So, what? January and February are just going to be the longest months of all time and then once it starts getting nice outside, March is just gonna *blip* go right on by? Cool. Neeeat.

So. My reading has changed this month. That’s because something has changed at the bookstore. That is to say that we started carrying NEW BOOKS! AH! We are not strictly a used bookstore any longer! Not only does that mean that you can come in and browse some new releases, but also that anything you want to read, we can order for you. Ain’t life grand?!
Anyway, with that I get Advanced Reader Copies of certain books from the publishers. The purpose is that I can read them and then decide whether or not I want to carry the book at the store. Yes. It is just as awesome as it sounds–especially for a person who loves new releases! It’s also… LOL overwhelming af. Currently I have about 30 books and I get more every day. Some are from authors I’ve never heard of. Some are books I can’t WAIT to get my hands on. Some are… just never gonna get read no matter what. So anyway, I’ve been reading a lot of books that aren’t published yet. But that’s not going to stop me from writing about them! I’ll just link them here and you can pre-order them if you want! (Don’t forget that if you’re local, you can order from us directly! If you’ll need books shipped to you, though, our Bookshop page is still going to be the way to go.)

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The Therapist by B. A. Paris
Will be released 7/13/21
Pre-Order from Bookshop
Pre-Order from Libro.fm

So many of my customers have told me to read books by B. A. Paris that when this one came available, I decided to just give it a shot.
Within the first 10% of the book, I was confident that I had it all figured out. I knew what was going to happen, who was going to do it, and how all the side characters would react. And then what do you know–I was wrong. And I was wrong about a zillion other times, too. I kept feeling like I had it all figured out and it would take a hard left turn. Sometimes plot twists come completely out of nowhere and they’re not satisfying at all. But these were all deeply satisfying. As far as mysteries go, I super enjoyed this one!
If you want another book that has the same sort of satisfying plot twists, I recommend You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

Braving the Wilderness by Dr. Brene Brown
Get a copy on Bookshop.
Get a copy on Libro.fm.

I read this book for a book club. There was a lot of really great insight in this book which sparked some incredible conversations amongst the group that gathered to talk about it. Brene Brown has a big enough following and credibility that I feel like she doesn’t really need me to sing her praises. But I will say that I’m so tired of being expected to overlook dehumanizing fatphobia just because an author makes other great points. This is why I really hate reading “self-help” style books.

One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel
Will be released 6/8/21
Pre-Order from Bookshop.
Pre-Order from Libro.fm.

This book… surprised me in so many ways. I had no idea what this book was about going into it–all I knew was that I adored This is How it Always Is, Laurie Frankel’s last novel. To be honest, my guard was up really early when I discovered that there were some disabled main characters. I was afraid that this book would treat them the same way that so many other books treat disabled characters–as flat, personality-less, inspiration porn. While I’m still curious to hear what disabled readers think of the representation in this book, I personally (as a mostly able-bodied person) think that it was handled quite beautifully. In an interview with the author (which played after the audiobook), I was pleased to hear that she has been quite involved with disability rights activists and I think that really showed. As far as I could tell anyway.
So basically the plot of this story is that once upon a time, a chemical plant came to town and promised to bring jobs and an economic boom to this sleepy village. What really happened was that they poisoned the water which affected the residents in a massive way. While the residents are fighting for justice and accessibility, they’re faced with an impossible decision.
This story is told from the perspectives of the Mitchell triplets. Each one of them has a distinct and powerful voice that pushes the story along. And even though it sounds like a terribly grey story it was so colorful. There was a lot of joy and excitement, romance and adventure throughout it all. Just like in real life. I can’t wait to push this book into the hands of everyone who walks in my door this summer.

And that’s all I read! Next month I’ll have a lot more to show since I’m almost finished with two books right now. I can’t wait to tell you about them.