Features

The Incendiaries travels between Phoebe, a piano prodigy who grieves and blames herself for her mother’s death; Will, a young man studying to become a priest until he loses his faith and drops out of the seminary; and John Leal, a mysterious and enigmatic man with ties to North Korea; all of whom meet at Edwards University. Deeply troubled and searching for a purpose beyond themselves, the three become swept up in a chain of dangerous acts, fanning the flames towards destruction and an irreparable tragedy. I cannot recommend it enough for a suspenseful and alluring read!

Got a burning question about 1980’s Croatian literature? Need advice regarding a friend who just doesn’t GET Shakespeare like you do? In the vein of Dear Abby, we’ve decided to open our mailbox to questions from our beloved customers.

Though you may remain anonymous, questions and answers will be shared in our weekly newsletter and on our website by our crack team of bookish experts.

It's lit!

One thing that both Laura and I are always keenly aware of when buying and merchandising for and in the Kids’ Room and YA section is making sure that we represent the diversity of our world as widely as possible. In kidlit we are fond of saying that books should be both mirrors and windows, and we take this idea very seriously here. Of course this philosophy holds true for all books, but we’re particularly focused on it for children’s books.

It's no secret that we love graphic novels at Brazos. Thu and Katie have chosen a few favorites, so take a look below. Whether they display a timely political struggle or the everlasting communal struggle of just growing up and being yourself, these books combine fantastic illustration work with interesting plot and beautiful text. What more could you want?

THU: 

Keaton: In your two previous novels, THE BLOOD OF HEAVEN and SECESSIA, you immersed us in the dark, convoluted history of the Gulf Coast. But those works hewed closely to the human story of the region--its wars and unruly frontier, the stain of slavery. In THE NEW INHERITORS, you expand your perspective way beyond and put the natural history of the Gulf front and center to the point that it at times even supersedes the human narrative. How did you come to approach such an expansion of time and scope?

It’s a question that has followed me ever since I started working in bookstores: Why don’t more adults read Young Adult Novels? Anyone who’s come in to the store and talked to me knows I love YA books. They defy genre. They can be sci-fi, literary, fantastical. And I know there are stories that many of our customers would absolutely adore. Are you interested in other cultures and race relations? I can name about five books right now that delve into these topics. What about prose that you have to re-read because it's just that beautiful?

Watch our newest Buyer's Corner (this time, featuring Mark) here!

Thu: We are here to talk about Thea Lim’s new novel! Thea Lim is a fiction author who got her MFA the Creative Writing Program at UH. We’re here to talk about her debut novel, AN OCEAN OF MINUTES, which comes out today! We have an event for her on Friday the 13th of July.

Sara: Oooh, spooky!

Sara: Thanks for chatting today! I’m really excited to talk about your new book!

Bethany Morrow: Me too!

SB: I just want to start off with a kind of overview question. Can you talk about the experience you’ve had thus far as a debut novelist? You were at Winter Institute, and our manager Ben met you there (and loves the book, as I do), so I think it’d be really cool to hear a bit about the experience from the author’s end.

We have been waiting for MONTHS to share this book! Comemadre has been a store favorite since March, when we got a single Advance Copy into the store and circulated it around the staff like a black market substance. Since the love for this book is so strong, we couldn't decide whose review to include. So take a look below at all our descriptions, then swing by the store to pick up a copy of this weird little gem from Coffee House Press.