Weekend Reading 09.19
A tour of Red Fern Booksellers and links for your weekend.
Last weekend my family traveled to Salina, KS, where I lived for five very formative years as a kid. The reason for the trip was that my dad, who passed away in 2021, was being inducted into the hall of fame at the high school where he had been a basketball coach back in the 70’s.
It was a really nice honor and it was good to see people we hadn’t seen for a long time and get to talk about my dad and remember that time in our lives.
The trip was a quick down and back but before we headed home, Tom, my mom, and I stopped into Red Fern Booksellers in downtown Salina. I had seen this bookstore on a friend’s Instagram and knew I needed to make a stop because it looked gorgeous. It did not disappoint.
The owner, Harley Hamilton, happened to be there so I asked him if he’d mind doing a quick interview. Here he is telling about how the store came to be (“I paid off my student loans and thought, ‘I deserve a career change’.”) and also giving some reading recommendations.
As for what we bought, I picked out two books for Madeline in anticipation of taking her to The Rabbit Hole here in KC. I also picked up The Burning, a nonfiction book about the Tulsa Race Massacre, and Tom snagged A Place to Hide, a WWII historical fiction novel.
The whole visit was delightful. I recommend a stop there if you’re ever near Salina (it’s right on I-70).
Here’s what else I saved to share with you.
Homeworthy has a video of tour of Beacon Hill Books in Boston as well as the home of its owner, Melissa Fetter. (P.S. Here’s a quick look at my visit to Beacon Hill Books last summer.)
A writer’s Notting Hill cottage. That study!
The two books - both memoirs - that I’ve pre-ordered for fall: Awake by Jen Hatmaker, out September 23, and Joyride by Susan Orlean, out October 14. I’ve followed Jen for a long time, and Susan is the author of one of my favorite books, The Library Book. I’m super excited for both.
Inside the messy world of junk journaling. Did you do that thing in high school where you cut out words and pictures from magazines and made collages for your friends? I did, and I was also a scrapbooker, so junk journaling sounds interesting.
The new American Girl doll is an “adventurous, music-loving ten-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri.” Yay, KC! Here’s a story my friend Madeline Fox wrote about her.
Albert Einstein’s 1915 Letter to His Son Reveals the Key To Learning. I won’t spoil it by telling you what the key is, but here’s the sweet start to the letter: “You told me when I was in Zurich, that it is awkward for you when I come,” Einstein begins. “I will in any case urge that each year we spend a whole month together, so that you see that you have a father who is fond of you and who loves you.”
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Julie
P.S. Do you have a favorite bookstore? I’d love to know about it.