Dear Readers,
How are you doing? This will be the last you hear from us in 2020 and thus, we must begin with an enormous *thank you* for sticking with us during this tumultuous and unprecedented year. What a ride. We know that it's not always easy to support the little guys but boy are we glad you've stuck with us. Your grace and understanding helped us to persevere and we are committed to sticking around for the long haul. We are so grateful to be a part of this community. Thank you.
For those celebrating Christmas this week, deep breath — there's still time! We've got some last minute gifting suggestions below including two super-easy-to-execute unique ideas that you won't see anywhere else. Not sure what to give your book-loving friends and family? Our gift cards are always a big hit. And for those who are looking forward to a well-earned bit of cozy rest, our Friday Five gives you permission to read whatever you like.
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Here's how I'm planning to spend the last week of 2020: full-on do-whatever-the-heck-I-want-to-do mode. I'm not looking at award lists or best of tomes (though both, in their own right, are filled with fantastic suggestions and side note, we're championing both the National Book Award winner Interior Chinatown and the Booker Prize top choice, Shuggie Bain — you cannot go wrong with either).
A few weeks ago, a customer came in requesting The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, a book that crossed my radar screen earlier in the year but never materialized in my TBR pile. It's a slim volume of celebrated intergenerational stories that illustrate the struggle between doing what we want to do and what various individuals and institutions, namely the church, expect of us. Short stories are the perfect anecdote to frayed nerves and splintered attention spans, something some of us may have intimate experience with these days.
The pandemic has me spending a bit more (okay, a lot more) time on Instagram and I've loved seeing how my favorite authors have been keeping it together. One writer worth following is Jasmine Guillory, the bestselling author of romantic comedy who has been hailed by everyone from Reese to Shonda to Jenna as queen of her craft. Guillory has both downward dogged (187 straight days of yoga) and baked (cinnamon rolls, pan pizza, cookies, lasagna) her way through this tumultuous year all while publishing her sixth bestselling "radical romance." Goodness knows I'm late to the game but I can't wait to dive into her latest, Party of Two during the break.
Tucked in a little corner near the front windows sits our New York Review of Books fixture, filled to the brim with can't-go-wrong titles. I grabbed Eve's Hollywood which has been on my list for ages but while perusing the spinner, I came across The Dud Avocado and with a title like that, who could resist? The Dud Avocado. Just typing that title makes me smile. Newsweek says of the 1958 novel: "Take one zippy, curious, 21-year-old American named Sally Jay, just out of college. Drop her in the middle of Paris’ Left Bank. Add an Italian diplomat, an American theatrical director , a couple of painters and a white slave trader. Mix until all bubbles. The result: a delightful few hours of sparkling reading entertainment. Summing up: Froth and frolic." Sounds like the perfect cocktail hour read. Champagne anyone?
I'm also looking forward to more reading time with my kids and this time, it's my turn to pick the book. The Silver Arrow from celebrated author Lev Grossman isn't part of a series. There aren't any unicorns or sloths or narwhals or comic strip graphics . But it's magical, witty, and captures the adolescent voice in such a spot on way that even the fantastical plot seems plausible. We started this week and everyone in my house gives it two thumbs up.
Finally, I'm planning to cook. Cooking, even in a homebound year, can feel like a luxury when day-to-day life pushes us back to tried and true favorites. Events Coordinator Rosanna and I have already jumped in to Ottolenghi's vegetable-forward latest, Flavor, and wholeheartedly recommend it as a gift to oneself. Tester-approved dishes include: hummus with lemon, fried garlic and chili accompanied baguette and crudite made for an easy Sunday supper; malfada (pasta) and roasted butternut in warm yogurt sauce + saffron tagliatelle were winners both; a kohlrabi noodle salad that I wish I had doubled was just as good leftover the next day; and a sweet potato in tomato, lime and cardamom sauce that even my kids ate for dinner. Highly recommend.
Wishing you all a bit of peace and oodles of time to do whatever you'd like.
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Audiobook Gift Memberships |
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In partnership with our friends over at Libro.fm we are thrilled to offer gift audiobook memberships and individual audiobooks, virtually delivered to anyone on your gifting list wherever they may be!
Credits have no expiration date and recipients can choose their own titles
Audiobook memberships
Customers have the option of 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month* memberships.
The number of months equals the number of credits in the gift (3 months = 3 audiobook credits).
Membership gifts allow recipients to select their own audiobooks and provides them with access to membership benefits, like 30% off additional purchases.
For every 12-month audiobook membership you gift, Barrett Bookstore receives
Individual Books
Customers can gift any of the 150,000+ audiobooks in our catalog by selecting the “Gift audiobook” option on the audiobook’s page.
• TIP: Libro.fm members get 30% off individual audiobook gifts!
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Elizabeth Lesser: Cassandra Speaks
What if Women Had Been the Storytellers of the Human Story?
January 14 + 21, 12-1PM
January 28, 7:30 PM
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Join Barrett Bookstore + Everwell for a (3) part series through Elizabeth Lesser's stunning new book. Sessions 1 + 2 will be facilitated by Barrett Bookstore's Page Berger and Everwell Co-Founder Lindsay Hurty. Session 3 will be a live author talk with Lesser herself, as we have a conversation about "the stories culture tells, and how those stories shape culture."
You may register for the session with Lesser as a stand-alone or for the entire series.
A lovely holiday gift for your sister, mom, best friend, or daughter!
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Holiday Picks: Fully Stocked Adult |
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*Pro tip: You can click on any of the images below and travel to our website where you can read synopses, reviews, and place an order for in-store pick up or delivery. Most books are in stock but if we don't have a copy on the shelf, we can easily order one for you! |
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Holiday Picks: Fully Stocked Kids |
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We’re open for browsing and pickups every day, Monday-Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 12-4.
If you are placing an order via our website, you live in Darien or Rowayton, and would prefer home delivery please choose "In-Town Delivery" for home delivery (vs. having the item shipped). It’s currently taking 1-3 days to prepare orders of in-stock items to be ready for pickup and in-town delivery. We will contact you when your order is complete. PLEASE NOTE: web orders are processed Monday - Friday.
In-town deliveries are made Monday — Friday.
IMPORTANT DATES (please note that at this point we cannot make any guarantees about Christmas delivery):
DECEMBER 15: Last day to place order for Christmas delivery for out of town shipping.
DECEMBER 17-JANUARY 2: We will be pausing all shipping to focus on in-store work. Shipping will resume on January 2.
DECEMBER 18: Last day for special orders to (possibly) arrive at the store by Christmas.
DECEMBER 24: Barrett will close at 3PM.
DECEMBER 25-27: Barrett will be closed; we will re-open for business Monday, December 28.
DECEMBER 31: Barrett will close at 3PM.
JANUARY 1: Barrett will be closed.
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