 | June is nearly over, already, and we find us looking to July just next week. We haven't even really had a chance to talk about June being pride month, but we've all had a lot on our plate these days It's hard not to let the days blend together, but it's important to remember that the world continues to turn. | Every two weeks, in time for the newsletter, we will be highlighting books that get us really pumped. We won't limit ourselves to just brand new titles. These may be new releases, beloved classics, hidden gems. Let's all connect on a love of reading.
Have a look at some of the titles we are absolutely loving right now! | Pride Month Titles With everything that has been going on in the world today, it can be easy to miss that June is LGBTQ+ pride month, but we still have time, and it's never too late to celebrate these stories, so enjoy some great titles personally curated for all ages and tastes on the front page of our web-store! | Anti-Racism Resources We put together a list of our favourite anti-racism titles because this type of work starts from within. A great list with a particular focus on where we as Canadians need improvement. These titles continue to be discounted 15% off. Order through our website for you or your book club, or call us to put titles aside. We'll deliver them to you and we also offer no-contact pick-up. | For the full list and to learn more about these titles, click here! | Do you miss seeing the lovely Words Worth Staff as we talk enthusiastically about books? Well no worries, we have you covered: Words Worth now has a YouTube channel! On it, we will do what we would normally do in person, gush about books! We feel this will help give some of the feel of being in the store while we can't actually let you in. First up, we have our ever wonderful co-owner David, talking about three of his picks for the summer. Find the video here. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel to catch our next update! | | Speaking of Staying Closed... | A note about our continued (physical) closure: First, we would like to express how much we absolutely miss seeing you all in person. Fleeting curbside pick-ups are not enough for us! One of the many benefits to being a bookseller is direct, daily contact with other book lovers and readers. We thrive on it and we are missing that integral part as we navigate bookselling during Covid-19. Having that connection to our friends and customers at this time would help alleviate our own anxiety as individuals and as a small business. So, please know that our decision to remain “closed” is not taken lightly and has been thoroughly thought out. One of the ways bookselling has changed during Covid-19 is the increase in demand for online ordering. We have seen this increase fivefold. We currently assist between 70-100 people per day, either by email, through our online ordering, or via phone. We continue to offer no-contact delivery for those who require it (our deliveries take between 10-15 hours per week to complete) and our no-contact backdoor pick-up keeps us on our toes. As such, opening our doors for book browsing would limit our customer service resulting in significantly less attention to online and phone orders, deliveries, and backdoor pick-up as we navigate outdoor line-ups and prioritize in-store customers. Words Worth has also taken early initiative to close this past March as concerns about Covid began to mount. Booksellers were among the first group of non-essential businesses to close, which we proactively anticipated. The health of our customers and our staff is our chief concern and will continue to be our chief concern.
We continue to adapt and pivot to all changes and, as always, will let you know about any updates. Until then, stay tuned for more videos and pictures from inside the store because we know you miss us! …and if you could find it in your hearts, please send us pictures of your dogs. We miss them too! | | The Secret Door Project: A Tease | Our Secret Door Project continues to take shape, and while we don't want to give it all a way, we all thought it would be nice to give you lovely folks a bit of a tease...enjoy! | | Sleeps With Monsters: Celebrate Queer Pride by Reading Books | A note from Alex: I am presently reading The Midnight Lie, along with other titles, and definitely think there is something there. Take a look at this article, and see what you think. (From tor.com) By: Liz Bourke) I have very mixed feelings about the idea of June as “Pride Month”, but there’s no escaping that in the usual run of things, this month would see a bunch of queer marches and parades, and a lot of queer discussion and celebration. In this year of our pandemic, though, it looks like my preferred version of celebration—stay home and read books—is the most appropriate thing to do. But June is a good month to take stock of changes over time, and looking back over the last eight years I’ve been writing this column, one thing leaps out: I don’t have to make a special effort to seek out queer books and queer creators anymore. Not, at least, to the same extent as used to be the case—although books with trans and nonbinary main characters, or by trans and nonbinary creators, are still substantially rarer than their cisgender counterparts. So I can find myself reading half a dozen or even a dozen delightfully queer books in row, without specifically searching them out. As has happened recently, with Melissa Caruso’s The Obsidian Tower, Marie Rutkoski’s The Midnight Lie, Jenn Lyons’ The Memory of Souls, and Melissa Bashardoust’s Girls Made of Snow and Glass—among others, but I definitely want to recommend these four to your attention. See the full article here! | | Don't Forget Our Bookclubs! | For the time being obviously our in person book clubs are on hold. However, I know some are trying to switch to a virtual version of the meetings, so if you're interested in taking part, let us know and we'll forward to the appropriate coordinator. | Book Humour It's honestly true... | And with that, we bring another issue of the newsletter to a close. We hope you are all staying well, enjoying some sunshine in safe, socially distant ways, and that you have a wonderful Canada day next week. We'll talk soon!
Oh, and remember those dog pictures! ;) | Kind regards,
Alex, and the whole Words Worth team | | |
