July News
Greetings!
The most important news from B&B is that we plan to re-open for walk-in business on Monday, July 13. Walk-in hours will be noon to 5 pm, seven days a week. You can still order for pick-up, which will now be handled just inside the front door; or for shipment to your home. There will be no appointments necessary, but we will limit the number of people inside the store at any given time to maintain plenty of social distance. Masks will be required, and you’ll be offered a choice of gloves or hand sanitizer at the front door. But we’ll try not to make it as complicated a process as in the new cartoon in our header (above) by Scottish cartoonist Tom Gauld , the beloved author of one of our best-selling items, The Snooty Bookshop postcard collection.

Between now and then, we’re pausing Literary Lunchbreaks and other activities so that we can focus on getting the store back in optimal, completely sanitary, browsable shape. You can continue to order for curbside pickup in the meantime, and we’ll send out another newsletter right before we open with further details about the opening, new Literary Lunchbreaks, and the return of Where’s Waldo in Downtown Evanston .

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, and if you happen to find yourself in a hammock or a rocking chair or on a socially distanced beach blanket, make sure you have a good book in hand! There are lots of great suggestions below.

And as always, read on!
Yours,
Nina
Curbside Pickup Policy
Bookends & Beginnings is offering curbside pickup from 12–5 pm Monday–Saturday. 
  • The most efficient way to order from us is through our website. If you have any questions or issues with ordering online, we'd prefer that you send us an email at info@bookendsandbeginnings.com and we'll get to it as soon as we can. If you have an urgent question or need additional help with your order, you can call us during the pick-up hours from 12–5 pm Monday–Saturday at 224-999-7722. (Please DO NOT LEAVE VOICEMAIL. If no one picks up your call, either try again later or send an email.)
  • If you would like to pick up your books, select the “Curbside Pickup” option for shipping during checkout. 
  • When we process your order, we'll let you know whether the books are at the store or if we need to get them from our distributor, in which case it will take a couple of days for them to arrive. You can also check for yourself if we have something in stock by looking it up on the website. If it says "On our shelves now" there's a good chance you can get it quickly, though sometimes the copy we have in stock may already be on hold for someone else.
  • We will email you to let you know once your order is ready. Once you have received the email, you are free to come by during our curbside pickup hours to pick up your order 

When you come to pick up your books...
  • We ask that everyone who comes to pick up an order wears a mask.
  •  When you arrive, please ring our doorbell (using your elbow, or a glove, or a tissue) and wait for one of the bookstore staff to arrive at the door. We will sanitize the doorbell regularly throughout the day.
  • Tell the staff member your name and order number and step away from the door. The staff member will place your order on a table outside of the door and close it behind them. After that you are free to take your order and enjoy your new books!
In other news: Evanston’s District 65 has announced its Summer 2020 reading list, and we’re all over it! If you order five or more of these titles from us (all at once), we will deliver them to your doorstep FOR FREE!

We’ve got all of the District 65 Summer Reading List books conveniently listed on pages you can browse on our website and then pop right into the shopping cart.
Books You Could be Reading
(and ordering from us!)
Pre-order these books and get them when they're released!
Bookends & Beginnings  is a community-centered and community-sustained, full-service, general-interest independent bookstore, now in our sixth calendar year. We are a member of the Chicago Independent Bookstore Alliance ( ChIBA ), the Great Lakes Independent Bookstore Association ( GLIBA ), and the American Booksellers Association ( ABA ). Show your support by shopping in our store (and  other Chicago-area independent bookstores ), by trading in or donating books of quality and in good condition, by bringing your local and out-of-town friends and family to shop with us, by attending our events, and by "liking" us on  Facebook  and posting reviews on other social media. Remember that you can always see event photos and news updates on  our Facebook page , which is updated almost daily. There you can also subscribe to our events feed with a single click.
 
Above all, keep reading good books! 
Bookends & Beginnings
1712 Sherman Ave Alley #1
Evanston, IL 60202 
224-999-7722

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