Thank You and Farewell!

Dear Bookstore Customer,

On Thanksgiving Day I celebrated my 70^th birthday! I’ve been at The Bookstore for 32 years and owned the store for 20. That’s nearly half my life! Wow!

And now it’s time to pass the torch. On Nov. 15, I announced that I will officially retire on Dec. 31. But don't worry — The Bookstore will remain open and continue to be a fixture at 475 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn. I'm confident that I'm leaving it (and all of you) in very good hands.

I have thought about retirement for some time, but kept waiting for just the right person to come along. At the beginning of this year two someones showed up in the persons of Shannon Burgess and Gail Dickson. Both Shannon and Gail are customers and have daughters who worked at the store. They told me that they loved The Bookstore for its place in the community and for the great first work experience it had provided for their daughters. They really want to see that continue into the future.

Shortly after that conversation, my longtime co-worker, Jenny Fischer, decided to retire, so Shannon and Gail came to work for me to get a taste of the retail world and most especially book selling. And I can tell you they are naturals at it! They are well read and especially so in the books many of our customers love.

So at the end of this year I will be selling The Bookstore to two much younger and very capable women, who many of you may already have met. Plus, Sue, Renee, and Linda will all be staying around! I’ll probably even show up occasionally! I’m not moving anywhere – I love Glen Ellyn and all of my immediate family is here.

I want to say a special thank you to all of you. You have made The Bookstore what it is. You have valued what you find here — enough to spend your dollars with us. I say it over and over again — we could not do this without your support.

I also wish to thank my husband. My 20 years as The Bookstore owner would not have been possible without him. He helped make my dream come true.

My fondest hope is that if I make it to 90, I’ll still be shopping at The Bookstore and I’m counting on all of you to make that possible! So keep bringing your children and grandchildren here, keep meeting friends here, keep helping Bridge Communities and Glen Ellyn Children’s Resource Center here, and most especially keep buying your books from YOUR small hometown Bookstore!

Yours truly,

Jane

P.S. – I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite holiday traditions — my holiday book selections. Click here to view my holiday picks.

Countdown to the Holidays

      

The countdown to the Holiday Season has begun! How many days until Thanksgiving?  The Bookstore has a number of activities for book lovers and holiday shoppers this season. 

First up, it's catalog time. Our annual catalog is in the mail, and it contains plenty of gift titles, many with a particularly Midwestern slant. There's also a special coupon on the back page. You can review the books in the catalog online here.

Sign up to participate in our annual live holiday window display! We welcome book lovers of all ages to sit in our window and share the joy of reading. Our live window display begins the day after Thanksgiving and lasts through Dec. 24. 

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Upcoming Holiday Events In & Around The Bookstore

• Nov. 15 - Thanksgiving Story Time, 10:30 a.m. for children ages 2-5 for a Thanksgiving Story Time on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. We'll have stories, a Thanksgiving craft, and a treat. 
• Nov. 24 - Glen Ellyn Holiday Walk, 6-8 p.m. Join your neighbors as they meet up in town for the exciting countdown to Santa lighting the big tree on Main Street. Stop in at The Bookstore for cookies and hot cocoa! While you warm up, take a look at our Advent calendars and our holiday books and gifts. 
• Nov. 25 - Small Business Saturday. Shop Indies First on Nov. 25. Small Business Saturday is a big deal at The Bookstore! We'll have local author Bob Goldsborough working alongside our staff in the morning as Bookseller for the Day with book and gift suggestions that you can only find at an indie bookstore. We'll also have fun activities and giveaways all day long. 
• Nov. 25 - Guest Bookseller Bob Goldsborough, 10 a.m.- 12 p.m.
• Nov. 29 - Bookstore Elves Night, 7-9 p.m. RSVP.  Describe a difficult-to-buy-for person on your list and play Stump The Bookseller. 
• Dec. 2 - William Hazelgrove book signing, 1 p.m. His latest book is "Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: the End of the Gangster Era in Chicago." 

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Bookstore Gives Back

The Bookstore is proud to partner with Bridge Communities for their annual holiday party, where new books are given as gifts to each child currently served by Bridge Communities transitional housing in DuPage County. Our generous customers help make this possible every year!

Here's how it works: At our front desk, choose a card (or several) with a child's age and gender. Then select a book that you think will be suitable. Our booksellers are happy to assist you in making these selections. After you purchase the book, we'll wrap them up for Santa to distribute to each child. 

Participate early; our customers are known for their generosity and we're usually done by Thanksgiving!

Following are the nonprofit organizations we supported in October: St. James Catholic School, the Herwaldt Family, RRAF Lombard, and STARS in Wheaton.

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Leap into the New Year

If you're the early shopping type, then you're probably a plan-ahead kind of person, which means you'll need your 2018 calendar now rather than later. Check out our wide selection of 2018 calendars, which make great gifts too. We also have boxed holiday cards, candies, puzzles, toys, ornaments and fair trade gift items. 

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Man Booker Prize and other awards

Have you read these latest award-winners? The Man Booker Prize for 2017 was awarded to Lincoln in the Bardo. Meanwhile, Publisher's Weekly named its top 10 of 2017. See who made Publishers Weekly Best Books here.

Young Readers Best Books

Looking for some great gifts for young readers? The American Booksellers Association put together The ABC Group Best Books for Young Readers. Categories include: Activity Books, Award Winners, Babies & Toddlers, Bilingual, Diverse Characters, Early Reader & Chapter Books, Girl Power, Great & Graphic, Indies, Middle Grade, Mythology, Picture Books, STEM, Young Adult and Young Adult Nonfiction. Check it out here.

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More New Fall Releases

 

Come on in this month for the new releases everyone's buzzing about this fall. See more of our best fall releases here.

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Attention: Book Clubs 

Send us your lists! Has your group decided on titles for the new year? Let us know so we can have them in stock when you need one. If your book club tends to decide on titles month by month, just include us in your group email. We have a new email address: [email protected]

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Our Local Author Policy Updates

So you've written a book, gotten it published, and of course you want to share it with the world! Here's how The Bookstore can help. See our updated Local Author Policy.

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