Hey October! Where did summer go?

Hard to believe we're gearing up for the holidays over here, but such is retail. Still, we have a few more weeks of fall to enjoy, and a couple very special announcements for October and November!

Here's the short version, keep scrolling for more deets!

1. Catch us at the Market at Manchester on October 19

2. Launching Pop-Up Book Club on October 24! (hangouts, discounts, discord, oh my!) RSVP today!

3. November Markets to look forward to

4. More than books

5. You can support us on Libro.FM

6. Featured book: The Darkness Outside Us

1 - October Markets

We had an amazing time at Harvest Book Fair on October 5 and 6, and if you were one of the lovely people who bought a book -- thank you! We had an amazing sales day which will help us prepare for the Holidays by purchasing new stock. We couldn't expand our selection without your support.

Our next market will be on October 19 at Manchester Square for their fall/scary market. We'll be there from 11-4pm!

PSA: We've chosen not to use the word "spooky" in any of our marketing despite that being the official name of this market. Please help us by spreading better, more thoughtful language.

2 - Pop-Up Book Club

Did you hear??

On October 24 we'll be launching our first every meetup aka Pop-Up Book Club. We'll be at Felice Cafe from 7PM - 9PM with a curated selection of books to purchase. Our theme for this month will be queer history + scary season!

Please bring whatever book you're currently reading, though if you'd like to choose one of the above topics for a theme we'd love that!

From 7-7:15 we'll be meeting and greeting.
From 7:30-8:30, we'll be reading! Quietly! In each others presence! This is a great way for us introverts to be a little social without completely draining our social batteries (hey, it's me! I'm the introvert!)

Of course, during this time you can also enjoy the yummy snacks and drinks in the cafe, and there will also be a charm jewelry pop-up happening if you'd like to participate! You can also peruse our books and make purchases as desired.
From 8:30-9 we'll chat about what we're reading (optional) and say our goodbyes.

We can't wait to start building the Alphabet Soup community. Our book club attendees will receive a loyalty stamp card with exclusive discounts as well as an opportunity to join our private discord server. This might open up to the wider community in the future but for the moment we're testing it out on our favourite peeps! We hope that means YOU!

It's 100% optional to RSVP, but it would make our anxiety less anxious if we knew how many lovely faces to expect!

3 - November Markets

We've got two awesome markets booked for November so far!

First, you'll find us at Geeky Gifts Market on November 16 and 17 at the Edmonton Expo Centre. This is going to be a HUGE one with tons of amazing things to see and do and hundreds of vendors. Our biggest market yet! There is a door fee of $5, so come prepared and be ready to get all your holiday shopping done!

And we're super excited to be heading to the first ever Festive AF market (we started at Gay AF after all). Visit us there on November 24 from 12-7pm at the Bellevue Community League. We can't wait for this one!!

Wanna see something from us in December? We're looking for ideas. Send us a DM or fill out the contact form on the website if you'd be interested in a book swap event or a book box for the holidays!

4 - More than books?!

We've brought in a few goodies for you to snag at our next few markets. In addition to our Pride Pals pins, and our gorgeous art prints by Haley Brown (which a few lucky online orders might find included for free...) we also have a handful of scary stickers and beautiful skull candles made locally by Samantha Moller Art. These pumpkin scented beauties are studded with smoky quartz and sprinkled with cinnamon and calendula.

When it comes to merch, quantities are limited and unlike books, we won't be bringing in the exact same items again so snatch them up!

5 - Alphabet Soup x Libro FM

Are you more of an audiobook person??

We get it. Luckily, you don't have to support Amazon with your audiobook subscription, you can support *us*.

Make the switch to Libro.FM using the link below, and your audiobook subscription and purchases will support Alphabet Soup Bookstore! We'll do our part by including audiobook links on our product pages, and curating playlists on Libro.FM so you can always find a great queer book to listen to.

Featured Book

AHHHHHH.

I, your slow reading book slinging friend, have just finished reading The Darkness Outside Us and HOLY SHIT (excuse my language). What a twisty turvy timey wimey surprise. I did not expect this book to rip my heart into a million pieces and then slowly rebuild it along with tentative hope for humanity. NO I DID NOT.

The prose, by author Eliot Schrefer, is EXACTLY the kind of funny and irreverent one moment deeply poetic the next writing that I love and reminded me of my all time favourite series The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Eliot Schrefer is now officially added to my instant purchase list. I will be bringing in the sequel to this book immediately so please buy them from me so I can get the dopamine hit of putting my new favourite obsession into your hands.