Ask a bookseller

Every week, The Thread checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment.

Ask a Bookseller: 'The Ogress and the Orphans' leaves you filled with hope
Katy Herbold of Sidekick Coffee & Books in Iowa City recommends “The Ogress and the Orphans” by Minneapolis writer Kelly Barnhill. Herbold called the middle-grade novel "a family read-aloud" that she predicts will be an instant classic.
Ask a Bookseller: 'The Verifiers'
Angela Schwesnedl of Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis recommends Jane Pek's novel "The Verifiers.” Schwesnedl says it raises questions about the people we meet online and the data that we may unknowingly share.
Ask a Bookseller: 'Lessons in Chemistry'
"If you can imagine Julia Child channeling a little bit of Lucille Ball, and all of the science edginess of Madame Curie, then you'll have a really good idea of the humor and the wit and the warmth that just shine through this entire novel," says Crowe.
Ask a Bookseller: 'Island Queen' celebrates an ambitious Black woman entrepreneur from history
If you like the energy and ambition of the musical "Hamilton," Lelia Nebeker of One More Page Books in Arlington, Va., recommends you check out the novel “Island Queen” by Vanessa Riley.
Ask a Bookseller: 'American War,' set in the future, reflects aspects of today
Sometimes setting a novel in a different time or place gives an author permission to reflect our contemporary world in a new way. That’s the case for journalist-turned-author Omar El-Akkad’s first novel “American War.”
Ask a Bookseller: 'One for the Blackbird and One for the Crow'
We're continuing our Women's History Month theme on "Ask a Bookseller." This week, Jessica Bohnsack of Sheridan Stationery Books and Gallery in Sheridan, Wyo., was happy to recommend a historical fiction novel set in her state: "One for the Blackbird and One for the Crow" by Olivia Hawker.
Ask a Bookseller: 'The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek'
Have you ever had a book call to you from the shelf? Emily Peterson of Page 42 Bookstore in Spokane, Wash., says she kept being drawn to the novel "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek," noticing the cover, reading the back until she finally took it home to read. Then, she could hardly put it down.
Ask a Bookseller: 'Civilizations' imagines a Europe colonized by Incas and Aztecs
Sarah Brown of Zenith Bookstore in Duluth has a revisionist history to recommend. "Civilizations: a Novel," by Laurent Binet, asks: What if colonizers had traveled to Europe rather than the other way around?
Ask a Bookseller: 'Unfamiliar Fishes' is delightful and informative
If you’re a history lover with a desire to escape the Minnesota winter weather, Pat Banning of Bookends in Kailua, Hawaii, has a recommendation for you.
Ask a Bookseller: 2020 captured in words and images
Donna Garban of Little City Books in Hoboken, N.J., says she knows to order multiple copies every time Jason Reynolds, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, puts out a new book.