Spoiled for Choice--My Favorite Bookstores
It's no secret that all of us YA Muses love books--therefore it must follow on that we love bookstores, too. So this week, we're featuring some of our favorites. I think, actually that the assignment was "favorite"--singular--but I can't pick just one, so you're going to get my top three.
I grew up in a very small, somewhat isolated town pre-Internet (allow me to illustrate by telling you that the nearest mall was a four-hour drive and that during particularly bad winter storms, there was zero transportation--rail, road, sea or air--in or out). Perhaps it sounds a bit like the back of beyond, but Arcata is a college town, so we we had our share of arts and entertainment and interesting characters. And we had Northtown Books. As a kid a gift certificate to Northtown was gold. They carry an eclectic mix of books and the YA section is very well-stocked.
While living in England, I worked at a (now-defunct) chain bookstore, which I loved, but my favorite bookshop is Foyles. In fact, I love this store so much, I named the butler in MANOR OF SECRETS Foyle in their honor. The first time my husband took me to the flagship store in London, I thought I'd entered Nirvana. Multiple floors, comfortable chairs, well-lit niches and friendly staff. The history section is unbelievable. When we travel, I always have to make sure I leave extra room to bring books home (and not exceed the fifty-pound weight limit). It was a thrill for me last summer to discover both GILT and TARNISH on the shelves with some of my favorite authors.
I currently live in a town without a bookshop (though we had one when we moved here! I even worked there for a while), I'm lucky to have The Avid Reader in the town next door. Many of the books are hand-selected by the--well, avid--readers who work there, and there is an exciting array of author and writing events every month. They've been kind enough to host all of my book launch events, and their support and generosity are astounding.
(PS--if you're in the Davis area this weekend, pop by the Avid Reader on Saturday at 4 pm for BRAZEN and cupcakes!)
I grew up in a very small, somewhat isolated town pre-Internet (allow me to illustrate by telling you that the nearest mall was a four-hour drive and that during particularly bad winter storms, there was zero transportation--rail, road, sea or air--in or out). Perhaps it sounds a bit like the back of beyond, but Arcata is a college town, so we we had our share of arts and entertainment and interesting characters. And we had Northtown Books. As a kid a gift certificate to Northtown was gold. They carry an eclectic mix of books and the YA section is very well-stocked.
While living in England, I worked at a (now-defunct) chain bookstore, which I loved, but my favorite bookshop is Foyles. In fact, I love this store so much, I named the butler in MANOR OF SECRETS Foyle in their honor. The first time my husband took me to the flagship store in London, I thought I'd entered Nirvana. Multiple floors, comfortable chairs, well-lit niches and friendly staff. The history section is unbelievable. When we travel, I always have to make sure I leave extra room to bring books home (and not exceed the fifty-pound weight limit). It was a thrill for me last summer to discover both GILT and TARNISH on the shelves with some of my favorite authors.I currently live in a town without a bookshop (though we had one when we moved here! I even worked there for a while), I'm lucky to have The Avid Reader in the town next door. Many of the books are hand-selected by the--well, avid--readers who work there, and there is an exciting array of author and writing events every month. They've been kind enough to host all of my book launch events, and their support and generosity are astounding.
(PS--if you're in the Davis area this weekend, pop by the Avid Reader on Saturday at 4 pm for BRAZEN and cupcakes!)
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