December - News from Pearl Street Books

December 2023 | Rooted in Community

Bits from Beth

Happy December!

I have a secret. As a bookstore owner /booktender, I am kind of embarrassed to share this with you. You see, I don't track the books I read each year. I admire those who do. I have tried various online apps, cool journals, spreadsheets, etc. over the years - only to stop within a few weeks or months. I do know that I have read somewhere between 75 and 100 books this year (1-3 books per week). Some books have been very good. Some offered me a great escape for a few hours. Others were just okay. Here are some of the books that I have read in 2023 from across genres. Some are newly published - some have been around awhile - all worth reading from my point of view. Enjoy!

Beth's Best Reads of 2023

Nonfiction - personal growth - The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life by Katy Butler

Nonfiction - nature - When Women Were Birds by Terry Tempest Williams

Nonfiction - sports/LGBTQ - Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates by Katie Barnes

Memoir (new) - Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments by David Shih

Memoir (older) - Out of Place by Edward Said

Social Science - Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

History - Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson

Poetry (classic) - The Gift by Hafiz

Poetry (new) - Aster of Ceremonies by JJJJEROME Ellis

Fiction (Wisconsin) - Forty Acres Deep by Michael Perry

Fiction (Debut novel) - The All-American by Joe Milan Jr.

Fiction - Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Fantasy - The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss

Works in Translation - Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan and Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

Even better the second read- A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

What were some of your favorite reads in 2023?

Happy Reading! ~ Beth

PS Thank you for supporting us in 2023! We appreciate YOU!

PPS Remember to place any holiday gift orders through us by Monday, December 11th.

Kroner's Korner

(We're passing the mic again to our favorite west-side neighbor!)

A gifting Guide

1. Give a CRAP! Care. Care shines through a good gift or a bad gift in equal measure.

2. Give it thought. Thoughtful people give thoughtful gifts.

3. Give them time. Time to heal. Time to forgive. OR Hang-out-with-them time...Perfect for that parent who has everything but you around.

4. is a warning: Don't "GIVE them a LICK and a PROMISE," usually the office gift or the just-need-to-get-something gift. The plop in a box. Steve puts his heart into cleaning that microwave, you tomato sauce Monster!

5. Give it a rest. You- Them-, everyone and the everything. Take time and recharge...your little light shines better when your battery is full.

LASTLY. Give all the cookies a try. Don't be a quitter. That New Year resolution to lose weight has to come from somewhere.

~Kroner's Team

Tsundoku

Tsundoku is Japanese for the act of acquiring reading materials and letting them pile up in one’s home. We thought it a perfect heading for this section, as we’ll feature books that are new or popular in the store. If you’re like us, tsundoku is a constant state of being.

Since it's the season of gift-giving and we love to speak/think/act local whenever we get the chance, we're featuring local (ish) authors in our Tsundoku section this month, all who have also held an author event at the bookstore within the last year--double local points! Consider the following books to gift to your friends and family (or yourself) this December.

Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments, David Shih, $28.00

David Shih is an English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; his author event took place early in November. Chinese Prodigal is structured as a collection of separate-but-relative essays, making it easy to read and return to at your leisure. Shih weaves personal history with cultural history, navigating the shifts between the two with easy balance, making this an informative and intimate read about the ripples of immigrant experience.

The Truth on Water, Bobbi Rathert, $17.00

Bobbi Rathert is a resident of La Crosse, and her paddling adventure that resulted in this book was also an act of advocacy for Hope Restores, a local group working with and for people of color. Her author event took place in the first half of November. The Truth on Water is Rathert's recollection of her 650-mile paddle down the Mississippi River. The book meanders like the river as Bobbi conversationally shares her collected musings and memories along the Mississippi.

Our Kindred Home, Alyson Morgan, $25.00

Alyson Morgan homesteads in the Driftless region here in Wisconsin; her author event took place in the later half of November. Our Kindred Home is a beautiful, genre-bending book of herbalism, plant identification, recipes, photography, art, and stories that all come together with the intent of reinvigorating connection with the earth. With a gentle voice and strong land ethic, Morgan shares personal experiences and plant wisdom from and for our unique, Driftless part of the world.

The All-American, Joe Milan Jr., $28.95

Joe Milan Jr. lives in Forest City, Iowa, where he is an assistant professor of creative writing; his author event took place back in July (remember July? so warm). A second-generation Korean American, Milan uses this perspective to craft this sharp, wild, beautiful novel of a young American football player who gets thrown a wicked curve when he is suddenly displaced to Korea because of fumbled immigration paperwork. An elegant romp of a coming-of-age tale.

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.

—Albert Camus

Ask a Booktender

Our goal for this section is to have a regular dialogue amongst our booksellers (booktenders, if you will) and our customers. Feel free to send us a message via email, Facebook, or Instagram asking about books, genres, plots, characters, anything (within reason).

If you're reading this, great! You made it this far! Now let me reiterate that this section is meant to be an ongoing, meandering dialogue about books, reading, and/or curiosities you have about the world inside this pearl of a bookstore. If there's a book you think we should be featuring or discussing, this could be the place. If you want to put us on the spot with our collective reading knowledge, cool--this could also be that place. The point is, we'd love to have this be a more interactive portion of the newsletter. So send us stuff!

For the time being, we'll follow up on the semi-collective reading of Killers of the Flower Moon. Of those of us who read it, none were bowled over with Grann's version of this story. We felt the hands-off, research-only slant wasn't most effective for this particular telling. Fortunately, Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan richly contrasts the dry run of Grann's narrative. Steeped in magical realism and cultural depth without sacrificing the factual corruptions of the particular time and place, Mean Spirit better captures the unsettling horror of the murders and deceits as they crept through the community. However, there is something to be said for the space that forms between the two texts, the illumination that comes from shining two lights on the same darkened corner of the past. Scorsese's film adds another light, touching on elements of both books as he fills (fictionalized) gaps into the Grann book and aims for (but doesn't reach) the authenticity of Hogan's. And while there are certainly easy critiques at hand concerning the film, the resurfacing of these stories and the resultant conversations is so, so important for cultural reckoning and understanding. Plus the filmwork is beautiful, and Lily Gladstone is phenomenal as Mollie. And if you've invested the time to read both texts, the 3.5 hour movie doesn't feel so long at all.

LOVE

WHERE

YOU

LIVE

Customer Corner: Margy

Hi hi! Margy (she/her) here. I'm a transplant to the Driftless Region - I’ve lived in the area for just about 8 years. I started my time in La Crosse overseeing the Residence Life department at Viterbo, but I’ve since transitioned to student leadership and engagement at Western Technical College. I love being surrounded by students and staff who are eager to learn and grow as individuals and a community.

Reading is my jam. I’ve been lucky enough to get to work with PSB to run their monthly ‘bring your own book club,’ build their website, and contribute to social media and event advertising. If I’m in the store, I likely can be found buried in the horror/sci-fi section. I run a ‘bookstagram’ (@margyreads) where you can find me waxing poetic about all my favorite kinds of books – horror, speculative fiction, literary fiction, translated literature, Booker prize winners, and my favorite genre – Woman Is Miserable And Makes It Everyone Around Her’s Problem.

The best book that I’ve read this year: Monstrillio by Gerardo Samono, hands down. It follows a mother who accidentally creates a monster version of her recently deceased son. It’s heartbreaking and gorgeous and asks us to examine what it truly means to be human. I’ve also recently loved Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan.

Happy Reading!

Keep in Touch!

December 2023 | Rooted in Community

Bits from Beth

UPCOMING EVENTS

Author Event

Tsundoku

Ask a Booktender

Customer Corner: Margy