Excellent Event Planning

“Perfection is not attainable,

but if we chase perfection

we can catch excellence.”

~ Vince Lombardi

One of the positive things that came out of the pandemic of 2020-2021 was a restructuring of how we do things behind the scenes. Booksellers at McLean and Eakin do more than organize and ring out books. We are gatherers of information; we do massive amounts of research all day; we make connections and comparisons to books we have read, are reading, or are planning on reading; our brains are in overdrive all day long; and we love it! We are so excited to announce our author events for 2023, but we already know how we've done things in the past. We want to know what should stay the same, what should change, and what we should get rid of. We need to know what you like about our events and what you don't. You have those answers! Everyone who answers our 6-question survey below will be entered in a drawing to win a pile of free books! Thank you for the feedback!

Link to survey.

Staff Picks!

This Week From Katie:

The Will of the Many by James Isllington

I am literally writing this review ten minutes out from finishing it, and my mind has been broken wide open by James Islington for a second time. The ease with which he is capable of crafting fantasy landscapes is maximized by the fact that he is also able to weave twists and turns into that landscape like a poet of fantastical fiction. I honestly find him to be one of the smartest writers I have ever had the joy of reading when it comes to storytelling and creation. Now, if that doesn’t already have you hooked, let me remind you that Mr. Islington is the creator of The Licanius Trilogy that me and my coworkers could not (and still haven’t) stop placing in the hands of every sci-fi junkie to step foot in the store.

If you are still not sold (unbelievable), this is the first installment of his upcoming trilogy (The Hierarchy) and takes place in a Roman-esque society that operates through the transferral of Will (a person's magical life force...essentially). This civilization's population is separated by a caste-like system where those at the bottom cede their Will to those ranking higher, forming people "pyramids" with one member at the top. The amount of Will you gain from others directly correlates to your physical, mental, and magical abilities. Spooky and very cool.

If you would like to join me on the adventure of letting a book blow your mind into useless goo inside your noggin, then please put in your order for a copy of The Will of the Many. It will be releasing May 23rd. Stronger together.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

This is the perfect read if you are looking for a "tropey"-to-the-brim romance. Fake dating, grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, I could go on. Amazingly, Hazelwood manages to pack this story full without it feeling as if you are reading just a bunch of goopy fluff.

The heart of this story focuses on Olive, a third year Ph.D. candidate who is just trying to survive school and not lose her love for science. As she continues to trial her experiments, mind the undergrads, and convince herself the tedium will all be worth it, her best friend Ahn is also deeply concerned about Olive’s love life. Too concerned. So concerned that she’s constantly bringing it up and trying to land Olive a man. -As if Olive has the time! What she really needs is more time in the lab and a really great breakthrough. In an act of desperation, she lies to Ahn telling her she has a date, when in fact she is sneaking away to the lab once again. On the brink of being caught in the middle of her lie Olive takes a leap (literally) and ends up kissing the one man she really does not want to kiss (obviously) to throw Ahn off the scent. And that my friends is exactly how you begin to fake date a professor; a very ill-humored and laser-focused-on-his-work professor. Dun duh da daaaaaa and we are off on a wonderful and hilarious love story. An excellent palate cleanser in the form of a fun and sweet read.