Bloomsbury's Recommended Reading
We are very excited about our new website and the opportunities it presents to reach our readers. If you check our site, we are constantly adding new recommendations from our book-loving staff. We are happy to be able to offer you the convenience of shopping from your computer for print books, which can be picked up at the store or mailed to your home, or ebooks, delivered immediately to your reading device.
And that is only one of many
reasons that we hope to still see you regularly, face to face, at the
store. Bloomsbury continues to be a showroom of carefully chosen
literature and information. We don’t accept money from publishers for
placement of books or reviews, and our reviews are objective and honest
(not paid for by publishers or from the authors’ friends). The
convenience of the internet has a great appeal , but we still believe it
is an unduplicatable experience to browse in an independent, bricks and
mortar bookstore, like Bloomsbury Books.
We look forward to seeing you, and wish you a wonderful holiday and a new year filled with good books.
HARDCOVER FICTION
READY PLAYER ONE Ernest Cline
Wildly original, with great 1980s nostalgia in a futuristic plot, this
was the book that everyone at Bloomsbury loved. Welcome to the
not-to-distant future - where no one ever leaves the computer screen or
his/her avatar, corporate greed rules and one young knight emerges to
save the planet. Every grown-up Harry Potter fan will love this.
THE MARRIAGE PLOT
Jeffrey Eugenides
It is the early 1980s - the country is in a recession, and life after
college is harder than ever. Madeleine, dutiful English major, is
writing her senior thesis on Jane Austin and George Eliot, purveyors of
the marriage plot that lies at the heart of the greatest English
novels. But real life, in the form of two very different suitors
intervenes. The author of MIDDLESEX has written another novel that is
compelling and literary.
1Q84 Haruki Murakami
The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo and a young woman enters a
parallel existence which she calls 1Q84 - “Q” is for question mark. It
is a love story, a fantasy and the best contemporary literature by a
writer of international renown.
THE CAT’S TABLE Michael Ondaatje
In a story that moves between a boy’s experience on the decks and holds
of a ship and his adult years, the author of THE ENGLISH PATIENT tells a
riveting story about the differences between the tender innocence of
childhood and the burdens of earned understanding.
WHEN SHE WOKE Hillary Jordan
“When she woke, she was red. Not flushed, not sunburned, but the solid
declarative red of a stop sign.” The story of a stigmatized woman
struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, with
echoes of HANDMAID’S TALE and THE SCARLET LETTER, this is the book you won’t be able to put down.
CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS Peter Sis
Award-winning author and illustrator Sis creates his first book for
adults, a beautiful and uplifting adaptation of the classic 12th
century Sufi classic by the Persian poet, Attar. It’s the story of
thousands of birds who fly off on a perilous journey in search of a
king. Lyrical and gorgeously illustrated, eternally relevant, its
themes are love, faith and the meaning of life.
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
THE SWERVE Stephen Greenblatt
A spellbinding tale of the great cultural “swerve” known as the
Renaissance in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of
neglect, found in a monastery, changed the course of human thought and
made possible the world as we know it. The discovery of the book, ON
THE NATURE OF THINGS, fueled the Renaissance and went on to influence
Shakespeare, Freud, Darwin, Einstein and Thomas Jefferson. NATIONAL
BOOK AWARD WINNER, 2011
CATHERINE THE GREAT Robert Massie
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of PETER THE GREAT comes the
extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to
Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable ,
powerful and captivating women in history.
IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS Eric Larson
You will not be able to put down this compelling history of Ambassador
Thomas Dodd and his family’s year in Berlin. In 1933, Hitler unmasked
himself and his terrifying intentions. Larson, author of DEATH IN THE
WHITE CITY, through Dodd’s diaries, letters and countless interviews,
recaptures the fear and insanity of that year with such vibrancy and
suspense that you’ll feel as if you were there.
THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE Stephen Pinker
Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime and terrorism,
one could easily think that we live in the most violent age ever
seen. Yet, this ambitious and provocative work, mixing psychology and
history provides a picture of an increasingly nonviolent world.
RIN TIN TIN Susan Orlean
Rin Tin Tin’s journey from orphaned puppy on a battlefield in World War
I, France, to movie star is a dazzling celebration of a great American
dog by a gifted writer. This is a poignant exploration of the bond
between humans and animals, set in the fascinating times of the early
movie business.
PILGRIMAGE Annie Leibowitz
The legendary photographer of the famous presents a personal
collection, not on assignment and without an agenda. These are stunning
pictures - moody and arresting - including the homes of Emily
Dickinson, Sigmund Freud and Virginia Woolf, a powerful and fearful view
of Niagara Falls, a photo of Lincoln’s bloodstained opera gloves. This
is a collection that will inspire and move you and which you’ll want
to look at again and again.
PAPERBACK FICTION
TIGER’S WIFE Tea Obreht
In a Balkan country, mending from war, a young doctor is compelled to
unravel the mysterious circumstances of her grandfather’s death. She
turns to the stories he told to her as a child - the deathless man and
the legend of the tiger’s wife. One of the most highly praised novels
of the year, National Book Award Nominee.
FREEDOM Jonathan Franzen
This epic novel of contemporary love and marriage tragically and
comically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty. In charting
the mistakes and joys of a couple as they struggle to live in an ever
more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply
moving portrait of our time.
NEMESIS Philip Roth
Roth has been writing for a long time and, just in case you’ve
forgotten how amazingly good he is, read this account of a terrifying
polio outbreak in a Newark, N.J. neighborhood. It is a wrenching
examination of the forces of circumstances on our lives, told in Roth’s
inimitable style.
BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES ed. Geraldine Brooks
This excellent collection of the year’s best short stories from
American periodicals, chosen by Pulitzer Prize author, Brooks, makes
great bedside reading or the perfect gift for any reader.
SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK David Sedaris
Featuring Sedaris’s unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new
collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though
the characters may not be human, the situations bear an uncanny
resemblance to the insanity of every day life.
PAPERBACK NONFICTION
THE WARMTH OF OTHER SUNS Isabel Wilkerson
One of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long
migration of black citizens from the South to the North in search of a
new and better life.
Winner National Book Critic’s Circle Award, 2011.
ATLANTIC Simon Winchester
Great sea battles, heroic discoveries, titanic storms and a vast ocean of a million stories.
APOLLO'S ANGELS Jennifer Homans
A National Book Critics Circle Finalist and published to extraordinary
acclaim, this lavishly illustrated book is the first definitive history
of ballet.
A memoir of friendship, dogs, the craft of writing and the
transformation that comes from our intimate connections to other people.
CLEOPATRA Stacy Schiff
Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the
ancient world. This was the best-selling biography of 201l, newly
available in paperback.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
BUMBLE-ARDY Maurice Sendak
A mischievous little pig, who has never had a birthday party, invites all his friends to a gala masquerade for his 9th birthday. In the style of “Where The Wild Things Are”, the party becomes a frolicking and raucous affair. This glorious picture book is the first book Sendak has both written and illustrated in 30 years. A wonderful and imaginative story for children ages 4 and up.
LLAMA LLAMA HOME WITH MAMA Anna Dewdney
When little llama wakes up feeling “yucky”, mama llama keeps him home from school. He must rest, take medicine, nap, and be lovingly cared for by his mama. But what happens when mama llama starts to sneeze? A delightful and colorful picture book for ages 2-5.
WONDERSTRUCK Brian Selznick
From the Caldecott award-winning author of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, comes another innovative masterpiece. What a beautiful and magical world Brian Selznick has created! The story is told from the perspective of two children living fifty years apart, but both on similar and remarkable quests. Rose’s story is told through pictures, and alternates with Ben’s story which is told in words. From the exquisite illustrations to the beautiful and heartfelt story, this magnificent book is a sheer delight to read. Ages 8 and up.
WILDWOOD Colin Meloy
When Prue McKeel’s baby brother is kidnapped by crows, she sets out on a dangerous adventure to rescue him. This spellbinding tale filled with wonder and magic is set in Portland, Oregon, and is written by multi-talented Colin Meloy, the lead singer of the Decemberists. This enchanting story is accompanied by exquisite and detailed illustrations by Carson Ellis. A book to be cherished for those ages 9 and up.
THE FUTURE OF US Jay Asher and Carolyn Macker
The year is 1996, and two teens install a cd in their computer that instantly logs onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn’t been invented yet, and they find they’re looking at themselves 15 years into their future. They now have the ability to make different decisions that will affect the outcome of their lives later. An exciting novel that is both clever and timely for computer savvy teens.
Behind our name: The Bloomsbury Group was an informal group of writers, intellectuals and artists associated with the Bloomsbury district of London during the first half of the 20th century. Among its members were Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, & John Maynard Keynes. Their work profoundly influenced literature, aesthetics, criticism, and economics. Good company to be around, we think!
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