The bookshop’s been through the wringer (& back!) this month, and it’s only the 13th! At the start of the month, our store hours were neither here nor there while Nadia and I travelled to Denmark overnight to mourn the loss of Nadia’s father. Running a bookstore on your own for days straight is not for the faint of heart, yet our wonderful, amazing, incredible bookseller, Somiya, did it, and managed to wrassle an entire Yesteryear bookclub discussion (a feat in itself!), while we were gone.
It’s odd to say aloud, but being away from the shop put our fears of watching the shop toddle and fall while we looked away to rest.
Sam, our very cool regular, friend, and mastermind behind the cool bookmark making workshops y’all keep bringing up, popped in for a few hours to run the shop while we were out; we woke up to dozens of notes (and saved them all); and y’all kept the little purple bookshop busy.
Thank you for all of it. We’re pleased to say the store is back to regular hours (9.30-5.30! Every day of the week! Even on blistering Wednesdays!) and we’re back to full busy-ness in spite of this week’s bizarre weather (and hope you’re all staying cool, preferably with a good book by your side). And with our thanks (times a thousand!), here are our recommended reads for a summer with a wonky weather forecast:
From the author behind The Circle and The Eyes & the Impossible, Contrapposto is a big-hearted (& funny!) tale of a prairie boy who learns he can draw, finds himself in the midst of a graffiti scandal, goes off to art school, and falls in love, not in that particular order. Dave Eggers can spin a tale! Buy it here.
Every once in a while, a classic will suddenly become all the rage with readers all summer long, and this time, Stoner is it. Follows the seemingly unassuming life of William Stoner, a man turning his heels on his hardscrabble upbringing to pursue literature, marriage, life, and love (spoiler: one of his loves is also literature). Find it here.
Instead of a review, I’ll leave Mahmoud’s own words on No Land to Stand On here.
“I began this book while in detention and I finished fighting a deportation order that may take me from my family. My hope is that anyone who reads this understands that Palestine is not eh exception, it is the warning. The rights we are losing were never only ours to lose.”
Few books feel so fiercely relevant, necessary, or wrenching. No Land is a brilliant testament of protest, courage, and imprisonment in America’s deportation regime. We are pleased to be the exclusive bookstore with signed copies, available with preorder only here. Out September 29.
Join us on Monday, July 20th for an author talk with Kevin ‘Kayr’ Robinson (Can’t Break Me) and Linda Romanowski (Final Touchstones)! This event is free to attend (RSVPs are strongly encouraged) and will be held at Char and Stave 21 Rittenhouse Place, Ardmore PA. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
We made it through Philly’s massive storm! For a moment, I wondered if we should make ‘I Survived the Random Storm that Whipped Through Philly’ shirts (like NYCs! But cooler!), but then we discovered the start of a mini leak in our bookshop, and that put everything fun and whimsical on hold while we did repairs (the books are fine! The store is fine! Being an early bird who visits the bookstore early and often after major storms pays off!)
Summer blues are a thing, and the only cure is joining a bookclub. And you’re in luck! We have them! Join us for a bookclub discussion of tennis, how to deal with split identity as an immigrant, and a swordswoman with just one more stint.
What a long newsletter! Thank you for reading this far! Wow!
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