; throws out Ezra Pound quotes off the top of his head), but no worries, we quickly move into talk of similar dude-lit writer Richard Ford's "Be Mine," the third Frank Bascombe book. It touches off a discussion of the "shitty dad" trope and the relative rarity of father-son stories in contemporary lit. Just because you're privileged doesn't mean bad things don't happen to you and you don't deserve empathy (but not Jann Wenner; that guy deserves ridicule). But it's not all quite that serious — Hannah just read "Business or Pleasure," which is about just what you think it is (a ghostwriter hooks up with her boss and teaches him how to have sex; that's what you thought, right?). Just make sure you keep the windows rolled up for the audiobook. And "North Woods," by Daniel Mason, is seriously good, but way too weird to be "serious." Sam praises it as "like a David Mitchel novel." Finally, we wrap with the new "Square of Sevens," the plot of which reminds Sam of Zadie Smith's new novel (but with a lot of fortune telling), and a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

Okay, so we don't actually, like, have Governor Janet Mills on the pod, but Sam's reading the book that just came out with her letters and journal from the first year of the pandemic, "In Other Words, Leadership," and she hangs out near us in the summer, so that's close enough. Is she the biggest hippy of any governor in the U.S.? Also, we've got our hands on the new Zadie Smith and it's ... something. Meanwhile, Hannah's a little grumpy about the coffee situation (black tea is not cutting it), but has been reading the new story of women in the Civil War, "Night Watch," which she loves (despite its voicey voice; not the Terry Pratchett novel). Plus, she's all about the new "Dayswork," which is written by a couple about a couple researching literary couples. Very meta. Perhaps the most cohesive episode we've ever done, though we didn't plan it that way. 

With car issues in the rearview mirror, it's JUG After Dark and Hannah and Sam are feeling frisky even though it's Bad Car Summer, even providing a little primer on not paying Jeff Bezos money. After that, Sam loves "The Impossible Fortress," an ode to 1980s nerd culture (and Vanna White), and it turns out it's actually been released by a U.S. publisher. Then Hannah really likes "The House of Doors," recently long-listed for the Booker Prize, and out on October 17, which features Somerset Maugham in Malaysia. Sam is less than thrilled with the Martha McPhee memoir, though, possibly because he is not the target audience. Hannah thought it might be good, but she was wrong. Luckily, Josh Cook's new "Art of Libromancy" is a killer new collection of essays about the selling of books and how readers work. If you know Porter Square Books, you need to read this. We're giving it to our booksellers. And Sam loved local Rebekah Bergman's "The Museum of Human History," which he describes as a mashup of Emily St. John Mandel and Murakami. Don't miss this one. Hannah tempers his excitement by noting it's getting late, she needs to ride a bike in the morning. 

This week, after a rumination on whether there's a bookstore-owner Barbie, Sam and Hannah go in on some big brands in literature: Dennis Lehane (Sam finds the many racial slurs a little much and the "strong female lead" a cartoon), Ann Patchett (Hannah is charmed, but perhaps influenced by audiobook narrator Meryl Streep),  Dave Eggers (his new middle-readers book is a delight), Helen Macdonald (she does sci-fi now!), and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah ("Friday Black" is way more nuanced than the coverage it got, we think). Finally, things wrap up with some brand-new literary horror ("Looking Glass Sound," which is set in Maine, home to the "Speak All Evil" podcast) and some further thoughts on "House in the Cerulean Sea," just because. 

This week, Sam's in Aruba, and despite trying to bring fun and light fare on vacation, he has been unable to break his string of very violent reads, starting with "Recursion," by Blake Crouch, where everyone dies a lot, and which is a lot like "Edge of Tomorrow," a Tom Cruise movie Sam and Hannah both like. Somehow, this triggers a discussion of Sam's in-development sci-fi novel. Then Hannah starts talking about Emma Cline's "The Guest" for no good reason; Cline's a hot new writer and Hannah liked "The Girls," her last novel. Nothing really happens, but it's good. And it leads to a discussion of Sam's issues with "The House in the Cerulean Sea," even though he's not done with it. This leads to a discussion of what exactly a "big gay blanket" is, as a seque into "Lush Lives," by J Vanessa Lyon, the first Roxanne Gay-imprint book (which Hannah sort of forgot she'd talked about before). This causes Sam to remind her that people can have sex without anything being funny about it and be reminded of "Warrior Girl Unearthed." Also not really funny, and definitely violent, is "Essex Dogs," the new historical fiction from history podcaster Dan Jones, which Sam took out of the library. The war reference reminds Hannah of "Thin Skin," the new book of anti-capitalist essays from Jenn Shapland, which sounds awesome, and Sam has researched that these essays are original to the collection and not for anyone else (per instructions). 

Hannah and Sam are once again at Camp, by the magical healing waters of Clearwater Pond, and there has been a lot of reading going on (plus, the sound quality of this episode is amazing).  We start with "Leviathan Wakes," the first book of the Expanse series (perhaps an addiction in the making for Sam), which leads us to wonder what exactly a "space opera" is. Like all the books Sam read this week, it's very violent. But Hannah's reading "Hello, Beautiful," which is not violent, and is rather a retelling (of sorts) of "Little Women," and is a bit underwhelming (and Hannah may have made up the word "mythicizing").  Also a bit of a retelling is "The Land of Lost Things," John Connolly's follow up to what apparently was the popular "Book of Lost Things" (we hadn't heard of it), which is "like 'Land of Stories' plus 'Fairy Tale.'" Then we get into a little back and forth about "Chain Gang All-Stars" — Hannah is a huge fan, but Sam isn't quite sure (this was a big discussion amongst everyone at camp). Oh, and Hannah finally read "The Midnight Library" and has some thoughts! Those thoughts unveil a critical difference in Hannah and Sam's general worldviews. Finally, there is "An Honest Man," yet another super-violent book set on the islands of Maine. It's good, and he gave it to his dad to read, but Sam is sensitive about all of these books set in Maine nowadays. And "Same Time Next Summer," where you know exactly what's going to happen. And it's not very spicy. 

Hannah has returned from driving Aunt Janet to Connecticut with new furniture that is perhaps exciting only for us, but it's now much less likely you'll stumble into the non-fiction table and knock a lot of books to the ground. Also, lots of books this week, including "Infested," by Angel Luis Colón, the first book from MTV Fear (which is a real thing and Sam liked it); and "The Puzzle Master," which Hannah doesn't remember ordering, but is an enjoyable combo package of traumatic brain injury and Jewish mysticism and creepy dolls. How do we sell these books to our readers? Horror is hot everywhere else. Then we move into an old-guy-having-sex book by J.M. Coetzee, "The Pole"; and then the much better "The Art Thief," by Michael Finkel, who really is a terrific storyteller, about a real-life master thief who's hard not to like ("prisons for artwork" is amazing). Oh, and Sam has now read "Warrior Girl Unearthed," too, and so should you because you need to appreciate the level of moral bankruptcy it describes, and Hannah, did, indeed read "When Women for Dragons" for Book Club, but, well, only one person showed up, so we're going to talk about it some more (it's mostly about wanting to roast Brett Kavanaugh in fire). 

The customers are cranking through the Shop at 9 a.m. on Monday morning as Hannah is literally live from the Book Shop (yay, mute button) and we are ready to crank through some books, starting first with "TransElectric," the revelatory musician memoir from Cidny Bullens, who used to be Cindy Bullens (and we talk about that), back-up singer to Elton John (we talk about "Me," as well) and so much more. Then comes a bunch of stuff about books that come out in September, including "Amazing Grace Adams" (let's hear it for perimenopausal women!) and the new Lauren Groff (it's miserable — in a good way! And it is based in Virginia, yes). This leads into a sidebar on why it's hard to handsell "Chain-Gang All-Stars," but we come up with a way to do it. Then Hannah tells us a story about someone buying 500 copies of TJ Newman's "Falling" from an indie bookstore as a way to talk about "Drowning," which is her new book, and a way to mildy apologize for slagging "Falling" last year — "shame on me; I'm not always right." Finally, we wrap up with the "laugh-out-loud" book, "The Rachel Incident," which comes out later this month and is like "Sally Rooney, but funny," and leads to the question, "Do British people like American swearing as much as I like British swearing?" Oh, and Sam doesn't like the National Book Award-winning "Let the Great World Spin."

Return to Clearwater Pond! Hannah and Sam are spending Memorial Day trying to read while being interrupted by their father. Luckily, Hannah had already finished "Yellowface" before arriving and so we can have a good chat about the industry's hottest novel and why it's supposed to make us uncomfortable (and succeeded: "I wouldn't do that!"). This leads to a long discussion on the worry of having someone steal your work (Sam is not worried). Maybe it all depends on perspective, which is at the core of "Apeirogon," which you really need to read, just like our Book Club did (they loved it). Oh, plus "George," by Frieda Hughes, which is about a real-life magpie; and "Open Throat," by Henry Hoke, which is about a made-up gay mountain lion. And then Sam remembers he read part of the Lauren Groff ARC, which was pretty interesting. Finally, we wrap with a bit about "Momfluenced," by Sara Petersen, who'll be joining Hannah at Labor in Vain, in Ipswich, on June 6.