50 Days of Gratitude: Days 18, 19, & 20

Days 18, 19, and 20

Today is National Independent Bookseller Day and the day that I’m three days behind in posting my gratitude. I’ve grown enough most days not to beat myself up over missing a deadline I imposed (a post each day!) and so here we are. Three days’ worth of gratitude to catch up with.

Since it’s National Independent Bookseller Day, though, I’m going to offer gratitude for all independent booksellers and name two of my favorites and one new to me bookstore. For you math whiz’s that equals three bookstores!

Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN might be my all-time favorite shop of any sort. There is something about the stars hanging from the ceiling and the child size magical entrance to the Children’s Book section that invites patrons into the magic waiting inside, not just the shop, but each book. Shop dogs abound and the staff has somehow managed that perfect balance of helpful but not intrusive. Located in a non-descript strip mall of sorts, Parnassus reminds us all that it’s truly what’s inside that counts. Bonus points that it’s owned by one of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett. Follow Parnassus on Instagram for their delightful Lay Down Diaries posts on Tuesdays and the Friday favorite “It’s New if It’s New To You.”

Parnassus Books also has a great website/blog that I’m so grateful for each time it pops up in my Inbox. You can find it here: https://parnassusmusing.net

Gramercy Books is in the heart of our former neighborhood in Bexley, Ohio and is connected to Kittie’s Cakes, serving the best cinnamon rolls in Columbus (for real – they won an actual contest). Before we moved to Columbus, I used to make it a point to browse the Gramercy bookshelves whenever we were visiting. Living a block away and being able to stroll there just because felt a little bit like winning the bibliophiles lottery. Since we don’t live there any longer, I’m going to make a confession: sometimes, just to be a good steward of my $ I would find a book at Gramercy that I’d think I’d like to read, but might not necessarily like to own, so I’d go across the street to the library and borrow it. I don’t think this affected their bottom line at all. Fun fact: Gramercy takes their name from the French grand merci, which translates to “big thanks” or “many thanks”.

Please don’t miss the chance to visit this gem the next time you’re anywhere near Columbus, Ohio or online at: https://www.gramercybooks.com (It made me a little home-sick when I went to their website. Miss you, Gramercy!)

Finally, a shout out of gratitude to Invitation Bookshop, our newest discovery here in Gig Harbor. This is a delightful, sunny space, easily organized for hours of browsing for exactly what you didn’t know you needed. I can’t wait to visit them again. Invitation Bookshop is founded on three core beliefs and this makes me love them even more:

• We believe in the dignity of all people.

• We believe thriving small businesses are essential to a healthy community.

• We believe that literacy is a human right, a key component of equity, and a fundamental part of being an engaged citizen.

As I end this three-days-of-gratitude post, I hope you’ll pay a visit to your local independent bookseller. Or to one that you love and must now visit online (looking at you Parnassus and Gramercy). And I’d love to know what you’re reading now or what’s in your stack of books waiting to be read. If you post it in the comments, we can all add it to our list, too!

Invitation Bookshop gets its name from the first line of this Shel Silverstein poem:

Invitation

by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in,

If you are a dreamer, a wish-er, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…

If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some flax goldentales to spin.

Come in!

Come in!