Storyscapes

One of the joys of bookstore ownership is the Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) sent by publishers each month. These paperbound manuscripts resemble trade paperbacks and are the not quite final versions of books that will be released in the coming months. The publishers, of course, hope the bookseller will read the ARC and send a glowing recommendation that can then be used to promote the book. I have over the years recommended any number of fine children’s titles that I have read as ARCs and Stephen has done the same for adult titles. It’s fun when these recommends are then used in national publicity. We’ll take our fifteen minutes of fame in any form we can find it.

A Plague of Doves, by Louise Erdrich showed up recently. Due to be published this spring, it’s another fine story by one of the Midwest’s best authors. Erdrich’s writing is tight, her dialogue used to further the story while illuminating the character speaking. I’m a fan and look forward to each new book. Fortunately, she’s prolific – and she never disappoints. Doves will only add to her fame and hopefully expand her fan base.

Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely subtitled The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, was read first by Stephen and passed on to me. Wow, I wish I’d read this 50 years ago, but the author probably wasn’t even born then. Ariely understands human behavior and his experiments illuminate the many externals that govern our simplest decisions. The human mind plays tricks and the tricks influence us beyond anything we can imagine. This book should become a best seller and one that invokes much discussion by all who read it.

In the midst of reading ARCs, I also read two recently released titles by one of my new favorite authors, Henning Mankel. Mankel is a Swedish novelist, who has a series of mystery novels, featuring a detective named Kurt Wallander. Wallander is a flawed middle-aged man, who is a thinker. He solves crimes by analyzing the clues and retracing the various steps and events involved. Along the way, his personal demons are revealed and the man becomes human, not super-human. He is an anti-hero that appeals to the reader.

Mankel’s latest, Kennedy’s Brain, steps out of his pattern and leads the reader on a journey that is convoluted, complex and concludes with more questions than answers. Wallander is not part of this story and I must admit I missed him at first; but Mankel is a fine writer and the taut suspense, twists, and turns of the plot caught me, and I eventually stopped hoping Wallander would come and wrap it all up.

Mankel has also written a young adult novel, A Bridge to the Stars. Whenever an adult writer attempts to cross over and write for a younger audience, I become wary. I feel strongly that young adults and children are very discriminating in their reading taste. They cannot be lured because of an author’s supposed fame. Catch them in the first paragraph or forget it. Mankel does it. His characters are real, the dialogue right on and the story believable. It’s sure to be a hit with 13 to 18 year old readers.

In the midst of the publishing conglomerates and the commercializing of many authors, it’s good to know there are still writers writing well. Writers who appreciate and respect their audience. Booksellers who run small independent bookstores can still hand-sell favorites, introduce readers to untried authors, and hold literate conversations with customers about favorite titles. The internet is there, it competes, but it’s the personal knowledge shared between bookseller and reader that cannot be replicated and it is only found when the two meet face to face. From the looks of things the spring lists will bring many such face-to-face encounters. I look forward to each.