There is a bookstore/coffee shop about a mile from our Jan/Feb Escape. It opened in October and does quite a brisk business for the off season. I can only imagine will be crazy in there during season.

Due to the fact that I love their coffee, the vibe in there is fantastic and I think supporting independent bookshops is so important, I have tried to pick up a few books when I visit, ok maybe more than a few. Theo of Golden was my fist purchase, and it was so good; It was a “yeah sorry, I can’t go to bed tonight, I need to finish this” type of book.

I do take pictures of books I want to research more and then add them to my TBR (to be read) list. (and because eventually I will have to return to real life). They tend to arrange their books by theme for a month (and maybe some color, they have a table of pink and red books when you walk in right now) but then also by book club.

My little librarian heart oddly kind of loves this and it goes against any schooling I have ever had. Sections for Jenna, Oprah, Reese, GMA, Jimmy Fallon and even an indie area. And all the books are just on the shelves. Not shelved alphabetically that I can tell, just there in all their vibrant, colorful glory that just says, ‘hey pull me off the shelf and check me out’.  Local authors have their own prominent place.

A few days ago, I was in and saw the book This Book Made Me Think of You, Libby Page. I read the jacket cover and took a picture of it to remember it. And somehow over the weekend, I read the whole thing. Sigh. It was an easy read, likeable characters and settings, I felt I knew how it was going to end up but still enjoyed the ride. The best part is that the bookstore (in the book) has monthly book selections based on theme. WHAT? A book that is suggesting more books? Well, sign me up! I was going to try and screen shot each of the pages to capture them but figured it was much easier to just type them up (so any typos I own) to share so you too can add to your TBR pile. Do put Libby’s book on your TBR (or pick it and Theo up at your local independent bookstore) because there are more books in there that the characters discuss also. Actually maybe read it with a note pad nearby. lol.

From Libby’s fun escape read:

January

Dear Reader: The Comfort And Joy of Books, Cathy Rentzenbrink

Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons

Tilly and the Bookwanderers, Anna Jones

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna

February

Chocolat, Joanne Harris

The Kamogawa Food Detectives, Hisashi Kashiwai

One More Croissant for the Road, Felicity Cloake

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis

March

One Day, David Nicholls

Love Story, Lindsey Kelk

Here We Go Again, Alison Cochrun

Venetia, Georgette Heyer

April

The Little Paris Bookshop, Nina George

The Dud Avocado, Elaine Dundy

Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell

The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery

May

You Will be Able to Draw at the End of this Book, Jake Spicer

Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder; A Memoir, Julia Zarankin

By My Hands: A Potter’s Apprenticeship, Florian Gadsby

The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater: Essays on Crafting, Alanna Okun

June

The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown

Outer Order, Inner Calm, Gretchen Rubin

The Art of Rest, How to Find Respite in the Modern Age, Claudia Hammond

Weathering: How the Earth’s Deep Wisdom Can Help Us Endure Life’s Storms, Ruth Allen

July

Set Me on Fire: A Poem for Every Feeling, Ella Risbridger

Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times, Neil Astley

Every Day Is a Fresh Beginning: Meaningful Poems for Life, Aoibhin Garrihy

I Wish I knew: Comforting Words to Strengthen Your Soul, Donna Ashworth

The Peace of Wild Things, Wendell Berry

August

84, Charing Cross Road, Helen Hanff

Meet Me at the Museum, Anne Youngson

Business as Usual, Jane Oliver and Ann Stafford

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Ahaffer and Annie Barrows

September

The Wild Places, Robert Macfarlane

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed

Miss Benson’s Beetle, Rachel Joyce

The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

October

Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now – As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live  It, Left It and Long for It, Craig Taylor

Swing Time, Sadie Smith

Mary Poppins, PL Travers

A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond

November

Welcome to Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, Hwang Bo-reum

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin

Days of the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Abbi Waxman

December

A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

The Christmas Bookshop, Jenny Colgan

The Night Before Christmas, Clement C Moore

A Snow Garden and Other Stories, Rachel Joyce