[title subtitle=”RECOMMENDATIONS Sara Putman, Owner Bookish”][/title]
Enjoy these four must-read books from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently-owned bookstore. Shop hours: Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday – Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. Need curbside delivery? Call 479.434.2917 or email orders@bookishfs.com.
The Anthropocene Reviewed
by John Green
Lovers of John Green need this in their collection. This nonfiction assortment of personal essays links Green’s life to the larger world. Readers will connect to his charm and paranoia, while being intrigued by his intellect. From teddy bears to the Kauai o’o, Green gives each human interaction with the world a 5-star rating. Through a multitude of quotes and references to poems and stories, Green is vulnerable but also secure. His experiences aren’t too far from ours, but he’s taken the time to do a lot of self-work and feels compelled to share it with us.
Pumpkin
by Julie Murphy
Welcome to Clover City, Texas, the world of beauty pageants and dance contests. Waylon Russell Brewer is a plump, openly gay high school student with big plans to get out of Clover when he graduates, until his twin sister messes up his plans. On a whim, he makes an audition tape for his favorite TV show, Fiercest of Them All. The tape is leaked, and he’s nominated as prom queen. He doesn’t let this get him down and he quickly decides he’s leaving high school with a big glittery bang! This audiobook is narrated by local celebrity, Chad Burris!
Good Neighbors
by Sarah Langan
On Maple Street, a picture-perfect slice of suburban Long Island, residents are bound by their children, their work, and their illusion of safety. When the Wilde family moves in, they trigger the neighbors’ worst fears. Though Maple Street’s Queen Bee, Rhea Schroeder, a lonely college professor repressing a dark past, welcomed Gertie and her family at first, relations went south. As tensions mount, a sinkhole opens in a nearby park, and Rhea’s daughter falls inside. The search for Shelly brings a shocking accusation against the Wildes. This book digs up the betrayals of motherhood, friendships, social hierarchy, childhood trauma, and fear.
Klara and the Sun
by Kazuo Ishiguro
In his first book since he won the Nobel Prize for Literature for Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro looks at our world through the eyes of an observant narrator who works to understand what it means to love. Klara is an AF – Artificial Friend – and even though she is an older model, her ability to learn about her environment and use what she learned to understand human emotion is unmatched, even by the newer models. Haunting and hopeful, Klara’s journey will allow readers to look at their own relationships and assess how our actions relay our emotions.
