On Bookshops

Hello and welcome to my end-of-month newsletter blog post!

You can read last month’s newsletter here.

Following the very loose pattern I decided to set, these posts are a chance for me to update you on my writing projects and to write about one of the things I love: Stories.

These are also a chance for you to read about something you love as well. (Because if you are reading this, I’m guessing that you enjoy stories too.) If that’s true, pull up a chair, get cozy, and let’s talk about bookshops.

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I’ll keep this end-of-month newsletter brief (for a couple of reasons).

One, this has been a rather busy month and I’m typing this up on the night I plan on posting it. Usually I try working ahead on these so I can just hit “publish” day of… Oophta, this month got away from me. I’d make a bad joke about sleeping through it, but that’s probably been done quite a bit already.

So, I’ll keep this short.

Two, I could ramble about bookshops all day—I could spend all day and all night in bookshops. Are there any that are open 24/7? If there aren’t, there really should be. Hey, bookshops owners, I’ve got a marketing idea for you, feel free to email me…

Anyway, I’ve never stepped foot in a bookshop with which I didn’t immediately fall in love. A major chain or a secondhand shop—there’s something unique about each and every one of them. But the one thing that seems universal, and the thing that always gets me is the smell—that beautiful scent of hundreds—if not thousands—of books filled with ink and paper.

It feels like home.

One story about bookshops, if you’ll permit me.

I once went by chance to a secondhand bookstore in Red Wing, Minnesota. I know the store is still open (Fair Trade Books), but I haven’t been there in years, so I don’t know if the owners have stayed the same.

Anyway, the very kind proprietor let me amble about the bookstore in peace for a while. After I had been browsing for a time, he approached and asked me if I had ever been to the store before. I said no, and he asked me what sort of books I liked. I told him (Fantasy, Sci-fi, History, and a little bit of everything else), and he said he’d find a book for me that he thought I might like. It was the bookstore’s gift for first-time customers.

The owner did just as he promised. He looked through his store for a good fifteen minutes or so before settling on an old book with a faded red cover about Napoleon Bonaparte. He handed it to me with a smile and said enjoy.

I was blown away.

Any bookshop owner that takes the time to find a story that potential customers might enjoy reading—and then gives them that book for free—knows the joy that reading brings. I daresay they know the joy that spending time in a bookstore brings too.

I read that book on Napoleon Bonaparte. I think I even used it as a resource for a paper in college. It sits on my shelf now, and I look at it from time to time. I remember that bookshop owner’s kindness—and his willingness to share a book with someone whom he thought would enjoy it too.

I think that’s pretty neat. I don’t know if the bookshop owner still does that, but if you’re ever passing through Red Wing, check out Fair Trade Books, I’m sure the people who work there would appreciate it. And I’m sure they’d give a pretty good recommendation for a book to read if you ask.

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September is ending, and October is right around the corner! Here are a few things to look for on the website this fall:

A Lamplighter’s Tale, the next book in the Tales of Minz, my whimsical fantasy series, is coming out this month!

The cover art and a brief synopsis of A Lamplighter’s Tale can be found here. Stay tuned for the book launch later in October! (By the way, if you subscribe to my website, you’ll also receive an exclusive first look at the book!)

My satirical blog series “Poking Fun at Fantasy Tropes” continues with another post—this one focusing on an unexpected(?) element of many fantasy stories: the “Here comes the cavalry” twist that seems to always catch everyone by surprise even though it happens in just about every fantasy novel.

I’m also working on a new area on this blogsite! It might take a little bit of time because I’m juggling a couple of projects, but I’m thinking of opening a “Reading Corner,” where I’ll share what I’m currently reading, and if you’d like to share what you’re reading, you’ll be able to do that too. After all, stories are best enjoyed when they’re shared with friends.

That’s all for this end-of-month newsletter. As always, thanks for reading the things I write, I appreciate you! Get ready for October, it’s going to be wild!

Until next time,

Al