7 of Our Favorite Hand-Sold Bestsellers
As written about by Bailey in her article on curation, one of the biggest parts of what makes an Indie bookstore special is its curation, which is guided by its owners, staff, and community readership. I think everyone at Dog-Eared reads really great books, but I thought I would highlight some of the books that are bestsellers at the store not because they are best sellers nationally or they got big on TikTok or anything, but sell well in our store because our staff and community really love them. Here are some of our favorite titles and the stories behind how they sold so well.
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
This book got on our bestseller table for a while because of one person and one person alone: Amy Zmolek. She said that while shelving one day she noticed this little guy sandwiched between two mystery behemoths: Agatha Christie and Anne Cleeves. She felt sad that this relatively slim little book wasn’t getting a chance simply because of accidents of alphabetizing and other big-name authors. She read the back and thought it would be interesting (despite its, perhaps, less than stellar cover) and the rest, they say, is history. The book was interesting—twisty, turning, and thrilling, and Amy kept recommending it. Since writing her shelf-talker and featuring this book, The Last Flight has not really stopped selling for us, and it’s all because of Amy’s curiosity.
The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun
This translated horror novel has had a long history of selling really well for us, and two of our staff members (Amy and Sarah) have chosen it as their staff pick at least once. Horror is a vast genre, and we are happy to have been able to expand this section, if only because we can continue highlighting books like this that might not be for everyone, but have a devoted readership when they find their people. The Hole is an unsettling, creepy, and deeply interesting story that could easily be overlooked in favor of bigger names in horror or more well-trod subgenres. We hope that if you like horror that you’ll give this book a chance, just like so many of you have. Reading it will give you a little insight as to how our staff’s specific tastes make the Dog-Eared horror section unique.
Get Thee Off My Lawn by Daria Vernon
Katie saw the cover of this book somewhere from a friend on Instagram and immediately decided this was a book she needed to have. When it arrived, all of us were delighted about this tongue-in-cheek romance novelette, blending historic aesthetics with contemporary sensibilities and humor . A story of two neighboring landowners falling for each other because of some socially savvy swans, this one has been a delight to have in store—when we’re able to keep it on the shelf, that is. We always have fun recommending this book to people, and even enjoyed an adult story time with this book, too (on the day of the ice storm earlier this year, Britt found herself without any kids in the store for Wednesday story time. So Jess, Rachel, and myself settled in for a reading of this very book, making veritable lemonade from the lemons Mother Nature served). If you like romance novels and want to go a little off the beaten path, this might be a great book for you.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Tanvi might not be the only member of staff that loves this book, but she is certainly its champion in our store. A mystery starring elderly people with a humorous, cozy vibe, this novel is one of our best selling in the genre for the entire life of the store and I honestly cannot recall a time it wasn’t on the best seller table. This story has a way of staying with people, and we even had a customer ask for Tanvi earlier this week so she could thank her for recommending this book. She was an older woman and loved seeing people like her still being able to go out and have adventures and stories written about them. The two of them had a lovely little conversation about this book and exchanged recommendations—a heart-warming scene, no matter how often we see it happen at the bookstore, and an excellent example of the bookish community. If you'd like to pick up a copy of this yourself, you won’t have to look very far—because of Tanvi’s wonderful curation it’s right on the best seller table, front and center.
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili
This sleeper hit came about before my time at Dog-Eared, but I too have a copy in my home because I was swept up by all the excitement. The Eighth Life was a darling of former bookseller Peter and also Jess, who could not stop selling it to people. Did you want a fantasy dragon book? No, you actually wanted The Eighth Life. How about a history book about the development of vaccines? Wrong, you’re thinking instead of The Eighth Life. This book became such a phenomenon in the store that not only did it keep flying off the shelf and making its way on to the best seller table, but we were actually able to orchestrate a virtual meet up with the author and translator. The Eighth Life is one of the first big best sellers powered by our booksellers’ handselling acumen, and I’d be surprised if most of you hadn’t been caught up in this tide already. But if you haven’t, you should—our community’s fervent love of it isn’t for nothing.
A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegarde Serle
This is one where I will toot my own horn a little—since I read this book in early 2022 and ordered it in for the store, it has consistently been one of our bestselling YA titles. I heard about it from one of my favorite bookish podcasts (Reading Glasses with Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara) and it quickly became one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time. I couldn’t wait for my book club, Found in Translation, to read it. Come discussion day, Sarah and I found that, lo and behold, over half of the club had not only finished A Winter’s Promise but were already through books 2 and 3, with a couple members having already finished the whole series! I’m always happy to be selling this book to people, and with its winsome story and beautiful cover, how could you not want it for yourself? But mostly, I am so grateful every day that I work in an establishment that trusts us booksellers to order in good books to help feed the voracious appetite of book lovers.
The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach
When Emily first picked up this vibrant cookbook, she did not realize the beast that she had unleashed. What started out as a love of Emily’s became a love of Emily’s and mine became a love of Emily’s and mine and Bailey’s became a cult that we are proud to run. Emily and I both own lots of cookbooks, but we both agree this is the one we find ourselves reaching for again and again and again—the recipes are simple, the ingredients aren’t complicated, and they’re absolutely delicious. My copy has been warped with water stains and splattered with soy sauce (which to me is the hallmark of a great cookbook because it means I use it) and I’m not lying when I say I make dinner out of this at least two times a week—and I’m not even a vegetarian! Our passion has translated into customers buying it, making dishes from it for their friends, and then their friends coming in and buying it. This book has become a movement at our store—one you should join posthaste, regardless of your vegetarian status.
These books are just a small sampling of the kind of curation that makes our store special. The books that we choose to carry are of course informed by what’s popular and what people want to read, but it’s also driven by us, your friendly neighborhood booksellers and what we love to read. If you haven’t heard us recommend any of these before (which I doubt!) I hope you decide to pick one up soon!
