Aryn Kyle's haunting coming-of-age novel, The God of Animals, is the kind of book that you’ll want to share with everyone you know. Twelve- year-old Alice Winston is growing up fast on her father's run-down horse ranch. She is coping with the absence of her older sister, trying to understand her mother, and attempting to earn the love and admiration of her reticent, weary father. ($14.00 Simon & Schuster)



In Moon Shell Beach, Nancy Thayer introduces Lexi Laney and Clare Hart, friends who shared idyllic childhoods on Nantucket Island. This is the story of what transpires eleven years later, when the young women are reunited on the island. ($24.00 Ballantine Books)



If you've ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Garth Stein's third novel The Art of Racing in the Rain offers an answer. This novel is a bittersweet story of family, love, loyalty, and hope. ($23.95 Harper Collins)



From widely praised author Nancy Clark (The Hills at Home) comes another humorous, bittersweet family saga. In July and August, Great-aunt Lily’s gracious pile of a house in Towne, Massachusetts, is the gathering place for her far-flung New England clan.  A richly drawn summer story of love lost and found. ($25.00 Anchor Books)



When former Miami homicide detective Jane Bunker leaves her big-city life for Green Haven, Maine, she assumes she is also leaving behind pollution, noise, and dead bodies. How wrong she is! Written by Linda Greenlaw (author of The Hungry Ocean and Slipknot, among others) Fisherman’s Bend will keep you turning the pages. ($24.95 Hyperion Books)

40 Years at 40 West – We're Tickled Pink!

Greetings from The Book Shop

In celebration of 40 years at 40 West Street, we’re having our best summer sale ever! Our storewide sale will run from August 16th through August 23rd.  You’ll find wonderful bargains throughout the store.

Several new books have emerged as hits this season. Our staff and customers have been raving about The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. “I doubt we’ll see a finer literary debut this year,” writes Richard Russo. Also receiving positive review attention is Salman Rushdie’s new book, The Enchantress of Florence. One reviewer has referred to it as “a beguiling, incandescent tale of travel, treachery, and transformation set in Renaissance Florence…”

In our children’s room, we’re hearing great things about Rick Riordan’s series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first book, The Lightning Thief, is wildly popular with students in the middle grades. There are now four books in the series.

Remember, it’s never too late to pick up your school summer reading!

Paul Fisher reveals the fascinating complexities of one of history's most brilliant, eccentric, and daring families. House of Wits: An Intimate Portrait of the James Family looks at how the James family was traumatized by the restrictive standards of their times but reached out for new ideas and ways to live. ($35.00 Henry Holt and Company)



When You Are Engulfed in Flames is the newest offering from David Sedaris. With his trademark humor and hyperbole, combined with moments of deep sensitivity, Sedaris’ latest collection is a worthy addition to his body of work. ($25.99 Hachette)

After missing a historical society meeting, Mary Larcom Dow was nominated by her peers to write her memories about Beverly Farms for future generations. Old Days at Beverly Farms is Dow’s account of “the Farms” as it used to be: farms with “beautiful fields, stretching from the woods to the sea, where cows and oxen grazed…” ($19.99 History Press)

Carl Hiaasen recounts his clumsy resumption of the game of golf after a 32-year layoff in The Downhill Lie. His analysis of lessons, hapless rounds, and gimmicky golf equipment is hilarious. ($22.00 Knopf)

Plan your travel
with discounted
audio books.

Purchase a new audio book at The Book Shop and return it for a 25% rebate on the original price. This rebate may be applied towards any full price item in the store. Used audio books will be available for 50% off the original price.
Returned items must have original receipt and packaging.

Book Groups
Need ideas? Here is a list of what some of our book groups are reading:
Mothers of Invention
    by Drew Gilpin Faust
River of Doubt
    by Candice Millard
The March
    by E.L. Doctorow
Things Not Seen
    by Andrew Clements
The Alchemist
    by Paulo Coelho

Two friends enjoy the Book Shop's children's room.

Do you know how to tie knots like a sailor? Want to know Morse code? From the author of A is for Astronaut and C is for Caboose comes another book in the series. This wonderful book, which explains all things nautical in a fun a quirky way, will appeal to adults as well as children. ($15.99 Chronicle Books)

A hippopotamus on a farm? Who would have ever heard such a thing! This story is about a hippo named Veronica, and how she deals with being the new animal in the barnyard. This author has received the Caldecott Medal for another one of his works, White Snow, Bright Snow. ($16.99 Random House)

This imaginative book is from the same author who brought us Bats at the Beach! This time, our favorite bats spend a night at the library doing what we all love the most – reading! The story is a fun rhyme and the pictures are beautiful. ($16.00 Houghton Mifflin)

Do you know who Jacques Cousteau is? In the beautifully illustrated biography, readers will learn all about one of the best-known oceanographers in the world. ($16.99 Chronicle Books)

“Are You a Gifted Child Looking for Special Opportunities?” After this ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. But in the end only the four smartest and most resourceful children go on to take part in a secret mission. ($6.99 Little, Brown and Company)

The Penderwick sisters are home on Gardam Street and ready for an adventure! But the adventure they get isn't quite what they had in mind. Mr. Penderwick's sister has decided it's time for him to start dating--and the girls know that can only mean one thing: disaster. ($15.99 Knopf Books)