March March March
events, recommendations + reminders
Happy (almost) Spring, everyone! As much as we love the coziness of a winter’s day, we are looking forward to warmer days and blooming flowers. And moving our reading spots from inside to the porch, the park, the lawn chair! Check out what we have going on in March and some of our recent recommendations.
UPCOMING EVENTS
WEDNESDAY MARCH 5TH
Hotel Madison Lobby 7:00 pm - We will be selling books at a reading and conversation between local authors Evan Friss (The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore) and Sofia Samatar (Opacities).
SATURDAY MARCH 8TH
9:15 am - 2nd Saturday stories! Welcome the coming spring with Ms. Baker as she entertains your kiddos with stories and a craft.
THURSDAY MARCH 13TH
5:00 pm - Join us for a conversation with Emily Hancock, letterpress printer, poet, and founder of St Brigid Press. Emily will read from Falling Into Place, her new collection of poems, and discuss other St. Brigid Press publications and projects. This event will include a letterpress show-&-tell and demonstration with metal and wood type. Michael Trocchia, local poet and JMU professor, will host.
THURSDAY MARCH 20TH
6:00 pm - Join us for our 3rd Thursday (Quarterly) Book Club! We will be discussing Kate Atkinson's Death at the Sign of the Rook and announcing our next book club pick!
EMU’s Martin Chapel 7:30-8:30 pm - We will be selling books at EMU's Writers Read series featuring The Height of Land by Christine Benner.
TUESDAY MARCH 25TH
5:00 pm - Take part in Massanutten Regional Library’s Big Read event by joining our discussion of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
SOME BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS…
Amanda - I loved Fiona Davis’s new novel The Stolen Queen. Couldn’t put it down. Plus I learned so much about ancient Egypt and the inner workings of The Met! I also loved Alice Franklin’s debut novel Life Hacks for a Little Alien, which is told from the perspective of a girl with autism, although autism is never mentioned. It’s a book for anyone who has ever felt different. And who hasn’t?!
Emma - Recently, I've read and loved Amina Cain's A Horse at Night and Olivia Laing's Funny Weather (if you've asked me for a recommendation recently, I've probably blabbed to you about one or both of these books). Both are incredible nonfiction books about art, writing, and literature! I'm also currently enjoying Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States (this is a chunky one, so I'll be working on it for a while).
Jason - I'm not sure what it says about me, but I started my 2025 with both of Adam Higginbotham's incredible deep dives on famous disasters: Midnight in Chernobyl and Challenger. I was blown away by his ability to break down a pair of terrible events in riveting fashion while still somehow emphasizing the deep humanity behind each. My cheerier side loved Cabin -- Patrick Hutchinson's relaxing and delightfully self-deprecating breakdown of his own neophyte efforts to restore a tiny, rundown cabin in the Pacific Northwest -- and is currently loving A Course Called America, Tom Coyne's search across the United States for “the great American golf course" that doubles as an ode to all those who enjoy the game.
And a collective bookstore favorite…
REMINDERS
If we don’t have a book here in the shop, we’re happy to order it for you. No shipping cost to you and it usually comes within a week!
If you’d like to pre-order a book, just let us know and we’ll be sure to get you a copy when its published.
The best way to reach us is to either text our phone number (540-744-2618) or email us at helloparentheses@gmail.com. Or, of course, stop in for a chat!
Also, Bookshop.org now has eBooks! So you can support us AND read on your device.
Read on, friends!
Sincerely, your booksellers,
Amanda, Emma, and Jason