Bestsellers this week at Sonoma’s local bookstore, Readers’ Books.
Fiction hardcover
1. “The Emperor of Gladness,” Ocean Vuong.
When an elderly woman sees a young man poised to jump from a bridge, she invites him in and offers him a room in her nearly condemned house on the river’s bank.
2. “Atmosphere: A Love Story,” Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Set during the 1980s Space Shuttle program, a woman finds an unlikely romance during her quest to become one of the first women in space.
3. “Wild Dark Shore,” Charlotte McConaghy.
When a mysterious woman washes up on the shore of a remote island, the inhabitants’ lives are thrown into disarray.
4. “An Enemy in the Village: A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel,” Martin Walker.
The Chief of Police in a bucolic small town grapples with the death of a real-estate entrepreneur, a local family’s fracas, and dubious police-related politics.
5. “My Friends,” Fredrik Backman.
During a transformative summer, four teenagers form a deep bond which is captured in a painting that coincidentally inspires a young artist twenty five years later.
Fiction paperback
1. “Sandwich,” Catherine Newman.
During her annual family vacation to Cape Cod, a middle aged woman finds herself pulled between her past, her present, and her future.
2. “All Fours,” Miranda July.
Unbeknownst to her husband and child at home, a woman diverts from her planned cross-country road trip to stay in a local motel room.
3. “Table for Two: Fictions,” Amor Towles.
A collection of six stories based in New York City about the consequences of compromises made in 21st century marriages, plus one novella set in Golden Age Hollywood following a beloved character, Evelyn Ross.
4. “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” Shelby Van Pelt.
A woman forges a relationship with a giant Pacific octopus who could be the solution to the mystery of her son’s disappearance.
5. “The Ministry of Time,” Kaliane Bradley.
Part time travel adventure and part spy thriller, this love story is about a government agency which brings people from the past and the future into the present, and tries to keep them there.