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Hello all of you readers, book hunters and subscribers to brilliant newsletters,

A couple of months ago, I read the right book at the right time. The weather had turned all Sturm und Drang on me and the entire world of geopolitics was slipping down to abysmal depths.

The book is not new and that is precisely the point. To the One I Love the Best was first published in 1955 and has just been re-issued by Pushkin Press.

To keep it short, this is the wittiest, most charming recounting of the author’s friendship with disarming, eccentric décoratrice Elsie de Wolfe.

If vintage Champagne was a book, this is what it would taste like!

Great wits of the past are my favourite. Dorothy Parker was the meanest of all and this why I adore her. I lined up with many of you for the Fran Lebowitz show in Montreal with guilty pleasure, knowing that not much is sacred to her. We read, we watch, we listen, and we laugh but too often we stay silent, wary of offending anyone.

So, let’s keep it light and revive the forgotten art of witty repartee where a bit of bitchy is allowed, stupid is banned, and clever encouraged. The world is in dire need of some lightheartedness.

Be pretty if you can, be witty if you must, but be gracious if it kills you. Elsie de Wolfe

Aude

RECENT STAFF READS

AUDE:

The Sweet Indifference of the World.

Reading this slim novel by Swiss German author Peter Stamm is entering a hall of mirrors where past, present, fiction and reality are reflecting each other infinitely. A story of multiple doppelgängers taking place in Sweden but also in Switzerland and Spain now, then and way back when. I loved Stamm’s direct and concise style that plays with your mind like a chess master’s. It also helped kind of make sense of it all in the end. Or not. Trust me, you will enjoy it.

Voyager

Chilean author Nona Fernandez knows how to write short books better than anyone. After reading Twilight Zone, I knew I would follow her to the end of the universe. Her newly released translation, Voyager takes us exactly there. We do contain multitudes and Fernandez weaves them poetically through astronomy, astrology, history, neuroscience, family, politics, grief and love.

Be warned that it will be recommended to you. A lot.

BRAEDAN:

How High? —That High

Diane Williams serves a collection of emotionally dense stories in digestible portions. The result is one of my favourite short story collections of 2023. It is sharp, experimental, and full of hidden gems.

Robert Walser, Looking at Pictures

Looking at a man looking at pictures who, in turn, makes us look at ourselves. I questioned whether I could adore Walser more than I already did—after reading this, I do!

Coming soon.

MARCH NEWS

We will do our best to ignore the extremely disappointing calendar arrival of Spring usually welcomed with sleet and snow in Montreal. We might pick that day to take down the winter fairy lights that still dangle in the windows, just to make sure the day is as festive as you expect it to be.

This month, we will Erin go bragh all the way and celebrate St Patrick’s Day with a dedicated Irish table at the store. This should come as no surprise considering our dedication to Irish literature. Publishers also noticed the date and they released a couple of new titles for the occasion.

The Queen of Dirt Island

Donal Ryan in all his tender, touching, funny, poetic glory. If you loved Strange Flowers, you will worship The Queen of Dirt Island even if you hate the cover.

A Guest at the Feast

Elegant essays by Colm Toibin telling it like it is on many topics in and around his life and also Venice.

Foster

Just thought we would mention Claire Keegan to make sure that perfection doesn’t go unnoticed. She will be sitting at the head of the table, a reminder that there is more than one female author in Ireland, if you see what we mean.

We Don't Know Ourselves

A Personal History of Modern Ireland

The New York Times Book Review described it best: Fintan O’Toole wrote “a sly, self-deprecating biography that infuses his sociology with humor and pathos.”

Just released as a paperback that looks much less intimidating than the doorstop hardcover.

NEW IN TRANSLATION

The Flowers of Buffoonery

Because we love and trust New Directions Publishers so much, we will quote directly from their blurb: ‘For the first time in English, Osamu Dazai’s hilariously comic and deeply moving prequel to No Longer Human.’ Also, Patti Smith is a fan.

War Diary

Ukrainian artist and author Yevgenia Belorusets wrote Lucky Breaks, a slim upbeat volume that we have been restocking regularly since it came out in March 2022. A year later, this new book documents her life in Kyiv during the first weeks of the Russian invasion. It is like hearing a friend you trust describe a life you cannot imagine living. Must read.

NEW IN FICTION

I Have some Questions for You

Rebecca Makkai’s new whodunit page turner garnered great reviews. None of us have read it yet but we cannot wait.

Birnam Wood

Another hardcover thriller? Really? What is happening at De Stiil? Well, Eleanor Catton is happening. We will even forgive the hideous dust jacket, that’s how highly we think of her.

NEW IN NON FICTION

12 Bytes

Essays on Artificial Intelligence by Jeanette Winterson. The topic that keeps us awake at night as seen by one of our most favourite authors in the bookstore.

Anaximander: And the Birth of Science

Carlo Rovelli’s book on philosopher Anaximander and his prescience that makes sense 2000 years later.

The Creative Act

Written by legendary music producer Rick Rubin, this book took us completely by surprise. We had no idea so many of you wanted it so much. Has been feverishly reordered. See how little we know! Wonderful cover art by the way.

How to Think Like a Woman: Four Women Philosophers Who Taught Me How to Love the Life of the Mind

We read the galleys a few months ago and we loved this book by Regan Penaluna. It is a funny, intelligent, chatty meditation on what philosophy would be if women had been allowed to contribute to it. Regan will come to the store in August to talk about the book and sign it for you.

Coming soon

Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock

You probably remember Jenny Odell from her previous book, How to Do Nothing. This new release is just as life-changing, and it fits perfectly with the philosophy of the store. Forget the clock and please lose the cell phone. Remember to take your time for your very own enjoyment and nobody else’s profit.

NEW IN PAPERBACK

Checkout 19

Claire-Louise Bennett

The Fell

Sarah Moss

Sea of Tranquility

Emily St. John Mandel

BOOKSTORE NEWS

CONCERT MARCH 12 6:30 - 9:30 pm

March 12, we are hosting an intimate concert with two fantastic jazz/soul musicians: Kubla and Jack Page. There’s a limited number of tickets, so please purchase in advance.

Tickets: $20

A very interesting article

We received this wonderful piece about the bookstore. The author completely understood our irreverent purpose and described it with a stylish tone I envy. Their other entries are just as witty. Make sure you subscribe if you enjoy good literature. Meanwhile, here it is:

Olivia is back until the month of July!

She just could not live without us and that’s all there is to it.

She will mastermind Page Breaks the way only she knows how. You will also find her at the bookstore on Saturday mornings so Aude can wake up late, walk around in her Pjs and read books.

A reminder that Braedan oversees all events

So make sure that you get in touch with him to organize anything at the store. He will also be the one who shows up if you invite us to your events so Aude can stay up late and read more books on her couch. His email is braedan@destiil.com.

We have new bookmarks

with room to write comments on the book and 5 Goodreads-ready stars that you are welcome to color in your spare time once you have discovered life beyond the clock.

March on and Happy Reading!