Here is a list of the most popular books sold last month at Books Inc. in the Marina:
HARDCOVER FICTION
1. All Fours, by Miranda July
2. Funny Story, by Emily Henry
3. The Women, by Kristin Hannah
HARDCOVER NON-FICTION
1. Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything, by James R. Doty
2. The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt
3. The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir, by Griffin Dunne
PAPERBACK FICTION
1. Bad Summer People, by Emma Rosenblum
2. This Summer Will Be Different, by Carley Fortune
3. Just For The Summer, by Abby Jimenez
PAPERBACK NON-FICTION
1. You Deserve Good Gelato, by Kacie Rose
2. The Shortest History of Italy: 3,000 Years from the Romans to the Renaissance to a Modern Republic, by Ross King
3. Random Acts of Medicine: The Hidden Forces That Sway Doctors, Impact Patients, and Shape Our Health, by Anupam B. Jena and Christopher Worsham
YOUNG READERS
Young Adult: Reckless, by Lauren Roberts
Middle Readers: The Wild Robot Escapes, by Peter Brown
Graphic Novel: Dog Man, Vol. 12: The Scarlet Shredder, by Dav Pilkey
NEW AND NOTABLE RELEASES
The Mercy of Gods, by James S.A. Corey
Writing as Corey, bestsellers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (The Expanse) create a dazzling new world in their masterful Captive’s War series launch. In the distant future, humanity has settled on the planet Anjiin, but the history of how they arrived there has been lost to time. Tonner Freis, a brilliant research scientist, has achieved a historic breakthrough in humanity’s ability to translate the language of Anjiin’s native, silicon-based, life-forms. But before he and his colleagues can learn more, Anjiin is invaded by the Carryx, which resemble “unthinkably vast cockroaches that bent up at a right angle in the middle.” Having conquered countless worlds, the Carryx operate from the conviction that “what can be subjugated, must be.” The authors create suspense through a prologue that foreshadows the conquest of Anjiin to be a Pyrrhic victory — in the process, the Carryx unwittingly bring the enemy who will defeat them into their midst. With that Damoclean sword dangling over the plot, the focus shifts to Freis and his team as they struggle to survive the invasion and their subsequent captivity. In Corey’s hands, world-shaking events don’t preclude nuanced and moving portraits of the people caught up in them. This is space opera at its best.
The Wedding People, by Alison Espach
Phoebe Stone arrives at an exclusive small hotel in Newport, RI, where she quickly discovers that everyone else is there for a six-day, million-dollar wedding extravaganza. Phoebe is there to kill herself. After several unsuccessful rounds of IVF, losing her husband to another woman and the death of her cat, she figures the solution is to give up on life, but in style at this dream vacation spot. Phoebe has no qualms about telling the wedding’s bride, Lila, why she is there, and Lila is as incensed — a suicide during her wedding week is not on the agenda. Lila recently lost her father, whose dying wish was for her to get married, and he left her the money to pay for the lavish ceremony. Lila harangues Phoebe into joining the wedding festivities, and they spend quite a bit of time together. Sometimes, it is easier to confide in a relative stranger than a loved one, and both women learn quite a bit about each other during the wedding week. Witty dialogue is just a bonus in this engrossing read centering on complex women making life-changing decisions. Recommend to readers who enjoy Sally Rooney, Curtis Sittenfeld or Elizabeth Berg.
I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine, by Daniel J. Levitin
A leading researcher delves into the unique healing powers of music. Most people have certain pieces of music that improve their mood or make them tap their foot. Levitin, a respected neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist with a long list of academic and artistic qualifications, has been studying this phenomenon for years, using MRI and other advanced technologies to find out what is going on inside the brain. He delved into this area in his books This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs, and this book extends and updates his research. Listening to music activates certain areas of the brain, and the aim is to use that increased stimulation to help areas that have been damaged by illness or are malfunctioning to produce depression or other mental problems. Levitin is convincing in his argument that this area potentially offers an alternative or supplement to pharmacological methods. Informative and enjoyable, this book is for anyone interested in how the practice of medicine is expanding, and it’s a must-read for fans of the author’s previous books on music and the brain. Levitin’s story is a fascinating piece of work, written with authority, empathy and occasional humor.
Chris Hsiang can help you find your next book at Books Inc., 2251 Chestnut St., 415-931-3633, booksinc.net.
