I haven’t been on a group hike, kayak, or paddle board trip in 2 years. Unfortunately many of the groups that got together for these kinds of trips fell apart and lost contact during COVID and many of the businesses are still recovering and haven’t been organizing group events. I’m pretty excited to be getting out and enjoying the water and hopefully making some new friends. Although I have been to the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park and Lookout Mountain area several times to hike or kayak I’ve never kayaked through dam locks. According to the event description (https://explorerchick.com/adventures/kayaking-tour-through-the-chickamauga-dam-lock/) we are going to lower about 5 stories. I’m really looking forward to this!
A couple of weeks ago I shared my memories of going to the library as a child through starting college on my Facebook page. My stroll down memory lane was inspired by a post made by Sean Dietrich about getting a new library card since moving to Birmingham, AL, which is also where lived for college. Thirty-something years after the first time I stepped into a library I still feel a little tingle of magic.
Libraries are special places. I was (still am) a voracious reader, so my trips to the library as a kid focused mostly on the books themselves. I always checked out the allowable limit, and the fact that there was a limit meant I had to make decisions about which book I wanted more. Pretty much the only service I would be interested in until adulthood arrived was the summer reading camp. As an adult, however, I have used many of the services and programs; place to study, free usage of computers and internet, meetings held in the conference spaces, lectures, presentations, and digital resources.
Let’s kick of Library Week with a term coined by the American Library Association, TheE’s of Libraries. “Libraries, with the Expert assistance of library professionals, help facilitate: Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Empowerment, and Engagement for Everyone, Everywhere.” Connect with your local library to see what services and programs are available that you would enjoy or benefit from. In many places it is also possible to get a library card to the local library where you work, if that is a different library system from where you live.
Libraries offer GED, college prep and vocational prep for a variety of entrance and placement exams. Look for programs for assistance with filling out applications to college or trade schools, for scholarships and financial aid, or tutoring and mentoring. Taking a course online and need a proctor for your exam? Check with your local librarian, even if it isn’t listed as a service there is likely someone that meets the requirements to be a proctor that may be willing to help. Have questions about the Healthcare Marketplace, Medicaid, and Medicare? The library routinely offers programs and workshops with professionals that can answer your questions. Many libraries offer walking groups so you can get your steps in safely, yoga/chair yoga, meditation, and more. Thinking of starting a business? Check with your library for resources, reference guides, and form templates. Agencies and organizations like the Small Business Administration, local business associations, chambers of commerce, and economic development boards often hold workshops or presentations at your local library.
A few days ago I wrote about shopping at independent bookstores and my new hobby of collecting signed books. The algorithm wizardry immediately sprang into action to show me even more reasons to shop independent’s and even more available events.
If you are reading this blog chances are that you are part of the bookish community.
bookish, adjective 1. Of or relating to books Fond of books and reading 2. Inclined to rely on book knowledge of words: literary and formal as opposed to colloquial and informal given to literary or scholarly pursuits
This is the community most served by the independent bookstores and the ones that lose the most when one closes. In my experience the mall or shopping center chain stores tend to hire anyone that wants a part-time retail job, no different than working in a clothing or accessories store. An independent bookstore tends to be staffed by other bookish people, those who are genuinely interested in helping you find what you are looking for and making recommendations. It’s not a criticism, it’s just the business model. Independent stores take a genuine interest in authors, the interests of their customers, and provide much more than just the transactional exchange of money for goods.
“In short, buy books from people who want to sell books, not colonize the moon.”
The COVID pandemic changed many things in our world including our reading and book buying habits. While book sales did bump up a bit, the sales didn’t go to the small businesses. The American Booksellers Association has warned that we have lost an average of one independent bookstore per week since the beginning of the pandemic. The Book Industry Charitable Foundation receives 8-10 calls per week from booksellers requesting emergency assistance. Pre-pandemic the charm and lure of the independent bookstore was the in-person experience and the bookstore’s ability to curate their offerings and events to their physical surroundings; a bookstore in a very urban west cost store would not look like or carry the same books and events as an east coastal tourist town store, or a small southern town would. Pre-pandemic independent books stores did very little mailing out of orders, the overwhelming majority of their sales were in store. When the pandemic shut down the nearby restaurants that provided the foot traffic for their window displays and non-essential businesses were forced to close or at best have curbside pick up the very features that made independent bookstores great was also the reason they were among the hardest hit.
“If you want Amazon to be the world’s only retailer, keep shopping there.”
Saving small independent bookstores is essential. If Amazon succeeds in crushing them the result will be that fewer people will read and those that do will read fewer books. There will also be fewer paper books available and more books will be on devices and therefore they can’t be shared among friends and neighbors. In the past you could lend books from your Kindle library to a friend, that has now been limited to only sharing withing your family and you can only loan a title out once. The fear of Amazon taking over the market and pushing out independent stores was the impetus for Andy Hunter’s creation of BookShop.org, which he likens to “taking a shot at the Death Star.” Independent stores operate on razor thin margins, where Amazon can sell books at a loss; which means you might be gaining a book at a great price, but losing the bookstores in exchange. Personally, I’d rather pay a few bucks more and keep the independent book stores.
‘Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord.’
Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451
Some ideas for supporting independent bookstores:
Use Bookshop.org to order your books. It was created to support independent bookstores and over 75% of the profit goes back to stores, authors, and small publishers. You pick the bookstore that benefits from your purchase; pick one and leave your account on that store or change the store up occasionally. Like audio books? Check out Libro.fm Much like that other service its a subscription at $14.99 a month that gives you one book credit and then 30% off any other books you buy. Unlike that other service your dollars are split with the bookstore of your choice. You can also buy books a la carte if you prefer not to have a subscription. Buy directly from independent bookstores. Here are some of my favorites, and most of these I found by Facebook events, Eventbrite, and Instagram.
The Poisoned Pen Bookstore – they host author events regularly, have a webstore, a Youtube channel, and a podcast. I have started collecting author signed books and Poisoned Pen has a great supply; tonight I watched the Facebook Live interview with Janet Evanovich about her new book The Recovery Agent and ordered a signed copy from the webstore. Since I also picked up two other books while browsing the store I also got free shipping. And, like most other independent bookstores, they do not charge to watch the interview and the price of the signed book is just the price of the book- no extra charge. BTW- Outlander and Diana Gabaldon fans. They have quite a few signed books available from Outlander #1 at $18.00, the Outlander Companion Cookbook at $35.00, to Go Tell the Bees I am Gone at $36.00.
The Avid Bookshop offers several amazing services. First the Avid Matchbook– miss going into the bookstore and chatting with the staff to pick out your next read? Answer the questions on their custom form and a staff member will back to you with personalized recommendations and will chat with you to tweak your suggestions or give you follow up recommendations. Then there is the Snail Mail Subscription– Each month, the subscriptions team hand-selects a separate title for each subscriber, each one tailored to suit his, her, or their individual tastes. Avid offers three-month, six-month, and twelve-month options. Payment plans are available if a customer prefers not to pay for an entire subscription in one transaction. We are also willing to stagger the arrival of the books to suit each subscriber’s reading schedule. For example, we have a couple subscribers who like to receive their books every other month, rather than month by month. They also offer a Snail Mail Surprise: They also have hand picked gift boxes- Get Well (can be modified for adults), Summer Reading, and New Baby.
A Room of One’s Own offers Roxane Gay’s 2022 12mo Audacious Book Club Subscription Box ($35 of each subscription will go to a scholarship for writers of color and Black writers at the First Wave program at UW-Madison.), and 6 & 12 month subscription boxes in a variety of genres and themes.
Foggy Pine Books offers several book clubs that meet online, including a Queer Lit monthly discussion group. They also offer a hand curated Mystery Box and the Found in the Fog Subscription Box that is literally anything you want it to be; “Whatever you need from a book subscription box, we’re here to help you get it. Our passion is helping readers find the books that are meant for them–that they stay up until 3am reading & clutch dramatically to their chests when they’re done, books that they can’t stop talking about & recommend to all their friends. Because to us, that’s what books truly are–joy & community. Our subscription boxes are crafted with a lot of love & knowledge but the answers you supply to this form are crucial to the success of your subscription. The more info you give us about what you (or the recipient) enjoy reading, the better we can choose books that fit your reading journey. If you’re not sure what our questions mean or if you’re including the right info, don’t hesitate to reach out.” Wow.
I don’t have an independent small local bookstore. The only bookstore within 30 miles is a Books-A-Million in the mall. Don’t get me wrong, its a perfectly ok place to go after a dinner to get a coffee and browse books; but it doesn’t provide the same benefits to the community that an independently owned store would. Once upon a time almost all bookstores were independently owned, and then Amazon was created and we lost about 40% of the independent bookstores before the pandemic started. Independent bookstores contribute to a communities’ uniqueness and bring readers together in a way Amazon can’t. Pre-COVID we would probably have been referring to community and readers as those within the physical vicinity of the bookstore. During the pandemic, however, many bookstores began using online tools to have virtual author events, book clubs, and other meet and greet events. Now the community looks more like a group of people that like a particular author, a true crime book club, a coffee and poetry night; all things that you may not have had access to before unless you lived in a larger city. Many independent bookstores had a monthly book club, but not a specialty topic club and most store could only put on one or two events a month. So unless you lived in a large metro area with several bookstores your options might still be limited, but not anymore.
During the pandemic I rediscovered my love of paper books (vs a Kindle). Yes, the kindle can be much easier to carry, but I wasn’t carrying my book with me anymore since I went to WFH. Then I discovered the joy of signed books; I love having a book signed by the author. I consider books works of art, so this is the difference to me in owning a print vs a signed painting. Turns out that independent bookstores rarely charge more for a book at a signing event than the book costs on any other day and shipping charges are very reasonable. I’ve totally blown my book budget now because I can easily attend 2-3 author events a month (virtually) and my signed copy of the book arrives a week later. Greatest thing ever.
Earlier this month Phoenix Books in Vermont (1,000 miles/ 16 hrs according to Google from my location) had a virtual book launch with author Laurie Forest for The Demon Tide, the 4th book in The Black Witch Chronicles. Not only did I get to interact with the author from the comfort of my own home, I ordered the entire series SIGNED. I checked the prices against Amazon while writing this blog and there isn’t more than $5 difference either higher or lower difference. You are getting way more bang for your buck at Phoenix. The books are still on the website and since she is local-ish to the store you can still get signed copies by going here.
If you happen to be into cake decorating Sheri Wilson of Caketopia: Your Guide to Decorating Buttercream Cakes with Flair will be on next week demonstrating her Enchanted Forest Cake.
If you haven’t read The Redhead of Auschwitz, you should. It is the story of Rosie written by her granddaughter Nechama Birnbaum. Rosie’s amazing story of survival and resilience is captured by her granddaughter in a way that alternates glimpses into her childhood, the “before, with experiences in the concentration camp, the “after”, until the two merge together in time. It is exceptionally well written, but they were told by a publisher that it would likely only sell 300 copies. Another reason to support your independent book stores, they support smaller writers and writers that are just beginning, not just the blockbuster sellers. If you contact Blue Door Books in Cedarhurst, NY 516-837-0040 you can own a paper copy signed by Rosie; this particular book isn’t just a book to me, its a piece of history I am holding in my hands.
At the end of the month I’ll be attending an event with Kate Quinn as she discusses her newest book, The Diamond Eye at Warwick’s, the country’s oldest continuously family-owned and operated bookstore. You can attend the virtual event free (although I highly encourage a small donation to help defray the costs of broadcasting the event), or you can order a signed copy of her book to pick up if you are attending in person or shipped to you if you are attending virtually. I’m not feeling a 2,000 mile plane ride or road trip, so I’m going to be virtual for this one too.
These virtual events also open up hearing authors that I may not have otherwise gotten the opportunity to hear. Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, for example, will be speaking about The Love Songs of W.E.B.DuBois this Sunday, March 20th from Source Booksellers in Detroit, MI. If you are an English student at the University of Oklahoma you may be able to get into a class with Professor Jeffers, otherwise opportunities to hear her speak were limited a a handful a year, plus access to an autographed copy of her work.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series to publish! This story is beautifully crafted fantasy novel rich with detail; I imagine Witcher-esque castles and costumes. There is mystery, adventure, & learning that things are not always as they appear. The main character has grown up in a sheltered life of luxury and slowly becomes less and less naive and begins to find her own voice. I will be following her into the next book to see how her voice develops. If you are a fan of the Witcher, Shadow & Bone, or A Conspiracy of Magic you will totally enjoy this book.
A princess torn between tradition and truth.
Princess Sarra of Olmalis is a vision of the future—poised, proud, and confident. As her kingdom settles into peace after a long civil war, she yearns to escape the shackles of expectation her father and his court place upon her.
But when she is abducted at the command of a man known only as ‘The Serpent Lord’, Sarra is led to question everything she has ever known.
Taken from the safety of her castle to the treacherous bogs and cold, stone walls of a forgotten city called Ro’al, she embarks on a journey searching for answers, intent on solving the mystery of her intriguing captor.
However, the more she learns of The Serpent Lord and his plight, the more she discovers secrets that surround her kingdom and the people who rule it. When she finally uncovers the truth, will Sarra trust her past or will she believe in her future?
I was born and raised in northeast Alabama in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. If you have ever spent any time in Appalachia you know that it is a special place with special people. Cough… Dolly Parton …. cough. We come from diverse backgrounds that have blended together over time to be its own distinct culture. This area has indigenous peoples of several tribes, then immigrants of many countries – Irish, Scottish, English, German, Polish- arrived over the centuries, and freed slaves of African and Caribbean descent settled here. The mountains and the terrain often isolated communities; the people of Appalachia are often described as self-reliant, hard working, innovative and friendly. This rich history and culture in the hands of a writer can produce remarkable stories; Rick Bragg, Fanny Flagg, Mildred D. Taylor, Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, Kim Michele Richardson, and Leah Weiss are a few of my favorites. I can’t wait for April 5th to arrive so that I can get my hands on Rock Bottom by Kimberly Nixon. Set in 1920’s Appalachia and based on family stories and research of her grandmother, an “unconventional woman” search for happiness, a train robbery, love and loss, and the family that came from it all.
The cover is beautiful and immediately I feel the coolness of the grass, the smell of wood, and the sound of katydids. I also have a sudden taste for fried chicken, potato salad, mac’n cheese, biscuits, and sweet tea. Save room for dessert- the banana pudding is still warm. Ya’ll make sure to mark down April 5th on your calendars to get your copy!
As we enter the last few days of Black History Month 2022 I urge you to continue learning for the other 11 months of the year. There are great deals to be had year round, make a mindful consistent effort to diversify the topics, the authors, the narrators, the publishers- everything bookish- in your life. Use books and reading to explore the experiences of others and question the narrative you have been taught. “Free your mind and the rest will follow; be color blind, don’t be so shallow” – En Vogue
An Oprah’s Book Club pick “evocative of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison” (Library Journal): Ruby Bell flees her small Texas town for the buzz of New York City, but when she’s called home years later, Ruby is once again trapped in the violence of her rural upbringing. Narrated by the author and available for $3.99 at Chirp! through Sunday, February 26, 2022. Find new and used paper copies here, Kindle edition is $7.99 here. If you choose to buy a new copy I encourage you to shop Baldwin & Co., a NOLA black owned independent bookstore named after writer and activist James Baldwin and whose mission is community outreach, education, and providing a space for interpersonal conversation and giving back to the community.If you are a Books-a-Million club member or know a club member The 1619 Project in hardback is a current member special at $19.00. BAM club members can order online for pickup in store and shipping (to the club member or a gift recipient) is always free. Hint, hint. Wink, wink. Information about BAM club membership here.
I am one of those people that always has a book with me; sometimes it is a Kindle, sometimes it is a paper books, and other times it is an audio book. Because I often have my Kindle, book, or phone and ear buds in my tote bag, my car or someone else’s car, laying on the table near food and drink, out by the pool, on a boat, near the campfire- honestly the possibilities are endless- my books need some kind of protection. I discovered the Booked Bag a couple of weeks ago and immediately ordered one of each size. They are waterproof and zip up for protection from spills and splashes. They have pockets and a little stretch so you can also stash your phone and ear buds inside. Reading some smutty romance or political topic you’d rather enjoy without commentary from the peanut gallery? Got you covered there too, literally. Downside: the large will not cover a full size hard back and the small is a a little too big for an OG paperback. I’m told they are considering more size options. Bonus: If you would like a design or lettering on yours to personalize it email them before ordering, they will try to accommodate your request. Solid 4.5/5 overall and 5/5 for the books I’m using them on. I’ll be ordering again- for myself and for gifts.
“Society continues to receive Morrison’s first novel with controversy. She is unapologetic in her depiction of the suffering and neglect of Black girls and women and the consequences of the psychological and physical violence they have endured for generations. Morrison is equally committed to lifting up their humanity and grace while interrogating the mechanisms by which oppression is internalized.
Literacy Partners is an adult literacy program. African American and immigrant parents come to our program to transform their lives and create a brighter future for their family. Access to stories and the ability to tell one’s own are essential to heal from trauma – individual and collective. Adult literacy has always been a tool for liberation and a means of organizing to end systemic oppression.
We present this public reading in solidarity with Black girls and women everywhere. Justice demands that we not lookaway.“
Paper & Air 