Shakespeare and Co. Booksellers

Our Top 12 of 2011

S&Co. — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:50:39 +0000

1) The Devil All the Time: A Novel, by Donald Ray Pollock. For realism — and for straight-up kicking ass.
2) Beautiful Unbroken: A Memoir, by Mary Jane Nealon. For emotional truth.
3) The Barbarian Nurseries: A Novel, by Hector Tobar. For A devastating portrayal of class and cultural divisions in LA.
4) The Visible Man: A Novel, by Chuck Klosterman. For sustained narrative tension and for having — that rare thing — a perfect ending.
5) Lightning Rods: A Novel, by Helen Dewitt. For brilliant satire.
6) The Art of Fielding: A Novel, by Chad Harbach. For being a damned satisfying long novel.
7) The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making: A Novel, by Catherynne M. Valente. For A high level of originality and stylistic excellence.
8) American Gangbang: A Memoir, by Sam Benjamin. For honesty (and hilarity).
9) The Buddha in the Attic: A Novel, by Julie Otsuka. For economy.
10) Broken Irish: A Novel, by Edward J. DeLaney. For a broad range of convincing characters and for being very nearly unputdownable.
11) Widow: Stories, by Michelle Latiolais. For intelligence.
12) With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful, by Glenn Greenwald. For clarity.

Hours for Monday, Dec 26th.

S&Co. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:46:53 +0000

We will be open today from noon to four.

George Whitman, 1913-2011

S&Co. — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:29:01 +0000

T-shirts are available now — $15

S&Co. — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:00:54 +0000

Shirts are 100% cotton, navy blue.

Artwork by Courtney Blazon!

Our local reviewers …

S&Co. — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:56:10 +0000

UM professor Katie Kane reviews Peter Orner’s Love and Shame and Love.

UM professor David Gates reviews Will Hermes’s Love Goes to Buildings on Fire.

Kids’ Book Group meets next on Dec. 15th

S&Co. — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:21:39 +0000

The Kids’ Book Group will meet Dec. 15th at 6 pm. to discuss Lois Lowry’s The Willoughbys. The group meets monthly and is open to 4th through 7th graders (no exceptions). Please contact us about joining now!

The Holiday Mood

S&Co. — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 02:54:50 +0000

Brenda Lee, Christmas trees, and, for god’s sake, puppies:

What I’m Reading Right Now

S&Co. — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:49:37 +0000

The Whore of Akron, by Scott Raab (Harper; $25.99)

In the end, what truly matters is this: Cleveland fans love the city, cherish the teams more deeply, and pull for them with far more passion than fans anywhere else. Other Rust Belt cities have been stripped of a middle class over the past fifty years by the same socioeconomic Katrina, but only Cleveland became the armpit of a nation. Detroit is a sinkhole of permanent despair, Pittsburgh’s a human sewer, but fans in those cities know at least what victory looks, sounds, and feels like, and they limp a little taller and stink slightly less for that knowledge.

Extended hours for Friday, Dec 2nd

S&Co. — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:25:02 +0000

We will be open until 9 pm tonight. Wine is complimentary, gift wrap free.

Independent Bookstores

S&Co. — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 23:28:45 +0000

Salon is running a nice series on independent bookstores.