A Toonie for her Thoughts

Louise Penny’s 20th Chief Insp. Gamache mystery, The Black Wolf, lands at #2 on our hardcover fiction list; our starred review called it “exemplary.” In March, Penny, who is Canadian, canceled plans for a U.S. tour, citing “the ongoing threat of an unprovoked trade war” and “other things the U.S. president is doing that make visiting the U.S. unpalatable.” But in a gesture of cross-border solidarity, she wrapped up a series of Canadian appearances with two sold-out events at the Haskell Free Library & Opera House, which straddles Vermont and Quebec.

New Life

Eisner-nominated manga creator Mokumokuren debuts at #6 on our trade paperback list with volume six of The Summer Hikaru Died, a coming-of-age horror series with queer themes. Yen Press began publishing English-language translations in 2023, and Netflix started airing the anime adaptation in July.

Cooking the Books

Ree Drummond returns with The Pioneer Woman Cooks: The Essential Recipes, #1 on our hardcover nonfiction list. Nine cookbooks in, her widespread appeal continues; her previous recipe collection, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Dinner’s Ready!, has sold almost 304K print copies since it pubbed two years ago. Toni Chapman, whose 2.1 million TikTok followers know her as the Moody Foody, is just getting started in the cookbook space; her debut, Everything’s Good, is #14 on our hardcover nonfiction list. The “family style” chapter includes recipes that draw on Chapman’s Afro-Latina heritage, such as pernil, pastelón, and coquito; in another chapter, the Jersey City native pays homage to takeout classics like “halal cart” chicken and rice bowls with tzatziki sauce.

Mental Leap

In Read Your Mind, #4 on our hardcover nonfiction list, Oz Pearlman explains that “mentalism isn’t about reading others’ minds—it’s about reading people,” according to our review. “Drawing on his career as a magician, ‘mind-reader,’ and entertainer, Pearlman shares advice on interpreting others’ tone and body language, making and maintaining personal connections, and ensuring the timing’s right when asking for opportunities. He also focuses on better understanding one’s own mind—silencing one’s inner critic and training the brain to move past rejection, for example, are key to building confidence.” It’s catnip for “aspiring entrepreneurs.”