What I Did On Saturday - Indies First!

I was so busy drooling over hand-selling books at Skylight Books on Small Business Saturday, that I forgot to take pictures.  Lucky for me the lovely Wendy Werris from Publishers Weekly was there!



(L to R) Kerry Slattery, owner of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, with three guest booksellers: novelist Attica Locke ("The Cutting Season"), YA author Sherri L. Smith ("Orleans"), and caterer/food writer Jenny Cook ("Who Wants Seconds?"). Skylight's Mary Williams stands at the far right. Photo by Wendy Werris

I love bookstores (I've said it before, and recently, too).  Skylight is one of the best of them.  Beautifully curated by people who know their stuff and want to share it with readers.  What more could an author ask for?  Oh, right, an Indies First bag.  I stuffed my with picture books for the little ones in my life.  Where else am I going to get a picture book bio of Toulouse-Lautrec?

Want to know which books I was recommending?  Here's a short list of favorites.  You might want to keep them in mind for your holiday shopping list:

1. For the young adventurer - Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge
2. For the history buff or young journalist - Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
3. For the Francophile or fashionista - Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross 
4. For anyone too young for Lord of the Rings - The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander
5. For myth lovers and Anglophiles- The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (start with Greenwich!)
6. For the indie, artsy girl - anything by Cecil Castellucci
7. For EVERYONE - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
8. For teens who are too plugged in, or refuse to plug in - Feed by M.T. Anderson

I also recommended a few books for adults, including:

1. Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides (compelling)
2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (fascinating)
3. The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo (Don't let the purple prose stop you-- it's a great true story!)
4. The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (gorgeously written)
5. Phryne Fisher Mysteries #1 - 19 by Kerry Greenwood (fun!)

I read a rule on family gift giving for the holidays on some wise blogger's site last year.  Everyone gets three gifts;  one you need, one to read, and one for fun.  I think books can fit the bill for all three!

Happy Holidays!