In Which We Visit Barnes & Noble Manchester on a Chilly January Day

If I have to pick a Barnes & Noble, Manchester, NH’s location is a personal favorite. They have a great selection and I really love the layout there, a lot more than Newington’s (my two closest B&Ns). I know you’re going to find this hard to believe, but I went in with the intention of grabbing maybe one or two things…and grabbed four. It do be like that sometimes.

I always start at the front of the store where they put out new releases. I noticed this time around that not all of these were *super* new, some were maybe a couple months old but still holding popularity (ie. The Final Girl Support Group). I actually like that they do that only because I have mentioned recently being so far behind in knowing what’s new and notable; I feel like there’s a gap in the timeline where I forgot that, in addition to my ever present tbr, new books come out sometimes and I may also want to read those…

I immediately picked this one up because of the ~vibe~.

I’ve never actually heard of John Darnielle but I liked the sound of this story. Says he’s written a couple other horror novels. The cover of this one really reminded me of The Amityville Horror cover from the version we carry at the library, and I liked that this gave me 80s horror vibes despite being a brand new book. I think 80s slasher horror and other period frights are making a resurgence and I’m living for it. I ultimately decided not to buy this guy because I picked up so many other things and I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood for it right now, but I think I might come back to it. Anyone read this one?

I sauntered through all the sale tables and display tables, picking over the romance I hadn’t read yet, and finally made my way to the fiction. I made it about halfway through fiction before I realized it wasn’t what I was truly in the mood for: I’d be content to skip over fiction in exchange for some romance and horror, and the occasional thriller. Particularly at this B&N, none of the literary fiction was drawing me in.

So off I go to romance, getting occasionally distracted by more display tables! I love that Manchester B&N has such a huge selection of romance, and not the kind that always has shirtless men on the cover. It’s a great resource for new contemporary fiction fans. I spent a while picking through the stacks but ultimately settled on a copy of Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon (I loved The Ex Talk!) and A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King to fulfill my Jane Austen-inspired prompt for The 52 Book Club Challenge. Surprisingly, I didn’t have anything on my shelves already that would fit that one! Odd, for an Austen lover. A Certain Appeal is King’s debut, and I’m really excited for the story and the backdrop of the burlesque world.

Off next to thrillers and horror! I was thinking thrillers only because I heard Riley Sager has a new one coming out, and it made me realize I’ve missed a good thriller…but nothing spoke to me this time around. Why do all thriller covers look the same?? Same color scheme, exact same font on the cover. Nothing sticks out that way!

Horror was a different story. I was proud to see all of Grady Hendrix’s works there – it used to be when I came that they only had one or two, but it looks like people got hooked just like me. 🙂 I saw House of Leaves and was drawn to it, not because the cover looks super intriguing, but because I had previously heard of it in a blog post listing books that readers had said were so terrifying they couldn’t finish them (I frequently refer back to this list for a good read!!). Once I picked it up and read the jacket, though, I knew I had to get it. House of Leaves was once a cult classic passed around in pieces or occasionally surfacing on the internet. Young people loved it, but once the older generation picked it up, they, too, took a liking to it – the true testament that there’s something in here for everybody. Something I previously hadn’t considered reading, I’m now very excited to pick up. If you’ve read it, I’d love to know what you thought. My copy is the remastered full color edition, which was visually very interesting and possibly confusing on the inside.

Last but not least, I grabbed Goblin by Josh Malerman. His newest, Pearl, doesn’t really appeal to me as a novel, but I read an awesome bookseller review of Goblin from someone whose taste I trust at Gibson’s! But the last time I was there, they didn’t have it – so I grabbed it at B&N during this trip. I’m super excited to give that one a shot too. It gives me a combination of classic horror movie vibes and I can’t wait to see how it ties together. This will be my first Malerman, even though I loved the Bird Box movie adaptation.

So here it is, my full haul!

As I was leaving I realized I should’ve taken way more pictures, but it was my first attempt at a book hunting…so you live and learn! I’ll have more shots of everything I pick up and comprehend next time around.

If you’ve read any of these, I want to hear what you thought of them! I’m so excited to read these, and I have a whole snowy weekend to snuggle into the couch and get started.

Until next time!