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!
I too miss my local Borders.
World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto, now gone and – like every available large piece of ground in this town – about to made into condos. I used to spend hours just wandering the shelves and combing through the remainders tables for treasures, and it was always my first stop on Boxing Day.
I have like bookstores, used and new, real and imagined. I do have a fondness for the bookstore featured in 84, Charing Cross Road, the book by Helene Hanff.
The Strand in NYC is phenomenal and I dream of the day I can visit The Ripped Bodice in LA.
any bookstore in England
I don’t remember the name, but there used to be a used bookstore in one of my local downtown areas. I bought sooo many romance books from there when I was younger. I was so sad when it closed. There need to be more bookstores in the world.
I worked at encore books during college. Store is defunct but I still have the apron I stole!
My favorite bookstore was my dad’s bookstore. It was a small, independent bookstore that offered free coffee (before the big bookstores had cafes!), played soothing classical and jazz, and had a great selection of books. Plus my dad and his handful of part-time employees really knew their books and cared about helping people. Alas, after years of business, dad’s bookstore had to finally close due to stuff online competition…
I loved the Book Dispensary. I could always score old school Johanna Lindsay paperbacks.
The Golden Hare in Edinburgh is freaking adorable. I’d really like to explore Barron’s Books and Baubles, though.
I don’t have a favorite bookstore but I do love my local library.
There used to be a bookstore in Toronto called Pages that had everything you ever wanted to look at and you could spend hours in there before that became a thing. It’s not around anymore because the landlord jacked the rent but I remember it fondly. Another fave is The Ripped Bodice of course.
Our local used bookstore has a ‘warehouse’ location that I love going to. It’s never busy, and there are row after row of ridiculously tall bookshelves packed with books. I look forward to wandering thru there again.
Does SBTB count as a bookstore because I get most of my recommendations (and purchases) via the Bitchery? And that blue? It reminds me of sunny skies and better days ahead.
I really adore the Ripped Bodice, but I would love the bookstore in La Nora’s 3 Sister’s Island books. Something about the small town feel, with a proprietor who knows you and can personalize recs just appeals to me.
The Ripped Bodice! I donated to the kickstarter and my husband has promised we will get to visit it some day, but I love following them on Twitter and receiving packages from their store!
My favorite bookstore is the late lamented Cody’s in Berkeley. It was big and it had extensive collections on almost every subject. It had wonderful author programs and, every year for Passover, it had what may have been the world’s most extensive selection of Haggadot.
I’ve never been in person, but The Ripped Bodice because I love the concept!!
Bookmarks in Winston-Salem! They host so many different book clubs, have the nicest and most knowledgeable staff and put on some truly remarkable programming for the community. It’s a good 45 minutes away from me, but well worth the drive!
I live in a little bitty town but we do have a nice used bookstore named Bank Street Books. I always have fun browsing their shelves. For new books, I rely mostly on Amazon & B&N online. I do so miss the days of Borders bookstores and their coupons:)
I travel to Germany a lot for work (before the now times, of course) and fell in love with a bookstore called Thalia. So the name sucked me in – because I never see my name anywhere! And even though a majority of the books are in German, they have a small English section where I always score a few goodies! They also have great coffee and a small craft section. Hello Heaven!!
Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ
Mine is an imagined one….I have a framed puzzle from Bas Bleu of a bookstore that I think might be called “Wish Upon a Book”. It looks to be in an old house with lots of beautiful architectural details and is compete with a sleeping cat on the steps going to the second story of the store. So many cute details.<3
A Room of One’s Own here in Madison WI
Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA
https://www.mystgalaxy.com/
My favorite bookstore ever was The Book Merchant, in Natchitoches, Louisiana. I went there all the time when I lived there, they even had a cat that lived in the store! Sadly, it’s closed now.
Thank you for the giveaway!
Magic City Books in Tulsa, OK
I always liked stopping at B.Dalton when I went shopping with my mom. I think she always let me buy a book.
When I’m in Portland, Oregon, I always try to visit Powell’s Bookstore. Have to prioritize which rooms I will visit, and it would take days to scan all of the shelves.
I know it was a chain, but I loved Borders, especially the one location I frequented the most. The staff was great–they’d greet regular customers personally and were helpful with recommendations. They also had terrific events/signings. There have been many other small/indie bookstores (both in the US and Europe) that I’ve love over the years, but I miss Borders the most.
Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, CA. They’re just over 2 miles away, were 2 blocks from the kids’ school & next door to an awesome cafe. Their author events are par none and for 10+ years I’ve dragged my kids to book signings. Whereas other parents bought their kids concert tickets, I bought them books & took pictures of them with their favorite authors. Martha and Angela have been there forever and always ask about my now college-aged kids. I love Keplers!
Bookshop Santa Cruz (though I’m missing Dog Eared Books in San Francisco, it’s been too long).
Murder by the book in Houston Texas. Love that place!
On a study abroad to England, I went to Blackwell’s in Oxford. It was a dream store, with 4 levels crammed with floor-to-ceiling books. I even had to go to Primark to buy an extra bag to bring home my bounty of books.
(P.S. I am DiscoDollyDeb’s daughter; she introduced me to the Bitchery.)
For about the last 30 years, my favorite bookstore is a little hole-in-the-wall place (with the requisite black cats lazing about) in my hometown, that always had that *one* book you were hunting for, with hands-on married-couple owners who knew every book in stock. He died a few years back and I thought the store was a goner, but it’s still kickin!
The Lit Bar! It’s the only independently owned bookstore in The Bronx (it may be the ONLY bookstore, since the Barnes and Noble closed a year or 2 ago.) It has a gorgeous mural inside AND they serve wine!
Third Coast Booksellers – the long closed independent bookstore my dad owned when I was a kid. I thought my first job would be working there and I loved doing the Holiday windows with my mom and helped my dad design and stock the children’s section. It is 100% responsible for my current book hoarder status.
I miss my Waldenbooks from my childhood. The one I want to visit is the bookshop in the Three Sisters Island trilogy (Dame Nora).
Haslam’s in St. Pete, FL. I’ve been a couple times now and me and Beowulf the Bookstore Cat are homies.
The Book Barn in Niantic, CT. This is a used bookstore sells out of four different properties around this little beach town. The main property features a gigantic three-story barn full of books, several outbuildings, and a walking path littered with fairy gardens and roofed bookshelves. They also have several cats roaming the property and at least two goats in a pen that you can feed. It is the best place ever.