I was surprised when my husband told me that outdoor retailer REI has had a campaign the last few years to #OptOutside on Black Friday. They don’t open their stores, at all. I’m taking inspiration from them today: I’d rather be reading, and decorating the tree, and making Chex Mix with my kids than shopping. I walked to one local shop earlier this morning, and have a few online purchases I’d like to make, but today my big plans are decorating, coffee, and books.
If you want to do some shopping–gift giving or otherwise–or score a great bookish deal, we are running a sale in the MMD shop.
For the first time ever, classes are on sale for $10 each.
You can take these classes on your schedule, and watch and replay as many times as you’d like. We’ve gotten terrific feedback on all three, and know that each class can make a real difference in your reading life, whether you start today or in the new year. Choose the one that most grabs you, or snatch up all three while they’re cheap.
Journal sale
Our fabulous Leuchtturm journals are buy one, get one half off with the code BOOKMAIL. These are my very favorite journals, whether you use yours for your to-do list, deep thoughts, bullet journal, or reading log.
It’s Black Friday every day
If you’re looking for something to read, we curate a list of the best ebook and Kindle deals almost every day. You can get the latest hand-curated deals emailed to you every day by signing up right here.
As you can see below, today’s deals are particularly good (no surprise). I hope you find something great to read at a great price. (We post deals every day right here, and recommend you subscribe to the deals email for updates.)
PLEASE NOTE: Amazon says we can’t include prices on our site, but we assure you these prices are solid. (We curate based on U.S. prices; international readers can follow these steps to find deals that will always be valid in their region.) Click here to see all prices in one place, or click through the buy button on each book for details.
From the publisher: "The game is once again afoot in this thrilling mystery, sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate, which explores what really happened when Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty tumbled to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls." This bestseller by Anthony Horowitz is recommended reading for Sherlock fans, obviously. More info →
This Pulitzer winner begins with a terrorist attack: an explosion at The Met that kills 13-year-old Theo Decker's mother and forever changes his life. The novel takes on an epic feel as it winds and twists through New York City, then Vegas, then Amsterdam. I would have given it up during the dark and depressing Vegas sojourn if I hadn't read that The Goldfinch was Donna Tartt's artistic response to 9/11. I'm not certain that's even true, yet framing it that way fundamentally changed the way I read the book, and kept me from abandoning it during the unrelentingly gritty middle. More info →
Imagine a grown-up take on The Parent Trap, with a lot more twin troubles and a lot fewer tween giggles. When they were 17, Harper and Tabitha's parents divorced. Tabitha went with her mom to Nantucket; Harper went with her dad to Martha's Vineyard. Now 39, the twins haven't spoken in years, and each has heaps of her own troubles—love, family, work, you name it. For reasons that are easy to read but hard to explain, the twins end up trading islands to work through the latest crisis. They call Nantucket native Elin Hilderbrand queen of the summer novel for a reason; the islands themselves have so much personality in these pages that it feels like very realistic escapist fiction. A previous Summer Reading Guide pick. More info →
This Pulitzer Prize winner follows the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War. Our narrator, a captain, served as a communist spy for the Viet Cong…and continues to do so once he moves to America with the general of the South Vietnamese army and others fleeing the country. Caught between two worlds and conflicted in his loyalties, he has an uneasy relationship with both the duality of his work and his origin as an illegitimate son treated with scorn and distrust by those around him. Nguyen explores the legacy of the Vietnam War and what it means to survive. More info →
I love A. S. Byatt, particularly for the wonderful way she writes her female characters. In this literary mystery and comedy of manners, two scholars research the lives of Victorian Era poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte. Through parallel plot lines, two separate love stories and a literary mystery unfold as we push past the surface and get to know all four characters. More info →
After reading A Place Like Mississippi, I was inspired to learn more about Margaret Walker, who spent her early years in New Orleans and went on to become a prominent writer of the Chicago Black Renaissance. Walker was a prolific poet; Jubilee is her only novel. The sweeping story follows a slave named Vyry through the antebellum era, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, focusing on her struggles and suffering, the men she loved, the children she bore, and her constant yearning for freedom. Walker modeled her protagonist after her own great-grandmother. I read the 50th anniversary edition and loved poet Nikki Giovanni’s foreword. (Sensitive readers, be aware of a handful of difficult scenes involving beating, lynching, racism, and cruelty.) When I discovered favorite narrator Robin Miles reads the audiobook, I knew I had to listen. Whispersync narration available. More info →
Readers who loved Killers of the Flower Moon won’t want to miss Grann’s backlist book about an Amazonian expedition gone wrong. In 1925, Percy Fawcett and his son journeyed into the Amazon wilderness in search of an ancient civilization. The whole crew vanished, untraceable in the thick of the forest, but Fawcett did leave a few clues behind about the undiscovered city he called "Z". For years, scientists and explorers have searched for answers to Fawcett’s fate and what he might have discovered before his disappearance. After discovering a collection of Fawcett’s diaries, David Grann embarked on his own quest to solve the mystery, joining other truth-seekers in the dangerous jungle. This propulsive narrative reveals Grann’s dedication to uncovering the truth at all costs: you won't be able to put it down. More info →
From the publisher: "A 'moving and memorable' novel about a cafe where everyone has a story to tell from the award-winning author of The Women of Brewster Place (The Boston Globe). In post–World War II Brooklyn, on a quiet backstreet, there's a little place that draws people from all over—not for the food, and definitely not for the coffee. An in-between place that's only there when you need it, Bailey's Cafe is a crossroads where patrons stay for a while before making a choice: Move on or check out? In this novel, National Book Award–winning author Gloria Naylor’s expertly crafted characters experience a journey full of beauty and heartbreak. Touching on gender, race, and the African American experience, Bailey’s Cafe is 'a sublime achievement' about the resilience of the human spirit (People)." More info →
Libro.fm is running a sale on several titles this month. They're my go-to for audiobooks these days; read more about Libro.fm here. No membership required for most sale prices, including this one. The ebook is ALSO on sale. This stirring debut novel follows three generations of Vietnamese American women in the wake of the death of their beloved matriarch. “Secrets never stay hidden,” muses one character. “Someone always has to deal with the fallout.” Across the generations and in rotating points of view, we see each woman deal with both the burdens she inherited and the secrets she keeps from her daughter out of love, and how this well-intentioned choice causes terrible harm to all. But even after one family member dies, it might not be too late for the surviving women to reunite in their Florida home under the banyan tree for one more attempt at understanding and redemption. More info →
This is the first historical I've read from Katherine Reay, though her last several novels have been of that genre. I picked this up because I was certain we would pop over to Berlin when we were in Germany a couple of years ago. While we didn't make it to that great city, I'm thankful I at least got to visit on the page. The story revolves around a German family that was separated when the Berlin Wall went up overnight in 1961. Many years later, in 1989, Luisa puts the decoding skills she's been taught from a young age to use for the CIA in the DC area. She lives with her grandparents, since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was three—or so she was told. But after her grandfather dies, she finds a secret stash of his letters that leads her to question everything she's been told about her family, and eventually leads her to Berlin to catch up for lost time. I listened to the audio version, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, Ann Marie Gideon, and P. J. Ochlan. Whispersync narration available. More info →
Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl is in my top five most important books of all time. Read this book if you are coping with a never ending trial. Read this book if you are in the middle of a crisis. Read this book if you are grieving. Read this book if you tend to worry about what might happen in the future. Read this book before you need it. Then, read it again once a year for good measure. Collect copies to give to people who are facing any of the above. Happiness comes and goes. What we really need and want is to find is meaning in life and in suffering. In the age of Freud, Frankl, a psychiatrist, parted ways with his hero and developed logotherapy to treat the suicidal teens in his care. He discovered that if these teens could be taught to find meaning in their suffering and meaning in life, they could get well. This was in Austria in the 1930’s. A Jew, he was given the opportunity to leave because of his renown. But he couldn’t take his parents and family so he refused to go. When he and his entire family were divided and sent to different Concentration Camps he was sent to Auschwitz where his theory was tested in unimaginable circumstances, amid suffering and loss. After being liberated, he spent the rest of his life caring for survivors. With all that, this is a hopeful book. It reminds us to be less focused on fleeting personal happiness, and dedicate ourselves to living life with meaning and purpose, in the ordinary and extraordinary.
Paula R says:
I have heard so much about this book and just have not gotten around to getting it. Your recommendation has made me determined to get it. Thank you.
Clicked this post so fast that I almost broke my computer! Love all these suggestions! Have read a few, heard of a few, and adding a few to my list. Bookmarking this post to remember it all 🙂
I remember reading Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel and it was really interesting especially for my psychology background. I ended up buying a few things for Black Friday especially a few books that I wanted. I am going to be looking into the other books that you mentioned because they had great plots. Thanks for the recommendations!
Comments are closed.
We appreciate a good conversation in the comments section. Whether we’re talking about books or life, differing opinions can enrich a discussion when they’re offered for the purpose of greater connection and deeper understanding, which we whole-heartedly support. We have begun holding all comments for moderation and manually approving them (learn more). My team and I will not approve comments that are hurtful or intended to shame members of this community, particularly if they are left by first-time commenters. We have zero tolerance for hate speech or bigotry of any kind. Remember that there are real people on the other side of the screen. We’re grateful our community of readers is characterized by kindness, curiosity, and thoughtfulness. Thank you for helping us keep it that way.
a gateway
to reliable joy this summer
Our 15th Summer Reading Guide is coming May 14th. Pre-order now and plan to join us on May 14th for Unboxing—the best book party of the year!
5 comments
Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl is in my top five most important books of all time. Read this book if you are coping with a never ending trial. Read this book if you are in the middle of a crisis. Read this book if you are grieving. Read this book if you tend to worry about what might happen in the future. Read this book before you need it. Then, read it again once a year for good measure. Collect copies to give to people who are facing any of the above. Happiness comes and goes. What we really need and want is to find is meaning in life and in suffering. In the age of Freud, Frankl, a psychiatrist, parted ways with his hero and developed logotherapy to treat the suicidal teens in his care. He discovered that if these teens could be taught to find meaning in their suffering and meaning in life, they could get well. This was in Austria in the 1930’s. A Jew, he was given the opportunity to leave because of his renown. But he couldn’t take his parents and family so he refused to go. When he and his entire family were divided and sent to different Concentration Camps he was sent to Auschwitz where his theory was tested in unimaginable circumstances, amid suffering and loss. After being liberated, he spent the rest of his life caring for survivors. With all that, this is a hopeful book. It reminds us to be less focused on fleeting personal happiness, and dedicate ourselves to living life with meaning and purpose, in the ordinary and extraordinary.
I have heard so much about this book and just have not gotten around to getting it. Your recommendation has made me determined to get it. Thank you.
Clicked this post so fast that I almost broke my computer! Love all these suggestions! Have read a few, heard of a few, and adding a few to my list. Bookmarking this post to remember it all 🙂
x Sofia
http://www.thecozie.co
All of these recommendations are fabulous! I saved almost all of these books to my Goodreads list!
I remember reading Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel and it was really interesting especially for my psychology background. I ended up buying a few things for Black Friday especially a few books that I wanted. I am going to be looking into the other books that you mentioned because they had great plots. Thanks for the recommendations!
Comments are closed.