Let's get the big thing out of the way first. Mask rules have... not changed, even though there is a lot of buzz saying they have. CDC says if everyone is vaccinated in your group and you can keep your distance from others, masks aren't really recommended. They did not say that masks aren't recommended at all anymore. If you're inside with a group...they still recommend wearing them. Also, something I need everyone to realize, under 12 are not eligible to vaccinate, and we have customers that are under 12. Also, the CDC does not govern how businesses operate. The State of Oregon and OSHA still have that say. You should just assume you need to wear your mask anytime you go into a building. Why am I saying this? Because all restaurant, service and retail workers are really tired...and having to answer the question of yes or no to masks is taking a lot out of everyone. I want all of you to be the gold star example of how to treat people in those industries, I want everyone out there to love you all so much you get the absolute best service there is to have. Ok, that talk is done, now let's move on to the fun stuff.
Summer is here. With it, I am going to start having some events outside. As I know what's coming I'll let you know, but I'm just slowly dipping my toe into planning. I don't want to get a bunch scheduled and then have the world go bonkers again.
What I have scheduled currently:
July 4th, the store will be closed as it isn't a profitable day for us.
July 17th, 11am - 1pm a chalk artist along with some kids books authors and a chalk art take home project.
August 13th and 14th, the Beaverton Night Market will be hosted on 1st and Tucker, meaning that my street will be shut down from 8am on the 13th through the 14th. More to come on this, but wanted to let you all know as soon as possible in case there are vacations starting the 15th or 16th that you will need to have books for.
August 21st Bookstore Romance Day.
May was fun. 2 of our bookclubs decided to meet in person outside for the first time in a year. So people got to see each other live and in person. Just so happened KOIN was walking around the night of one of them and we got interviewed and were on the news. Then the next week Fox came by looking for an interview, so was on the news again. We were included in a big Bookstore Guide in the Oregonian. So basically, I'm famous now. One customer's husband asked for a signature this morning and I just had to laugh.
I read a lot of good books this month.
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas- YA bookclub selection, the 3rd book in the same world. Really well done, makes you feel like you are right in the story.
Ballad of Hattie Taylor by Susan Andersen - Romance bookclub selection, Susan's last book ever. The author is a good author and the book was well-written. I did feel let down by some of the story, but overall a good read.
40-Love by Olivia Dade - Second book in the There's Something about Marysburg series. So, so good. 40+ heroine, 20+ hero. Vacation romance. So cute.
Sweetest in the Gale by Olivia Dade - Three novellas in the There's Something About Marysburg series. All were very well-written. I am really enjoying reading books that features couples in there 40's and 50's. A little life under their belts.
The Friend Zone and Happy-Ever-After Playlist by Abby Jimenez - I read book three of this series last month and loved it, so went back and read 1 and 2. All of them were done so well. There is a definite emotional roller coaster that happens in all of them, but the author still makes them light and funny. The Friend Zone is a couple that meet planning a wedding for their best friends. Spoiler alert: the wedding doesn't happen because the groom dies, but in Happy-Ever-After Playlist the brides finds her happily-ever-after a couple years later.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - I've heard so many things about this book. I went into it expecting a bit more romance, but still the book was good. It was more based on the evolution of the kids and the world. The kids were adorable and really well done.
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen - Can't Buy Me Love redone. It was a quick easy read. This one only had one POV in it and I feel like I would have enjoyed it more getting both. It has some really cute moments though.
A Pho Love Story by Loan Le - I have so many things to say about this book. I will not go into all of them here though, but will be getting a review up on SomeLikeItRead.com soon. This book was really well written. Because it's based in 2 restaurants, the food was described quite extensively and I was hungry through the whole reading. The love story was cute, but is by no means the main purpose of the book. Really it was about these two kids growing into themselves and figuring out how to navigate parental expectations.
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera - A friend asked me to read this so she had someone to talk to about it with. And oh my god I can see why. The journey of the main character was a lot. I am really happy I read the version with the 2nd ending, because the way it ended originally would have tore me up!
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - This is the author of Red, White and Royally Blue, which I also loved. The author has been quoted to say she wrote the "queer rom-con she wished she had to read growing up". I can say, this book was a love letter to New York. The author has a whole love affair with New York that I have with Downtown Beaverton and I can absolutely appreciate that. The characters are really well developed and the growth of the two main characters is beautiful. But once again, this book tore my heart out, but it's ok, cause it put it back in by the end.
So basically all the books I read this month made me feel way too much!
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