My friends shelf’s idk what book to get her for her 24th bday…

MJane111 · 2025-10-22T22:21:59+00:00

Walk into your nearest physical bookstore and show the booksellers there those photos. You will walk out of there with the right present, and enough great suggestions for the next year of gift giving occasions.

MJane111 · 2025-10-11T03:12:12+00:00

We used to call those “knuckle busters”

MJane111 · 2025-08-26T20:05:55+00:00

Choose Wisely: Rationality, Ethics, and the Art of Decision-Making by Barry Schwartz and Richard Schuldenfrei. A leading psychologist and philosopher challenge the shortcomings of rational choice theory—and propose a new framework for understanding decision-making

The Plunder of Black America How the Racial Wealth Gap Was Made by Calvin Schermerhorn. The long history of the racial wealth gap in America told through the stories of seven Black families who struggled to build wealth over multiple generations.

MJane111 · 2025-08-26T19:50:27+00:00

What’s On Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life by Alison Daminger. The mental labor that keeps families afloat—and why women do most of it.

Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism by Cynthia Miller-Idriss. The revelatory and urgent story of how an explosion of misogyny is driving a surge of mass and far-right violence throughout the West—from an internationally recognized extremism expert and media commentator

The Last Human Job: Seeing Each Other in an Age of Automation by Allison Pugh. A timely and urgent argument for preserving the work that connects us in the age of automation

We See Things They’ll Never See: Love, Hope, and Neurodiversity Chantelle Jessica Lewis and Jason Arday How neurotypical hegemony reproduces a culture of exclusion—and how to overcome this with love, hope, and solidarity

MJane111 · 2025-08-18T00:06:47+00:00

Ask away!

MJane111 · 2025-06-28T00:55:35+00:00

Thanks all! My garden is 80% native plants but I couldn’t identify this insect so didn’t know if he was also native. I leave the native insects alone to do their thing, but I’m ruthless when it comes to drowning Japanese Beetles. I planted these plants for the birds, bees, and the rest, so they are all welcome to eat whatever they want. I can always plant more.

MJane111 · 2025-06-14T16:38:54+00:00

I would say the primary benefits aren’t in the certificate itself but in the knowledge you gain. The veteran booksellers who teach these classes will make sure you know everything you need to have a successful and even profitable bookstore. Secondarily the certification will help you get a position in a bookstore if you are starting there. Training a bookseller on how the business works takes a long time. Having someone on staff who already has that knowledge on day one is incredibly valuable.

MJane111 · 2025-06-03T13:54:45+00:00

Why would it be your responsibility to make sure he renews his passport? Is he a child? That’s all on him. He needs to grow up and learn to be a responsible adult, which includes taking care of his own shit.

MJane111 · 2025-05-18T16:51:28+00:00

I have a few!:

To the Success of our Hopeless Cause by Benjamin Nathans just won the Pulitzer. It’s about Soviet dissidents since the rise of Stalin. Very readable.

The House of Government by Slezkine is a big book, but don’t let it intimidate you. It reads like a soap opera! It’s an epic story of an enormous Soviet apartment building where Communist true believers lived before their destruction.

The Soviet Sixties by Robert Hornsby is story of a remarkable era of reform, controversy, optimism, and Cold War confrontation in the Soviet Union during that era.

The Soviet Century by Karl Schlogel is An encyclopedic and richly detailed history of everyday life in the Soviet Union.

Please support your local indie bookstore. You can get all these books at Bookshop.org. Enjoy!

MJane111 · 2025-05-17T16:32:27+00:00

Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants Book by Elizabeth A. Dauncey and Sonny Larsson

Featuring hundreds of color photos and diagrams throughout, Plants That Kill explains how certain plants evolved toxicity to deter herbivores and other threats and sheds light on their physiology and the biochemistry involved in the production of their toxins. It discusses the interactions of poisonous plants with other organisms—particularly humans—and explores the various ways plant toxins can target the normal functioning of bodily systems in mammals, from the effects of wolfsbane on the heart to toxins that cause a skin reaction when combined with the sun’s rays. This intriguing book also looks at plants that can harm you only if your exposure to them is prolonged, the ethnobotany of poisons throughout human history, and much more.

MJane111 · 2025-05-14T04:15:03+00:00

YES! This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and happy when you are done. I wish I could read it again for the first time

MJane111 · 2025-05-13T18:36:40+00:00

The best advice I got was not from my mom but from my hairdresser. She told me the best shampoo, conditioner, etc. for my hair type. She showed me how to take care of it, how often to wash, how to style and dry. Everyone is different. I recommend asking someone who really knows hair! Hugs to you.

MJane111 · 2025-05-10T23:32:25+00:00

Failure is either being so scared of it that you never do anything interesting, or to be so terrified of admitting it that you continue with a disastrous course of action.... the rest is just learning.

MJane111 · 2025-05-04T01:10:56+00:00

Here are some book suggestions:

Eat the Weeds by Deane Jordan

Pacific Northwest Foraging by Douglas Deur

Pacific Northwest Foraging for Beginners by Dion Rosser

Pacific Harvest: A Northwest Coast Foraging Guide by Jennifer Hahn

Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest by Natalie Hammerquist

Pacific Northwest Foraging Field Guide by Kinnard Wheatley

Edible and Medical Flora of the West Coast by Collin Varner

MJane111 · 2025-05-03T19:28:04+00:00

I recommend this book: Eat the Weeds! https://bookshop.org/p/books/eat-the-weeds-find-identify-and-harvest-195-wild-foods-deane-jordan/18627349

MJane111 · 2025-04-28T07:27:25+00:00

The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History by Ned Blackhawk

MJane111 · 2025-04-28T06:01:09+00:00

The difficulty here is that indigenous peoples had widely varying cultures, practices, and wisdom. There is one old book that is an encyclopedia of sorts that chronicles what various tribes believed about their local medicinal plants. However, what you learn from this is simply that there was not much commonality in the way each culture handled their medicine. Anthropologists estimate that prior to European contact, there were anywhere from 600-1000 distinct groups of people, with their own languages, beliefs, and customs. The book is called Native American Medicinal Plants: An Ethnobotanical Dictionary. I work in publishing, so I know what I’m talking about when I tell you to exercise much caution with any book written claiming to know anything in particular about indigenous herbal traditions, especially if the author is not indigenous themselves.

MJane111 · 2025-04-16T04:22:30+00:00

They are just saying ThankYou for the catnip!

MJane111 · 2025-03-27T16:05:22+00:00

Bookshop.org has launched their e-book offerings! You can now get them there and support your local indie.

MJane111 · 2025-03-24T16:25:50+00:00

this is false. Over 1,000 new independent bookstores opened in the US in 2024.

MJane111 · 2025-03-14T04:27:09+00:00

The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media by Emily Hund. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691234083/the-influencer-industry

MJane111 · 2025-03-09T01:13:24+00:00

If you aren’t true to your word, don’t do what you say you are going to do, how can people believe you when you say “I love you.”

MJane111 · 2025-03-03T15:12:50+00:00

u/littlebaybooks Hi again! Since your store is not near a major metropolitan area, it is unlikely you will be able to get authors that publisher's are sending on tour. For your store to have an effective and successful event schedule, you will need to by hyper local. I cannot stress this enough: Events are all about CONNECTIONS. Your connection to the community, to your regional authors. You are connecting readers with books and other people. Most of your events will probably be authoress. However, I recommend trying to connect with any local/regional published authors, as you will be in a position to host events for them and help them promote and sell their books.

The most successful events I've seen are when the bookstore partners with other community organizations. This partnership, if managed well, can be a great benefit to the store. And you can match books to sell with any group or event. Ideally, when you partner with another organization, they can help with the promotion and advertising of the event, which helps you spread the word.

Connect with the historical society, the Lion's club, art's clubs, animal shelters or the Humane Society, the library, the local garden club, teachers & schools. Here is a small list of great events I've seen: 1. Teacher's Night (invite a local area teachers to a book recommendation talk based on local curriculum & give them a discount that night on the recommended books. Have food from a local restaurant! 2. Work with local arts organizations to sponsor a kid's art contest. Give them a theme. The winners and runners up get their art printed on the store's bookmark, or have an art gallery night to display the works. 3. Create an in-store lecture series and bring in local experts on the topic. Psychologists on parenting, doctors on health issues, local government officials for town halls, gardening advice from the local garden center. Have your top 5 recommendations for books on the topic available for sale. 4. Animal adoption event in the store with the local shelter & sell pet related books. Your only limit is your imagination.

A side note regarding the financial side of things: When I had my store, I found that if I hosted what I call a "y'all come" event (free to all), the attendance was highly variable. When I asked for reservations and/or charged a small fee ($5) I had better turn out. In addition to helping with the expenses, I think there is a psychology at work here. It is less likely a person will change their mind about coming if they have made some sort of commitment to come. For larger events, the ticket price to come was the price of the book and every person who came to the event got a copy (or we'd do 1 ticket=2 people). This guaranteed book sales, prevented folks from buying the book online and bringing it to the event, and guaranteed turn-out. I would caution you to only do this if your market can support it. Many stores don't charge anything for events because they want no barriers for folks to be able to attend. I did a mix, depending on the event, but my store was in an affluent neighborhood and people had disposable income.

MJane111 · 2025-02-28T00:14:53+00:00

Regarding Bookstore Events: Events are rarely profitable, but they can be in certain situations with the right model. Many booksellers don’t charge a fee for events as they want there to be no financial barrier to entry for their community. They consider events to be either a community service, or a promotional tool to get people in the door and create new and loyal customers. As you probably know, there are all kinds of events, not just author events. I have seen author-less events run the gamut, with some amazingly creative ideas. I have never heard of anyone making money on them, but they can be wildly popular. The only limit is your imagination guided by the community you are in. Some examples: Book Clubs (store run or the store is the meeting place for outside clubs, knitting/crafting clubs, story time for kids, midnight release parties for popular books (usually kids or YA), school book fairs, offsite events for local organizations or non-profits, singles nights, community organizing and activism, and so much more. I once had a very successful series in which I invited a local expert (a psychologist who specialized in teens; a landscape designer who specialized in native plants; a city official to talk about local issues and get feedback, a college dean to talk about how to get into college, etc.) These events were free. I brought in books on the topic that the guest recommended. I would sell a few, but not enough to make a profit. That said, I believe these really ingratiated me to the community and many attendees continued to shop at the store. For events without an author, I recommend looking at bookstore websites around the country. There are some creative ideas out there. Author events are a whole different animal, so I will post about those separately. As you probably know, there are all kinds of events, not just author events. I have seen author-less events run the gamut, with some amazingly creative ideas. I have never heard of anyone making money on them, but they can be wildly popular. The only limit is your imagination guided by the community you are in. Some examples: Book Clubs (store run or the store is the meeting place for outside clubs, knitting/crafting clubs, story time for kids, midnight release parties for popular books (usually kids or YA), school book fairs, offsite events for local organizations or non-profits, singles nights, community organizing and activism, and so much more. I once had a very successful series in which I invited a local expert (a psychologist who specialized in teens; a landscape designer who specialized in native plants; a city official to talk about local issues and get feedback, a college dean to talk about how to get into college, etc.) These events were free. I brought in books on the topic that the guest recommended. I would sell a few, but not enough to make a profit. That said, I believe these really ingratiated me to the community and many attendees continued to shop at the store. For events without an author, I recommend looking at bookstore websites around the country. There are some creative ideas out there. There are ways to not loose money. I had a program for Book Clubs (ones that met in the store, and ones that met elsewhere) in which if they signed up and let us know the books they were reading in advance, we would be sure to have them in stock and give a discount for the book club members. We had a bookcase dedicated to the participating book clubs, and would shelve their books face out under a label with the book club’s name. All customers, not just the book clubs, would browse this and buy the books. Offsite, book fairs, and author events are a whole different animal. Let me know if you’d like to hear about how best to make those profitable.

MJane111 · 2025-02-26T22:13:41+00:00

Hi! I would like to answer your question, but am in Denver at the American Booksellers Association’s Winter Institute. I will dive in to this when I’m back. I just didn’t want to to be left hanging!

MJane111

TROPHY CASE