Fall 2022 Books Preview

Summer in Newport ended at exactly 6pm on Labor Day. At that moment, we locked our door and headed home. Yes, we returned the next morning, but to no one's surprise, the tourists and browsers and beach readers did not. School was starting, the weather was getting cooler, and we could tell within hours on Tuesday morning that fall for our store had officially arrived.

And while we'll miss many of you who visited in the summer, we're also looking forward to the next few months, when publishers traditionally release their biggest books of the year. The fall of 2021 was historically bulging with great books from big names, probably due to a publishing backlog from the pandemic. And while this year is certainly thinner on volume, we think the quality is even better.

I asked our erstwhile booksellers to tell me their favorite books coming in the next few weeks and they really run the gamut. There's something for everyone in this list, and some of the authors will be stopping by the store to sign. Keep an eye on our Coming Soon and Events pages, and remember that you can pre-order all of the titles below right now.

Steve
Founder & Manager

DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver

"A contemporary realization of David Copperfield, this book carries the reader to rural Appalachia, where the cycle of institutional poverty has never been truly broken. From the first page we're launched into the non-stop action of survival for a kid in possession of his father’s looks and little else. Imbued with Kingsolver’s love of her home region, the twists of Demon’s journey made me feel like I was sliding down a mountain in my bare feet - but man, what a beautiful ride.”

- Amy

THE PASSENGER by Cormac McCarthy

"Fans of McCarthy will not be disappointed after waiting 16 years since The Road, Newcomers to his work should not start with this one, but all readers will spend some restless nights trying to unpack what's happening here - and none of this is a bad thing. Sometimes a great book becomes great in the unpacking. The only certain thing I can say is that The Passenger looks deep into the abyss of a particularly dark American despair - and it doesn't flinch."

- Steve

NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO PANIC by Kevin Wilson

"I always love Wilson's quirky, interesting characters. He says in the foreword that this is a book about friendship, about art, about memory and about what it means to hold onto the person who we were, even as we become someone else, and I couldn't agree more."

- Melissa

HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese

"Albanese takes us to Salem in this behind-the-scenes novel of the creation of The Scarlet Letter. Isobel is a seamstress with a family secret. When people speak or when she reads, the words she hears and the letters she sees are colorful and vibrant. When she meets a young, morose writer named Nathaniel Hawthorne, she can’t help but fall for him even though she's married to a less than desirable man. But this new world offers her less freedom than she thought, and for someone with a witch in her family tree, maybe Salem isn’t the safest place."

- Joe

THE REVOLUTIONARY: SAMUEL ADAMS by Stacy Schiff

"Pulitzer Prize winner Schiff uses her trademark talent for unorthodox historical narrative to tell the largely unknown story of Samuel Adams. His contemporaries agreed he was the most essential architect of the American Revolution (Paul Revere's ride was a mission to warn Adams personally), but today he's mostly known for seasonal beers. Schiff is the perfect biographer for the subject, and even Revolution buffs (like me) will come away with revelations and new perspectives."

- Steve

HEREAFTER: THE TELLING LIFE OF ELLEN O'HARA by Vona Groarke

"This feels a bit like walking down a museum exhibit: you have the history and the facts, with notable statistics and photographs, but you also have the interpretation of the curator, guiding you through a period in time. This particular exhibit is devoted to the author’s great-grandmother Ellen, an Irish immigrant who entered domestic service to support her family back home, as so many did. Join in Groarke's conversation with the ghost of Ellen as she does her best to fill in the gaps, writing sonnets to give Ellen’s voice life on the page."

- Kat

EVEN THOUGH I KNEW THE END by C. L. Polk

"This is a gorgeous cocktail of a book.  A slim, noir masterpiece of dames, demons, and damnation, it’s the kind of read that you know you should savor, but you just can’t keep from knocking back.”

- Amy

LEGENDS & LATTES by Travis Baldree

"Viv is done fighting. With the loot from her very last mission, the former Orc warrior sets down a new path; one that will lead to new faces, a new business venture, but possibly the same old problems. A truly beautiful and fun fantasy novel."

- Joe

HOUSE FINDS A HOME by Katy Duffield and Jen Corace*

"I love this sweet, beautifully illustrated comforting story about multiple generations of families living in a house - from the house’s point of view. Great read-aloud for all but especially for a little one nervous about moving into a new place."

- Melissa

*This will be a selection for our Charter Kids Book Box and illustrator Jen Corace will join us for storytime on September 24!

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Clement C. Moore and Matt Tavares

"This year marks the bicentennial of the American poem that basically invented the modern Christmas mythology. Author Clement Moore had a home here in Newport, so the celebrations will be especially festive when we welcome illustrator Matt Tavares to our store on December 9th."

- Steve