Anti-Racist Reading, Appointments, and Mary Morris! The June Newsletter.
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COPYRIGHT JANE MOUNT
First of all, friends, we hope this finds you well.
Like everyone else, we have been watching the events of the past several weeks with grief and anger. Every day brings fresh horrors, new outrages of injustice and systemic racism. Sadly these troubles are anything but new, but recent events have once again brought them into a wider public eye.
As booksellers, we like to believe that you can find the answers to most problems inside the covers of a book, but that is not the case here. What books can provide is context, perspective and insight - and that can be a good place to begin or continue a difficult and uncomfortable journey toward better understanding.
In the last few days we have been deluged with requests for books that address racial inequality and discrimination in America. Some of the most requested titles are Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi, The New Jim Crowby Michelle Alexander, and White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo. These are titles that we have been selling enthusiastically ever since we opened Skylark, but now copies have become hard to come by due recent events. The publishers (often small houses with limited resources) are scrambling to keep up with the sudden demand. Every day we are speaking to publishers and wholesalers and hunting down copies where we can. Give us a call at (573) 777 6990 or send us an email to let us know what you want - if we can't put our hands on a particular title right away, we can probably recommend something else that we do have in stock. If you or your book group wants to read a particular title, we'll give you our most recent information about availability and arrival estimates. You might also consider listening to the audiobook - Libro.fm is not restricted by reprinting schedules and so everything is immediately available there.
Just to be clear: it isn't enough just to read a book or two. All we can offer, really, is information. Then it's up to each of us to get to work.
Black Lives Matter.
Appointments!
To happier things.
We thought that this newsletter would mainly be about COVID-19 and our on-going work to get through the crisis. Even though under the terms of the city ordinances we have been allowed to open our doors for some weeks now, we have chosen to remain closed to keep our staff and their families safe and healthy. However we are slowly (and cautiously) inching our way back. The next step is to introduce appointments for browsing in the shop, which we are introducing with immediate effect. We'll be offering two slots a day, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., and these will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We would love to see you and talk books! Go here to sign up - but please, do read our terms and conditions.
Mary Morris Discusses "All the Way to the Tigers"
To more happy things.
We're holding a very special event on Wednesday, June 24, at 7:00 p.m.. Mary Morris, legendary novelist and travel writer, will be coming to Skylark (virtually!) to discuss her wondrous new memoir, All the Way to the Tigers, with Alex, who read the book last year and fell in love with it. The discussion will take place online, and you can register for it here. Like all our events, it's absolutely free. Mary has kindly agreed to sign some Skylark bookplates for us, so if you would like a signed copy of the book, give us a call or drop us a line and we'll take care of it for you.
