Petaluma Bestsellers: Christopher Moore’s ‘Razzmatazz’ dazzling local readers

The top selling titles at Copperfield’s Books, in Petaluma, for the week of May 16 to May 22, 2022

In preparation for novelist Christopher Moore’s much-anticipated in-person appearance at Copperfield’s on Thursday, May 26, local fans have been snapping up his new release, “Razzmatazz.” The sequel to 2019’s “Noir,” a fantastical homage to pulpy 1940s detective fiction, the new one is once again delivered with the author’s patented brand of unpredictable bawdiness, farce, fantasy, horror and brilliantly crafted wordsmithing.

“Razzmatazz,” not surprisingly ranking as this week’s No. 1 bestselling book, continues the story of San Francisco bartender (and part-time private eye) Sammy “Two Toes” Tiffin, his girlfriend Stilton and his colorful band of associates, aka “mugs.” This time around, their mutual misadventures involve a stolen statue, a questionably ethical driving school, a bunch of golden-hearted hookers trying to get to a Christmas party in an unlikely location, and a secret project at the shipyard that has drawn the attention of mysterious government agents. As if that’s not enough plot, Moore adds a string of murders that only Sammy can solve.

Oh right, and there’s a dragon.

Most of the rest of this week’s bestselling fiction and nonfiction books are novels, many with fantastical elements, from Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara and the Sun” (No. 2), about the inner lives of artificial people (think “robots”) to Madeline Miller’s “The Song of Achilles” (No. 8) and “Circe” (No. 10), both based on characters from Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”

The lone nonfiction work on the list is Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz’s “Golden: The Power of Silence in a World of Noise” (No. 4), an entertaining exploration of quiet in all its forms, with ear-opening visits to San Quentin’s death row, underground brain research laboratories, remote rainforests and the main stage of a heavy metal festival. It may be about the spiritual and emotional importance of quiet, but it’s also this week’s No. 4 book – so clearly, the book is making a lot of noise.

Here is the complete Top 10 Books on Copperfield’s Fiction and Nonfiction list, along with the full Kids and Young Adults list.

FICTION & NON-FICTION

1. ‘Razzmatazz,’ by Christopher Moore – A sequel to the farce-fueled whodunit “Noir,” this new release from Moore takes characters from the earlier novel and puts them through even wilder escapades, all told with spot-on, deliciously hardboiled prose.

2. ‘Klara and the Sun,’ by Kazuo Ishiguro – In the future, a sun-worshipping AF (Artificial Friend) dedicates herself selflessly – perhaps a too selflessly – to the flesh-and-blood folks she was created to serve.

3. ‘The Priory of the Orange Tree,’ by Samantha Shannon – Released in 2019, this epic 800-page fantasy puts a feminist spin on several tropes of the genre, from magical kingdoms, an evil and ancient adversary, and dragons.

4. ‘Golden,’ by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz – Subtitled “The Power of Silence in a World of Noise,” this nonfiction page-turner is an entertaining exploration of the importance of quiet, and how to cultivate it for emotional health and spiritual strength.

5. ‘Book Lovers,’ by Emily Hinery – From the author of “People We Meet on Vacation” comes another romantic comedy of errors, once again involving an unlikely pairing of two people who seem totally wrong for each, and possibly really are.

6. ‘Becoming Story,” by Greg Sarris – The Sonoma County writer (“Grand Avenue”) teacher and tribal leader (he’s the chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria) has produced another remarkable book, this one a memoir, of sorts, told through a series of essays about hist connection to the natural world.

7. ‘Galapagos,” by Kurt Vonnegut – This 1985 oddity from the great literary fantasist begins with a group of strangers escaping the worst of humanity and then jumps ahead to their not-quite-human (but a lot less dangerous) descendants a million years in the future. It’s funny, but not, but of course yes, it’s funny.

8. ‘Song of Achilles,’ by Madeline Miller - The 2012 debut novel from the author of “Circe,” this mythological deep-dive explores the iconic love affair between Greek warriors Achilles and Patroclus.

9. ‘Plot,’ by Jean Hanff Korelitz – A suspenseful, carefully-crafted character study about a struggling novelist who “borrows” a delicious plot suggestion from an obnoxious (and recently dead) writer, only to find himself neck-deep in a rapidly rising tide of accusations and unraveling mysteries.

10. ‘Circe,’ by Madeline Miller – The notorious animal-transforming sorceress from “The Odyssey” tells her own story, and guess what! It’s not the same story told by the piggish men she encountered.

KIDS & YOUNG ADULTS

1. ‘The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza,’ by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris – Rats are eating the moon. There is only one solution, and it involves sending a cat into space, with hilariously unpredictable results.

2. ‘Baby-Sitters Club: Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye,’ by Ann M. Martin – The adventures continue, this time with plot problems involving the announcement that Stacey is moving back to New York, which means huge changes for all who know and love her.

3. ‘The Bad Guys: Mission Unpluckable,’ by Aaron Blabey – Now the stars of a hit animated movie, Blabey’s (somewhat) reformed criminal animals launch another caper-like adventure.

4. ‘The School for Good and Evil,’ by Soman Chainani – In the Endless Woods, students are trained to be fairytale heroes or villains at a school run by two brothers, one of them good, predictably enough, and the other quite evil.

5. ‘The Good Girl's Guide to Murder,’ by Holly Jackson – As her high school’s senior project, a teenager attempts to prove the wrong person is in jail for a closed case murder in her small town, possibly drawing the attention of the real murderer.

6. ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,’ by Rick Riordan – A kid discovers his long-lost dad was a Greek god, and now he has to attend a school for other illegitimate god-progeny, where he soon battles monsters and learns a thing or two about lightning.

7. ‘Bravely,’ by Maggie Stiefvater – A YA sequel, in novel form, to Disney-Pixar’s “Brave,” in which a 20-year-old Merida sets off on three quests to save her family from a Celtic god of chaos.

8. ‘All Our Hidden Gifts,’ by Caroline O'Donoghue – Paranormal activities at an Irish boarding school for girls change the life of a teenager who’s just discovered a mysterious Tarot deck and mix-tape of music from the ‘90s.

9. ‘How to Money,’ by Jean Chatzky and Kathryn Tuggle – A visual guide to managing finances for young adults.

10. ‘Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives,’ by Dav Pilkey – An inventive riff on his own graphic novel style, Pilkey employs numerous different art techniques to tell a series of stories within the story, mostly from the points of view of several baby frogs.

Data compiled by Amber-Rose Reed, Manager of Copperfield’s Book.