2021 Independent Bookstore Day in Tulsa
I‘ve probably mentioned before (many times) how much I love reading. And maybe that, when I was a child, I used to get grounded from reading as a punishment. Probably so I’d go outside or do some crafts instead. Nowadays, when looking for a new book, I try to find a digital version on the Tulsa Library’s website. This has saved me so much money! But I still enjoy shopping at Tulsa’s many amazing local bookstores. We’re very grateful that Eleanor’s Bookshop is half a mile from our house! So I wanted to share some things that local bookstores are doing to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Independent Bookstore Day Instagram Giveaway
@eleanorsbookshop, @fultonstreet918, @magiccitybooks and @shopwhittybooks have teamed up for an Instagram giveaway. Find and like one of their giveaway posts, follow all four accounts, and tag three friends in the comments of the post for a chance to win a $50 gift card to each shop! This giveaway closes at 9 p.m. on Friday the 23rd.
Additionally, each of these bookstores is giving out a special Independent Bookstore Day bookmark. Visit each shop on Saturday to collect them all!
Lavender’s Bleu Literacy Market
Lavender’s Bleu Literacy Market (8210 S. Harvard Ave.) also has a day of fun and deals planned! Here’s their Facebook post about it:
Screenshot of this post
If you haven’t yet visited Lavender’s Bleu, it’s a magical place! Joss can’t wait to go back and enter the wardrobe doors to their YA/Narnia room! (Check out Diane Morrow-Kondos’ blog post about her first visit to Lavender’s Bleu back in 2019.)
Eleanor’s Bookshop
Here’s what Eleanor’s Bookshop (1102 S. Lewis Ave.) has planned for the 24th (screenshot of this post):
Again, this shop is amazing. They pack so many great titles into a pretty small space. I pretty much want everything, the books are so gorgeous. (On that note – Mother’s Day is coming up, so a gift card to an Indie bookstore may be just the thing!)
Here’s my blog post from our first visit to Eleanor’s Bookshop and Fulton Street Books & Coffee.
Whitty Books
Whitty Books (2407 E. Admiral Blvd.) is also basically just down the road from us, but I don’t go as often as I should! They have several book clubs – Native American Lit, Horror and Fantasy/Sci-Fi. The books they’re reading always sound fascinating, so visit their Facebook page for upcoming book club events.
Here are their offerings for Independent Bookstore Day:
“Join us to celebrate Indie Bookstore Day! We’ll have exclusive Indie Bookstore Day titles and items available, a limited number of swag bags for customers that spend over $25, and more TBA.
We will also be offering free shipping 4/24-4/26 for orders placed online, for those that are still more comfortable shopping and celebrating from home.” RSVP to their Facebook event page for upcoming info.
Magic City Books
In addition to the giveaway and bookmark bookstore crawl, Magic City Books (221 E. Archer St.) will have some free swag while supplies last.
Book/Author Recommendations
Jason Reynolds
My 2021 book list so far is filled with YA and middle grade titles. No apologies, I love it! This is mostly because I’d been trying to read as many books by Jason Reynolds as possible, in preparation for an interview I did for our May magazine (coming soon!). Eleanor’s has a solid collection of Reynolds books, and I recommend any and all of them. For younger kids, you could start with “As Brave As You,” about a boy and his brother who visit their grandparents over the summer. The kids are from the city, and the grandparents live in the country, and the boy is so curious, always asking questions and Googling to find the answers when he can’t get them directly. TCCL librarian Laura Raphael shares some of her favorite books by Reynolds in our April magazine and writes about the library’s upcoming Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers’ Literature. Reynolds is this year’s recipient and will give a presentation for the event. You won’t want to miss it, trust me! Read more here.
Jackaby Series
If you enjoy mysteries and fantasy, I discovered William Ritter’s Jackaby series at Eleanor’s Bookshop. It was a lot of fun! There are ghosts, faeries and even dinosaurs. And although there’s some dark things happening, it made me laugh out loud several times because his narrator is amazing. She ran away from home to pursue adventure, and she definitely finds it once she meets supernatural detective Jackaby!
A Place to Hang the Moon
@readaloudrevival posted about this one on Instagram, saying,
“I love love *love* finding your next best-ever book, but do you know what I’ve never admitted before? That mostly I love it because I know you’re gonna love *me* forever for it. 😂😉
Can’t help it! 🤷🏼♀️ It’s true!
I read recently that “I read that book you recommended” is a love language. And it is absolutely mine. ❤️
And so today is a happy day, because this new middle grade novel, set in WWII London and featuring three orphaned siblings is EASILY one of the best novels I’ve read in a long while.
There is the English countryside. And tea. And a mischievous boy named Edmund (yes! Edmund!), siblings who work together to get themselves through a rough patch, and a librarian you will fall in love with.
There are bookish references galore.
Read it aloud to all ages (probably 7+ will enjoy it most). Or just read it yourself! It’s an utter delight.
I was going to tell you about his book anyway, but THEN I saw that it’s only $2.99 on Kindle right now. So. Even the universe knows this is a good one. 😏
I’ll put a link in my profile.
(Also, you’re welcome. 😉#youwilllovethis )
#readaloudrevival”
With a recommendation like that – and at such a great price – I had to check it out! And it’s a great, feel-good book that would indeed be fun to read aloud as a family. Obviously, that $2.99 price was on Amazon Kindle, but it looks like Eleanor’s Bookshop does have hard copies available at least in their online bookstore.
“Fever 1793” by Laurie Halse Anderson
I don’t remember when or where I picked this one up, but it had been in my TBR pile for several months. It’s about the yellow fever pandemic in Philadelphia in 1793. Interesting historical background, a timely topic and a main character who learns and grows a lot (and owns a coffee shop!). It was fascinating to see how at the beginning of the outbreak, there was a lot of doubt about how bad it was; people were blaming specific groups of people for the outbreak, etc. But also, most of the wealthy people in Philadelphia moved to the country to get away from the fever. At the end of the book, they all come back and seem to have basically been on holiday for the past two months. Whereas the people who stayed in town just about literally went through hell. There was no food, thieves and death everywhere.
OK, this was supposed to be a short post, but I could go on and on about books 🙂 Drop your latest favorite titles in the comments so I know what to read next!
