Where To Get The Best Holiday Presents

I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving, and I get a little offended when people start talking holiday shopping before the bird has been cooked. But I'm going to break my own rule this year...

See, I sent Linc around the States to check out all these great bookstores so he could report back and give us all the scoop. Because as an author and reader, I'm a big fan of these independent bookstores. If you've ever visited a good one, you know how the staff, the atmosphere, and the personal recommendations make all the difference. I've discovered great new authors by visiting my local indies.

So I hope you'll join me and check out these bookstores for your holiday shopping:

Hooray For Books in Alexandria, VA

Seattle Mystery Bookshop in Seattle, WA

Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, GA

Tattered Cover in Denver, CO

Murder by the Book in Houston, TX

Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS

Park Street Books in Medfield, MA

Most of them stock signed books (best present ever!), and will ship them to you. Or go to your own local bookstore. Saturday is Small Business Saturday...

That's my soapbox moment.

Happy Turkey Day, all.

Linc's Bookstore Tour Stop #7: Park Street Books

It's Linc again, still traveling around the States. My bookstore tour is almost over...

I'm kind of bummed, but then I should really head home to California for some Thanksgiving grub. My last stop takes me over to Massachusetts.

Seventh Stop: Park Street Books 
Place: Medfield, MA


Here's the scoop:

Question: What makes Park Street Books different from other bookstores?

Our bookstore is different in many ways: We are the biggest children's bookstore in New England. There is nothing downloadable or electronic in the store. We never advertise ... just word of mouth.

Question: I have a day to spend in the Medfield area. What should I do for fun?
Medfield Fun: Rocky Wood reservation for hiking.

Question: If you could invent any spy gadget, what would it be and what would it do?

My spy gadget would be a piece of wood with lead in it that can write down facts ... Wait, that may have already been invented.

Question: Any cool events coming up for my friends who live in the area?

Our cool events: We have lots of author visits and we have a creative art studio with classes and workshops. You can even paint your own pottery.

Verdict: Park Street Books is pretty cool, so come on by to meet the staff!

You can follow Park Street Books on Facebook, and check out the staff's favorite books for some holiday present ideas...

Linc's Bookstore Tour Stop #6: Lemuria Books

Linc here. I just left Houston, and now I'm in Jackson, Mississippi.

My tour is almost over... I'm kind of bummed about that--this is way more fun than going to school, let me tell you.

Sixth stop: Lemuria Books 
Place: Jackson, MS

Question: What makes Lemuria Books different from other bookstores? 
Well for one thing, just the sheer number of books! We want to make sure that we have the exact book you're looking for. We also have a lot, and I mean a LOT, of signed books We usually have more than one signing a week and we loved signed books.

Question: I have a day to spend in Jackson. What should I do for fun? After you have visited us, you should head over to Eudora Welty's house in Belhaven. One of the most complete author houses in the United States, Ms. Welty was a beloved Mississippian, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a lover of books. Take a tour of the house and you will feel like you met her. Oh and also, go visit the children's museum. I know, I know, you're twelve, too old for such things, but really, even adults have fun there. From the huge map/playground of Mississippi to the largest Scrabble board ever made, you can definitely learn a lot here and have too much fun doing it.

Question: If you could invent any spy gadget, what would it be and what would it do?
A gadget that reads people's thoughts and records them into written transcripts. You could do a lot of spying that way!

Question: Any cool events coming up for my friends who live in the area? Well, on Wednesday, November 14th at 5:00 we have the great author John Flanagan coming for the newest book in his Brotherband Chronicles series, The Hunters. I think you might even like it...

Looks like I'm sticking around Jackson for a while...!

Follow the Lemuria Books blog, or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Or you can come meet the staff in person! I left a backpack with gadgets and a signed copy of Double Vision...

Linc's Bookstore Tour Stop #5: Murder by the Book

Linc here--I just left Denver, after hanging out at Tattered Cover and checking out the cool city of Denver. Now I'm headed south to Texas for the fifth stop in my tour. I'm having a blast!

Fifth Stop: Murder By The Book 
Place: Houston, TX

Here's the skinny:

Question: What makes Murder By The Book different from other bookstores?

For starters, we only carry mysteries! Our entire store is devoted to crime fiction, and we have a whole section for espionage/spy novels. Everyone on the staff at the store loves books and reading, so we're always ready to offer recommendations. We also host a TON of author events. A typical week has us hosting 3-4 events.


Question: I have a day to spend in Houston. What should I do for fun?

There's so much to do in and around Houston. My favorite thing to do is spend a day at Hermann Park. The park has a beautiful Japanese Garden, paddle boats, a train to ride through the park, the Houston Zoo, and it's surrounded by the Museum of Fine Arts and The Museum of Natural Science. You can also take a trip down to NASA and visit Space Center Houston.

Question: If you could invent any spy gadget, what would it be and what would it do? 

I think a gadget that put everyone in the vicinity to sleep for a short period would make sneaking into people's houses much easier. You would just sneak up to the area you needed to snoop around in, turn on the device and get a 10 or 15 minute window to find any information you would need. It's perfect, no one would get harmed and you could in, get the info you need, and get back out before anyone was the wiser!

Question: Any cool events coming up for my friends who live in the area?

We have some really great stuff coming up in December. We're still finalizing details, but December 8th and 9th we'll be hosting local authors at the store to signed books just in time for the holidays. We've got 14 authors signed up so far! On December 22nd we'll be hosting our annual Holiday Open House. We'll have live holiday music as well a last minute edition of Murder By The Book Recommends (where staff members tell the crowd about their favorite reads).

You can find the latest events on the Murder By The Book website.

Conclusion: Murder By The Book is where it's at!

Find Murder By The Book on Facebook and Twitter, so you always have the scoop. Or better yet, head on over there. Tell them Linc sent you, and they might be able to tell you how to enter to win some spy gadgets and a signed copy of Double Vision...

Linc's Bookstore Tour Stop #4: Tattered Cover

It's Linc again. I left Georgia, and now I'm in Denver, Colorado, heading to the fourth stop in my bookstore tour. Did you know this airport looks like a bunch of tipis? Pretty cool...

Anyway, here's the lowdown on my next stop:

Fourth Stop: Tattered Cover Book Store 
Place: Denver (metro), Colorado

Question: What makes Tattered Cover different from other bookstores?

Excellent question Linc! Of course the whole idea of independent bookstores is their “independence” – so every bookstore is unique. We at the Tattered Cover are particularly proud of our author event series. We love being able to connect authors with their readers, and because we have three stores, we're able to host over 500 author events every year!

Question: I have a day to spend in Denver. What should I do for fun?

Denver sure has a lot to offer for an adventurous person like yourself. The Tattered Cover staff loves to enjoy local music, eat at some of our fabulous local restaurants, and enjoy Denver's year-round (mostly) sunny weather. Right now you can explore “Pompeii” at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, learn all about Vincent Van Gogh's amazing career at the Denver Art Museum, and catch an indie flick at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, just a few feet away from our bookstore on Colfax avenue.

Question: If you could invent any spy gadget, what would it be and what would it do?

I think one of the coolest gadgets any spy could have would be a belt that generates an invisibility field – rendering the wearer invisible. While I can't imagine the science behind it, I'm sure there's a brilliant spy-gadget inventor somewhere just putting the finishing touches on this idea!

Question: Any cool events coming up for my kid friends who live in the area?

I don't know what kind of books your friends are interested in, but I can say that we have a calendar full of events for kids of all ages (and adults) this fall. From storytimes with crafts to paranormal mysteries for teens, we have something for everyone. All anyone needs to do is visit our website (tatteredcover.com) and check out our event calendar.

Sounds like Tattered Cover is the place to be, right?

Find Tattered Cover on Facebook, read the Tattered Cover blog, and follow on Twitter so you never miss an event.

I dropped a Kid Spy giveaway package with gadgets and a signed copy of Double Vision at Tattered cover, so head on over there to enter to win...

Linc's Bookstore Tour: Stop #3: Little Shop of Stories

**Before continuing with the tour, I want to send all best wishes to East Coast friends. You're in our thoughts...**


It's Linc again. I left Seattle, which was loads of fun, and now I've landed in Georgia. I rode my skateboard over to the next stop in my bookstore tour:

Third stop: Little Shop of Stories 
Place: Decatur, GA

Question: What makes Little Shop of Stories different from other bookstores?

I think the biggest thing that makes us different are our events. We have three weekly storytimes (one of which kids are invited to wear their pjs and we serve milk and cookies), and tons of special events, like Fancy Storytime (where you dress as fancy as possible), Bark if You Love Storytime (where you bring your dog), art galleries, poetry jams, and an annual Root Beer Festival!

We have married dogs here at the shop, we've turned our basement into a crypt based on the Graveyard Book at Halloween, and we put a 30-foot Christmas Tree on the roof of our shop every year and host an annual tree lighting event for the city. We coordinate a community-wide reading initiative getting families and schools around Atlanta to read the same book and participate in our book-inspired program all fall. We offer summer camps based on books from Magic Treehouse to American Girl to Harry Potter to Percy Jackson. 

We host tons of author events as well. In October alone we hosted Adam Gidwitz, Judy Schachner, Matthew Reinhart, Tad Hills, and Christopher Paolini, to name a few. We love to bring the community together and show them a good time!

Question: I have a day to spend in the Decatur area. What should I do for fun?

Come visit Little Shop! We'll probably be having an event!

Other than that, you should walk around and visit the quirky, fun shops like Squash Blossom, Homegrown Decatur, Decatur CD, and Heliotrope. You should get a cup of coffee (wait, you're twelve, so maybe you don't drink coffee..who knows, with the busy spy life you lead, maybe you do) at Java Monkey, grab a Popsicle from the King of Pops cart, and visit the Decatur Cemetery for a self-guided walking tour.

There are tons of restaurants to choose from...but for you I'd recommend Farm Burger, Brick Store, or Raging Burrito. In the evening, stop by Eddie's Attic for a concert. You could also easily hop on MARTA and visit downtown Atlanta, the High Museum of Art, the Center for Puppetry Arts, and Piedmont Park.

Question: If you could invent any spy gadget, what would it be and what would it do?

I would invent a key that could open any door, that would also have the capability to get through doors with codes, or even hand or eye scanners. I think getting into locked rooms would be half the battle of being a spy.

Question: Any cool events coming up for my friends who live in the area?

Yes, tons!

 November 1st-November 6th The Little Shop Election! Come by the shop to vote for which book character should be our new president

November 3rd at 4 pm Holes Movie Screening at Decatur High School

November 5th 7 pm Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, (author of Black Heels to Tractor Wheels) will be at the shop for a reading and signing

November 8th 7 pm Inaugural Ball and Storytime Find out who is our next shop president

November 15th 7pm On The Same Page Holes Party

November 19th 7 pm Anne Lamott hosted by the Georgia Center for the Book

November 29th 7pm Decatur Christmas Tree Lighting

Verdict: Little Shop of Stories is super-cool!

Find Little Shop of Stories on Facebook and subscribe to their newsletter, so you never miss an event.

Or better yet, go over to Little Shop of Stories in person! You can tell them Linc sent you, and you can enter to win a signed copy of Double Vision and some cool spy gadgets...

Want To Win The Ultimate Tween Spy Kit?

Who doesn't, right?

So head on over to the Seattle Mystery Bookshop.

You have until midnight Monday night to enter...