"Get your friends together, go to your local bookstore and have a book-buying party." —Roy Blount, Jr.
October. A month I love for many reasons. As a kid I was never very good at Halloween, except for the candy, but loved how the teachers could always decorate the room with beautiful leaves and pumpkins. The colors were fabulous, just like the trees that line the streets on Mercer Island. It’s truly fall and everyone wants to make soup and sit on the couch and read books. There are many new cookbooks out this month as well as some highly anticipated new fiction and nonfiction.
This month of the year is always special for me, because in October of 1993 I met my husband Victor. We married 3 years later, in October. It will be 20 years at the end of this month. In those 20 years, we’ve had 4 children and 3 dogs and lived in 2 states and 5 houses. There are countless novels on complex family journeys, like the Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen, The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, or even Maria Semple's new novel, Today will Be Different. Maria picked the perfect title for her new book, because "Today Will Be Different" is a mantra I’ve come to live by as I wake up each morning, write up my to-do list, and try to be my best self for my husband, my family, my friends, my staff, and every customer who walks in the door of Island Books.
October also brings the Best of Western Washington voting season at King 5. Island Books has been nominated in the category of Best Bookstore. We hope you'll take as much pride in your community bookstore as we do and we would love your vote. We are grateful to all who find the time to go to http://kng5.tv/2cwPaf3 and support us.
There are a number of exciting events coming up in the store. Check out the upcoming events box in this newsletter, our website, or in-store calendar for further details about our Local Author Fest, a visit from The Letter Farmer, a Trunk Show featuring items from Elk, Graf & Lanz, Newgate watches and a wine tasting, our Open Book Club discussing Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, and then to finish the month off with a bang, local celebrity Joel McHalewill be stopping by to sign and speak on his book and share a few witty experiences. Mark your calendars!
Stop by the store on Halloween; we’ll have candy all day long for trick-or-treaters! Happy October!
Warmly,
Laurie Raisys
Owner
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