Paperback Picks
Every new paperback release table in town is awash in pastel pinks and glowing yellows as publishers try to coax readers out of their winter torpor with vibrant tales of romance and intrigue.
And Seattle book lovers should have a little extra spring in their step this month, because two local authors are launching the paperback editions of their beloved 2025 novels. In other words, it’s a great month to visit your friendly neighborhood booksellers.
“Storybook Ending” by Moira Macdonald (Dutton, $19). Macdonald has written for The Seattle Times for a little over two decades. In fact, she used to write this very column every month, so it makes sense that her big-hearted debut novel, which revolves around a case of mistaken identity, takes place in a Seattle independent bookstore and features a bookseller as one of the main characters. Macdonald will debut the paperback edition of “Storybook Ending“ at Third Place Books Ravenna, the shop that inspired the bookstore in the novel, on April 8.
“Murder by Memory” by Olivia Waite (Tordotcom, $17.99). Seattle romance author Waite, who writes a column about romance books for The New York Times, stepped out of her comfort zone with her latest novella. It’s the first volume in a cozy sci-fi mystery series set on a gigantic starship in the middle of a decades-long interstellar journey. When technology allows the ship’s tenants to enter new bodies at will, the question of “whodunit” becomes a lot more complicated.
“How Soccer Explains the World” by Franklin Foer (Harper Perennial, $18.99). When Atlantic writer Foer first published this book back in 2004, Americans only thought of soccer as something they had to drive their kids to a couple of times a week. But now that big cities like Seattle have their own thriving MLS and NWSL teams, and the World Cup is coming to North America, Foer is rereleasing his meditation on the planet’s favorite sport and what it means for globalization in an updated edition with a new preface.
“Audition” by Katie Kitamura (Riverhead, $18). One of the most celebrated novels of the last year, adored by everyone from Time magazine to The New York Public Library to Barack Obama, finally arrives in paperback. It’s about a middle-aged actress who is struggling with big questions of identity and expectations, but it reads like a page-turning literary thriller.
“The Doorman” by Chris Pavone (Picador, $19). In the mold of twisty class-based thrillers like “The Maid” and “The Housemaid,” Pavone’s best-selling murder mystery explores questions of wealth, fame and privilege in a prestigious Manhattan apartment building.
“Saving Five” by Amanda Nguyen (Picador, $19). Nguyen’s spacefaring career as an astronaut at NASA and Blue Origin would already make her a compelling candidate for a memoir. But “Saving Five” also tells the story of how Nguyen was sexually assaulted as a Harvard student, and how the justice system’s frustratingly insufficient response to that crime inspired her to become a passionate advocate for survivors of sexual assault.
“The Killing Spell” by Shay Kauwe (S&S/Saga Press, $18). With headlines about flooding in Hawaiʻi fresh in our minds, Kauwe’s dystopian fantasy novel unfortunately feels a little more realistic on its release than it might have a year ago. It’s set 200 years after the Hawaiian Islands were lost to a disastrous flood, and it’s about a Native Hawaiian struggling to form a new homeland for her diaspora in a world where magic has reawakened.
“Don’t Tell Me How It Ends” by Adrienne Thurman (Dial Press Trade Paperback, $18). An embittered young woman swears that she’s done with love in this debut romance novel. But can you really be that far removed from romance when your sister is a busybody who also happens to own a matchmaking business?
“No More Tears” by Gardiner Harris (Random House Trade Paperbacks, $20). For decades, Johnson & Johnson — makers of the ubiquitous baby shampoo — was one of the most trusted manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. But as a reporter for The New York Times and in his latest book, Harris revealed the truth about the corporation’s many harmful lies and cover-ups, including a study that suggested Johnson’s Baby Powder causes cancer.
“Annie Knows Everything” by Rachel Wood (Dial Press Trade Paperback, $20). If you know someone who’s interested in the romance genre but who balks at authors who spend too much time on the love story and not enough attention on the rest of the plot, “Annie Knows Everything” could be the book for them. Wood’s latest romance features a huge cast of fascinating characters and lots of interesting details about working in the tech industry.
“Sky Daddy” by Kate Folk (Random House Trade Paperbacks, $18). Walter Kirn’s “Up in the Air” meets the “Fifty Shades of Grey” series in this eccentric novel about Linda, a social media content moderator who is sexually attracted to airplanes.
To learn more about the ʻokina diacritical mark in Hawaiʻi, visit st.news/language.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yakimaherald.com ’
