This past weekend, on October 27th, we held our second Drag Queen Story Hour. Thoughtful, informed parents made the choice to bring their kids to hear local drag queens read Halloween stories. But one woman and one man arrived believing they had the right to stop me and the parents in attendance from making that choice. Despite being told that she could not film the story time without consent of the parents, she continued to do so, spewing hateful, uninformed rhetoric all the while, and she refused to leave.  The drag queens were amazing. They kept reading books, kept engaging the kids despite it all, but I know parents were upset and had to have conversations with their children about that woman's despicable behavior afterwards. 

Since the event, we have received phone calls, emails, and Facebook posts filled with name-calling and hatred. But we have also received double that amount from people giving us their support, standing with us and the drag queens in attendance that day, with the LGBTQ+ community, and we are so thankful for these individuals.

Amidst ever-growing violence and fear, these kinds of events are critical for our community to promote understanding and erase fear. And so we will host another Drag Queen Story Hour, in spite of this group's intentions to scare us. We will post information for the next Story Hour on our social calendars and, as always, here in our newsletter; we hope that you'll save the date and show your support, as many of you already have. For those who believe that this is a reason to shop elsewhere, you have every right to do so, and I wish you well.

Drag Queen Story Hour is a way bookstores and libraries across the country are helping to prevent the fear and ugliness that cause horrific events like the Pulse shooting in Orlando. Our kids will grow up knowing that no matter their gender identity, they will be loved and welcomed into our community. 

- Linda Sherman-Nurick and the Cellar Door Books Team

1. Sex on the Kitchen Table , Norman Ellstrand

     University of Chicago Press |  9780226574899

2.  Gambling on War, Roger Ransom

     Cambridge University Press |  9781108454353

3.  Raven Black, Ann Cleeves

     Minotaur Books |  9780312359676

4. Vox, Christina Dalcher

     Berkely |  9780440000785

5.  Wrestling with the Devil, Ngugi wa Thiong'o

     The New Press |  9781620973332

6.  The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas

     Balzer + Bray |  9780062498533

7. Killing Commendatore, Haruki Murakami

     Knopf |  9780525520047

8.  Experiencing Comics, Rachelle Cruz

     Cognella Academic Publishing |  9781516516988

9. Unsheltered, Barbara Kingsolver

     HarperCollins |  9780062684561

10. Bridge of Clay, Markus Zusak

     Knopf Books for Young Readers |  9781984830159

Read the full review here.

We've invited two of our representatives from Penguin Random House - Nic Dufort (Random House Children's Books) and Nicole White (Penguin Young Readers) - to share the new and exciting kids' books releasing this season. See what books they have to offer, spend some time shopping the selection, and prepare to be the coolest parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, or family friend at your holiday celebration! 

Categories include:

We are excited to welcome graphic novelists Ezra Claytan Daniels and Ben Passmore for a multimedia reading and signing!

Daniels's most recent work, Upgrade Soul, follows the lives of Hank and Molly Nonnar as they decide to undergo an experimental rejuvenation procedure, left with severely disfigured yet superior duplicates of themselves. In the Eisner-nominated comic collection Your Black Friend and Other Strangers, Passmore masterfully tackles comics about race, gentrification, online dating, bad street art, and lots of other grown-up stuff.

We are so thankful of our customers, and we hope you'll join us again for this year's Small Business Saturday celebration! Small Business Saturday is a day that celebrates and supports the small businesses that make communities unique. They're an important part of our lives, and when they succeed, we all do. 

With that in mind, leading up to Small Business Saturday, tell your friends about the small businesses you love. Use #ShopSmall or #IndiesFirst on social media. Then, on November 24th, get out and shop with us!

We're pleased to have Dante Fabiero, author of Slothilda, as our guest bookseller! A former Simpsons animator, Fabiero created an all-too-real comic series about an adorable little sloth who's driven by her desire for self-improvement. Are you a fan of carbs, the internet, and naps? Slothilda is your spirit animal! Check out Slothilda and shop Dante's other suggestions for Small Business Saturday.

The Riverside Community Players are back again this year to perform a readers' theatre of Dickens's holiday classic, A Christmas Carol! This is our store's fan-favorite event of the holiday season, so be sure to reserve your seats early!

Cellar Door Book Club (Meets the fourth Sunday of the month at 3 pm)

Sunday, November 25: There There by Tommy Orange

Sunday, January 27: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Mystery Book Club  (Meets the third Thursday of the month at 6 pm)

*Thursday, November 8: Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

Thursday, January 17: Natchez Burning by Greg Isles

Science-Fiction & Fantasy  (Meets the third Saturday of the month at 5 pm)

Saturday, November 17: Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley

Saturday, December 15: The Moon and the Other by John Kessel

Memoir & Biography  (Meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6 pm)

Wednesday, November 14: Wrestling With the Devil by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Wednesday, January 9: How to American by Jimmy O. Yang

Latino Book Club  (Meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Tuesday, November 27: Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli

Tuesday, January 22: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Historical Fiction Book Club  (Meets the fourth Saturday of the month at 5 pm)

Saturday, January 26: The Terror by Dan Simmons

Saturday, February 23: The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

Agatha Christie Book Club  (Meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

*Monday, November 12: Cat Among the Pigeons

Tuesday, December 18: Murder is Easy

Philosophical Horror  (Meets the third Monday of the month at 6 pm)

Monday, November 19: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Monday, January 21: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Black Lit Book Club  (Meets the final Friday of the month at 6 pm)

Friday, November 30: Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Imbue

Friday, January 25: A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

Speculative Fiction Book Club  (Meets the second Friday of the month at 6:30 pm)

*Friday, November 16: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Friday, January 11: How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

LGBTQ Book Club  (Meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 6 pm)

*Thursday, November 29: The Whale by Mark Beauregard

Thursday, January 24: Bad Boy by Elliot Wake

Not Your Father's Teen Lit  (Meets the first Saturday of the month at 6 pm)

*Saturday, November 10: Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

Saturday, December 1: The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth (plus a Skype-In with the author!)

Bucket List Book Club  (Meets the third Sunday of the month at 3 pm)

Sunday, January 20: The Stand by Stephen King

Sunday, February 17: Kindred by Octavia Butler

Phy-Sci Book Club  (Meets the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 pm)

Wednesday, November 28: We Have No Idea by Jorge Cham & Daniel Whiteson

Wednesday, January 23: Five Ages of the Universe by Fred C. Adams & Greg Laughlin

Current Affairs Book Club  (Meets the second Sunday of the month at 4 pm)

Sunday, November 11: The Future is History by Masha Gessen

Sunday, January 13: A World of Three Zeroes by Muhammed Yunnis

Feminist Book Club  (Meets the first Tuesday of the month at 6 pm)

Tuesday, November 6: Vox by Christina Dalcher

January TBD: Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Graphic Novel Book Club  (Meets the first Monday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Monday, November 5: Destroyer by Victor LaValle

Monday, December 3: Arclight by Brandon Graham, ill. by Marian Churchland

Libros en Espanol (Meets the second Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm)

Tuesday, November 13: La fruta del Borrachero by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Early Readers Book Club (Meets the second Saturday of the month at 1 pm)

Saturday, November 10: The Unlucky Lottery Winners of Classroom 13 by Honest Lee

Saturday, January 12: Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro

Spanish Readers Book Club  (Meets the third Saturday of the month at 1 pm)

Saturday, November 17: La senorita Runfio by Barbara Cooney

Saturday, January 19: El Lorax by Dr. Seuss 

Kid's Book Club (Meets the second Thursday of the month at 4 pm)

Thursday, November 8: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Thursday, January 10: Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Dumbeldore's Army (Meets the first Monday of the month at 3:30 pm)

Monday, November 5: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Monday, December 3: The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang