Book Club: Booksellers on What You Should Be Reading

Friends, we’re living in wild times. We’re all in it together, which seems both comforting and terrifying. There’s solace in sharing hardship, rather than facing it on one’s own. But it may also feel like there’s nowhere to turn for a sense of normalcy. Here’s what I do know for sure: Throughout the ages, telling stories that resonate with our shared humanity has been healing. Through war, famine and disease, writers, artists and storytellers have promised us a way out. I’m reminded of a line from James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues,” which is my forever Book Club pick. He writes that “while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness.”

That’s why we’re bringing you a very special Book Club today. We asked our local booksellers to recommend titles, and we encourage you to support them by ordering online from their shops. We’ve linked to those shops below. If you prefer to listen to audio books, we encourage you to check out libro.fm, where you can select an indie shop to support with your purchase. We want Parnassus Books, The Bookshop and Defunct Books to be around long after we come out of this. We need the community and the shared joy that they provide. Here is your March Book Club. 

The Bookshop owner Joelle Herr recommends The Bear by Andrew Krivak.

"As the proprietress of a small indie bookstore, I tend to be drawn to books from small indie presses, home to many an overlooked gem,” says Herr. “The Bear tells the fable-like story of a young girl and her father — perhaps the last two humans on earth, sometime in the future — with an elegance that's far from fussy. It's spare, actually, but oh so very achingly beautiful." 

Ryne Walker of The Bookshop recommends My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. 

“While I wouldn't recommend diving into this novel without first knowing its content, I feel that Russell handles an impossibly complex and harrowing topic with intelligence and care,” says Walker. “It's psychological, terrifying, and, as much as the main character would loathe me for calling it this: brave.”

Ann Patchett, author and co-owner of Parnassus Books, recommends The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich.

“This is the best book yet by the best writer we have,” says Patchett. “It's based on the life of her grandfather, a night watchman at a factory who stands up to the government to save tribal lands. It's riveting, gorgeously written, and will fill you with hope. What else could you ask for?”

Catherine Bock, inventory manager at Parnassus, recommends The Resisters by Gish Jen.

“It's the book we all need right now to remind us that we have agency in our world,” says Bock. “In a fully automated future, there are the haves (the Netted) and the have-nots (the Surplus). We are taken into the world of one fantastic Surplus family as they try and resist what their world has become. Oh, and there's baseball!”

Rae Ann Parker, director of books and events for young readers at Parnassus, recommends The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. 

“The perfect read for fans of young adult historical fantasy,” says Parker. “Both Mozart siblings are talented performers, but girls are not allowed to become composers in 18th-century Europe. Nannerl makes a deal with a princeling from the Kingdom of Back to achieve fame and fortune, but what will her promise cost?”

Steve Haruch, marketing and communications manager at Parnassus (and Scene contributor), recommends New Waves by Kevin Nguyen.

Says Haruch: “Part mystery, part bildungsroman and part nostalgia-cascade for a time when the internet was a place full of promise and obsessive peer-to-peer file swapping, New Waves hit a sweet spot for me as someone of a certain age who's interested in those edges of life where technology has outpaced our understanding of how to incorporate it into our lives. It's also a study in friendship and what it means to be the only people of color in a white-male-dominated start-up culture — smart and self-aware, but not overly so.”

From Gregory Delzer of Defunct Books: 

“As we face self-quarantines, I recommend My Year of Dirt and Water by Tracy Franz, a memoir of the author's year-long mental and spiritual journey while her husband was cloistered in a Zen Buddhist monastery. Beautifully written and inescapably poignant.”

Check out our Book Clubs with artists, activists, historians, museum curators, musicians and poets for more recommendations.