Quarantine Comfort Picks from Team OTB
Hello, Old Town Books fans! We’d like to start off this post with a huge and heartful “Thank you!” Your enthusiastic support has meant the world to our small business since we opened back in 2018, but never so much as in the past several months. #TooSmallToFail!
When the global COVID-19 pandemic shutdown our in-person operations, your consistent online and socially-distanced pick-up orders not only kept our staff busy, but allowed us to reopen our doors at the end of August with full shelves and hearts alike. We were also able to add two new booksellers to our team: please welcome Laura and Shannon!
We want to take this opportunity to introduce our new faces and share some comfort picks from our whole staff. Check out the recommendations below in our webstore or the next time you visit us in the store (wear a mask, please!). We asked our team to share the following:
Your top book(s) from quarantine (March - August/Sept)
A "comfort item" that's helped you on the greyer days
An activity (other than reading) that's been uplifting/fun/etc.
Abby, Floor Manager
1) Anna K. by Jenny Lee, The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, Wonderland by Zoje Stage, Luster by Raven Leilani, and American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
2) Puzzles! So many puzzles! I especially love the ones with Jane Mount's art, like our Ideal Bookshelf one, as well as All Good Things are Wild and Free. It's so soothing to just sit with these puzzles after a long day and listen to an audiobook or watch Netflix. Somehow hours go by without my noticing and that's such a blessing these days.
3) Other than puzzles, I've gotten back into doing cross-stitch. It's crafty without feeling too hard and I love how they look once I finish them and put them up on my wall. I especially love the kits by Junebug and Darlin (who made our personalized kits for the shop), as she includes everything you need in one kit and makes it incredibly easy to follow along with her instructions. And it's a local business from Seattle, so it's a win-win!
Laura, Bookseller
1) The City We Became, Luster, The Vanishing Half, and The House in the Cerulean Sea
2) Book-themed socks from the shop to keep me cozy at home!
3) I spent most of the quarantine transitioning from a brick and mortar yoga studio to an all-online studio. At the beginning of quarantine, I vehemently hated cardio, but a few weeks in was so restless I started adding HIIT classes to my repertoire. It’s been fun(?) to challenge myself both teaching and taking cardio classes, and finding strength in new ways.
Amanda, Events Coordinator
1) Migrations, Fathoms, The Year of the Witching, The Voting Booth, The Vanishing Half, and Anxious People
2) Working from home means comfy clothes whenever possible!
3) Escaping the apartment by taking my cat on walks. He's always been an indoor cat, but he loves sitting at open windows and listening to the birds. So, I got a leash and harness and we went for a walk! He loves it.
Shannon, Bookseller
1) Untamed; The Flatshare; A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor; Brave, Not Perfect; Red, White & Royal Blue
2) I am such a huge fan of candles. We keep getting in new scents from Frostbeard and I have to remind myself to finish the candles I have at home before buying new ones!
3) In addition to binging The West Wing from the beginning, I’ve recently started getting back to my crafty side through cross-stitch (thanks for the suggestion, Abby!). I’ve found it to be very meditative and helps me feel “productive” during downtime without the evils of double screening. As President Bartlet likes to say: “What’s next?”
Jen, Book Buyer
1) Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is a delightfully fun romance and my favorite comfort read of the summer. Also, The Testaments by Margaret Atwood was recently released in paperback and I also highly recommend it. It's a riveting, clever novel, definitely recommended for anyone who likes The Handmaid's Tale, but it's possible to read it as a standalone.
2) Jigsaw puzzles require a different kind of focus than reading and can be relaxing in the right mood. The All Good Things Are Wild and Free 1,000 piece puzzle is one that we've recently been able to bring back in stock.
3) Baking bread and sweets! I'm looking forward to some good cookbooks coming out in the fall, and the most buzz seems to be around Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz, which is due in late October.
Angie, Social Media Coordinator
1) -The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
-Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
-Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
-Luster by Raven Leilani
-Real Life by Brandon Taylor
2) Rainy Day Reads candle from Frostbeard, I think I've burned through four of them!
3) Yoga with Adriene! Free! All on YouTube! She has brought me so much peace and also makes me feel good because I'm only a couch potato 90% of the time, instead of 100% of the time.
We’ve got plenty more recommendations, so please feel free to ask! Our booksellers are happy to help you find your next perfect book (or five…), be it in-store, on Instagram, or over the phone. Keep an eye here on the blog for even more recommendation and themed posts in the coming months as well. You could even see yourself here someday: email hello@oldtownbooks.com if you’re interested in being featured in our upcoming Reading Around Town guest recommendation series.
We can’t wait to see what you’re reading next! Be sure to tag us (@oldtownbooks) on Instagram and Twitter, and use the hashtag #OTBtbr to share your current and future reads.
Blog contribution by Abby Bennsky, Laura Schwartz, Amanda Robinson, Shannon McCarthy, Jen Cheng., and Angie Sanchez. Edited by Shannon McCarthy.