Sovereign Tea & Books, in Pahoa, doesn’t go big on advertising.

A recent visit to Big Island led me to discover a small book store even further south, in Pahoa on the Hilo side of the Island. Formerly “Pahoa Used Books and Video,” a recent change of ownership has renamed the shop Sovereign Tea & Books. (2024 Update: It is possible Sovereign Tea & Books is closed, though a book store may still exist in this location as “Pahoa Used Books & Videos.” My inside source has left the area, so if you know something, shoot me a message). Pahoa Village is a quirky little row of shops, and worth a visit if you are tired of malls and chain stores. Have lunch at Kaleo’s (my dad swears by the ribs). If you are lucky, one of the local museums might be open. The bookshop isn’t well marked–there was no sign other than a small sandwich sign on the sidewalk. Whatever they are calling themselves, they sell used books and videos and have a 12 seat screening room that can be rented out, and at 19.494247 North Latitude, they take the title for Southernmost. I found a copy of The Night Circus here, which I read on my ereader but loved so much I wanted the printed version.

The “Bookshop” at Cooper Center also serves as a community hub.

An honorable mention, though, has to go to “Bookshop” at the Cooper Center in Volcano, Big Island. Although they do sell books (and have a cute sign that says “Bookshop,”) this was more of a thrift shop situation, rather than a true Independent Bookstore. Still, at 19.443234 North Latitude, it’s the furthest south, and worth noting. I found a copy of Bel Kaufman’s Up the Down Staircase, which was the first play I did in high school.

I haven’t visited the rest of these…yet.  Life goals. 

Southernmost in the Contiguous US: Books & Books at the Studios of Key West in Florida. 24.557723 North Latitude.

Easternmost in the US:  John Smith Bookstore Eastport, Maine.  66.985977   West Longitude. 2024 Update: John Smith Bookstore appears to be permanently closed. Current new contender: Volumes Books in Houlton, Maine at 6.800 West Longitude and claims to be “the only bricks & mortar book store north of Bangor.”   – however Neighborhood Books, Presque Isle, Maine at 68.01504 West Longitude is a very close second (And is north of Volumes, so I’m not sure what that’s about).  And I don’t know if this one counts – but even more easterly (67.45859 West Longitude) is Jim’s Book’s Etc, which I gather is run out of Jim Appleman’s garage, or barn (I’m a little unclear from the descriptions). Jim says he has over 14,000 books but is “Open by Chance Seasonal Call (via PHONE!) year round to visit!” Reviews indicate he is open as of July 2023. 

Northernmost in the Contiguous US:   Northern Lights Book Store in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 48.118492  North Latitude. 2024 Update: Northern Lights appears to have closed, however I have since found a number of bookstores that would take this title. First place for the North goes to Village Books and Paper Dreams, in Lyndon, Washington at 48.94240 North Latitude. Village takes second place as well with a branch in Bellingham, Washington at 48.71987 North Latitude. “Village Books and Paper Dreams is a community-based, independent bookstore and gift shop located in the Historic Fairhaven Village on the southside of Bellingham and in the iconic Waples Mercantile Building on Front Street in Lynden, Washington. Since 1980, we have been ‘building community one book at a time.'” The Bellingham Location also boasts “Evolve Chocolate + Cafe deliciously perched on the mezzanine of Village Books in Fairhaven, overlooking the Village Green.” YUM.  Side note – looking these up was so fun and interest I may have to do a follow up post about Bookstores that hug the 49th parallel. Stay tuned. 

Northernmost in all the US –another tricky one. Gulliver’s Books in Fairbanks Alaska previously held the title, but it closed in the last year or so.  There’s a Barnes & Noble up there, but I’m disqualifying them since they aren’t an indie shop. I think this title goes to Alaskana Raven Books & Things at 64.843404 North Latitude. 2024 Update: Alaskana Raven appears to have closed, and the next contenders are hard to validate – there are a couple that are slightly further north, but I don’t think they are brick and mortar booksellers. Looks like Forget Me Not Bookstore at 64.83725 North Latitude is the furthest north, though they might have moved to 64.83633, which would mean Good News Bible and Book Store at 64.83706 would nose them out.  I haven’t been including college bookstores, since they aren’t really the same as independent bookshops, however, worth a mention because of its extremity is Iḷisaġvik College Bookstore in Utqiaġvik (Barrow) Alaska at 71.32478 North Latitude, which may be the furthest place North in the US where you can buy a book. 

Northernmost in the WORLD? This is my candidate:  Nordkyn Bok & papir AS, in Kjøllefjord, Norway. 70.949873 North Latitude.

Southernmost in the World? Librería Boutique del Libro, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina at 54.808579 South Latitude.

I didn’t look at Eastern/Westernmost in the world yet, mostly because the idea that they could actually be right next to each other hurts my brain too much too contemplate.

I welcome any corrections on the above – and if you visit any of these stores, send me a picture & tell me about it.

Originally posted as part of an article about The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles.

Talkstory Bookstore, the Westernmost Bookstore in the United States. Artwork by Kathy Kovala.

If you haven’t figured this out already, I love books. I love bookstores and libraries. I love printed books and I love my ereader. I have spent some of my happiest days trolling through independent bookstores, hoping to find some new treasure. I usually find more than I can carry.

So the bookstores at the edges of civilization are fascinating to me. How do they survive? What books do they choose to carry? What do they offer to their community? What little faith I have in humanity grows just a bit when I think about the folks in these places and their bookstores.

A couple of years ago, I went to Kuaui and ran across TalkStory bookstore – which claims to be the Westernmost Bookstore in the US. It’s in Hanapepe Town, 159.588359 W longitude. I bought a lovely book on Shakespeare’s Flowers here. This, of course, made me wonder about other Independent Bookstores in other directions.* I haven’t visited most of these, but if I’m ever in these areas, I’m going to check them out.

(2024 Update: Many of the original Bookstores I identified when I first wrote this article have since closed. I’m currently working on checking on them and updating.)

Chapman’s Bookery, Ferndale, California

The Westernmost in the contiguous US might be Chapman’s Bookery in Ferndale, CA.  124.264175 W Longitude. I may be stopping by here next month…will update if I get there. Update: I DID make it to Chapman’s Bookery, which is in the heart of lovely historic Ferndale. Seriously, if you are in this part of the world, take some time to pop over and check out the gorgeous Victorian houses and the adorable shops. Chapman’s Bookery is a small shop on the main strip and when I entered, I was greeted by an enthusiastic clerk who told me about the super-secret back room with $1 paperbacks. Since she told the next three people about the paperback room, I feel no concern divulging the secret here.  The shop has a nice assortment of popular books, a slight emphasis on Christian Literature, and a ton of fun gifties. (I have to confess I’m a total sucker for the literary-themed knickknacks that you find at Indie shops.)  I found a slim book on the town of Ferndale with great photography at this shop.  I was traveling with my parents when making this stop, and they had decided to wait in the car while I went in – thinking I would only be a minute.  I guess I was more than a minute.  I was deep in the stacks when I heard my mother’s voice in response to the clerk’s pitch about the paperback room, “Oh, I’m just looking for my daughter, I think she got swallowed up in here.”  Indeed. 2024 Update: Sadly, it looks as though Chapman’s has closed. However, just down the street in Ferndale, Butterfat Books has opened up  (possibly by same owners? Unclear) and can claim the title. Another visit is warranted.  

Kona Stories Bookstore, complete with bookstore kitty.

Southernmost in the US – this is tricky. I thought it was Kona Stories on Big Island of Hawaii at 19.570912 North Latitude. Kona Stories is a charming bookstore and well worth a look-see, if you can tear yourself away from the beautiful beaches. I bought some lovely locally made cards here, which I’m hoping to frame soon. Don’t forget to say hi to the kitties running about. But Kona Stories is not actually the Southernmost.

Sovereign Tea & Books, in Pahoa, doesn’t go big on advertising.

A recent visit to Big Island led me to discover a small book store even further south, in Pahoa on the Hilo side of the Island. Formerly “Pahoa Used Books and Video,” a recent change of ownership has renamed the shop Sovereign Tea & Books. (2024 Update: It is possible Sovereign Tea & Books is closed, though a book store may still exist in this location as “Pahoa Used Books & Videos.” My inside source has left the area, so if you know something, shoot me a message). Pahoa Village is a quirky little row of shops, and worth a visit if you are tired of malls and chain stores. Have lunch at Kaleo’s (my dad swears by the ribs). If you are lucky, one of the local museums might be open. The bookshop isn’t well marked–there was no sign other than a small sandwich sign on the sidewalk. Whatever they are calling themselves, they sell used books and videos and have a 12 seat screening room that can be rented out, and at 19.494247 North Latitude, they take the title for Southernmost. I found a copy of The Night Circus here, which I read on my ereader but loved so much I wanted the printed version.

The “Bookshop” at Cooper Center also serves as a community hub.

An honorable mention, though, has to go to “Bookshop” at the Cooper Center in Volcano, Big Island. Although they do sell books (and have a cute sign that says “Bookshop,”) this was more of a thrift shop situation, rather than a true Independent Bookstore. Still, at 19.443234 North Latitude, it’s the furthest south, and worth noting. I found a copy of Bel Kaufman’s Up the Down Staircase, which was the first play I did in high school.

I haven’t visited the rest of these…yet.  Life goals. 

Southernmost in the Contiguous US: Books & Books at the Studios of Key West in Florida. 24.557723 North Latitude.

Easternmost in the US:  John Smith Bookstore Eastport, Maine.  66.985977   West Longitude. 2024 Update: John Smith Bookstore appears to be permanently closed. Current new contender: Volumes Books in Houlton, Maine at 6.800 West Longitude and claims to be “the only bricks & mortar book store north of Bangor.”   – however Neighborhood Books, Presque Isle, Maine at 68.01504 West Longitude is a very close second (And is north of Volumes, so I’m not sure what that’s about).  And I don’t know if this one counts – but even more easterly (67.45859 West Longitude) is Jim’s Book’s Etc, which I gather is run out of Jim Appleman’s garage, or barn (I’m a little unclear from the descriptions). Jim says he has over 14,000 books but is “Open by Chance Seasonal Call (via PHONE!) year round to visit!” Reviews indicate he is open as of July 2023. 

Northernmost in the Contiguous US:   Northern Lights Book Store in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 48.118492  North Latitude. 2024 Update: Northern Lights appears to have closed, however I have since found a number of bookstores that would take this title. First place for the North goes to Village Books and Paper Dreams, in Lyndon, Washington at 48.94240 North Latitude. Village takes second place as well with a branch in Bellingham, Washington at 48.71987 North Latitude. “Village Books and Paper Dreams is a community-based, independent bookstore and gift shop located in the Historic Fairhaven Village on the southside of Bellingham and in the iconic Waples Mercantile Building on Front Street in Lynden, Washington. Since 1980, we have been ‘building community one book at a time.'” The Bellingham Location also boasts “Evolve Chocolate + Cafe deliciously perched on the mezzanine of Village Books in Fairhaven, overlooking the Village Green.” YUM.  Side note – looking these up was so fun and interest I may have to do a follow up post about Bookstores that hug the 49th parallel. Stay tuned. 

Northernmost in all the US –another tricky one. Gulliver’s Books in Fairbanks Alaska previously held the title, but it closed in the last year or so.  There’s a Barnes & Noble up there, but I’m disqualifying them since they aren’t an indie shop. I think this title goes to Alaskana Raven Books & Things at 64.843404 North Latitude. 2024 Update: Alaskana Raven appears to have closed, and the next contenders are hard to validate – there are a couple that are slightly further north, but I don’t think they are brick and mortar booksellers. Looks like Forget Me Not Bookstore at 64.83725 North Latitude is the furthest north, though they might have moved to 64.83633, which would mean Good News Bible and Book Store at 64.83706 would nose them out.  I haven’t been including college bookstores, since they aren’t really the same as independent bookshops, however, worth a mention because of its extremity is Iḷisaġvik College Bookstore in Utqiaġvik (Barrow) Alaska at 71.32478 North Latitude, which may be the furthest place North in the US where you can buy a book. 

Northernmost in the WORLD? This is my candidate:  Nordkyn Bok & papir AS, in Kjøllefjord, Norway. 70.949873 North Latitude.

Southernmost in the World? Librería Boutique del Libro, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina at 54.808579 South Latitude.

I didn’t look at Eastern/Westernmost in the world yet, mostly because the idea that they could actually be right next to each other hurts my brain too much too contemplate.

I welcome any corrections on the above – and if you visit any of these stores, send me a picture & tell me about it.

Originally posted as part of an article about The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles.

“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.”

-Neil Gaiman, American Gods

Talkstory Bookstore, the Westernmost Bookstore in the United States. Artwork by Kathy Kovala.

If you haven’t figured this out already, I love books. I love bookstores and libraries. I love printed books and I love my ereader. I have spent some of my happiest days trolling through independent bookstores, hoping to find some new treasure. I usually find more than I can carry.

So the bookstores at the edges of civilization are fascinating to me. How do they survive? What books do they choose to carry? What do they offer to their community? What little faith I have in humanity grows just a bit when I think about the folks in these places and their bookstores.

A couple of years ago, I went to Kuaui and ran across TalkStory bookstore – which claims to be the Westernmost Bookstore in the US. It’s in Hanapepe Town, 159.588359 W longitude. I bought a lovely book on Shakespeare’s Flowers here. This, of course, made me wonder about other Independent Bookstores in other directions.* I haven’t visited most of these, but if I’m ever in these areas, I’m going to check them out.

(2024 Update: Many of the original Bookstores I identified when I first wrote this article have since closed. I’m currently working on checking on them and updating.)

Chapman’s Bookery, Ferndale, California

The Westernmost in the contiguous US might be Chapman’s Bookery in Ferndale, CA.  124.264175 W Longitude. I may be stopping by here next month…will update if I get there. Update: I DID make it to Chapman’s Bookery, which is in the heart of lovely historic Ferndale. Seriously, if you are in this part of the world, take some time to pop over and check out the gorgeous Victorian houses and the adorable shops. Chapman’s Bookery is a small shop on the main strip and when I entered, I was greeted by an enthusiastic clerk who told me about the super-secret back room with $1 paperbacks. Since she told the next three people about the paperback room, I feel no concern divulging the secret here.  The shop has a nice assortment of popular books, a slight emphasis on Christian Literature, and a ton of fun gifties. (I have to confess I’m a total sucker for the literary-themed knickknacks that you find at Indie shops.)  I found a slim book on the town of Ferndale with great photography at this shop.  I was traveling with my parents when making this stop, and they had decided to wait in the car while I went in – thinking I would only be a minute.  I guess I was more than a minute.  I was deep in the stacks when I heard my mother’s voice in response to the clerk’s pitch about the paperback room, “Oh, I’m just looking for my daughter, I think she got swallowed up in here.”  Indeed. 2024 Update: Sadly, it looks as though Chapman’s has closed. However, just down the street in Ferndale, Butterfat Books has opened up  (possibly by same owners? Unclear) and can claim the title. Another visit is warranted.  

Kona Stories Bookstore, complete with bookstore kitty.

Southernmost in the US – this is tricky. I thought it was Kona Stories on Big Island of Hawaii at 19.570912 North Latitude. Kona Stories is a charming bookstore and well worth a look-see, if you can tear yourself away from the beautiful beaches. I bought some lovely locally made cards here, which I’m hoping to frame soon. Don’t forget to say hi to the kitties running about. But Kona Stories is not actually the Southernmost.

Sovereign Tea & Books, in Pahoa, doesn’t go big on advertising.

A recent visit to Big Island led me to discover a small book store even further south, in Pahoa on the Hilo side of the Island. Formerly “Pahoa Used Books and Video,” a recent change of ownership has renamed the shop Sovereign Tea & Books. (2024 Update: It is possible Sovereign Tea & Books is closed, though a book store may still exist in this location as “Pahoa Used Books & Videos.” My inside source has left the area, so if you know something, shoot me a message). Pahoa Village is a quirky little row of shops, and worth a visit if you are tired of malls and chain stores. Have lunch at Kaleo’s (my dad swears by the ribs). If you are lucky, one of the local museums might be open. The bookshop isn’t well marked–there was no sign other than a small sandwich sign on the sidewalk. Whatever they are calling themselves, they sell used books and videos and have a 12 seat screening room that can be rented out, and at 19.494247 North Latitude, they take the title for Southernmost. I found a copy of The Night Circus here, which I read on my ereader but loved so much I wanted the printed version.

The “Bookshop” at Cooper Center also serves as a community hub.

An honorable mention, though, has to go to “Bookshop” at the Cooper Center in Volcano, Big Island. Although they do sell books (and have a cute sign that says “Bookshop,”) this was more of a thrift shop situation, rather than a true Independent Bookstore. Still, at 19.443234 North Latitude, it’s the furthest south, and worth noting. I found a copy of Bel Kaufman’s Up the Down Staircase, which was the first play I did in high school.

I haven’t visited the rest of these…yet.  Life goals. 

Southernmost in the Contiguous US: Books & Books at the Studios of Key West in Florida. 24.557723 North Latitude.

Easternmost in the US:  John Smith Bookstore Eastport, Maine.  66.985977   West Longitude. 2024 Update: John Smith Bookstore appears to be permanently closed. Current new contender: Volumes Books in Houlton, Maine at 6.800 West Longitude and claims to be “the only bricks & mortar book store north of Bangor.”   – however Neighborhood Books, Presque Isle, Maine at 68.01504 West Longitude is a very close second (And is north of Volumes, so I’m not sure what that’s about).  And I don’t know if this one counts – but even more easterly (67.45859 West Longitude) is Jim’s Book’s Etc, which I gather is run out of Jim Appleman’s garage, or barn (I’m a little unclear from the descriptions). Jim says he has over 14,000 books but is “Open by Chance Seasonal Call (via PHONE!) year round to visit!” Reviews indicate he is open as of July 2023. 

Northernmost in the Contiguous US:   Northern Lights Book Store in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. 48.118492  North Latitude. 2024 Update: Northern Lights appears to have closed, however I have since found a number of bookstores that would take this title. First place for the North goes to Village Books and Paper Dreams, in Lyndon, Washington at 48.94240 North Latitude. Village takes second place as well with a branch in Bellingham, Washington at 48.71987 North Latitude. “Village Books and Paper Dreams is a community-based, independent bookstore and gift shop located in the Historic Fairhaven Village on the southside of Bellingham and in the iconic Waples Mercantile Building on Front Street in Lynden, Washington. Since 1980, we have been ‘building community one book at a time.'” The Bellingham Location also boasts “Evolve Chocolate + Cafe deliciously perched on the mezzanine of Village Books in Fairhaven, overlooking the Village Green.” YUM.  Side note – looking these up was so fun and interest I may have to do a follow up post about Bookstores that hug the 49th parallel. Stay tuned. 

Northernmost in all the US –another tricky one. Gulliver’s Books in Fairbanks Alaska previously held the title, but it closed in the last year or so.  There’s a Barnes & Noble up there, but I’m disqualifying them since they aren’t an indie shop. I think this title goes to Alaskana Raven Books & Things at 64.843404 North Latitude. 2024 Update: Alaskana Raven appears to have closed, and the next contenders are hard to validate – there are a couple that are slightly further north, but I don’t think they are brick and mortar booksellers. Looks like Forget Me Not Bookstore at 64.83725 North Latitude is the furthest north, though they might have moved to 64.83633, which would mean Good News Bible and Book Store at 64.83706 would nose them out.  I haven’t been including college bookstores, since they aren’t really the same as independent bookshops, however, worth a mention because of its extremity is Iḷisaġvik College Bookstore in Utqiaġvik (Barrow) Alaska at 71.32478 North Latitude, which may be the furthest place North in the US where you can buy a book. 

Northernmost in the WORLD? This is my candidate:  Nordkyn Bok & papir AS, in Kjøllefjord, Norway. 70.949873 North Latitude.

Southernmost in the World? Librería Boutique del Libro, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina at 54.808579 South Latitude.

I didn’t look at Eastern/Westernmost in the world yet, mostly because the idea that they could actually be right next to each other hurts my brain too much too contemplate.

I welcome any corrections on the above – and if you visit any of these stores, send me a picture & tell me about it.

Originally posted as part of an article about The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles.

“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”

– Erasmus

A whole new level of display.

This week I took a jaunt downtown to visit The Last Bookstore. California’s largest used book and record store, the Last Bookstore is a bibliophile’s dream. One could (and I did) get lost in there for hours.

Independent bookstores stand, it seems, as some of the last citadels of civilization in a country that increasingly mocks and devalues its intellectuals, like the high school cool crowd that rips you apart for not only completing the assigned reading but actually daring to enjoy it.  Threatened constantly by the corporatization of, well, everything, they eke out an existence by any clever means they can.

I remember when Barnes & Noble opened its first store in Berkeley. We were all terrified that our beloved bookshops, including Moe’s, Pegasus, Cody’s and Shakespeare and Co., would fold with the competition.  Moe’s and Pegasus are still going, But Cody’s, after trying a relocation, closed in 2008 and Shakespeare and Co. closed in 2015. The Other Change of Hobbit, a fantastic bookshop that specialized in sci-fi and fantasy, seems to be gone as well.  If you like, you can blame skyrocketing rents and declining sales.  How many other small shops disappeared or never started, we’ll never know.  Ironically, that particular Barnes & Noble on Shattuck that I remember has also closed.

The vast interior of The Last Bookstore.

I have to confess, when I walked into the new B&N back in the day, I was delighted with ALL THE BOOKS! Such a selection! And the trinkets for book lovers – book lights and bookmarks and fancy notebooks and knick knacks… I was entirely seduced.  I never lost my love of the Independents, though I did feel like I was two-timing them somehow.

Then the Juggernaut Amazon stepped onto the scene, and everything changed again. I resisted the lure of the Kindle for a while but eventually gave in. I can’t lie – I’m a fan.  But the digital world of books likely cost Borders their business and I don’t know how long B&N will manage. I suppose it’s the way of things…and though I love the convenience of my e-reader, and I love that authors have the means to reach readers now without a publisher if they choose, there is something I’ve missed…it’s not the just feel of the paper, but maybe, the space itself. Walking to a bookstore is a little like walking into a sacred space filled with fellow worshippers all seeking their next journey.

Stepping into The Last Bookstore reminded me of so much goodness — such a celebration of books and art. They have nightly cultural events if you’re in the area. It’s a little far for me for regular visits but…I pass by the Iliad Bookshop in North Hollywood on my way home from work.  Maybe I’ll just stop by next week…

___

The info about extreme bookstores has moved here. 

___

This little peephole is always busy with book lovers trying to get the perfect photo.

Writers also LOVE bookstores. They write about them. A lot.  Here’s a few books set in or about bookshops I’ve read, and a bunch more I haven’t. Get them at your favorite Independent Bookshop. Or on your Kindle, Nook (is that still a thing?), Library… wherever.  As long as you are reading, I am happy.

Books about Bookstores

The Bookshop on the Corner – Jenny Colgan

The Bookshop – Penelope Fitzgerald

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin

The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George

Still on my to-read List:

How to find Love in a Bookshop – Veronica Henry

A Novel Bookstore – Laurence Cosse

The Bookshop of Yesterdays – Amy Meyerson

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores – Jennifer Campbell

The Bookshop Book – Jen Campbell

The Bookstore –  Deborah Meyler

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Matthew Sullivan

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap – Wendy Welch

The Last Bookstore in America – Amy Stewart

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History – Lewis Buzbee

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend -Katarina Bivald

Words in Deep Blue – Cath Crowley

The Bookshop at Water’s End – Patti Callahan Henry

The famous “Book Tunnel.” Upstairs and halfway back.

The Little Bookshop Of Lonely Hearts – Annie Darling

84 Charing Cross Road – Helen Hanff

The Bookshop Book – Carol Ann Duffy

A Very Special Year – Thomas Montasse

The famous “Book Tunnel.” Upstairs and halfway back.

The Bookshop On Rosemary Lane – Ellen Berry

Shadow Of The Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Bookshops – Jorge Carrion

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”

– James Baldwin

These are just a few I collected while on my Goodreads 2012 Choice Awards challenge.

Enjoy.

“The half life of love is forever.”

– This is How You Lose Her,  Junot Diaz

“In the months that follow you bend to the work, because it feels like hope, like grace – and because you know in your lying cheater’s heart that sometimes a start is all we ever get.”

– This is How You Lose Her,  Junot Diaz

“He didn’t object to other people believing in God, but it was like being in a place where everyone knew a set of rules and he didn’t.”

–The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

“They had looked at him in his yachting shoes, and listened to what he said, and they had made a decision in their hearts and minds to ignore the evidence and to imagine something bigger and something infinitely more beautiful than the obvious.”

– The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

“And what no one else knew was the appalling weight of the thing they were carrying inside.  The inhuman effort it took sometimes to be normal, and a part of things that appeared both easy and everyday.”

– The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

“The world was made up of people putting one foot in front of the other; and a life might appear ordinary simply because the person living it had been doing so for a long time.”

– The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

“Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human.”

– The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce

“There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care.”

– Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan

“All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.”

– Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan

“But now I can see that there is redemption and beauty in an accident emanating from love.”

– Where We Belong, Emily Giffin

“And who knows how fast a second-guess can travel? Who has ever measured the speed of regret?”

– The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson Walker

“No law of physics can account for desire.”

– The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson Walker

“How much sweeter life would be if it all happened in reverse, if, after decades of disappointments, you finally arrived at an age when you had conceded nothing, when everything was possible.”

– The Age of Miracles, Karen Thompson Walker

“It was awful, and wrong, and the worst part was, in a deep and primal place down in my belly, a dreadful, girlie piece of me liked it. ”

– A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson

“In the real world, doubt was the only truth.”

– A Walk Across the Sun, Corban Addison

“They are bold and proud and certain in the way of clever children blessed with too much self-esteem, and no amount of lecturing will enlighten them as to the state of pure sin toward which war inclines.”

– Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain

“Not that its rocket science. None of the higher mathematics is involved, for war is the pure and ultimate realm of dumb quantity. Wha can manufacture the most death? It’s not calculus, yo, what we’re dealing with here is plain old idiot arithmetic, remedial metrics of rounds-per-minute, assets degraded, Excel spreadsheets of dead and wounded.”

– Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain

“Somewhere along the way America became a giant mall with a country attached.”

– Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain

“How does anyone ever know anything –  the past is a fog that breathes out ghost after ghost, the present a freeway thunder run at 90 mph, which makes the future the ultimate black hole of futile speculation.”

– Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ben Fountain

“At the heart of schemes like this there’s always something unreasonable, the explanation of which is that human beings are involved.”

– Canada, Richard Ford

“Reverse-thinking, the habit that had me believing there was significance when there was only absence, may be a good trait in the abstract. (It made me seem more interesting to my mother than I was.) But reverse-thinking can be a matter of ignoring the obvious – a grave error – which can lead to all manner of treacherousness and more errors and to death…”

– Canada, Richard Ford

“She was an artist. She held opposites in her mind.”

– Canada, Richard Ford

“You have a better chance in life  – of surviving  it – if you tolerate loss well; manage not to be a cynic through it all; to subordinate, as Ruskin implied, to keep proportion, to connect the unequal things into a whole that preserves the good, even if admittedly good is often not simple to find.”

– Canada, Richard Ford

 “The past was irretrievable, the league of lonely men a fiction, the pursuit of the past a doomed attempt to run a hustle on mortality.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“‘I have never actually experiences anxiety that turned out to be premature,’ Nat said, always happy to keep punching in a clinch. ‘It usually shows up right on time.'”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“…he planned to continue his lifelong policy of avoiding stupid at every opportunity.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“She lowered her voice to the peculiarly audible whisper common among the women of her family; peculiar not in its audibleness but in the disingenuous way that, like God handing down his commandments to a bunch of folks He knew perfectly well were going to break all of them repeatedly for all time, it bothered to be a whisper at all.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“For years he had been on and off various medications whose names sounded like the code names of sorceresses or ninja assassins.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“Pity and pity alone could mask the bitter taste of shit.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“there was no one in this world weaker than someone trying to keep something secret, unless it be someone obliged to confess.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“Professing in his heart like some despised creed the central truth of life: the only decision a man will never regret is the one he never made.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“A beautiful phrase to the ponderer, the day after tomorrow. The address of utopia itself.”

– Telegraph Avenue, Michael Chabon

“Everything in the universe has a mathematical expression: the balance of a chemical reaction, the Fibonacci sequence of a leaf, an encounter between two human beings.”

– Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron

“Could he calculate the instantaneous velocity of rage?”

– Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron

“Use your imagination only on the future, never on the present or the past.”

– The Orphan Master’s Son,  Adam Johnson

“If Dante had lived in modern times, Michael had no doubt that going to the mall with your daughters would have qualified as one of the circles of hell.”

– Home Front, Kristin Hannah

“Summer comes, as it always does, in a wash of light and expectation.”

– Home Front, Kristin Hannah

“Life, he thought, is a blatant act of the imagination.”

–Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter

“Years passed and I found myself still a husk, still in that moment, still in the day the war ended, the day I realized, as all survivors must, that being alive isn’t the same as living.”

– Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter

“Something about the memory caused him to tear up, to think again about the unknowable nature of the people we love.”

– Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter

“All we have is the story we tell. Everything we do, every decision we make, our strength, weakness, motivation, history, and character – what we believe – none of it is real; it’s all part of the story we tell. But here’s the thing: it’s our goddamned story … No one gets to tell you what your life means!”

– Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter

“A certain feeling comes from throwing your good life away, and it is one part rapture.”

– Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

“This had not been a thinking-ahead kind of day.”

– Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

“Like herself, it just seemed to have come loose from its station in life.”

– Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

“But you could run out of gas on boyish, that was the thing. A message that should be engraved in every woman’s wedding band.”

– Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

“Everything, she wanted to scream at him, was a question of safety. All human endeavor bent itself to the same lost cause.”

– Flight Behavior, Barbara Kingsolver

“Knowing comings from learning, finding from seeking…”

– In the Shadow of the Banyan, Vaddey Ratner

“We are capable of extraordinary beauty if we dare to dream.”

– In the Shadow of the Banyan, Vaddey Ratner

“He never seemed to grasp the immense mutability of human nature, nor to appreciate that behind every nondescript face lay a wild and unique hinterland like his own.”

– The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling

“‘Marriages are always a mystery to outsiders,’ she said carefully. ‘Nobody can ever really know except the two people involved.'”

– The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling

“I thought of trying to catch her eye, so she’d know I understood what she’d done, but I decided not to. Everyone needs to think they have secrets.”

– Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Rifka Brunt

“See? I said. At least it’s good half the time.  Better than most of us can expect.”

– The Dog Stars, Peter Heller

“I am always too close to the high ground.  that’s the other thing about the end of everything: I stopped worrying about my engine failing.”

– The Dog Stars, Peter Heller

“Or worse, she might just say ‘Fine,’ which really means, ‘It is not fine and you know it and if you go, I am going to be mad at you for at least three days!'”

– Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Matthew Dicks

So, in typical Wendy overkill fashion, I decided to read them all.

The 2012 Goodreads Fiction Finalists (semi-finalists? IDK)

Initially I thought there were 12 books, and I set myself the goal of reading them by Christmas. The rot in my brain must have made me miscount, because there were in fact 20 lovely fiction books. As you may have guessed by now, I did not finish them by Christmas. I finished book number 20 last Sunday. Most of these books are not ones I would have normally picked up. Some were exceptionally difficult to read – dealing with heavy, painful topics. Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue used language in such an unusual and brilliant way I had to read it in complete quiet. (One chapter was a single sentence told from the point of view of a parrot as it escaped and flew past all the other characters in the book.) A couple of times I had to take a break to read something else. (Jim Butcher’s Cold Days came out, and who can wait for that?) The journey has been amazing – in the last 4½ months I have traveled to India, Texas, Saskatchewan, Oakland, Rwanda, North Korea, Mississippi, Iraq, Italy, Hollywood, Appalachia, post-apocalyptic Wyoming, England (twice), Cambodia, inside an autistic boy’s imagination, NYC, San Francisco, Southern California at the end of the world, and the Dominican Republic. Pretty good for a gal who didn’t go on vacation last year.

Each and every one of the books was excellent, and definitely worth the time it took to read. But some books I just, well, enjoyed more than others. And the ones I enjoyed most were not necessarily the ones I would say were the best written. That kind of subjective preference is a delicious mystery about humans – we like what we like for reasons we can’t (or won’t) articulate. Why did Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore appeal to me so much more than, say, The Orphan Master’s Son, which is probably a much more important (and certainly more intellectual) book? Reading 20 books deemed by a collective of readers to be the “best” of 2012 removed my personal preference from my selection process, but not from my appreciation. And the winner? J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, which took me awhile to get into, but paid off handsomely at the end. Though I have to wonder, did it win simply because so many Harry Potter fans read it and voted for it, even though they hadn’t read the rest of the books? Did anybody else read all the books? Are awards like this really just a popularity contest? Or are they a form of crowdsourcing literary criticism? If the result of these types of choice awards is that I discover more of these wonderful books, I’m OK with that.

Now you will have to excuse me, because I have a few trashy vampire novels to catch up on.

*Since writing this post, I have discovered there is, in fact a genre for what I called ‘trashy vampire novels.’ Both Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance cover this area, with a zillion subgenres for anything that, ahem, floats your boat. The internet is a wondrous place. I have also since learned to embrace my adoration for such books… but that is another post.