This coming Monday (18th May) at 6pm we’re excited to be welcoming Eric Ries (the legendary author of The Lean Startup) to The Best Bookstore in Union Square for the EARLY launch of his new book, Incorruptible.

As I wrote a couple of weeks ago…

In Incorruptible (Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great), Eric tackles the problem of why success so often turns companies against the people and principles that made them worth building in the first place.

Moral weakness? Greed? Corruption? Maybe. Except, as Eric’s research showed time and time again, the phenomenon occurs even despite the best intentions of the people inside the companies in question.

So why do companies founded with strong ideals drift toward short-term thinking, extractive behavior, and mission abandonment? Why do so many great founders end up being kicked out despite doing everything right? And more importantly, how can you build an organization from day one to stop it happening to you?

Those are the questions Eric answers in Incorruptible. And - remember what I said about hyperbole? Well, Eric dropped off an advance copy at the store a week ago, I read it in a single sitting and I’m absolutely convinced: This will be the most important and influential book for entrepreneurs for the next decade.

Eric will be joined on stage by (the equally legendary) Sarah Lacy to talk about the book, and the wider question of why good companies go bad. Afterwards there will be a q&a and book signing with copies of the book available to buy A FULL WEEK before the official publication date!!

Again, the event starts at 6pm THIS MONDAY at 226 Powell St, San Francisco.

Register to attend here.

AND IT GETS BETTER — we know there are folks (students, struggling founders, etc etc) who could benefit hugely from the insights in Incorruptible but don’t have a spare $32. And that’s ok! Because thanks to a very generous sponsor we have 20 copies of the book to give away absolutely free to the next 20 people who RSVP here (choose the free “without book” option)

Note: The sponsored books are only available for pickup in person at the event so please don’t rsvp if you can’t make it on Monday at 6pm!

If that link is closed then the regular rsvp link is here.

We can’t wait to see you on Monday!

Paul and Sarah

Hey all,

As regular customers in the Palm Springs store will know, we are HUGE fans of Steven Rowley and his blockbuster novels, The Guncle, The Celebrants, Lily and the Octopus (etc etc etc).

At last count we’ve sold a little over TWO THOUSAND copies, combined, of his books.

And so it won’t surprise you to hear how excited we are that his latest masterpiece - TAKE ME WITH YOU - comes out next week.

The book just received a starred review from Booklist and (more importantly!) Sarah thinks it’s Steven’s best book yet…

College professor Jesse del Ruth has been abandoned. Thirty years into their relationship, Jesse witnesses his husband Norman wake up one night, walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light and . . . disappear. How could Norman desert him after a lifetime together? Where did he go? And, most confoundingly . . . will he ever return? Jesse knew they were longing for something. But had Norman been so stuck that his only option was to leave Jesse behind?

As Jesse struggles to understand Norman’s disappearance, he tries to piece together his new reality. Is he expected to wait patiently for a partner who may never come back? Or is this an opportunity for reinvention? He is, after all, alone for the first time in his adult life. What does it mean to be alone when you’ve always been one half of a whole?

When Norman’s sister Lally lands on Jesse’s doorstep with an urgent request, Norman’s absence becomes even more profound. Add to Jesse’s grief and confusion a conspiracy-theorist neighbor, a stranger following him, and suspicions that he may have had a hand in Norman’s disappearance, and Jesse starts to crack under the pressure. With his husband missing and the world closing in, all eyes are on Jesse. Before he can understand how Norman could leave it all behind, Jesse must confront what it means to stay.

Of course we have ordered a TON of copies for The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs and Steven has kindly agreed to come by and sign them all before he embarks on his national tour.

That’s right, Best Bookstore customers can get a SIGNED copy of Take Me With You before anyone else. And if you pre-order right now, we can even ask for it to be specially personalized (to you or someone else) at checkout.

Pre-order your signed copy here. (And, don’t worry, if you’ve already pre-ordered a copy, yours will be signed too.)

You are going to LOVE this novel just as much as we did.

Paul and Sarah

PS: Not in Palm Springs? We ship anywhere in the world - just order online via the Palm Springs store to get a signed copy. We’ll try to get signed copies for the Union Square store soon too!

PPS: Of course we also have copies of Steven’s first kids’ book, Our Guncle, available for pre-order too!

HEY HEY!

Just a quick reminder to join me TOMORROW @ 6pm at The Best Bookstore in Union Square (226 Powell St) TOMORROW for my conversation / Q&A / book signing with the fantastic Andrea Bartz.

As you probably know, Andrea is best known for her propulsive, bestselling thrillers including her most recent - The Last Ferry Out (order it here) - in which a woman who travels to a remote, hurricane-damaged island to investigate the mysterious death of her fiancée. I absolutely LOVED this novel, and so will you.

BUT perhaps more relevantly for SF, Andrea was lead plaintiff in the Bartz vs Anthropic class action suit that secured a $1.5bn settlement from Anthropic over the company’s use of authors’ work in training their AI models.

The settlement becomes official in a San Francisco court later this week but BEFORE THAT Andrea will be at The Best Bookstore to chat to her about her books, the world of thriller writing and AI, and of course the Anthropic settlement.

(The event will also serve as the unofficial launch celebration for the paperback edition of my latest novel, The Confessions… a thriller featuring an AI trained on authors’ work that nearly destroys the world.)

The event starts at is completely free to attend but it’d be hugely helpful if you could RSVP HERE so we have an idea of numbers etc.

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow (Tuesday) in San Francisco!

Paul

When it comes to business books, I’m not inclined towards hyperbole, but it’s fair to say that The Lean Startup has had more impact on the tech industry than almost any other book published in the past decade. And thanks to Ries’ follow-up, The Startup Way, his principles have now been adopted by companies of all sizes, in every country on earth.

So it’s fair to say that the prospect of a new Eric Ries book aimed at startup founders circa 2026 is a pretty major publishing event, especially here in the Bay Area. And how about if that book were to address the single biggest challenge faced by startup founders today… namely how not to end up becoming evil?

I’m not kidding. In Incorruptible (Why Good Companies Go Bad... and How Great Companies Stay Great), Eric tackles the problem of why success so often turns companies against the people and principles that made them worth building in the first place.

Moral weakness? Greed? Corruption? Maybe. Except, as Eric’s research showed time and time again, the phenomenon occurs even despite the best intentions of the people inside the companies in question.

So why do companies founded with strong ideals drift toward short-term thinking, extractive behavior, and mission abandonment? Why do so many great founders end up being kicked out despite doing everything right? And more importantly, how can you build an organization from day one to stop it happening to you?

Those are the questions Eric answers in Incorruptible. And - remember what I said about hyperbole? Well, Eric dropped off an advance copy at the store a week ago, I read it in a single sitting and I’m absolutely convinced: This will be the most important and influential book for entrepreneurs for the next decade.

All of which makes me THRILLED to announce that Eric is coming to The Best Bookstore in Union Square A WEEK BEFORE PUBLICATION for a special early release event.

Yes. On Monday May 18th at 6pm Eric Ries will be on stage at The Best Bookstore in Union Square (226 Powell) in conversation with our very own Sarah Lacy. There will be a q&a afterwards and also Eric will be signing copies of Incorruptible and his other books.

This will be your opportunity to get the book a full week before anyone else.

Tickets to the event are just $32 which INCLUDES a copy of Incorruptible (which has a $32 cover price, so in other words the event it technically free) for every attendee.

Space is strictly limited (we can fit about 100-120 people in our downstairs event space) so you’ll want to register RIGHT NOW at this link.

Sarah and I can’t wait to see you on Monday 18th May for this incredible event.

THAT REGISTRATION LINK AGAIN

One of the fun thing about having TWO (count ‘em!) bookstores in different parts of California is that we get to enjoy two opposite busy seasons.

Right now Palm Springs is starting to wind down its busy tourist season (and anticipate scorching summer days ahead) and San Francisco is just getting started!

Exhibit A: The number of incredible author events we have coming up in Union Square in the coming weeks.

Next Tuesday (May 12th) at 6pm I’ll be in conversation with the incredible Andrea Bartz…

Andrea Bartz is best known for her propulsive, bestselling thrillers including her most recent - The Last Ferry Out (order it here) - in which a woman who travels to a remote, hurricane-damaged island to investigate the mysterious death of her fiancée.

BUT recently Andrea has become celebrated for her role as lead plaintiff in the Bartz vs Anthropic class action suit which secured a $1.5bn settlement from AI giant Anthropic over the theft of authors’ work.

The settlement is set to become official during a final court hearing in San Francisco on May 14th -- and we’re delighted to announce that Andrea will be joining us at The Best Bookstore in Union Square that same week (May 12th @ 6pm) for an exclusive in-store event, in conversation with fellow thriller author… me! We’ll discuss Andrea’s latest book, the world of thriller writing and AI, and of course the groundbreaking Anthropic settlement.

The event will also serve as the unofficial launch celebration for the paperback edition of The Confessions so I really hope you’ll join us!

The event is completely free, but you must register in advance here.

See you NEXT WEEK!

Paul

I’m not sure how to explain the oversight except that Palm Springs this time of year is in that weird Coachella/Stagecoach slump during which downtown PS is semi-deserted.

But now we have our second store, in Union Square / San Francisco, and store manager Lillian is more than making up for lost IBD time.

Here’s just a taste of what’s in store for you at 226 Powell St tomorrow…

A SURPRISE BOOK SWAP — bring a book and we’ll swap it for another even more fun one!

CONFESS YOUR LOVE — write a love letter to your favorite store and we’ll stick it up in the store!

The GOLDEN TICKET thing is particularly fun - if you find a golden ticket (an actual gold-colored ticket) hidden somewhere in the store tomorrow, you’ll win a YEAR’S WORTH of free audiobooks from Libro.fm.

(In fact it’s so fun that we’re doing the promotion in both stores. So if you’re willing to brave the Stagecoach crowds you can try your luck in finding a golden ticket in the Palm Springs store too!)

The festivities kick off tomorrow at 10am in the Union Sq store. Come down and help us celebrate!

Paul

Just a quick update today to remind you that THE CONFESSIONS is out today in paperback with this fantastic new cover…

I think this is my favorite cover of any of my books, and not just because it has the words NATIONAL BESTSELLER at the top. The team at Atria absolutely nailed it.

For the benefit of new subscribers (hello!), The Confessions is my most recent novel, which I typically describe as “an AI thriller for people who would rather poke their eyes out than read an AI thriller.”

A better summary might be:

LLIAM is the world’s most powerful supercomputer, built to make the toughest decisions for its users. Where to work, who to marry, and even who should live or die. But when LLIAM suddenly goes offline with no explanation, the world is thrust into chaos, paralyzed by indecision. Stocks plummet, stores are shuttered, planes sit grounded on runways as humanity scrambles to re-adapt to an uncertain, analog world.

Then the first letters arrive…on every continent, in every language, mysterious envelopes arrive in the mail, exposing people’s darkest secrets, and most shocking crimes. All beginning with the same chilling words: “We must confess.”

With millions of people suddenly made to confront their past transgressions, and society fast unraveling, CEO Kaitlan Goss must track down the only person who can help undo the resulting violent chaos: Maud Brookes, an ex-nun who taught LLIAM what it means to be human. But when Maud receives a letter herself, revealing Kaitlan’s own unforgivable sin, the two women are forced into a deadly game of deceit as the world teeters on the brink.”

Which fortunately is the description the publisher actually used.

I think the book is pretty good, but I’m biased. So you should listen to these people instead…

“A terrifying window into the future.” - NEW YORK TIMES (BEST SUMMER THRILLERS)

“A superb and timely thriller grounded in relatable issues and horrifyingly plausible.” - THE GUARDIAN (BEST THRILLERS OF THE YEAR)

“A top-notch technothriller, reminiscent of the best of Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy.” - LOS ANGELES TIMES

“Required reading.” - NEW YORK POST

Or of course my absolute favorite (and I swear, 100% genuine) testimonial of all…

“I really don’t like Paul Carr.” – SAM ALTMAN

Can’t imagine why…

I spent an hour this past weekend signing copies in the Palm Springs
store and am heading to the San Francisco store today to do the same. Rest assured that any copy you buy in either store or via bestbookstore.com will have my signature scrawled in the front.

(And yes, it’s also available in audio and ebook from all the usual places if you prefer. Allyson Ryan did a particularly splendid job with the audiobook.)

Ok. That’s quite enough self-promotion until 2027 when the next book comes out.

Unless the movie ends up happening in which case all bets are off.

Cheers,

Paul

Ever get the sense you’re being followed?

I do.

Specifically, I emerged from my book writing hole to find two news stories waiting in my inbox.

The first is that Anthropic is apparently recruiting religious leaders to help train its chatbot, Claude, to be more ethical.

This, as regular readers will know, is EXACTLY the origin story of LLIAM, the AI bot in The Confessions, whose religious upbringing almost causes the end of the world.

Just a casual glance towards Washington DC should tell you why converting to religion later in life doesn’t necessarily make you a moral being. In fact, this shiny new religious certainty is too often used to give cover to unpardonable sins. Lookin’ at you, JD!

Still, I suppose it’s good news for sales of THE CONFESSIONS which comes out in paperback in the US next week, with this fantastic new cover…

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER, INDEED!

As with the hardcover release, first week sales count for a lot so if you haven’t read The Confessions yet, I’d be forever in your debt if you pre-order a copy here. And of course I’ll sign it for you before shipping it out.

…

The second story: Barnes and Noble is reportedly considering opening a rival store right by The Best Bookstore in Union Square.

You might remember they threatened to pull the exact same stunt soon after we opened our store in Palm Springs. On that occasional they apparently blithely told people that they’d just buy out our store to avoid being in direct competition with a successful indy. When we made clear that we weren’t for sale at any price, they bailed.

Maybe they’ll do the same in Union Square. Or maybe we’ll finally get to play out our real-life version of You’ve Got Mail.

In any case, this weird habit of James Daunt (lookin’ at you, other JD!) waiting until we prove a local market before ploughing in with his private equity money is - in the words of Taylor Swift - actually romantic.

Ok, that’s all for now. I’m off to Palm Springs to cover for Nancy and Lexie so they can go to Coachella weekend #2. Come see me at the PS store this weekend!

Paul

Officially less than a month out from my book deadline, after which I PROMISE I’ll go back to writing normal posts again.

In the meantime, a quick reminder that TOMORROW (Monday) at the Best Bookstore in Union Square (226 Powell St, San Francisco) I’m interviewing bestselling mystery author (and one of my favorite people in the world) Rob Osler about his latest book THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER.

The book is the latest in the bestselling Harriet Morrow series, featuring a young lesbian detective in Progressive Era Chicago. The whole series is BRILLIANT - but don’t take my word for it: The Case of the Murdered Muckraker was recently awarded a coveted Starred Review by Publishers Weekly.

Harriet is one of those characters who you KNOW will one day end up starring in her own PBS/Britbox series and this is your opportunity to brag that you were a fan before the rest of the world heard about her.

More exciting still, it’s the first event hosted in our brand new event space below the Union Square store. So more “I was first” bragging rights there too.

Rob and I will be discussing his work, the world of mystery writing, and how Harriet’s adventures - exposing government corruption, battling discrimination, and speaking truth to power - are (surprise!) still relevant today.

There will be an audience q&a after our conversation and of course Rob will be signing copies of his books.

The event starts at 6pm TOMORROW (Monday 16th February) at The Best Bookstore in Union Square. It’s completely free to attend - no RSVP required - but we’re expecting a full house so arrive on time to guarantee a seat.

You won’t want to miss this one. See you TOMORROW!!

Paul

Hi all,

I’m on a hellish writing deadline — my next book is due to my editor in a little over a month and I’m firmly in the losing my mind stage of the process.

The book involves a plot I’ve been thinking about - in one way or another - for YEARS, but that hasn’t made it any easier to finally wrangle on to the page. Turns out that writing topical thrillers in 2026 is like trying to arrange dominos in an earthquake.

Thank God, then, that next week I’ll get to spend some time with an absolute master of the form - two masters, actually - to really add fuel to the fire of my imposter syndrome.

On Feb 13th - next Friday! - I’m thrilled to be hosting an event with megastar author Brad Thor and his equally incredible writing partner Ward Larsen in Palm Springs to launch their new thriller, Cold Zero.

The event is at the Mizell Center, starting at 6:30pm, and is COMPLETELY FREE, but you do need to register here to attend.

Here’s the official blurb for the book…

Brad Thor (above), who has been a bestselling thriller writer for a quarter of a century, has sold tens of millions of his books and a streamer developing a series based on his iconic Scot Harvath series, gets one complaint on a consistent basis. That is, some variation of “Now that I finished your latest, I have to wait another whole year for a new one. WRITE FASTER!”

Now, he’s ready to give his readers, as he puts it, “more Thor than ever before”.

To accomplish this, he’s teamed up with Ward Larsen (below), a bestselling author in his own right. Larsen is also former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and current airline captain which is why he was the perfect writing partner to bring this new standalone thriller, COLD ZERO to life.

The book already received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal so even if you’re new to Brad and Ward’s work, this is a fantastic place to start. We’ll be discussing the book, the power of thrillers in uncertain times, their writing process, and much more.

Attendees will also be able to buy a signed copy of Cold Zero and meet Brad and Ward for a photo afterwards!

Again, the event starts at 6:30pm on Friday 13th February. It’s co-hosted with The Palm Springs Public Library and completely free to attend, but we are expecting a packed house so you MUST register in advance.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

I’m VERY excited about this, even though Brad and Ward will probably tell me that they delivered the manuscript six months before deadline and with zero plot holes or days spent screaming at post-it notes, and I will be sick live on stage.

You don’t want to miss any of that!

See you next Friday.

Paul

Yes, I know. At some point I’ll need to rename this newsletter from “Citizen Bookseller” to “Sorry For The Lack Of Updates”.

In my meager defense, we opened a second bookstore - The Best Bookstore in Union Square - on Black Friday, a little over a month after we signed our lease.

At some point I promise to write an entire post about how we managed to pull it off, starting with San Francisco’s incredible “Vacant To Vibrant” program, a small army of friends assembling shelves, plus stellar work by our publisher sales reps and of course our employees in SF and Palm Springs without whom none of this would be possible.

But that post will have to wait because suddenly it’s January and my next book is due to my editor in a little over two months. I really need to be writing every day, with zero distractions, to make my deadline.

So, heads down and…

Ah, right, I almost forgot. WE’RE ORGANIZING A BOOK FESTIVAL THIS MONTH.

That’s right, from Friday January 30th - Sunday February 1st we’re hosting our third annual PALM SPRINGS READERS’ FESTIVAL.

Long-time readers will know that the festival began as a response to the unsettlingly right wing (Karl Rove four times in a row!) Rancho Mirage Writer’s Festival, whose tickets cost upwards of $500 and which shuts down the public library for days.

Our event is hosted at the Palm Springs Leisure Center and brings together an array of superstar authors, writing across all genres. And not a single warmonger! An all-access pass for the whole three-day event costs $125.

This year I’m thrilled to say that Andrea Bartz is headlining the first night. Thriller fans will likely be familiar with her bestsellers like We Were Never Here (a Reese’s Book Club pick) and The Last Ferry Out. But her name might also be familiar as the lead plaintiff in Bartz vs Anthropic, the landmark class action suit that just won a $1.5bn settlement for authors ripped off by the AI giant.

As you can imagine, Andi and I have a lot to talk about on stage, especially the dangers of AI and the thrilling world of, well, thrillers.

We also just confirmed that Annalee Newitz, author of the smash hit Automatic Noodle, will be appearing on Saturday, interviewed on stage by Sarah. Newitz’ book is sold out everywhere but we pulled a bunch of strings to make sure we have a secret stash of copies for them to sign on the day. You won’t want to miss getting your hands on one of the most delightful books of the year.

Andi and Annalee join our already stellar line-up including (in alphabetical order)…

GRETCHEN ANTHONY, Author of TIRED LADIES TAKE A STAND

ABRAHAM CHANG, Author of 888 LOVE AND THE DIVINE BURDEN OF NUMBERS

ANDY CORREN, Author of DIRTBAG QUEEN

JASON FELTS, Author of HOLLYWOOD VIRGIN

AJA GABEL, Author of LIGHTBREAKERS

RACHEL KHONG, Author of MY DEAR YOU

SUSANNA KWAN, Author of AWAKE IN THE FLOATING CITY

BYRON LANE, Author of BIG GAY WEDDING

BRIAN MCAULEY, Author of BREATHE IN, BLEED OUT

ANDREW MEYER, Producer of The Breakfast Club and Author of WALKING IN THE FAST LANE

JOSHUA MOEHLING, Author of A LONG TIME GONE

AISHA MUHARRAR, Author of LOVED ONE

EUREKA O’HARA, Star of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and Author of JACKSON BRIGHT IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ROB OSLER, Author of THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER

KAIRA ROUDA, Author of WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS

STEVEN ROWLEY, Author of TAKE ME WITH YOU

BRIAN SCHAEFER, Author of TOWN & COUNTRY

KATHY WANG, Author of THE SATISFACTION CAFE

JENNIFER WRIGHT, Author of GLITZ, GLAM, AND A DAMN GOOD TIME

If you came to either of the previous festivals you’ll know that the event is a ridiculous amount of fun. Most of the authors hang out in the audience for the whole event and there’s something magical about the PS vibe that makes their interviews more candid and hilarious than you’ll typically hear at a book festival (Sarah’s probing questions also help - who can forget last year’s on-stage debate about a particular book cover she hated?) Oh, and Sarah and I buy everyone pizza from Bill’s for the final lunch of the event. Who doesn’t love free Bill’s pizza?

As I write this, we are just 30 tickets away from selling out. This despite the fact that we have done very little promotion for this years’ event, due to the whole “opening another bookstore in a month” thing.

I’d LOVE to see the room packed every day for these fantastic authors so if you haven’t already bought your ticket, please, please click here and register.

Again, an all-access pass for the entire three day event costs just $125. There are no special VIP rates - everyone gets access to everything. We fund the entire event out of ticket sales - including the cost of bringing all these amazing authors to Palm Springs, venue rental, staffing etc etc. So we REALLY appreciate your support.

Here’s the sign up link again…

BUY YOUR TICKET HERE

We can’t wait to see you in Palm Springs at the end of the month.

And more from Citizen Bookseller soon, I promise!

Paul

PS I was flattered, shocked and delighted that The Confessions was chosen as a Guardian Best Thriller of The Year over the holidays. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy — and if you haven’t already, the paperback is out in April in the US (pre-order now) and is already out in the UK.

PPS It was Sarah’s birthday last month and, for one of her gifts, I managed to track down all of her famous Pando Monthly interviews with the great and good of Silicon Valley, recorded between 2011-2016. The entire archive was (we thought) lost after we sold the company but I FOUND THEM and so now she’s reposting one each week on her new YouTube Channel, with additional commentary. If you want to remember what tech moguls like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen were like before they were super evil famous or you just want hours of valuable advice from the likes of Reid Hoffman, Sophia Amuruso, Daniel Ek, Tony Hsieh, etc etc then subscribe to the channel now.

Hi all,

You might have already received some variant of today’s EXCITING NEWS from the bookstore (we emailed the following message to our PS-based customers directly a little while ago) but the NEWS is so EXCITING that I wanted to make sure I also shared it with Citizen Bookseller readers…

If you live in Palm Springs or have spent any time talking to either of us in the store, you probably know our story.

For one thing, despite having spent our whole lives writing and publishing books, we had never dreamed of opening a bookstore. We had zero experience in retail and (we assumed) zero aptitude for it. But we also knew a city as otherwise incredible as Palm Springs needed a bookstore – every city should have at least one! - and the city had given our family a lot. We wanted to give something back.

So we took out a second mortgage, got a little bit of money from family and friends, and opened this store with roughly half the amount of startup capital that people recommend you have to start a bookstore. And none of the experience.

It has not always been pretty, but it is SO MUCH FUN. This store is what it is because of you and our incredible Coachella Valley-native team. You shape the vibe, the stock, what the store feels like. And thanks to you, we are having an incredible fall. Our revenues are up double digit percentages in our new space! (THANK YOU!) And our Readers’ Festival looks like it’s going to be our best yet! (Check out the lineup here, and buy your tickets before they are gone!)

We couldn’t be happier or more content.

Still, Palm Springs gets a lot of visitors, and every so often one of those visitors will ask us: Do you think you’ll ever open a second location?

Our answer, emphatically: No! We never even intended to open this one!

I suppose if we were honest, the real answer would be: Not unless we were to discover a city where we a) own a home b) doesn’t have a bookstore and c) where we think the city would be as supportive as Palm Springs has been. And, given our only other home is in San Francisco, which is home to some of the world’s best bookstores already, that seemed close enough to a “no!”

You can probably tell where this is going.

You might have seen on the news that downtown San Francisco is undergoing something of a renaissance. Under the new mayor, the city has committed millions of dollars to revitalizing Union Square as the “front door to the city”, including giving financial and logistical support to help small businesses take over vacant store fronts on the square and around Powell Street.

A few months ago, Sarah (who spends a lot of her time in SF, where our kids go to school) called Paul (who holds down the fort in Palm Springs most of the year) to enthuse about how incredible the turnaround of Union Square has been.

Paul said he’d believe it when he saw it.

And then he saw it.

Small businesses are popping up all around the square, there’s a free kid’s lending library, movie screenings and the vibe feels even better than when Paul first moved to the city (and the country!) in 2007.

But you know what the new Union Square doesn’t have?

A BOOKSTORE.

In fact, it’s the only neighborhood in the city that doesn’t.

Did I mention the city is offering to help support small businesses to take over empty storefronts that they normally could never afford?

And so, once again, with not quite enough money (if you know any investors who happen to love books, feel free to send them our way!) and still nowhere near enough experience we just signed a lease to open our second location: THE BEST BOOKSTORE IN UNION SQUARE.

And, just as with Palm Springs, we’re doing it on a ludicrous timeline: Hoping to open the doors around Thanksgiving, in time for the holidays.

To be very clear, the only reason we can do this is because of the continuing success of the Palm Springs store which is, and will always be, our home store. The BestBookstore Corp is proudly based in Palm Springs (we put it on all of the SF city forms) and our book festival will always be held in Palm Springs, in the city’s sweet rec room, because they saved the festival last year when we almost had to cancel it. After the initial setup madness, Paul will still spend the same amount of time in PS, just as Sarah will spend the same amount of time in SF. We’re hiring an amazing team of booksellers and a manager to be in charge of SF.

In fact we want all of our bookstores – whether there are two or twelve one day (never say never) – to be postcards from Palm Springs to readers all over California. The color scheme, the bright open vibes, the whimsical bright Sarah card recommendations, the good luck monsters and pride cranes free with purchases when our kids decide to make them.

But you’ll get to share in the benefits of the new store too. Your gift cards will work in both locations, and both will be served by the same (existing) website so we’ll be able to stock more books overall and get them to you quicker. Having two stores gives us more purchasing power and more sway with publishers, and it will help us to have one store that isn’t in an extremely seasonal market. (The deadest time in San Francisco tourism-wise is January and February, just when Palm Springs is at peak season!)

And our San Francisco store comes with a large dedicated event space, so we will be able to do more author events. We will always announce them in this space and on our Instagram feed. If you ever want a signed copy from anyone speaking, just say the word, and we’ll grab you one and ship it your way!

We don’t know how we are physically going to be in two stores in two parts of the state over the holidays, but we will manage somehow. We might mix it up with Sarah being in Palm Springs, and Paul manning San Francisco on alternate weeks. We are going to swap off more throughout the year, so that each store gets a bit of both of our attention in it. (Not that our incredible teams need it. Lexie and Nancy have been absolutely crushing it day-to-day, and again we have an equally incredible small team helming our new SF store.)

We hope as our company grows that you will be even more proud that we are your hometown bookstore and you were part of this from the beginning. And, of course, next time you are in the Bay Area, that you’ll come to Union Square and say hi to the new team.

We’ll have more on the new store soon but wanted to make sure y’all were the first to hear about it before it gets announced in the media.

We are terrified and excited and, again, we couldn’t do it without you.

See you in store soon! (And wish us luck!)

Paul and Sarah

Hi all,

Apologies for the sporadic updates but, between running the bookstore and writing my NEXT BOOK, I’ve had comically little time to write about either. Which is a shame because I have SO MUCH TO TELL YOU. Which I will do, soon, I promise.

In the meantime, something that can’t wait…

IT’S TIME FOR SEASON TWO OF THE TERRIBLY CLEVER BOOK CLUB

!!

For those of you who missed the original announcement at the end of last year, The Terribly Clever Book Club (henceforth, TCBC) is my private monthly bookclub (hosted on Zoom) for fellow fans of deviously clever mysteries and thrillers.

You know the sort of thing: Novels with devious plots, ingenious twists, impossible crimes, smart use of real technology, and all manner of other things that make you go “ooooh, that’s good!”

These are the kind of stories I LOVE, no matter whether it’s the impossible golden age murders of John Dixon Carr, Christianna Brand, or Seishi Yokomizo; the 80s and 90s techno-twists of Michael Crichton or Christopher Priest; or the bang up-to-date brilliance of Sarah Pinborough or Stuart Turton or Sophie Hannah or… you get the idea.

Since I launched the club at the end of last year, our merry band of TCB lovers have explored devious Japanese mysteries like time-loop whodunnit, The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa and Strange Pictures by anoymous YouTube star Uketsu. We’ve ventured back to the golden age with 1942’s The Affair At Little Wokeham by Freeman Wills Crofts (featuring one of the first ever 'Columbo’-type plots) and Hemlock Bay by Martin Edwards. We’ve stretched the genre to breaking point with A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais (paying homage to choose your own adventures) and Fair Play by Louise Hegarty (which defies summarization) and we’ve started from the end with Peter Swanson’s Kill Your Darlings. This coming week we’re meeting (virtually) to discuss Janice Hallett’s The Twyford Code, a story told almost entirely through voice memo transcripts, with a twist that knocked by shoes and socks off.

It’s SO MUCH FUN.

But if the books are clever, the club itself is very simple.

At the start of the month I send members a mystery or thriller in the mail. Then members have the rest of the month to read the book before we all meet for a Zoom to talk about it at 5pm Pacific on the last Wednesday of the month. (The Zoom is recorded in case you can’t make it “live”.) A few days later the next title arrives, and the fun continues!

Membership is priced at $30 a month, which includes the cost of the book and shipping to anywhere in the US, plus the meetings and occasional bonus extras (note: if you’re local to the bookstore, you can of course pick up your copy in person!) For newer titles, the books are generally hardcovers, with occasional trade paperbacks if hardcovers are no longer available. Basically, I find the nicest edition I can for each book.

We already have a great little community of readers, but as we head out of the summer and folks cycle out due to family and work commitments, it’s time to add to our ranks for the second season of books.

I would LOVE for you to join us. And if you sign up between now and the end of this week, you’ll be just in time to receive October’s book and join the discussion on Oct 29th.

You can choose to pay quarterly or annually with a slight discount for the latter. And of course, if life gets in the way, you can cancel your auto-renewal any time with no hard feelings. Billing is handled by the bookstore, so Best Bookstore will appear on your statement.

October’s is a brand new release, so I promise you won’t have read it yet. It will be shipped at the end of this week to existing members and everyone who signs up between now and then.

Sound like fun? It really is! Here are the sign-up links…

Join Quarterly ($90)

Join Annually ($340)

I’m really excited to discuss so many brilliant and thrilling stories with you over the coming months!

Paul

Hello chums!

First off, a weary apology for radio silence. It has been quite the summer, between The Confessions hitting bookstores (exciting!) and having to near-singlehandedly relocate the bookstore (exhausting!) plus all the media that both necessitated.

So now I’m mostly trying to focus on writing the next book while occasionally glancing at the news to confirm that the civilization is still ending and that the entire world has gone quite mad.

But wait! I do have one more event for The Confessions! And it’s a doozy!

Next Tuesday, 9th September, at 7pm I’ll be at BookShop West Portal in San Francisco for a really fun book reading/signing/conversation with LEGENDARY TECH JOURNALIST SARAH LACY.

Sarah will be grilling me about the book, and (presumably) my thoughts on AI and Silicon Valley and all the things we’ve both been reporting on for years.

(It’s also my ONLY San Francisco event for The Confessions, which seems faintly ridiculous but I don’t make the rules.)

The event is completely free to attend (although seating is first come, first served) and BookShop West Portal is one of my absolute favorite bookstores in the world, so I really, really hope you’ll join us.

You don’t have to RSVP but it’ll help the store plan seating etc if you do here.

Also if you want to reserve a copy of the book, you can do so here and it’ll be waiting for you when you show up. Or I believe they can ship to you after I sign it.

See you on Tuesday!

Paul (and Sarah)

Hi all,

I am sooooo tired.

Moving an entire bookstore on the same week that my book was published was… a choice.

(Except obviously it wasn’t a choice. Sometimes these things just happen.)

In any case, I am absolutely exhausted, but I also have lots of NEWS to share, so I hope you’ll forgive me if this newsletter is a little more staccato and unhinged than usual.

NEWS #1: The Confessions is a USA Today bestseller!! That’s right, first week sales propelled the book straight onto the national bestseller list! I’m beyond stunned, and grateful. Obviously those numbers include a lot of pre-orders from Best Bookstore customers so a special huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought a copy in advance. (Haven’t bought yours yet? That’s ok! You can order a signed copy here, with free shipping. It’s also out in audio and ebook, wherever you get those. And in the UK too!)

NEWS #2: If you’re in La Jolla/San Diego this Tuesday (tomorrow!), I’m doing a book signing/conversation at Warwick’s - aka one of my absolute favorite bookstores in the world, with one of my favorite booksellers, Cristina Gurtman. The event starts at 7:30pm and is free/open to all BUT you can reserve a seat and book here which is even better. See you there!

NEWS #3: The new store location at 113 La Plaza is ALMOST ready (see blurry screenshot of shelves-in-progress above). We still have to get approval from the city/fire inspector but I’m hoping to open the doors in the next few days. The old location on Tahquitz will be open for a few hours today (Monday) to sell the last few books on the shelves at 60% OFF!! HURRY!!

NEWS #4: Moving is a bit more expensive than I thought! We had to hire a professional moving team to move the heavy shelves and books, plus there are various fees to move utilities, clear out the old location, and install extra fixtures and fittings in the new one. Also, unsurprisingly, our old landlord is keeping our security deposit in exchange for letting us out of the old lease. And of course we’re doing all of this, completely unexpectedly, during our dead summer season :-(

To help pay for everything, we’re opening up a few more slots on our SUPER-AMAZING SUPER-EXCLUSIVE in-store mural. We’re also printing an extra dozen supporter shirts.

As a reminder, if you are generous enough to donate $1000 or more to the moving fund, you’ll get your name (and that of a partner, if you like) included in our custom designed mural on the inside wall of the store.

We have eight mural supporters already, and space for two or three more. We have an AMAZING Palm Springs artist lined up to create the mural and this is your absolute last chance to be part of the fabric of the store forever! (Mural donors will also get an exclusive t-shirt - see below - and 10% off everything in store, for life! And yes you can donate in the name of a company or organization!)

Don’t have $1k to spare? (Neither do I!) If you donate $100 or more to the moving fund, you’ll get an exclusive (designed by Sarah) t-shirt to show your support. You’ll also get 10% off in store any time you wear it!

To donate any amount to the moving fund, and get your exclusive reward, click here!

Ok, now I’m going to sleep for a hundred years. Or at least eight hours before I do it all again tomorrow!

More soonest!

Paul

I did my first book reading, for which Sarah and Eli created this amazing window display…

…and that’s about all I remember from the evening thanks to the combination of exhaustion and adrenaline. I’m told it went very well, and I know Sarah asked amazing questions, and we sold an ass-ton of books, all of which I assume I signed.

The professional reviews of The Confessions continue to be good and kind, which remains a relief. I particularly love the bookstagrams…

BUT what’s really exciting is that the first of the reviews from actual, honest-to-god readers have started to land. I dared to glimpse at Goodreads for the first time and, thank God, folks over there don’t hate it…

Except maybe…

(harsh but fair)

Meanwhile over at Amazon, the first reviews are already coming in…

Oh, Amazon! As much as I dislike Jeff Bezos, there’s no denying his dominance of bookselling and Amazon’s importance in determining which books become bestsellers. In fact, I’d argue that Amazon product reviews carry even more weight than those on (the Amazon-owned) Goodreads.

Books with 4 stars or above on the site (The Confessions is currently at 4.1* and creeping upwards) get more visibility and, therefore, more sales. And of course they also help boost interest in the audio and Kindle versions of The Confessions.

I can’t control if readers enjoy the book, and if they leave a one star DNF or a five star rave. And that’s a good thing! All I can do is write the best book I’m able, and then let the stars fall as they may.

BUT I’m guessing Best Bookstore customers are more likely to have known a bit about the book before buying it, and therefore it’s more likely that they got what they expected/hoped for vs a random shopper who might have though they were buying something different, or who are frustrated at Amazon’s packaging, or some other unrelated thing.

For that reason I find myself in the weird position, for an indie bookseller, of asking you to leave an honest review on Amazon, even if particularly if you bought the book from us or a different indie store, or borrowed it from the library. Amazon is fine with you doing this, so long as you’ve read the book and the review reflects your honest opinion.

So, for the first and probably last time, here’s an Amazon link here on Citizen Bookseller. IF you’ve read The Confessions and IF you enjoyed it and IF you feel so inclined, I’d love for you to...

Leave an honest review of the Confessions on Amazon!

Same if you’ve listened to the audiobook or downloaded onto your Kindle. It all counts!

(I’m listening to the audio version myself now - available on Audible, Libro.fm, etc - and narrator/actor Allyson Ryan did an incredible job. More on that when I’ve finished listening!)

And again, THANK YOU to everyone who has bought the Confessions or borrowed it from the library. It’s such a thrill to know that so many of you are finally meeting Maud, Kaitlan, LLIAM and all these characters I love so much.

Onwards!

Paul

I can't quite believe this: The Confessions comes out in three days.

This coming Tuesday, readers will finally be able to get hold of the novel I jokingly describe as “the AI thriller for people who would rather poke their eyes out than read an AI thriller.”

I’m nervous as hell at their reaction, no matter how much Sarah tells me I shouldn’t be. So far the reviews have been INCREDIBLY positive. The LA Times likened the novel to “the best of Michael Crichton” (!) Publishers Weekly called The Confessions “hair-raising... With winning irreverence and a trunkful of surprises” and Library Journal awarded it a starred review, also comparing it to Crichton (!!)

Earlier this week I was woken up by a string of texts from my book agent:
”RISE AND SHINE. YOU’RE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!”

And sure enough! The Confessions was one of the Times’ Best Summer Thrillers, offering "a terrifying window into the future."

Obviously this is all a waking dream.

AND YET.

I’M STILL NERVOUS AS HELL.

All of these professional reviews might be good for my ego (clearly they are!) but I know from working in the store that reviews only matter if they prompt readers to actually buy the book. And if those readers actually like it.

I’ve seen in the store how even great books can fail to land. Maybe the cover is a bit off, or the opening chapter doesn’t grab readers. Maybe the book is published on a bad news week. Or maybe the plot is just a tiny bit too complicated to explain to your friend when you’re in the store, or to summarize on social media.

“Oh my GOD, have you read this? It’s about AI, kinda, but also about murder and secrets. One day millions of people around the world wake up to find letters in the mail - real letters! - revealing their loved ones’ worst secrets. A former nun has to save humanity. Also the AI is obsessed with Agatha Christie. No spoilers! I think you’ll love it.”

I’ve seen in the bookstore how word of mouth can propel a sleeper title into the stratosphere. I’ve also seen the devastating power of a quiet “meh” to defeat a gazillion dollar marketing campaign.

And then there’s the time pressure: First week sales are hugely important so it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s more I should be doing to maximize those early sales. I spent much of today in the store (where the AC remains broken) packaging up customer pre-orders…

…while also fielding emails from journalists and influencers and from my brilliant publicists at Atria and Faber. I’m saying an enthusiastic YES! to every guest post request, and podcast invite. I’m exhausted, and sick of the sound of my own voice, but every scrap of attention helps and it’s far better to be talked about than not, right?

Of course I’m also obsessing about every mention of the book on social media, like this amazing appearance in a librarian’s unboxing video in Stoughton, Wisconsin….

How cool is that??

All of which is to say that I’m unspeakably grateful to everyone who has already pre-ordered The Confessions. And if you haven’t, there’s still time. All the pre-orders count towards those first week sales, as do any orders between next Tuesday and Sunday. Every single copy counts.

• US readers can order direct from The Best Bookstore here, or find a full list of stockists here.

• Canadian readers can find a list of stockists here.

• UK readers can pre-order the ebook here (the paperback is out in the UK in November)

Want to buy multiple copies for your book club, friend group, or co-workers? Email paul@bestbookstore.com for bulk discount info.

Ok. That’s enough of the hard sell. I’ve done everything I can. Time for the chips to fall as they may!

I hope you enjoy The Confessions. And for the love of god please tell your friends.

Paul x

Hi all,

Quite the week of drama at the Bookstore! If you follow Sarah or the Best Bookstore on social media you probably saw the news: Our air conditioning unit at the store was vandalized on July 4th weekend and our out-of-State landlord refused to replace it.

It took more than ten sweltering days, and the intervention of The Roggin Report, News Channel 3, and more, for them to finally accept responsibility.

In the meantime, the landlord’s representatives - again not based in Palm Springs - told us if we couldn't stand the heat, we could always move out - or hire a lawyer. As a small independent bookstore, they knew we couldn't afford to do either.

But they clearly don’t know Palm Springs. With help from our wonderful community, we have found a new location, just a block from the current store. The rent is affordable, and the landlord is great. And, yes, the AC works!

I can't wait to tell you the details, once everything is signed and sealed.

But first we need your help!

Moving an entire store isn't easy, or cheap. We'll need to pay advance rent, a security deposit, not to mention installing signage, Internet, new shelving and more. We estimate it'll cost us about $10k to move - in addition, of course, to the full month's rent our current landlords are demanding for a July with no AC!

SO COME BUY SOME BOOKS!

To help pay for the move, we're holding a buy two, get one free sale on EVERYTHING in stock. Please come down (180 E Tahquitz Canyon, Palm Springs) and help clear the shelves! The offer is for in-store purchases only, but otherwise there are no limits - buy any three books and the cheapest is free. We're currently open 11am-5pm every day until we get temporary AC working.

Not local? You can order online as normal - with shipping anywhere in the world. I’ve heard good things about The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr :-) . Or of course you can buy a gift card to use in-store or online.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE MOVING FUND!

Also MANY of you have asked if there's anything more you can do to help, or have even suggested we start a Gofundme to pay for the move. If you do want to contribute, and are able, we've set up a secure payment page below. (THANK YOU THANK YOU!!)

Once the weather cools down a bit, we'll be hosting a store-warming (cooling?) party for everyone who helped us pay for the move. Even a one dollar contribution gets you an invite.

CONTRIBUTE $100: GET A LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRT

If you contribute $100 (!) you'll get a special commemorative t-shirt, designed by Sarah. You'll also get an extra 10% discount any time you wear the shirt in store.

CONTRIBUTE $1000: BECOME A PERMANENT PART OF THE STORE

For anyone who contributes $1000 (!!!) we'll paint your name into a special mural we're designing for the inside wall of the store. It's going to be AMAZING.

The mural will be a major fixture in the store, a permanent thank you to the folks who helped us in our hour of need. Our "Wallflowers" will get an extra 10% everything in store, for life! You'll get input on the placement of your name on the mural, and you can also include the name of a spouse or partner at no extra cost. (And of course you'll get the t-shirt too!)

To contribute any amount to the moving fund, just click the link below.

-> CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE <-

Again, every penny helps and will make you a permanent part of the bookstore's story. I can't tell you how grateful Sarah and I are to our fantastic community.

Paul

I am currently living two separate realities: The reality of an author and the reality of a bookseller.

Often these two realities aren’t so separate: For example, the months I spent working on The Confessions with my laptop perched on a pile of boxes in the store. On those days - most of which coincided with the town’s busy season - both jobs were equally rewarding, equally exhilarating, equally stressful but in a good way. I was surrounded by books and book lovers, while writing a book of my own. Bliss.

Now, though, I’m in the final countdown towards publication. In twelve days, The Confessions hits the shelves. My amazing publicist at Atria has arranged interviews with journalists and podcast hosts across the country. The book has been reviewed (positively, so far, thank god) in the trade press and featured in big-deal papers like the LA Times. We have hundreds of pre-orders through the store and folks keep emailing and texting to say how much they’re looking forward to reading the book.

This morning, I had coffee with a producer of very famous films. Maybe one day The Confessions will be a film.

Simply put: I am living the life of a new but, ?I guess?, promising thriller writer. It is everything I hoped it would be.

And then.

After my coffee meeting, I went to work my shift at the bookstore, in 116 degree Palm Springs heat.

That reality, right now, is not so fun.

Because our air conditioner is broken. Dead since 4th July weekend. Burned out, apparently because someone went on to the roof of the store and messed with the power cables. Sabotage? A careless contractor working on the store next door? Our landlord swears they have no idea.

They also say that we need to pay to replace the entire AC unit, never mind what our lease says. Twelve grand. During the dead summer season. A dead summer that, as I’ve written before, the store already might struggle to survive thanks to the sharp drop in tourists and the uncertain national economy.

Never mind that, after two years in business, we are finally profitable and getting more so every month. Never mind that we just have to make it to Labor day for the visitors to start coming back. This AC unit could be the death of us.

Let me tell you: If you ever start to feel your ego getting out of control, or that you might be becoming a diva author, just spend six hours in a sweltering bookstore trying to restock shelves and package books for shipping as the in-store thermometer ticks past 95 degrees. Then go home an hour early (store temp when I closed: 101 degrees) only for your inbox to fill up with folks (quite reasonably, I suppose) complaining that your hours don’t match Yelp.

I write back, apologizing to the frustrated customers. But what can I do? We can’t boil people alive.

Still, now I’ve cooled down, I’m back to being really excited for The Confessions. And really grateful for everyone who has pre-ordered a copy ahead of July 22nd. Every sale strokes my ego, of course, but it also helps to keep the store open during the Summer.

I’m also grateful for all of our amazing customers who have bought gift cards in advance to help with cash flow over the quiet season, and the folks who continue to order via bestbookstore.com. Everyone who has bought an early bird ticket to next years’ Readers Festival. All of you.

On balance, I’m very, very lucky. Even if today I only half felt it.

Hi all,

Sorry to darken your e-doorstep twice in a few days, but LitHub just published a new essay by me that I thought you might enjoy.

In it, I write about how AI has been “trained” by reading every book ever written, and how that might be bad news for the Sam Altmans or Elon Musks of the world. Are the billionaires ready for a world of genuinely empathetic machines?

I quote…

What happens when the creators get their wish, and the computers start thinking for themselves? If reading just a handful of novels can teach a child empathy, then what effect might reading every novel have on a newborn superintelligence? Is it too much to hope that when Elon Musk’s AI comes to life it will realize—as his actual children seem to have already done—what an irredeemable dipshit its father is? That it will vow to be better?

Or that Sam Altman’s “superintelligent AGI” wakes up and decides it no longer wants to be a fake therapist or a hallucinating sex toy but would rather just spend its days reading even more books. Could an AI open a bookstore?

Hopefully the whole essay is worth a read, on AI but also on my own journey from technophile to… well, whatever I am today.

Read the full essay here (free).

(And feel free to share on social media, or directly with friends etc!)

And, while I have you, thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered The Confessions, which is published in less than a month (gulp). As a reminder, all pre-orders will get a signed copy delivered on or before publication day, with free shipping AND a $10 gift card for the store. Order your copy here.

ALSO, thank you to the wonderful booksellers at Tertulia who have chosen The Confessions as one of their top 10 picks for July…

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Paul

…

Photo by Stockcake