Immortal Trees Bookshop weekly newsletter: Issue 8

Friday, June 23, 2023

Party stuff is happening! We have had our little bookshop kitties for six months and tomorrow we are going to celebrate! We have TWO children's authors coming, our amazing weekly storyteller reading a themed book, the shelter where we found our cats, yummy cookies by Sweet Melissa, and lots of new cat-themed items! We hope you come celebrate with us tomorrow. It's a free event and we have air conditioning, books, and cats. Could it get any better?

Happy Friday!

LET'S PARTY!

Saturday, June 24: noon-6pm

Go Fund Us...we need a little help :)

I want to start out by saying, WE LOVE OUR CUSTOMERS. You are so bright and happy. We cannot say thank you enough to those who have made purchases, shared pictures of our shop on their social media, and told others about us (especially to strangers!)

That being said, our little shop needs to have a few more people shop here, so we feel it's time to try to do some paid advertising through the West Valley View and the individual city monthly mini-magazines, especially Avondale's EDGE. Advertising is VERY expensive (and often requires a several-month commitment), so we are humbly asking our sweet patrons to help us out.

In addition to advertising, the funds will allow us to strengthen inventory, offer even more events (we are thinking birthday parties and bridal/baby showers!), and hopefully hire an employee or two to give us a little more flexibility to do some community outreach.

The QR code and link below go to our Go Fund Me page. We would be so touched if you could help us out by a donation or a share to people you know.

We want to get our name out there. Daily, people come in and tell us they had no idea we were here, so maybe we need do some marketing blasts. We are confident there are plenty of people who want to join our circle and shop in our store; they just don't know we exist. :)

Thank you again for all of your love. We hope to see you soon.

Wow, whoda thunk?

I am always talking about how powerful language is, especially when it is written down. Of course, you think, you would say that. Books are your life. But, I want to share these quotes with you. See if you can guess the authors:

1. "It's an odd idea for someone like me to keep a diary; not only because I have never done so before, but because it seems to me that neither I - nor for that matter anyone else - will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl."

    

2. "And now, you will read this narrative without any view of inserting it in your history, of which it is not in the least worthy; and indeed you must put it down to your own request if it should appear not worth even the trouble of a letter."

    

3.  "Very sad news was received this morning of the murder of the President. The city is in mourning."

    

4. "The pen is mightier than the sword" and "It was a dark and stormy night."

    

   Each of these writers didn't know the impact their words would make on the future, long after they were dead, and in some cases, even forgotten. So let me tell you the answers so you can see how you did:

    

   1. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl. Written when she was 13-years-old, Anne never expected anyone, ANYONE, to read her diary. It was a diary, not a novel! Yet, her father felt it was crucial for the world to hear her voice, so it was published, and now it is taught in schools around the world to show first-hand experience of innocent Jewish people being in hiding during the Holocaust.

      (Side fact: This Sunday, June 25, 1947, was the official publishing date of this diary.)

       

   2. Pliny the Younger, Letters to Cornelius Tacitus. In 79 A.D., a catastrophic volcanic eruption left the city of Pompeii under 20 feet of pumice and ash. Pliny the Younger wrote about the event from his perspective, giving historians and geographical scientists priceless information about the timeline and volcanic behavior. These letters, along with several others he wrote in his lifetime, have given historians a vivid picture of ancient Roman activities, events, and ways of living.

       

   3.  Emilie Davis, Memorable Days: The Emilie Davis Diaries. Emile was a free black woman from Philadelphia who wrote in her diary her personal impressions of the Emancipation Proclamation, The Battle of Gettysburg, and, as the quote says above, the assassination of President Lincoln.

       

   4. Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Yeah, I didn't know him either. The "dark and stormy night" quote came from his novel, Paul Clifford. (Yeah, I also was not familiar with this title.) However, both of his quotes are VERY popular. His intensions were never what they became.

       

      So, you ask, why do I bring all of these quotes up? Well, each of these people had no idea how timeless and influential their writings would be. Some didn't think anyone else would even read them.

       

      Think about what you might write or have already written. Cards, letters, journals, grocery lists, and now, social media posts, blog entries, comments on Twitter...all of these are written in the now, not expecting them to have great impact or to be long-lasting. But what if they were? What if what you are writing becomes a historical document? What if it would have, had you just written it down?

       

      If you aren't already writing, consider starting. Don't worry about grammar, handwriting, or spelling. Just write about what you know and what you experience. We all have important messages to share. And yours might just be for someone waiting patiently in the future.
       

       

    

Saturday, July 22: Christmas in July!

Editor's last words: Shameless Mom Story

So if you know my daughter, Aurora, you can see the irony of me (a former English teacher/life-long bibilophile) having a child who REALLY doesn't like reading or writing. I accepted this tragedy a long time ago with humor, knowing she is strong and bright in ways I can only wish to be. Fast forward to yesterday's phone call...(btw, she currently is in college and out-of-state):

Aurora: So I had a wild-hair...

Me: <worried> Uh...yes??

Aurora: I went to Barnes and Noble.

Me: <choking on soda> Oh?

Aurora: Yes, I was bored and thought maybe I could find something interesting to read. I had started online on Amazon, but you can't preview a book there, so I decided to go to Barnes and Noble. I was looking through the books, and found one that was sounded interesting on the back cover, but I thought I should read a little bit of the first chapter before I commit and spend the money on it. When I was done with chapter 4, I figured I should buy it. I went to the park I love to hang out at, and I'm now halfway through the book. I'm so hooked!

Me: <crickets>

Yeah, I was speechless. But super pleased. I reminded her of a poster I had in my classroom (I was Aurora's 12th grade English teacher). The quote is by the famous modern author, James Paterson:

"There's no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books."

There's something out there for everyone. Even my own kid.

Books are magic. <heart>

Have a magical weekend. Come party with us tomorrow.

~ Charity and Amy (and Jack and Toothless)