Read This!: Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores

by Hans Weyandt (Editor), Ann Patchett (Introduction)

“There is no greater joy for a bookseller than introducing a reader to a book they will love for the rest of their lives. Those of us in this business are, after all, matchmakers at heart. So consider this little book you now hold in your hands a sort of catalog of matchmakers.”—Ann Patchett

"If I were still a bookseller, I'd be thrilled to share this wealth with my customers. As a reader, I'm deeply intrigued by the range of selections. . . . Do yourself a favor. Add Micawber's Top 50 project to your must-read list."—Robert Gray, Shelf Awareness

This book offers lists of favorites that have flown under the radar, but off of bookstore shelves. First published on Hans Weyandt's blog for Micawber's Books, each list includes a bookseller's top fifty books, anecdotes, and interviews about the life of being a bookseller, reader, and engaged citizen. All proceeds will go to American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE).

Contributing bookstores include Book Passage, Tattered Cover Book Store, Three Lives & Company, Boswell Books, City Lights Bookstore, BookCourt, Harvard Book Store, Carmichael's Bookstore, Prairie Lights, The King's English Bookshop, Square Books, Magers & Quinn, Micawber's Books, Unabridged Bookstore, Regulator Bookshop, Subterranean Books, Faulkner House Books, Skylight Books, Maria's Bookshop, Inkwood Books, Rakestraw Books, RiverRun Bookstore, Sherman's Books and Stationary, Iowa Book, and Fireside Books.

Hans Weyandt is a co-owner at Micawber's Books, an independent bookstore in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ann Patchett is the best-selling author of five novels, including Run, Bel Canto, and most recently, State of Wonder. She owns Parnassus Bookstore in Nashville, Tennnessee.

Genres: Books About Books, Nonfiction, Reference, Writing

210 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2012

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me at a very valuable time, a time when I'm exhausted by trying to read the murky crystal ball that is the future of publishing and bookselling while awaiting what could be a huge game changing election depending on how the votes go. I've gotten lost in the fear of it all. But this book, this tiny little book, has reminded me of just how lucky I am, because my job is to read, talk about and sell books. This book reminded me that this is my CAREER--it's not just a job. And it's not just a career, it's a calling that is the truest, best, most wonderful thing I've ever done and gotten paid for. As Ann Patchett says in her introduction to the book:

"There is no greater joy for a bookseller than introducing a reader to a book they will love for the rest of their lives. Those of us in this business are, after all, matchmakers at heart.

So consider this little book...a sort of catalogue of matchmakers."

These are lists, fifty titles long, from independent booksellers all over the country, of their very favorite books to share with others. Each list is prefaced with a bit about the stores they are from and their ideas about books and bookish things. There is room built into the book for your own list, and space to make notes as you read the lists. A extra special thing about this book is that all the proceeds go to the American Booksellers Foundations for Free Expression (ABFFE), a group that fights literary censorship and supports struggling bookstores.

For me, it reads like a bucket list of book stores I MUST see before I die. I've got one down--Tattered Cover's got a list in there too. This is a great book for any bibliophile anywhere.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps a book needs to strike at the right time, in the right place, but of all the things I have lost, how much in shunning these authors, these stories? For the first time I find that I am not reading as a form of posturing, but reading because it is so deeply comforting to me. Escape? Sure, but I don’t know where others find strength if not in a few classics.

—Contributor Neil Strandberg, formerly of Tattered Cover Books, on reading the classics

I hardly need any more “to read” recommendations, if judging solely by my current TBR. But books about books and why people love books and why people love the books they love is endlessly fascinating to me (what else is Goodreads for?)

This is a collection of recommendations (50 per store) from select independent bookstores across the country. It’s a book small enough to fit in a purse or a pocket-it’s designed to be carried along on your next bookshopping adventure. Despite its small size, per the statistics in the back there are 1194 recommendations in total, 993 of which are unique.

(And several of them are for DeLillo’s White Noise, which is a book I despised yet I still loved this book.)

This was a Half Price Books find and I love it. It’s a keeper for me, both for reference and the short essays by the contributors, some of which are lovely.

Also, if you regularly visit BookRiot or listen to their All the Books podcast*, interesting fun fact: Liberty Hardy is one of the contributors (she worked at RiverRun Bookstore at the time.)

(*You should also listen to this podcast....)

[Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The morning was chilly with frost on the churchyard next door. I let the cat in and made a pot of coffee and got back in bed with "Read This!: Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores." What a wonderful way to spend
a couple hours on a Saturday morning. I just met dozens of Booksellers, read about their Indie bookstores and relished in their lists of book recommendations. For the sheer enjoyment I gave #ReadThis! Five stars. Pure and simple!

[Lillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booksellers across the country list their top 100 books. While the lists are impressive (Megan Sullivan at the Harvard Square Bookstore has a list that could match mine perfectly), there is no organization or methodology to the titles. This is why we need - librarians!

Rather, try Nick Rennison's Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide: Discover your next great read.
It's brill!

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book. Owners of independent bookstores across the country were interviewed to compile lists of their favorite reads. However, the author doesn't provide any type of summary for most of the books listed. I doubt I'll research the plots to hundreds of different novels to decide whether or not I may want to read a given book.

Each list is prefaced with some information about the bookstore and the way the owner/representative of the bookstore finds his/her own books to read. Lots of the replies were vary standard and I felt other information could have been provided instead of what was given. I was able to find several booksellers with taste similar to mine and have examined their lists more carefully. Hopefully I'll find some new and interesting things to read!

[reading is my hustle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ann Patchett writes the foreward. So right there.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book I found in a free little library while walking in the avenues. I love lists and books and bookstores, so it’s a perfect combo. The King’s English Bookstore is in here which makes it more fun. It’s interesting to see a bookseller’s list of favorites that contains both books I love and books I didn’t like at all.

[Gabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. I love to read about books and other people's book lists almost as much as I love reading books I've chosen. What I find boring and somewhat disingenuous is book lists made up almost entirely of classics or difficult to read books people believe make them sound well-read. Everyone knows about the classics, as well as everyone knows those books that are nearly impossible to read, yet some book snob constantly mentions as his or her favorite book of all time. I'm not going to name titles because that isn't my point, I.e. debating personal taste as it pertains to the unreadable. What I was hoping for in this book was lists of real gems that everyone doesn't already know about; some leads to books that haven't necessarily won The Pulitzer Prize, but after the reader finished it (s)he couldn't wait to share the find with other voracious readers. There were a few lists like what I was looking for, but most were not. I guess Ann Patchett thought indie booksellers would provide different insight to this subject. In my opinion, she was dead wrong.

[Traci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much as I love independent bookstores, this was a disappointment. Most of the lists seemed...well...pretentious. Nothing wrong with literary titles and authors, but to pretty much only list those works just didn't make me happy.

Only one list seemed like the sort of thing I might look at it, and the person who wrote it seemed like the one person I would actually like to talk to and hang out with - Liberty Hardy, "bookslinger" at RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. She sounds a lot like someone I would have worked with at Half Price Books, and here's a few titles from her list that I completely and wholeheartedly agree with:

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I might indeed check out some of the other titles on Liberty's list. But her list is the only one that really speaks to me.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small book featuring various independent bookstores around the United States. Unbridled Bookstore in the Lakeview area in Illinois is one I have been in. It also features their top fifty favorite books, most of which I have not read and some I have not even heard of. Intersting reading though.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! I completely enjoyed reading about the bookstores and the lists they compiled of their favorites. I have read many, and thought of reading many others, and had never considered a few of the remaining titles. You're sure to find something to add to your reading list!

[Jim Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that lists the favorite books of the owners, managers, and buyers from 25 different independent bookstores from around the country. This book and similar books will fatten one's TBR in a hurry.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

If only I could have nine lives, one would be spent owning/running a bookstore. Even in these hard times for independent bookstores, the good ones seem to be doing OK (especially given the lines at the one I love most. Getting to checkout sometimes means I have to come back when I have more time.) This was a great way to "visit" some of the stores I won't get to visit ever. While some of the lists overlapped, the most interesting part was how much they differ. If nothing else, it gave me a new list of titles to check out. And it was great fun reading the exuberance each bookseller had for their own list. I have to take it back to the library, and I'm not terrifically happy about that.

[Brent Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little red book about books recommended by Bookstores, owners, staff, often with reasons offered.

The Bookstore
Who is your most trusted source for book recommendations?
What is your favorite bookstore (besides the one you work at?
What is one thing about book-selling most people don’t know?
What would be book 51 on your list.
The list

For more see: https://connectedeventsmatter.com/blo...

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of interviews and book lists from different people who own/work at independent book stores around the county. I enjoyed the lists of books and seeing some of my favorites, but also seeing books I hated on peoples favorite lists. Everyone does have different tastes. I wish there was more descriptions of the books on the list, but I know that would have made the book much, much longer.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a sucker for reading books about what books I should be reading. I was preparing my Bookish Bookbox for another round and this was in the stack of books I had set aside for it. I guess I found it at the library book store and picked it up a while ago to add to the book box. I couldn't resist reading it before sending it out into the world.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

short review; natch: well, for a book like this to succeed, it really has to have more of a
Nancy Pearl variety or descriptive appeal - much more elaboration of texts & MSs., it is -
literally - just titles & authors & some fool questions of 'who do you trust' for
recommendations(?)

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some interesting lists and as with most lists, there were some books that are on my read or to read list and others which did not appeal to my interests at all. And I also added some to my already (impossible to read in my lifetime) "To Read" stack.

[Hb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of book recommendations ‘nuff said.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love hearing about books people love. I love lists of books people love. I love checklists. Booksellers from Indie bookstores around the U.S. list their top 50 books and YOU can check off the ones you've read too. My own check marks were pretty sparse, although there are a bunch on my to-read list. It's funny, though, there were some lists that I started down and I would quickly realize that I don't have common tastes with this person, and others were just the opposite. The most recommended book? The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian. (This one just happened to make its way onto my to-reads list a few days ago.) Good fun!

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a lot of books to think about. This is an accumulation of independent book store owners 50 favorite books. And the variety was immense, though many were on several lists. I did notice that through the interviews most were liberal. I'm a conservative and would love to own a book store. Are there conservative book store owners, or was this a very selective bunch? I like to support independent bookstores, but when I ask for a book by certain people I'm told they don't carry that garbage. I walk out. If those stores go under it's fine with me. Offending customers is not a way to succeed. And it's a form of censorship we should all find appalling.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

People who love books and love lists will like this collection of lists very much. Book highlights many of the most successful independent book stores in the country. Each entry contains a brief discussion of how they choose books and/or why certain books are considered great enough to recommend to their customers. This is the art of handselling. The lists are pretty varied with some titles overlapping. Only critique is that some really good authors are left out completely which is a shame. Therefore these are subjective lists, but nice to have for those who are willing to expand their reading tastes. Note: "Popular" authors are not mentioned at all.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weyandt asked buyers, owners, and others from some of America's best indie bookstores to contribute lists of 50 books each. They're wonderful lists. My only displeasure is that there is only room in this little book to annotate about five of those choices from each contributor. There are also interviews with each about reading and life running a bookstore and handselling books. These sections are OK, but they get a little repetitive after you've read a few. I'd rather have seen more annotations of the books they selected. Still, I think any avid reader would have a good time browsing this book.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a list lover, this book is for you. Booksellers from 25 independent bookstores around the country list the top 50 books they love or love to recommend to customers, plus give a little background on themselves and why they chose the titles they did. It's the ideal book for the anal retentive reader, as there are little boxes next to each book so you can check which ones you have also read (believe me, I did). The book that was listed the most often (no, I didn't check--the editor did that for me) was Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," which I have not yet read. But I'm beginning to think I should.

[Relyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start with this: I love books about books. I love book lists. I love book recommendations. I love, really love, independent bookstores. I very rarely like the same books Nancy Pearl enjoys, and still I own and love Book Lust, More Book Lust, and Book Crush. I just like reading (and giving, obviously) book recommendations. My favorite part of being a teacher is matching a student to a book they love. With all those things being true, how can I not adore a book written by the owners and buyers of independent bookstores all over America? As an added bonus, I have several new bookshops on my "Must Visit" list. This is one to own and revisit.

[Featherbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Over imbibed on books" according to Stefan Moorehead, Buyer and Manager of Unabridged Bookstore in Chicago, I careen through this little book like a lush at happy hour. We had to buy two copies of it for $12 each at our local independent bookstore (alas not included), one for each of us to annotate and check off and order from. All of you need a copy unless, per chance, you know exactly what to read next or your To Read List has a cap. Many familiar authors are here but so are lots you don't know yet.

[Sherilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed hearing from a large variety of independent book store owners, seeing their picks of 50 favorite books, and learning that in my visits to big chain book stores I have been doing myself a disservice and missing out on SO MUCH. It was interesting to see the most selected book (The Things They Carried), the most oft selected author (William Faulkner), and to see a local independent book store owner featured. I can't wait to wander her store.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed going through these lists! My to-read stacks weren't exactly dwindling, but how can I say no to potentially awesome books?! I thought the book store profiles were a nice touch, as well. Independent book sellers contribute so much to their communities, and it's great to see them get some well-deserved recognition.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly lists of bookseller's recommended reading, but it was enjoyable to go on the hunt for information on different books I might not have known about otherwise, and to compare each bookseller's list to the others in the book, and to my own "to-read" or "favorites" list. I could tell which booksellers had similar tastes to mine and which are completely different. It was a fun read.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it's a book of lists, but it's also a must-consult reference for everyone who still enjoys spending hours at a time browsing through a good, independent bookstore.

Plus, Paul Ingram (Prairie Lights) and Matthew Lage (Iowa Book) represent Iowa City well.