Susan Coll is the author of five previous novels, including The Stager and Acceptance. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, the Washingtonian, and Moment, and on NPR and Atlantic.com. Bookish People (Harper Muse) is a screwball comedy featuring a cast of oblivious authors, overqualified booksellers, and a Russian tortoise named Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Consider independent bookstore owner Sophie Bernstein. She’s burned out on books, mourning the death of her husband, the loss of her favorite manager, the lack of aspiration in her only child, and the grim state of the world. No wonder she’s fantasizing about hiding in her store’s secret back room. Renowned poet Raymond Chaucer has published a new collection, but rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s suicide have led to national cancellations of his publicity tour. Sophie asks Clemi – bookstore events coordinator, aspiring novelist, and daughter of a famed literary agent – to cancel Raymond’s his appearance, too. But that might not work, because Clemi suspects Raymond might be her biological father, and she wants to know for sure. This is a story narrated by two different women, punctuated by political turmoil, a celestial event, and a perpetually broken vacuum cleaner.
