Our November indie bookstore partner is The Next Chapter Books and Gifts, located in Ohama, Nebraska.
The Next Chapter Books and Gifts opened in 2019. The owner, Shelly Mutnam, comes from a bookstore background. Her mom, Jane, owned Prarie Books & Gifts, an indie bookstore in Hasting, Nebraska, which operated for forty-three years. There is an absolutely lovely video on The Next Chapter website, which details the closing of Jane's store and the opening of Shelly's. Here is a link, have the tissues handy.
Shelly has not only built a fabulous indie bookstore, but she has created an inviting space for her community to gather. The Next Chapter Books and Gifts has won many local businesses awards, including taking the first place prize in the Omaha's Choice Awards. The store is dog friendly and even sells alcohol with a selection of beer and mixed cocktails in cans.
One of the most unique things about The Next Chapter is they offer a pop-up store. They bring a selection of books and merch for local fairs or literary events. I love anything that gets books out into the world or gives exposure to small businesses, expecially indie bookstores.
Multiple book clubs are hosted at the store, including a club focused on YA books and a club focused on LGBTQ+ literature. There is even a "Book and Wine" club. This club is currently full, which I imagine is due to the popularity of having wine during a book club discussion! I wonder how introducing wine would affect the attendance at the book club that I help moderate? Make sure to peruse the staff book reviews on their website. They are thoughtfully crafted and may introduce you to a new book that you need to add to your TBR list. Take it a step further and purchase the book from their online store.
The Next Chapter Books and Gifts is an indie with a lovely history of a family tradition in bookselling. The November box includes their store logo beverage koozie. Please support them by visiting their store in Omaha, following their Instagram account, and shopping with them online.
I'm writing this post the day before Thanksgiving, just a few days before the holiday shopping season kicks off. I want to remind everyone of the importance of supporting small businesses. Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday. I know that a lot of shoppers will be looking for deals, and you might not find big ones at smaller businesses, but I encourage you to seek out ways to support smaller businesses when possible. For example, if you are looking to buy gift cards, consider a gift card to an indie bookstore or local restaurant, rather than a big box retailer or chain restaurant. Indie Bookstores rely on a big holiday shopping season to help keep them afloat during the leaner months, and I'm sure this applies to other small buisnesses as well. It may not seem like much, but every purchase counts, and can add up to keeping the buisnesses we love in our community from shuttering. Please support the businesses that you care about and those that make communities stronger.
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