It’s the third night of Hanukkah when, if you’re me, you’ve finally remembered all the blessings and don’t stumble over them while you light candles. It’s also getting pretty LIT.
Ha ha. Ready for another giveaway? Let’s do this!
Today’s prize is a Kate Spade Jae Medium Double Zip Wristlet in deep cornflower blue.
I absolutely love this color. It’s just beautiful.
Here are the specs!
- It measures 4.7″ H x 7.4″ W
- The inside has six credit card slots
- It has a zip closure
- My favorite review: “it’s bigger than it looks, fits everything I need including hand sanitizer.” I bet a mask will fit, too!
- Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I love this color.
Want to enter? Yay!
Just leave a comment and tell us your favorite bookstore, real or imagined?
Standard disclaimers apply: I am not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to international residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18 and ready to always remember your essentials when you step outside. Not responsible for feelings of tranquil, cerulean-hued peacefulness that may steal over you while gazing at this color (seriously I really, really love it a lot and I hope you do, too!).
Comments will close 13 December 2020 at or near 12pm ET, and winner will be announced shortly afterward.
Good luck, Happy Hanukkah, and thank you for being part of Smart Bitches!
Winner update: Congratulations to Linh! Please check your inbox today for details!
Temple of the Muses (Lackington Allen) 1809. I love that blue. It’s very soothing. I’m in Australia so you don’t need to enter me in the comp.
The Ripped Bodice or Love’s Sweet Arrow–two romance book stores
The Odyssey Book Shop (South Hadley, MA) & Atticus (New Haven, CT) both occupy special places in my heart!
Fireside Books in Palmer, AK
The Book Tavern in Augusta, GA!
Loved Ruby’s in Lower Manhattan where they had a great collection of used books and magazines.
My local Friends of the Library used bookstore.
Loyalty Books in DC – thank you!
I miss Oxford Books in Atlanta–huge selection of new and used books, open late, full of people lounging around and reading. My friends and I would meet there on weekends to hang out and browse. It’s probably been closed now for longer than I actually shopped there, but I still miss wandering the stacks and inhaling the aroma of new paper (no, B&N and Amazon just aren’t the same).
The Book Dispensary Columbia SC
Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara, CA – everything a local bookstore should be.
The Book Cupboard in Plymouth, UK. It’s a treasure trove of old books, over three floors and in the old Barbican area of the city. It’s not huge, but I can (and have!) while away many an hour there, and have found old editions of DE Stevenson books for very reasonable prices.
City Lights in London Ontario. I haven’t lived there for years but I always visit the bookstore whenever I visit the city, like one of my dear friends. As someone else said : the smell! And barely having room to walk down the aisles, crowded with so many books. Knowing that all the other people in the store are enjoying this same particular joy of mine, browsing in this small crowded used bookstore as if it is the most important thing I could possibly be doing.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I used to love Chatterton’s Books, which—if I remember correctly—was in the Silver Lake area. I haven’t lived in Southern California for more than 20 years and I have no idea if the place is still there, but recently I pulled an old book off one of my bookshelves and a Chatterton’s book mark fell out of it. I was then flooded by memories of decades ago.
Vromans bookstore in Pasadena, CA
Haslam’s in St. Petersburg, FL
The Bookstore at the End of the World is an online bookstore that provides aid to booksellers who lost their jobs due to COVID. Out of work booksellers provide recommendation lists and get a share of the profits.
https://bookshop.org/shop/nycbooksellers
My favorite is The Ripped Bodice. I got to LA a few times a year and always try to stop by. I also do my book gift shopping with them!
My favorite bookstore… I don’t even know its name. They sell used books, its crowded with books, packed from floor to ceiling. There’s no outside sign though, and I never asked for a name. To me, it’s always been the store on the corner, in front of the church. I’ve been going there for two decades, every time I came to the city (and now, live 10 minutes away, heh). The owner is the one that made me discover Robertson Davies and Mary Renault.
Imagined, the bookstore in Mooncakes is dreamy. Flying books!
Borders. I miss it so much!
I have to vote for my (mostly) local one–Powell’s in Portland, OR. I’ve been trying to support them with online orders instead of ordering from Amazon.
When I was a teenager (a loooong time ago), there was a great used book store nearby called Jack’s Used Books. It was tiny, dark, and cramped, but it had great stuff, and Jack didn’t mind me squirreling around for ages. It’s long gone – Jack passed away years ago – but I still think of it fondly.
My favorite bookstore is long gone but it was The Arcade Bookstore in Stuart FL. It was a small, independent downtown bookstore that predated B&N and Borders in our town and was a welcome alternative to the mall. My mom would go in there every year at Christmas for book recommendations for me.
This would have been the mid-90s when I was a teenager, and the owner introduced me to favorites that influenced my reading forever… Anne McCaffrey’s Pern series (I named my cat Lessa!), Anne Rice vampire series, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees, and Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent all stick with me today. Happy times!
Loved reading everyone’s comments! Indie bookstores are so wonderful. The most recent one I visited was Barrel of Books and Games in Mt Dora FL, while on vacation walking around the adorable historic downtown. Cute quirky touristy gifts and huge floor to ceiling bookshelves. Must visit again some day.
57th Street Bookstore in Chicago. Found so many great books from their staff recommendations there.
Recycle Bookstore in San Jose, CA
The Strand in NYC. Miles of books! Mr Old Books – a tiny bookstore near the seaside in Karachi where I discovered some of my favorite authors growing up – including someone’s copy of Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold
I haven’t been there yet, as it’s not open to the public yet (Covid put off the grand opening), but I love Jenny Lawson’s Nowhere Bookshop in San Antonio, Texas.
They are doing online ordering & even curbside pickup for locals, but I’m looking forward to going in person, once we’re able to travel freely.
The old A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books, formerly in Larkspur, CA.
Mojo Books & Records in Tampa, FL. I don’t live there anymore but I loved their combo of used books and records and a yummy little coffee shop were people worked. It had a grungy charm and a huge amount of books.
Book Gallery West in Gainesville, FL. When I was growing up I made sooooo much use of their trade in/credit system where you could trade in books and then buy more used books for something like 35 cents a book. Plus they had a huge romance section!
My favorite bookstore is Parnassus Books in Nashville!
The Ripped Bodice in Culver City, CA! Not only is it beautifully designed and has tons of awesome romance novels, both traditionally published and indie, it also offers fun events (at least during non pandemic times). Also, their receipts are pink which just delights me.
Borders, now defunct, in a mall that is now defunct.
The manager was extremely knowledgeable about romance books, romance authors and was great at putting books on the shelves promptly. I could count on finding new releases on Tuesdays at Borders, when the Barnes & Noble store in town couldn’t be bothered. Good managers and staff who understand their clientele make all the difference in what makes a great bookstore.
The witchy bookshop in the three sisters trilogy by Nora Roberts
To be honest, even though I only shop there virtually, the Ripped Bodice.
Appletree Books in Cleveland Heights Oh. They are walking distance, have a marvelous kids section, and wonderful community activities.
My favorite bookstore is the one that welcomes romance readers without judgment. I’ve yet to make it to The Ripped Bodice or Love’s Sweet Arrow, so I will choose the, alas, long gone, used bookstore Paperback Trader, various locations, NJ.
I have loved many, including Elliott Bay Books in Seattle, but my favorite will always be Denver’s Tattered Cover. I grew up in a bookstore desert and when I went to grad school, TC was a revelation.
My favourite bookstore from my childhood closed 8 years ago – Greenley’s Bookstore in Belleville Ontario. It was in an old downtown building. The main floor was a maze of books, and the basement was a maze of discounted books. There was a friendly cat who visited with the customers, and a cage of birds who would chirp and sing as you browsed. I continued to order from them even after I moved away, but in the end, I suspect that it fell victim to big box stores.