You can walk into any independent bookstore and ask them to order my book, THE WEIGHT OF CLOTH, but I’m nevertheless approaching a few shops with gift copies and correspondence. I couldn’t make the local author spiel with Boulder Bookstore, but I did write this:

Born and (mostly) raised in Massachusetts, I have decades-long ties to Boulder. Currently, my younger son is attending CU. He’s lived in and around Boulder for over 10 years. My father-in-law attended CU on the G.I. bill and his sister got a degree from CU as well. My brother-in-law earned his PhD there and it was during his tenure that I began visiting Boulder Bookstore in the late 80’s with my husband. It’s a must-stop when we’re in town and one of my favorite bookstores, period.

If you haven’t see this photo from my local bookstore yet, then all three of you take note. These are two Newtonville Books employees revealing their top picks for 2024.

Last week, we visited Boulder Bookstore twice. The first time I asked for the name of the person in charge of adult acquisitions and before leaving I couldn’t help but notice a big empty space next to the new Elizabeth Strout novel.

I must’ve eaten my Wheaties the morning I wrote an email to the person in charge of adult acquisitions, because I included the split screen below, saying Just kidding. But not really.

On the second visit, I dropped off a copy of the book with a Promo Sheet. It was nice how much my son D wanted to be a part of this. As it turned out the guy in charge was on vacation, but I talked to a co-worker and watched as he put the book on the right desk.

Boulder is well-known for its pedestrian mall on Pearl Street. On our last visit, it was close to the time of lockdown. They’d extended the traffic-free area by several blocks and all the restaurants offered outdoor seating.

A much different scene this time. For the days on either side of New Year’s Eve, it was pretty deserted. But before we left, people returned and it got a little livelier.

We were very sorry, though, to see that the Artists Cooperative had disappeared.