There’s no better way to start a new year than with a good book and a little sense of adventure—and our January box delivered both. This month, we packed our bags (and boxes!) and headed to the 40th state in the Union: South Dakota. South Dakota is full of fascinating surprises. It’s where Sue, the most complete T-Rex fossil ever discovered, was found. It’s home to the wonderfully quirky Corn Palace, and it played a role in innovations like the Cyclotron particle accelerator

Our December Literary Road Trip Box takes us to Oregon, where we’ve partnered with Spoke & Word Books. Located in Milwaukie, just over six miles from Portland, Spoke & Word Books opened its brick-and-mortar location in 2023. Before settling into its current spot, the store began as a pop-up. The name "Spoke & Word" is a blend of two passions: store owner Cierra Cook’s love of books and their husband’s enthusiasm for mountain biking. Cierra’s husband owns a mountain bike rep

Our December state has the only state flag that’s double-sided. Fun fact number two: 99% of the hazelnuts grown in the United States come from this state. Authors Beverly Cleary and Raymond Carver were born here. It’s home to the deepest lake in the country, and—perhaps most importantly—tater tots were invented here. You’ll also find the world’s largest independent bookstore within its borders. For December, we’re exploring “The Beaver State” — Oregon! Our December book pick

Our November 2025 box was themed to the state of Oklahoma, and our indie bookstore partner was A Novel Idea Bookshop. Located in the town of Guthrie—approximately thirty minutes north of Oklahoma City—A Novel Idea opened in 2023. Who doesn’t love a bookstore animal ambassador, especially one with a literary name? Mr. Darcy is a two-year-old basset hound featured on the store’s logo sticker, which was included in the November box. Of course, Mr. Darcy isn’t alone—there’s also

My plan was for the November box to be mailed at the end of October, perhaps the first day or two of November at the latest. I like the Literary road trip boxes to arrive to subscribers within the first week of the month. Of course, sometimes things do not go according to plan. I had a delay major delay with the books at the publishers and I could not mail the boxes until November 8th. Thank you to everyone for your patience. Luckily (knock-on-wood) delays don't happen very o

Our October 2025 box is themed to the state of Iowa and we collaborated with indie bookstore Beaverdale Books . Located in Des Moines, Beaverdale Books opened in 2006. Most indie bookstores proudly support local authors, but Beaverdale Books takes it to a whole new level. They have a local authors section with over five hundred Iowan authors represented. I'm not aware of another indie bookstore that supports such a large number of local authors. It's incredible! In addition

When I worked as a bookseller at Tattered Cover one of my favorite parts of my job was helping customers select books for gift. I enjoyed learning about the recipient and helping them find the perfect book for their loved ones. One step more, I loved wrapping the books in our beautiful store wrapping paper, completing the purchase with the confidence that they not only had a thoughtful present, but one that was wrapped and ready to give. When thinking about ideas for this upc

Here I am with Nancy, of the "Nancy Raffle" fame. This was taken a very long time ago! Last week, when I hosted the September Literary...

It's time for our popular "Spooky Season" box. This is always one of the most fun boxes to plan, as it contains seasonal treats and...

Located in Providence, Rhode Island, Heartleaf Books is our indie bookstore partner for our September 2025 Literary Road Trip Box . As...

September takes us to the smallest state and last of the original thirteen colonies to adopt statehood. It is the birthplace of authors...

Poe & Company is a fabulous indie bookstore located in Milton, Georgia and our indie bookstore partner for our August 2025 Literary Road...

We’ve reached our 25 th box in the Literary Road Trip series! Our August box takes us to the birthplace of writers Alice Walker,...

In August of 2023, I mailed my first Literary Road Trip Box. The state was New Jersey, the featured book was Florence Adler Swims Forever...

Our July indie bookstore parter is The Booktenders . Located in York, Maine, The Booktenders opened in spring of 2022. The owners are a...

Let’s head to the state that supplies over 90% of our country’s blueberries and lobsters. This state is nicknamed the “Pine Tree State”...

Our June indie bookstore partner is Paper Hearts Bookstore. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, Paper Hearts Bookstore has a sweet...

Our June box takes us to the "Natural State,"nick- named for its beautiful mountains, hot springs, and rivers. This is the only place in...

When I worked at Tattered Cover, I noticed my coworker (who also happens to be a librarian for a double-win) purchasing the latest...

Our May 2025 box is themed to the state of Tennessee and we collaborated with Landmark Booksellers . Located in Franklin, Landmark...