Hello from Word After Word Books, your local Truckee/Tahoe bookshop. We are excited to partner with Moonshine Ink to provide our book recommendations for this installment of Words Matter, featuring a collection of new releases — many from local authors — that are perfect for holiday gifting. Located in historic downtown Truckee, we offer a curated selection of new and used books with an emphasis on local authors and interests. We carry a variety of indie best sellers in fiction and nonfiction, and our Kids’ Room is amazing! We’re also home to Truckee’s vinyl record store, Rock Cellar Records. Looking for a good book or some new (or new-to-you) music? Just come on in and browse. All of these books are available on site, and if you’re not able to visit right away, our expanded website has more than 12 million titles. Shopping local has never been so good.
~ From the team at Word After Word Books
The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains
by Jeremy Jones
From one of the world’s most legendary alpinists comes a guide for being in the mountains. Divided into three parts — Wisdom, Science, and Art — The Art of Shralpinism is more personal than technical, at once a memoir, a history of the evolution of snowboarding, and a guide to why and how we snowboard. Jones combines his own anecdotes and experiences with those of other prominent adventurers and alpinists to create a volume of lessons designed to complement a reader’s own avalanche courses and on-the-slope experience. It is also philosophical. It explores the spiritual connection between a snowboarder and the mountain, Jones’ shifting perspective on the sport as he grapples with the impacts of climate change (and how he himself contributes), and his orientation to risk management once he has a family. Interspersed with journal entries and original art, The Art of Shralpinism is an intimate portrait of a legendary alpinist’s experiences in the mountains that will resonate with anyone who loves getting out in the winter to shred.
Going it Alone: Ramblings and Reflections from the Trail
by Tim Hauserman
Going It Alone is a wonderful and humorous tale of Hauserman’s solo hikes and the lessons he’s learned from his time on the trail, both alone and with hiking companions. A mixture of Henry David Thoreau and Bill Bryson, Hauserman blends laugh-out-loud tales from the trail with gentle, profound ruminations on the wilderness and our connection to it. Hauserman’s adventures include the Superior Hiking Trail in Minnesota, but primarily take place at familiar nearby locales such as the John Muir Trail, the Tahoe Rim Trail, and Fontanillis Lake. This book is the perfect hiking companion for treks of any length.
The Cloisters
by Katy Hays
The Cloisters is a mysterious and riveting ode to art history. Overcome with grief at her father’s death, Ann Stillwell has finally escaped a stifling life in her hometown. She arrives in New York with big hopes, but is quickly subsumed into the ambitions, complexities, and dangers of dedicating your life to the past as she descends into the art world at the Cloisters Museum. A reading of a 15th-century deck of tarot cards she discovers quickly devolves into an obsession and a battle of scholarly ambition. With lush imagery and enigmatic, sneakingly sinister characters, Hays will have you being quickly enveloped into the world right alongside Ann, wondering whether we are truly ever in control of our fates.
Liberation Day: Stories
by George Saunders
Booker Prize Winner George Saunders’ newest collection of short stories is here! Many of these stories are just as experimental as Lincoln in the Bardo, ranging from a near future sci-fi tale of mysterious speakers enslaved for entertainment, to an author grappling with her young son’s assault. With wry wit and terse language, Saunders explores themes of power, ethics, and justice in situations that portray our own realities, or realities slightly removed from our own, different but often too close for comfort. Within the pages of Liberation Day is a story for every kind of reader.
Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Slaying
by Roseanne A. Brown
Spooky season might be over, but it’s always a good time for a vampire book! Based in Ghanian mythology, this story follows the titular Serwa Boateng and her family who hunt adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. When a new threat looms, Serwa’s parents send her to stay with her aunt and cousin in a town that hasn’t had a vampire attack in a hundred years. Despite this, an adze finds Serwa. Even though she has been using a crossbow since before she could ride a bicycle, she knows she can’t fight this threat alone. She recruits her new friends to save the town and a fun, fast-paced adventure ensues! Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Slaying is a contemporary monster slaying romp with a surprising amount of heart that the whole family will enjoy.
Señorita Mariposa
by Ben Gundersheimer, Illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero
Do you miss the summer storywalk installation along the Legacy Trail? Come check out the book featured on the storywalk, Señorita Mariposa, a fascinating look at the monarch butterfly’s epic annual migration all the way from Canada to Mexico. Ben Gundersheimer, also known as the international children’s musician Mister G, teams up with illustrator Marcos Almada Rivero to tell the story of these beautiful travelers with lyrical writing in English and Spanish and gorgeously vivid illustrations. In Truckee and Tahoe, we usually see the monarchs in August and September on their way south. Even though the monarchs are currently making their way along the central coast, it’s never too late to share how these lovely creatures follow the trails of their ancestors!
What’s Happening at Word After Word Books and Rock Cellar Records?
Nov. 25: Record Store Day Black Friday
Come on in for Record Store Day exclusive merchandise at Rock Cellar Records! We will have a great selection of Record Store Day exclusives, plus our curated collection of new and used vinyl. And don’t miss out on our turntable deals!
Nov. 26: Small Business Saturday
Word After Word Books and Rock Cellar Records will be kicking off the holiday season with Small Business Saturday! All weekend, we will be celebrating with deals and promos.
Dec. 2: Locals Night with Author Katy Hays
Come on down to Word After Word Books on Dec. 2 for a local shopping night featuring local debut author Katy Hays! There will be snacks, drinks, and deals, and Katy will be signing her brand-new novel The Cloisters.
Located in the Historic Truckee Mercantile Building at 10052 Donner Pass Rd.
wordafterwordbooks.com and rockcellarrecords.com
