Inspiration, Bios, Memoirs, and Spirituality

The Book Lover's Treasury of Quotations: An Inspired Collection on Reading, Writing and Literature

by Jo Brielyn available now, paperback, Hatherleigh Press Turning to the first page in a new book and beginning a new journey is the sort of excitement that you can’t find anywhere else. Whether it’s a gripping mystery or a thrilling adventure, reading is one of the most fulfilling things a person can do. The Book Lover’s Treasury of Quotations collects the wisdom on offer from reading and puts them all in one place—in an attractive volume that fits in your pocket!

The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry

by Wendell Berry available now, paperback, Counterpoint Berry is one of my favorite authors and this book of essays resonates as deeply as his fiction. To quote Matthew Boffey (one of our fabulous customers), "This book has awakened me to my participation in markets that destroy local economies. Paying a little extra for a book is worth the clear conscience and the joy of supporting my community." –Paul

A Great Gift... Sex

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life

by Robin Wall Kimmerer "Lots of things were left out of High School Sex Ed. I recommend this book for anyone who has sexual intercourse. For someone who is young and experimenting it is important to know what you like while being safe. This is a great gift to your children, grandchildren or friends who you may or may not know a lot about their personal life. So get freaky! Communicate! And enjoy sex!" –Gabi

Thanks for Shopping Local

A Great Gift...

Even the Stars Look Lonesome

by Maya Angelou "This book grounds me in times of uncertainty, I know I will be flipping through the pages in the midst of the stress of the holiday season. Hearing the words of Angelou: about her own experiences and those who inspired her, makes her feel closer to me. It's like sitting and having a conversation with the iconic poet herself." –Reilly P.

Check out our Virtual LitLive event schedule on pages 59-61!

One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder

by Brian Doyle available in December, paperback, Back Bay Books This playful and moving bestselling book of essays invites us into the miraculous and transcendent moments of everyday life. His essays manage to find, again and again, exquisite beauty in the quotidian; through Doyle's eyes, nothing is dull. Now in paperback, One Long River of Song invites readers to experience joy and wonder in ordinary moments that become, under Doyle's rapturous and exuberant gaze, extraordinary.

A Great Gift... Pets

Doggie Language: A Dog Lover's Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend

by Lili Chin

"This book is perfect for our human companions! They frequently don't understand our *obviously* clear body language, so the illustrations in this little guide will be very informative to them. My human says the writing is helpful, too (I wouldn't know, I'm just a pup)! Woof woof." –Denali

Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath

by Heather Clark available now, hardcover, Knopf Determined not to read Plath’s work as if her every act was a harbinger of her tragic fate, Clark evokes a culture in transition, in the shadow of the atom bomb and the Holocaust, as she explores Plath’s world: her early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman; her troubles at the hands of an unenlightened mental-health industry; her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes, and much more.

A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky: The World of Octavia Butler

by Lynell George available now, hardcover, Angel City Press This book will be beloved by both scholars and fans of Butler, as well as aspiring writers and creatives who are looking for a model or a spark of inspiration. It offers a visual album of a creative life—a map that others can follow. Butler once wrote that science fiction was simply “a handful of earth, a handful of sky, and everything in between.” This book offers a slice of the in between.

This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing

by Jacqueline Winspear available in November, hardcover, Soho Press

Winspear’s memoir tackles the difficult, poignant, and fascinating family accounts of her paternal grandfather’s shellshock; her mother’s evacuation from London during the Blitz; her softspoken animal-loving father’s torturous assignment to an explosives team during WWII; her parents’ years living with Romany Gypsies; and Winspear’s own childhood picking hops and fruit on farms in rural Kent, capturing her ties to the land and her dream of being a writer at its very inception.

Join us for a Virtual Event with

EDWINA NORTON Monday, November 16, 7pm Free & easy to attend.

Register at villagebooks.com today!

A Promised Land

by Barack Obama available in November, hardcover, Crown Publishing In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world. This beautifully written and powerful book captures Obama's conviction that democracy is not a gift from on high but something founded on empathy and common understanding and built together, day by day.

November 19–22 BUZZ WORTHY

Pair this new release with the Hawaiian Ease Cocktail at Evolve Cafe inside Fairhaven Village Books

The Women I Think About at Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes

by Mia Kankimäki available in November, hardcover, Simon & Schuster

Bored with her life and feeling stuck, Mia Kankimäki leaves her job, sells her apartment, and decides to travel the world, following the paths of the female explorers and artists from history. She flies to Tanzania and Kenya to see where Karen Blixen lived in the 1920s. In Japan, she attempts to cure her depression while researching Yayoi Kusama, the contemporary artist who has voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital for decades. If these women could make it in the world hundreds of years ago, why can’t Mia?

Autumn Light: My Fifty Years in Zen

by Edwina Norton available now, paperback, Hamilton Books Autumn Light is the artfully told memoir of one woman’s lived experience of Zen Buddhism as it took root in America. The author weaves Zen teachings and practices into her personal story, recounting how they guided her through life’s challenges into a peaceful old age. Edwina Norton is a lifelong painter, poet, and peace activist. Now an ordained Zen priest, she mentors Zen students in the Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham.

Over the Top: My Story

by Jonathan Van Ness available now, paperback, Harper The amazing, fabulous, heartwrenching truth of JVN's life. In their memoir, Jonathan opens up about their life growing up queer in a small town and what it's like being HIV positive. While they get into deep and difficult topics, they equal it out with their vast knowledge of the Russian royals and women's figure skating! It's like reading two fabulous history books in one. Can you believe? –Jenni

The Best of Me Humor by David Sedaris available in November, hardcover, Little, Brown and Company Now, for the first time collected in one volume, Sedaris brings us his funniest and most memorable work. Full of joy, generosity, and the incisive humor that has led him to be called “the funniest man alive”, The Best of Me spans a career spent watching and learning and laughing—quite often at himself—and invites readers deep into the world of one of the most brilliant and original writers of our time. BUZZ WORTHY

November 5–8 books & booze pairing

Pair this new release with a Cranberry Margarita at Evolve Cafe inside Fairhaven Village Books

Film Fun!

Star Wars: Fascinating Facts

by Pablo Hidalgo available now, hardcover, Portable Press

Star Wars: Fascinating Facts is a compendium of hundreds of little-known facts about all nine episodes in the Skywalker Saga—from behind-the-scenes on-set tidbits to stories about how the tale of Star Wars was created. Profiles of important characters and early drafts of scripts show what might have been, details of how famous scenes were filmed, and other firsthand accounts from cast and crew members.

Little Weirds

by Jenny Slate available in November, paperback, Back Bay Books Step into Jenny Slate's wild imagination in this "magical" (Mindy Kaling), "delicious" (Amy Sedaris), and "poignant" (John Mulaney) bestseller about love, heartbreak, and being alive. In her dazzling, impossible-to-categorize debut, Jenny channels the pain and beauty of life in writing so fresh, so new, and so burstingly alive, we catch her vision like a fever and bring it back out into the bright day with us, where everything has changed.

Performing Arts

Is This Anything?

by Jerry Seinfeld available now, hardcover, Simon & Schuster

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21 year-old college student in the fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything. For this book, Seinfeld has selected his favorite material, organized decade by decade. In page after hilarious page, one brilliantly crafted observation after another, readers will witness the evolution of one of the great comedians of our time and gain new insights into the thrilling but unforgiving art of writing stand-up comedy.

Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema

by Lindy West available now, hardcover, Hachette Books

Lindy West has compiled her hilarious film reviews from The Stranger, as well as new reviews written during quarantine, for this collection. She dissects cult classics and fan favorites like The Notebook, Jurassic Park, Bad Boys, and of course Love, Actually. I highly recommend both the book AND the audio book. West reading her work out loud is a treat indeed! –Jenni

See villagebooks.com for audio books through

The Psychology of Stupidity

by Jean-Francois Marmion ushering in of a new season.

available now, paperback, Penguin Books In The Psychology of Stupidity, some of the world’s leading psychologists and thinkers—including a Nobel Prize winner and bestselling authors—will show you… why smart people sometimes believe in utter nonsense; how our lazy brains cause us to make the wrong decisions; why trying to debate fools is a trap; and how media manipulation and Internet overstimulation make us dumber.

Mr Spock's Little Book of Mindfulness: How to Survive This One Wild

in an Illogical World

introverts, or the self-proclaimed lone wolf. You can be in a

by Glenn Dakin available now, hardcover, Hero Collector

Who better to teach us mindfulness and wisdom than Mr. Spock, that beacon of calm, rational thought? With quotes from Star Trek and timely insights about modern life this book will be your guide. In a universe that seems to have gone mad, we turn to mindfulness to restore sanity. When humanity has lost its way, it takes a Vulcan to raise an eyebrow at our folly and lead us towards the truth.

The Black Books

by C.G. Jung available now, hardcover, W.W. Norton

The Red Book drew on material Jung actively kept notebooks for many more decades. Presented in a magnificent, seven-volume boxed collection featuring a revelatory essay by noted Jung scholar Sonu Shamdasani—illuminated by a selection of Jung’s vibrant visual works—and both translated and facsimile versions of each notebook, The Black Books offer a unique portal into Jung’s mind and the origins of analytical psychology.

We Ship!

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

by Katherine May available in December, hardcover, Riverhead Books

Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the

and Precious Life: The Path Back to Connection in a Fractured World

by Sarah Wilson available in December, hardcover, Dey Street Books The New York Times bestselling author of First, We Make the Beast Beautiful tackles the loneliness epidemic, encouraging readers to view solitude through a spiritual lens, and embrace the art of being alone. This is not just a book for single people, recorded from 1913 to 1916, but

crowded room, or at a dinner table with your spouse and children, and still feel powerfully lonely and disengaged.

Philosophy for Polar Explorers

by Erling Kagge available in November, hardcover, Pantheon

In this inspiring and lyrical book, Kagge teaches us how to apply an explorer’s mentality to our own daily lives. Simple things like getting up early and accepting failure can make a difference whether we are battling an arctic storm en route to the South Pole or stuck in traffic on our way to work. And larger lessons, like learning not to chase happiness and being receptive to goals, can benefit our lives enormously.

Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus

by Robin R. Meyers "In language laden with eminently quotable and thought-provoking passages, pastor Robin Meyers strips away centuries of dogma, not to be sacrilegious, but as part of the profoundly faithful quest of seeking to know and follow the original Jesus." –Eric