Get ready to jot down some notes, because you're going to hear about a book (or two, or ten) that you'll want to read. Salt Lake booksellers join us with their annual list of recommendations.
For 15 years, we've asked Salt Lake City booksellers for their recommendations for your summer reading. Betsy Burton of The King's English Bookshop, Ken Sanders of Ken Sanders Rare Books, and Catherine Weller of Weller Book Works have agreed to join us again, and we hope you will too. They'll bring their usual eclectic line-up of fiction, non-fiction, and some kids books, and it's a good guess we won't quite get to everything on their list. (Conveniently included, below.)
Adult Books: Ken Sanders, Catherine Weller, Betsy Burton
Children's Books: Betsy Burton, Ken Sanders, Catherine Weller
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Ken Sanders' Books for Adults, Ken Sanders Rare Books
Fiction & Literature
- The Red Caddy: Into the Unknown with Edward Abbey by Charles Bowden, University of Texas Press hardcover, $30.00
- Desierto: Memories of the Future by Charles Bowden, University of Texas Press, paperback, $17.95
- Red Line by Charles Bowden, University of Texas Press, paperback, $17.95
- Adjustment Day by Chuck Palahniuk, W. W. Norton, hardcover, $26.95
- The Mathematics of the Breath and the Way: On Writers and Writing by Charles Bukowski, City Lights Books, paperback, $15.95
- Storm for the Living and the Dead: Uncollected and Unpublished Poems by Charles Bukowski, Ecco, hardcover, $25.99
- Men Without Women: Stories by Haruki Murakami, Vintage International, paperback, $16.00
- The Garbage Times / White Ibis: A Novella by Sam Pink, Soft Skull Press, paperback, $16.95
Mystery, Thriller, True Crime
- I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara Harper, hardcover, $27.99
- Macbeth by Jo Nesbo, Hogarth, hardcover, $27.00
Utah, the Mormons, the West
- Wasatch 3D Atlas by Steven L. Richardson & Benjamin M. Richardson, 2i3d Stereo Imaging, paperback, $24.95 (two pairs of 3D glasses included)
- Confessions of a Mormon Historian: The Diaries of Leonard J. Arrington (3 vol set) by Leonard J. Arrington and edited by Gary James Bergera, Signature Books, hardcover, $150.00
- Bears Ears by Russel Albert Daniels, Terry Tempest Williams, and Denae Shanidiin, Wild Rose Press, stitch binding, $20.00
- Tribute to the Travelin’ Lady by Rosalie Sorrels, Tinkindie 4-disc CD set, $39.99
- Avalanche Busters: A Historical Memoir of the Snowbird and Alta Ski Patrols by Linda Bonar, self-published, paperback, $17.95
- American Indian History On Trial: Historical Expertise in Tribal Litigation by Richard E. Hart, The University of Utah Press, paperback, $29.00
- River Master: John Wesley Powell's Legendary Exploration of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon by Cecil Kuhne, The Countryman Press, hardcover, $24.95
- The Wanting to Die Poetry Book (Vol 2) by Elena Rogers, Israel Lawson, et al, Trash House Publishing, paperback, $10.00
Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Art, Illustrated Books
- The Life and Legend of Wallace Wood: Volume 2 by Wallace Wood, Bhob Stewart, Michael Catron, Ed Piskor, Fantagraphics Books, hardcover, $39.99
- Pogo: Under the Bamboozle Bush: The Complete Syndicated Comic Strips: Volume 4 by Walt Kelly, Fantagraphics Books, hardcover, $45.00
- Master Race by Al Feldstein, Carl Wessler, Johnny Craig, Otto Binder, Jack Oleck, Ray Bradbury, Fantagraphics Books, hardcover, $29.99
Politics & Social Issues
- Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright, Harper, hardcover, $27.99
- How to Suppress Women's Writing (New Edition) by Joanna Russ, University of Texas Press, paperback, $19.95
- Thinking Without a Banister: Essays in Understanding, 1953-1975 by Hannah Arendt, Schocken Books, hardcover, $40.00
Michael Pollan & Psychedelic Sciences
- How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, hardcover, $28.00 [Tune in Thursday, June 28 for our latest conversation with Michael Pollan]
- Trip: Psychedelics, Alienation, and Change by Tao Lin, Penguin Press, hardcover, $28.00
- Grow Your Own: Understanding, Cultivating, and Enjoying Cannabis by Nichole Graf, Micah Sherman, David Stein, and Liz Crain, Tin House Books, hardcover, $26.95
- Marijuana: A Short History by John Hudak, Brookings Institution Press, paperback, $14.95
- The Yage Letters Redux by William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, City Lights Publishers, paperback, $13.95
Natural History & Sustainability
- Leisure and Death: An Anthropological Tour of Risk, Death, and Dying by Adam Kaul and Jonathan Skinner, University Press of Colorado, paperback, $32.95
- Atlas of a Lost World: Travels in Ice Age America by Craig Childs, Pantheon Books, hardcover, $28.95
- The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams, W. W. Norton, paperback, $15.95
Poetry
- Elegy For My Beat Generation by Neeli Cherkovski, Lithic Press, paperback, $17.00
- Cat Poems edited by Tynan Kogane, New Directions, paperback, 11.95
- The Unaccompanied: Poems by Simon Armitage, Alfred A. Knopf, hardcover, $27.00
- The Book of Ephraim by James Merrill, Alfred A. Knopf, paperback, $18.00
- The Last Shift: Poems by Philip Levine, Alfred A. Knopf, paperback, $23.00
Betsy Burton's Books for Adults, The King's English
Fiction
- The Overstory by Richard Powers, Norton, hardcover, $27.95
- Warlight by Michael Ondaatje, Knopf, hardcover, $26.95
- There, There by Tommy Orange, Knopf, hardcover, $25.95
- Motherhood by Sheila Heti, Henry Holt, hardcover, $27.00
- Happiness by Aminatta Forna, Atlantic Monthly Press, hardcover, $26.00
- Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan, Scribner, paperback, $17.00
- Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman, Europa, paperback, $18.00
- Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward, Scribner, paperback, $17.00
Nonfiction
- The Strange Order of Things: Feelings and the Making of Culture by Antonio Damasio, Pantheon, hardcover, $28.95
- The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World by PeterWohlleben, Greystone, hardcover, $24.95
- Around the World in 80 Trees by Jonathan Drori, Laurence King, hardcover, $24.99
- Tip of the Iceberg: My 30,000 Mile Journey around Wild Alaska by Mark Adams, Dutton, hardcover, $28.00
- I’ll Tell You What by Ann Edwards Cannon, TKEInk, paperback, $15.95
- I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell, Knopf, hardcover, $25.95
- Back Cast by Jeff Metcalf, University of Utah Press paperback, $19.95
- Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann, Vintage, paperback$ 16.95
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, Spiegal and Grau, paperback, $16.00
Mysteries and Thrillers
- America by Day by Derek Miller, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, hardcover, $26.00
- Story of the North by D.B. John, Crown, hardcover, $27.00
- London Rules by Mick Herron, Soho Press, hardcover, $26.95
- Earthly Remains by Donna Leon, Grove Press, paperback, $16.00
Catherine Weller's Books for Adults, Weller Book Works
- Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn’t by John Atkinson, Harper Design, hardcover, $19.99
- Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin, Ecco Press, hardcover, $26.99
- Circe by Madeline Miller, hardcover, Little Brown & Co. $27.00
- Energy: A Human History by Richard Rhodes, Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $30.00
- Finding Stillness in a Noisy World by Jana Richman, University of Utah Press, paperback, $15.95
- House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea, Little Brown & Co., hardcover, $27.00
- How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, hardcover,$28.00
- How to Swear: An Illustrated Guide by Stephen Wildish, Chronicle Books, hardcover, $14.95
- Last Cowboys: A Pioneer Family in the New West by John Branch, WW Norton & Co, hardcover, $26.95
- Mars Room by Rachel Kushner, Scribner, hardcover, $27.00
- Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, hardcover, Riverhead Books, $20.00
- Overstory by Richard Powers, WW Norton & Co, hardcover, $27.95
- Panttsdrunk: The Finnish Path to Relaxation by Miska Rantanen, Haper Design, hardcover, $19.99
- Pasta for Nightingales: A 17th Century Handbook of Bird-Care and Folklore by Giovanni Pietro Olina, Yale University Press, hardcover, $22.50
- Powell Expedition: New Discoveries About John Wesley Powell’s 1869 River Journey by Don Lago, University of Nevada Press, hardcover, $39.95
- Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte, William Morrow, hardcover, $29.99
- Wasatch 3D Atlas by Steven L. Richardson & Benjamin M. Richardson, 2i3D, covered spiral bound paperback,$24.95
- Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss, Viking Press, hardcover, $28.00
Betsy Burton's Books for Children, The King's English
- Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Land illustrated by Max Lang hardcover, Random House, $17.99
- We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgens, Disney Hyperion, hardcover, $17.99
- Neck & Neck by Elise Parsley, Little Brown, hardcover, $17.99
- The Button War by Avi, Candlewick, hardcover, $16.99
- Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Little Brown, hardcover, $16.99
- The Boy, the Bird, & the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods, Philomel, hardcover, $16.99
Ken Sanders’ Books for Children , Ken Sanders Rare Books
Baby Books: BabyLit, Little Libros, All Aboard
Alice in Wonderland: A BabyLit Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams, art by Alison Oliver, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
Goodnight Mr. Darcy: A BabyLit Parody by Kate Coombs, art by Alli Arnold, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- Moby Dick: A BabyLit Ocean Primer by Jennifer Adams, art by Alison Oliver, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- The Odyssey: A BabyLit Monster Primer by Jennifer Adams, art by Alison Oliver, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- Don Quixote: A BabyLit Spanish Language Primer by Jennifer Adams, art by Alison Oliver, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A BabyLit Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams, art by Alison Oliver, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- All Aboard: National Parks: A Wildlife Primer by Kevin and Hailey Meyers, Gibbs Smith, board book, $9.99
- La Catrina: Emotions - Emociones by Patty Rodriguez and Arriana Stein, Little Libros, board book, $9.99
Children’s & Juvenile
- Lulu is Getting a Sister by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Kevin Cornell, Atheneum, hardcover, $16.99
- Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lane Smith, Atheneum, hardcover, $17.99
- Lulu Walks the Dogs by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lane Smith, Atheneum, hardcover, $16.99
- Lulu’s Mysterious Mission by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Kevin Cornell, Atheneum, hardcover, $15.99
- Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel by Daniel Jose Older, Del Rey, hardcover, $28.99 (reversible dust-jacket: Han on one side; Lando on the other)
Catherine Weller's Books for Children, Weller Book Works
- D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Edgar Paren D’Aulaire, New York Review of Books, hardcover, $29.99
- Do not Lick this Book by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost, Roaring Brook Press, hardcover, $16.99
- Elephant & Piggie Biggie by Mo Willems, Hyperion DBG, hardcover, $16.99
- Hello Hello by Brendan Wenzel, Chronicle Books, hardcover, $17.99
- Myth Match by Good Wives and Warriors, Laurence King, spiral, $17.99
- Ocean Meets Sky by Terry Fan, Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $17.99
- Smon Smon by Sonja Danowski, Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $18.95
- Someone Farted by Bruce Eric Kaplan, Simon & Schuster, hardcover, $15.99
