Learning from the League of Extraordinary Booksellers ⚔️

What’s New at Linden Tree

Flo,

I’m back from Winter Institute, catching up and synthesizing the learnings and ideas gathered from spending a week with other indie booksellers, publishers, and authors. I need another week just to go through all my notes!

While the sessions and panels (“Leveraging Spreadsheets for Bookstore Success”, “AI Synergy: Navigating Change for Booksellers”, etc) were thought-provoking, the conversations in-between are always the highlight. I rode in elevators with booksellers from Kepler’s, had lunch with the owners of Mrs. Dalloway’s, and on my flight home, sat next to an events manager from RJ Julia’s in Connecticut and swapped signing line stories.

Booksellers are a collegial lot and I love how eager they are to share not just favorite books, but strategies and tips for tackling the common problems all bookstores face (rising costs, slim margins, the Giant-Online-Retailer-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, etc). Running a brick-and-mortar bookstore in 2024 is no picnic, but having a support network of people fighting the same battles sure helps!

📚 Books I’m looking forward to this week: Xin Li’s I Lived Inside a Whale is the sweet story of Emma, a quiet girl in a loud world who retreats into a world of stories and imagination. Beautifully illustrated and a warm hug for anytime you feel the world is just “too much of everything, everywhere.” Graphic novels continue to branch out into every category and Jon Chad’s The Solvers combines superhero action with engaging math lessons. (Book 1 covers multiplication and division; book 2 covers fractions and decimals.)

See you at the store,

Chris

📅 Upcoming Events

Middle Grade Book Club

Sunday, February 25 at 4pm

It’s the next meeting of our middle grade book club for ages 9+! Led by bookseller extraordinaire Lorilee, we hope to introduce interested readers to amazing new books and the opportunity to talk about them in a fun, relaxed group setting. Even if you didn't like or finish the book, come to the meeting–different opinions make for great discussions!

This month’s book is The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri, the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called “Seller of Dreams.” Get 10% off the book in-store or online now through Sunday. Please email lorilee@lindentreebooks.com to RSVP.

Traci Chee

With Parker Peevyhouse, Randy Ribay, and Emily Skrutskie

Friday, March 1 at 6pm

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We’re excited to welcome author Traci Chee to celebrate the launch of her thrilling new YA novel, Kindling. Join Traci and her fellow local YA authors Randy Ribay, Parker Peevyhouse, and Emily Skrutskie for an evening of conversation, trivia games, and snacks! RSVP now »

Once, the war was fought with kindlings—elite, magic-wielding warriors whose devastating power comes at the cost of their own young lives. Now, the war is over, and kindlings have been cast adrift—their magic outlawed, their skills outdated, their formidable weapons prized only as relics and souvenirs. Violence still plagues the countryside, and memories haunt those who remain.

When a village comes under threat of siege, it offers an opportunity for seven kindlings to fight one last time. But war changed these warriors. And to reclaim who they once were, they will have to battle their pasts, their trauma, and their grim fates to come together again—or none of them will make it out alive.

Pre-order Kindling and receive a signed bookmark and faux Polaroid prints!

Misa Sugiura

In Conversation with Joanna Ho

Saturday, March 2 at 11am

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We’re thrilled to welcome back author Misa Sugiura to celebrate the launch of the second book in her Momo Arashima series: Momo Arashima Breaks the Mirror of the Sun! Misa will be in conversation with fellow local author Joanna Ho. RSVP now »

After vanquishing a demon king, saving her mom, and reconnecting with her friend Danny, Momo ought to be living the life she's always wanted. But lately, Danny has been ditching her to hang out with mean-girl Ryleigh—and kids have begun vanishing without a trace. Then a whole backyard full of cool kids at Ryleigh's exclusive birthday party becomes the latest to disappear, leaving Momo, Ryleigh, Danny, boy band superstar Jin, and Momo's old friend Niko the fox to fight a dangerous new enemy from Shinto legend.

This time they are up against Tamamo-no-mae—beautiful, bloodthirsty, and manipulative, she's the ultimate mean girl of the Kami-verse. To defeat her, Momo must travel to the Sky Kingdom and steal the legendary Mirror of the Sun. But if she’s going to survive monster ambushes, escape giant snakes, and pull off the heist of the millennium, Momo will have to find a way to work with her team (even Ryleigh), and grapple with the growing power that connects her with her storm god grandfather, Susano'o', and her greatest foe—Izanami the Destroyer.

📅 Mark Your Calendar

Sunday, February 25 at 2:30pm: Story Writing Workshops (ages 7-11)
Sunday, February 25 at 3:30pm: Story Writing Workshops (ages 12+)
Sunday, March 3 at 10:30am: Storytime with Joy Steuerwald
Wednesday, March 20 at 7:30pm: Adult Fiction Book Club: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Sunday, March 24 at 10:30am: Storytime with Dashka Slater, Escargot and the Search for Spring