SURVEY: What People are Reading: An Informal Survey of Bookstores Across the U.S.
/The National asked bookstore employees across the country what their customers were reading. These are the results of our highly unscientific survey:
Charleston, SC
1. Horse by Geraldine Brooks (Viking, 2022)
“Everyone is very excited about any book from this brilliant author and she will be a featured author at the Charleston Literary Festival this November (we are very proud to be the official bookseller for the Festival).”
2. Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (St. Martin’s, 2022)
“Charleston local Stacy’s first book is outstanding and hit the NYTimes bestseller list when it debuted in January. People are gobbling up this thriller and all of us at Buxton are excited for Stacy’s second release - All The Dangerous Things - which comes out January 2023.”
3. Anything Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us and Reminders of Him)!
“Which we’re assuming is the same for every bookstore right now!”
Seattle, WA
1. Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan (W. W. Norton & Company, 2022)
“One of our booksellers got an early copy of this debut collection of short stories and immediately put it on our staff recommendations wall when it came out. Tons of people have been picking it up! These eerie stories follow characters who are coming of age and figuring out who they want to be, and they made our bookseller cry in public.”
2. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig (Simon & Schuster, 2021)
“Drawn from languages around the world--living and dead--Koenig melds root words into entirely new expressions that land somewhere between whimsical and poignant. Even though we originally featured this book when it came out last fall, it's been slowly climbing our Bestsellers list for the past few months.”
3. Nevada by Imogen Binnie (MCD x FSG Originals, 2013)
“This cult classic novel follows a trans woman who takes a road trip following a messy breakup. It was a staff recommendation here back when it was originally in print, and now that there's a new edition for its tenth anniversary, it's returned to our Bestsellers display.”
Albuquerque, NM
1. Wild Edible Plants of New Mexico Vol. by Charles Kane (Lincoln Town Press, 2022
“It's a pretty, affordable book for an outdoorsy state.”
2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions, 2013)
“A fabulous book for a region with a large indigenous population.”
3. Easy Field Guide to Southwestern Petroglyphs by Elizabeth Welsh (Primer Pub, 1995)
“A great little affordable pocket guide for outdoor forays in Petroglyph National Park near Albuquerque.”
Washington DC
1. Bookish People by Susan Coll (Harper Muse, 2022)
“It's a very funny book about running an independent bookstore in Washington, DC, perfect for a light summer read.”
2. Thank You for Your Servitude by Mark Leibovich (Penguin Press, 2022)
“It's an intelligent and somewhat irreverent look at the aftermath of the Trump presidency. It's a subject that never fails to be interesting, like a car wreck.”
3. Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra (Hogarth Press, 2022)
“Long awaited second novel from Marra, set in Hollywood and Sicily during WWII. Author grew up near the bookstore and is very popular.”
Chicago, IL
1. Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe (William Morrow & Company, 2022).
“Likely because she's a Chicago author who happened to write a first novel that embodies Chicago culture.”
2. They Can't Kill Us Til They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib (Two Dollar Radio, 2017).
“It's a consistent bestseller in our store because we focus on culture.”
3. All About Love by bell hooks (William Morrow, 1999)
“All About Love has been our bestseller month in and month out since we opened. Our customer focus is world-changing but that change starts with self.”
Curated by Kylie Gellatly
Kylie Gellatly is a poet and the author of The Fever Poems. Kylie received Honorable Mention from the Academy of American Poets for the 2022 Gertrude Claytor Award and is a Frances Perkins Scholar at Mount Holyoke College. For more, visit www.kyliegellatly.com
