A Feast of Good Books
Escape into some of our new recommendations, join us for Peculiar Book Club, and get some good gift ideas for the upcoming holidays.
In our last newsletter, we mentioned we were going to be featured on Boston’s Chronicle feature on WCVB Channel 5. If you’re interested in seeing the feature (which includes some other great local businesses), view the video here.
Scroll for new releases, staff picks, featured book lists, and a note from Brittany Fox, owner of Cafe 1888. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the December book launch of local author Christa Carmen’s next novel, or to come say hello on Small Business Saturday.
Our staff is ready with recommendations, our shelves packed with all manner of goodies, and our partners over in Cafe 1888 ready with some delicious seasonal concoctions.
Upcoming events
Friday, December 6th from 6:30 pm-7:30 pm
Thank you everybody who made the first meeting of the Peculiar Book Club so much fun! Next up, I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. Will it be as interesting to discuss as the last title? Let’s find out! We’ll also be picking our February book club read, so get your recommendations ready.
Don’t forget to mention the Peculiar Book Club for 10% off these titles.
Christa Carmen Book Launch
Tuesday, December 10th at 6:00PM
Join Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christa Carmen at the UNITED for the official launch event for her new book Beneath the Poet’s House (copies of the book will be available for purchase).
About the book: Unmoored by her husband’s death and suffering from writer’s block, novelist Saoirse White moves to Providence, and into the historic home of Sarah Helen Whitman, the nineteenth-century poet and spiritualist once courted by Edgar Allan Poe. Saoirse’s certain she’ll find inspiration in the quiet rooms, as well as in the tucked-away rose garden and forgotten cemetery at the back of the property.
To see the rest of our upcoming events, visit the Events page on our website.
New releases
Our most anticipated non-fiction releases
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Indigenous Knowledge & Perspectives, Science
From the author of Braiding Sweetgrass comes an inspiring new book about how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community. At an approachable 112 pages, this book is the perfect pocket read to get you through the end of the year, and features wonderful illustrations from
Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell
Nature, Science, Essays
In this brilliant and passionately persuasive book, Katherine Rundell takes us on a globe-spanning tour of the world's most awe-inspiring animals currently facing extinction. (Bookseller’s note: It is not a bummer.) Beautifully illustrated, and full of inimitable wit and intellect, Vanishing Treasures is a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck, to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness.
Water, Water by Billy Collins
Poetry
From the former Poet Laureate of the United States and New York Times bestselling author of Aimless Love comes a wondrous new collection of poems focused on the joys and mysteries of daily life. In this collection of sixty new poems, Billy Collins writes about the beauties and ironies of everyday experience.
We have curated a book list for the non-fiction reader in your life, whether that’s you, a good friend, or a family member who likes to read the “real stuff”! Explore the list here.
Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins—From Spices to Vices by Noah Whiteman
Nature and Plants
In Most Delicious Poison, evolutionary biology professor Noah Whiteman reveals the origins of toxins produced by plants, mushrooms, and microbes—and how we evolved to overcome them. The perfect book for those of us who enjoy the macabre side of science.
Nuts & Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World (in a Big Way) by Roma Agrawal
History, Technology & Engineering
In Nuts and Bolts, structural engineer Roma Agrawal examines seven of these extraordinary elements: the nail, the wheel, the spring, the magnet, the lens, the string, and the pump. Nuts and Bolts shows how engineering has fundamentally changed the way we live - and is a seriously entertaining read!
Cabinet of Curiosities: A Historical Tour of the Unbelievable, the Unsettling, and the Bizarre by Aaron Mahnke
Curiosities and Wonders, History
From the creator of the long-running, smash-hit podcast Aaron Mahnke’s Cabinet of Curiosities comes the book—a riveting look inside some of history’s strangest stories. Perfect for trivia aficionados, history readers, or anyone with a thirst for unusual knowledge, Cabinet of Curiosities is full of titillating tidbits and mind-boggling stories you never knew you needed to know.
Congratulations to Percival Everett for winning the National Book Award (Fiction) and to Samantha Harvey for winning the Booker Prize (Fiction)!
Reserve your copy of James here. Reserve your copy of Orbital here.
New in fiction
Time of the Child by Niall Williams
Fiction, Lyrical, Family
Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams' beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time. Poignant, lyrical, realistic, shot-through with wry humor. Laurie Hertzel from the Boston Globe calls it “An engross read, the dark and the rain and the shabby but hopeful holiday decorations blending with the peat smoke and the love, all coming fully alive on the page.” If you’re feeling impatient as you wait for the restock, check out This is Happiness or History of the Rain!
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
Fiction, Magical Realism
In The City and Its Uncertain Walls, Murakami revisits a novella he wrote in 1980—the only work of his that hasn’t been reprinted from its original source magazine. The book explores loneliness, longing, and love in Murakami’s signature style.
Lazarus Man by Richard Price
Fiction, Suspense, Urban
East Harlem, 2008. In an instant, a five-story tenement collapses. Cue chaos. Rich with indelible characters and high drama, Lazarus Man is a riveting work of suspense and social vision by one of our major writers.
Great new gift books
The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin by Bryan Baumgartner and Ben Silverman
Tags, Tags, Tags
Do you have an exceptional friend who has a real knack for quoting The Office at any given moment? Consider gifting them The Night Before Christmas at Dunder Mifflin. While it may not be a brand new iPod, it’s definitely something special.
A Coupe of Thorns and Rosé: Romantasy Cocktails to Quench Your Thirst
Tags, Tags, Tags
Do you want to show up as a hero to your romantasy book club with the most delicious cocktails? Or maybe you know someone who loves romantasy books and also cocktails? Let us introduce you to the perfect book, A Coupe of Thorns and Rosé.
Jane Austen: Visual Encyclopedia by Gwen Giret & Claire Saim
Biography, Literary, Entertainment, Coffee Table Book
A full-color, beautifully illustrated, definitive 312-page encyclopedia with over 200 photographs and illustrations! This is the bookish gift for any lover of Jane Austen, other than a trip to Pemberley - although this book would help you plan that!
Curious what else is coming out soon? View Upcoming Releases on our web store.
Staff recommendations
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
A thought-provoking novella! The premise and the futuristic technologies are well thought out, the characters are fleshed-out, and the writing is beautiful. I loved exploring each planet and learning about its unique climate and life forms! It also has some nice LGBTQIA+ representation (particularly in that it has characters on the aro and ace spectrums, which can be kinda hard to find represented!)
Recommended by: Olivia
Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett
Children’s Picture Book
My mom used to read this book to me when I was a kid to get ready for winter. The recent weather reminds me of the warm feeling I’d get reading it. Jan Brett is an incredible author, and her illustrations are the cutest. This is my favorite one of hers as little me related to Annie HEAVILY. She prefers the company of animals to people, she has a fat and lazy orange tabby cat, and makes some mean corn muffins. Safe to say I recommend this to everyone and their mother. The side panels tell their own story and there are so many details that it warrants reading over and over again.
Recommended by: Fiona
Gift Spotlight: Hauser Chocolates
As the holidays get closer, it’s a great time to start thinking about what to buy your friends. While we have a great selection of books to choose from, we also have a great selection of puzzles and recently started selling Hauser chocolates!
Hauser Chocolatier is a second generation family-owned company right here in Westerly, RI, specializing in fine quality truffles and assorted chocolates. Treat yourself to something sweet, and locally made! We have boxes of four and bags of bark across from the cafe and at the front register.
The latest at Cafe 1888
With holiday shopping upon us, don’t forget to fuel up at Cafe 1888 before browsing the shelves! If you’re looking for quick gift ideas to accompany a great new read, we have mugs, wine glasses, bottles of wine, and bags of coffee available for sale.
We have four distinct coffee blends in 12 oz. bags: our signature espresso roast, decaffeinated espresso roast, dark roast, and a medium blend.
The espresso and decaf can be sampled in any of our espresso beverages; try them today in a seasonally flavored latte! We have plenty of pumpkin spice left, as well as Vermont maple syrup, brown sugar cinnamon, and new rosemary brown sugar simple syrup!
If you’re more of a classic drip coffee or iced coffee drinker, the medium roast is perfect for you. If you want something a little different, we have a sort of secret menu item in our French-pressed dark roast.
A personal favorite, the dark roast is smoky with notes of tobacco leaf and caramelized sugar. French-pressed, it takes a couple of minutes to prepare, but it’s worth the wait! And many don’t know, dark roasts have less caffeine and less acidity than medium, light, and blonde roasts.
Still undecided? Ask your barista for their suggestion! And see you soon!
Brittany Fox, Cafe 1888 owner
Martin House Books open daily at 9AM, Cafe 1888 opens at 7AM. We’re open until 6PM Monday–Wednesday, until 8PM Thursday–Saturday, and until 4PM on Sundays.
Thanks for stopping by,
Martin House Books