Located in Brookings, South Dakota, The Nook is our January 2026 Literary Road Trip indie bookstore partner. From the moment you step inside, The Nook feels like more than a bookstore—it’s a warm, welcoming space designed for readers to linger, connect, and feel at home. Owner Laci Thompson opened The Nook in February 2023 with a vision of creating a community hub where stories and people come together. At the end of 2024, the store was forced to temporarily close due to dam

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

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...