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So far, haven't seen any 1 title dominate the way a booktok book would & the customers (some of whom have said "I got this list from ChatGPT") don't seem to be booktokkers. As you know this can also happen w/ summer reading lists, but again, not many repeating titles. Still, got to do more research

Well, the issue for bookstores is MOST of the time we won't have those books in stock (as opposed to books getting media attention now) so these all could be lost sales. Hard to know for sure of course, just something I've noticed

We already have! Though I'm seeing the above trend a lot more.

That's the thinking! There was also just a lot more writing about books back then.

I'm pretty sure Melville meant "as husband and wife," to mean, like, they spent a lot of time talking about where they wanted to get dinner that night.

Did you see the Bloomsday video of people reading from Joyce's letters to Nora?

What! Next you're going to tell us Moby-Dick has dirty parts!?!?!?!

You're very welcome! There are a couple characters and scenes from Case that will stay with you. And thank you!

It's a staff pick this month!

Animorphs #1: The InvasionThe wildly popular, bestselling Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant is back with an all-new look! Perfect for Ani-fans of all ages. We can't tell you who we are. Or where we live. It's too risky. And we've got to be careful. But everyone is in danger. Yeah. Even you. Sometimes weird things happen to people. Ask Jake. He could tell you about the night he and his friends saw a strange light in the sky that seemed to be heading right for them. That was the night five normal kids learned that humanity is under a silent attack -- and they were given the power to fight back. Now Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Tobias, and Marco can transform into some of the most dangerous creatures on Earth. And they must use that power to outsmart an evil greater than anything the world has ever seen... Join the Animorphs as they defend Earth from the Yeerk invaders in the original series with a brand-new look!portersquarebooks.com

And don't forget to sign up for the monthly Porter Square Review of Books Newsletter to get all the reviews published the preceding month conveniently in your inbox with all the bot scams and political fundraising pleas! Wait...

Sign Up for Porter Square Books NewslettersSign Up for Porter Square Books Newslettersportersquarebooks.com

Sure! Just let us know it'll be a bit before you can pick it up.

You're welcome!

We do pretty well on BlueSky for sales. Instagram seems to be a bit better for event attendance (more local following I think) but for events the newsletter is better (and this predates social media) BUT nothing puts butts in seats like the group chat/your parents lighting up message boards & such

Slacked it to the crew! Bet someone would be interested.

WEIRDEST: Do you like books that make you feel as though the author is counting the grains of sand in the beach of your brain? Sure! We all do! Luckily, for the world, we have Renee Gladman making us question whether we even know what a word is, let along how to use one!

Theory for Moving Houses (Bagley Wright Lecture)You are asking me where I live and it's making me think all these things about space, where I start and end in space and where space starts and ends in me and when, in space, I am a body and when I'm a book, in space. So begins Renee Gladman's Theory for Moving Houses, and with these lines we are invited into a liminal space of imagination and investigation, as Gladman guides us through the architectures of her poetics. Foundational here is a sense of fluidity, a slippage of time, a devotion to "non-linear and hyper gestural movement," a communal spirit. Her inquiry into her intersecting practices of writing and drawing reveals a deep commitment to uncertainty and "fictional knowing." Yet again, Gladman upends traditional expectations of prose, as she leads us through landscape of her Ravicka series novels, ultimately surprising us with a novel within nonfiction. The latest volume in Wave's Bagley Wright Lecture Series, Theory for Moving Houses is not only visionary it its contemplations but also is a virtuosic example of the ways in which language can shape utopian sites of possibility.portersquarebooks.com

WEIRDER: Imagine if...Mark Twain wrote an epic poem with Herman Melville's sensibilities that was antiracist, anticapitalist,& 15,000 unbroken lines long. Well, you don't have to imagine it!

The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love YouFrank Stanford’s The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You is a truly original Southern epic with immense cultural and creative range. Revered by a devoted cult following since it was first publi...portersquarebooks.com

WEIRD: Queen of Swords is the biography* of Elena Garro, a major figure in magical realism you might not have heard of for reasons you can guess. *Haunting. Garro haunted Barrera & will haunt you too

The Queen of SwordsIn what was at first meant to be a short essay about the influential Mexican writer Elena Garro (1916-1988), Jazmina Barrera's deep curiosity and exploration give us a singular portrait of a complex life. Sifting through the writer's archives at Princeton, Barrera is repeatedly thwarted in her attempt to fully know her subject. Traditional means of research--the correspondence, photos, and books--serve only to complicate and cloud the woman and her work.Who was Elena Garro, really? She was a writer, a founder of "magical realism," a dancer. A devotee to the tarot and theI Ching. A socialite and activist on behalf of indigenous Mexicans. She was a mother and a lover who repeatedly shook off (and cheated on) her manipulative husband, Nobel-laureate Octavio Paz. And above all, she wrote with simmering anger and glittering imagination. The Queen of Swords is a portrait of a woman that also serves as an alternative history of Mexico City; a cry-out for justice; and an homage to the unknowable. It transcends mere biography, supplanting something tidy and authoritative for a sprawling experiment in understanding.portersquarebooks.com

It'd be one thing if AI tools were solving problems we have, but even if you can't make it to a bookstore or a library, there are still a ton of ways to find great book recommendations both online & offline. It's just as easy to ask your bookish friend as it is to ask ChatGPT. (And a lot nicer)

We also do IndieNext lists for kids! Broken out into Picture Books, Middle Grade, & Young Adult

Kids Indie Next List | IndieBound.orgThe Kids’ Next List is your next great read! This bi-monthly list features the top nominations from independent booksellers across the country, showcasing the best of the best debuts and new releases in all categories and genres for young readers.www.indiebound.org

Maybe you're interested in a debut? We'll the ABA also does Indies Introduce.

Indies Introduce | IndieBound.orgwww.indiebound.org