Summertime and the livin' is easy...

The graphic novel section at Jennie's is the highlight of the week. Some would say the graphic novel is a fluffy way to absorb a classic text or tricky topic, but I disagree heartily after a read of Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography by Chester Brown, a tale of rebellion and revolution and our favorite Canadian/Metis folk hero. The comic strip style deepened the story's setting and plot elements. Come and see for yourself.

Currently featured is Persepolis by Mariane Satrapi, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Daniel H. Pink, and finally my namesake, The Adventures of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware. These and many more are available here at Jennies.

Jennie and I were in Vancouver in early July for the BC Booksellers Association convention and it was SOOOO FUN! A whirlwind of books books and more books and more booksellers than you could shake a stick at. It was wonderful. In addition to meeting other independent booksellers from around the province and mingling with the bigwigs of the publishing world, we gathered uncorrect proofs from the publishers attending the tradeshow and brought home bagloads of wonderful soon-to-be released and only-available-in hard cover books. So, with all of these jewels in our possession, over the next few months, in addition to reading a lot, we will feature the books that are up and coming or only available in hard cover on our blog (only the ones we like, of course). Read on for a sneak peak...

I'm currently buried in award winning and best selling author of The Night Watch and Fingersmith Sarah Waters' newest book The Little Stranger.

Here's the review:
"In a dusty post-war summer in rural Warwickshire, a doctor is called to see a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the once grand house is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its garden choked with weeds. All around, the world is changing, and the family is struggling to adjust to a society with new values and rules.

Roddie Ayres, who returned from World War II physically and emotionally wounded, is desperate to keep the house and what remains of the estate together for the sake of his mother and his sister, Caroline. Mrs. Ayres is doing her best to hold on to the gracious habits of a gentler era and Caroline seems cheerfully prepared to continue doing the work a team of servants once handled, even if it means having little chance for a life of her own beyond Hundreds.

But as Dr. Faraday becomes increasingly entwined in the Ayreses’ lives, signs of a more disturbing nature start to emerge, both within the family and in Hundreds Hall itself. And Faraday begins to wonder if they are all threatened by something more sinister than a dying way of life, something that could subsume them completely.

Both a nuanced evocation of 1940s England and the most chill-inducing novel of psychological suspense in years, The Little Stranger confirms Sarah Waters as one of the finest and most exciting novelists writing today.."

It's a tale of love and loss as is expected from Waters. Currently available in hard cover only, we can order it in for you or you can wait for soft cover...yum yum. I'll let you know when we have it on the shelves. I'm loving it, but then I'm a huge fan...how about you?