New Year, New You?

It’s that time of year: “New Year, New Me!” We have all heard it before, maybe you’ve even said it yourself. Many New Year’s Resolutions involve setting goals and working for healthier bodies; you may say something like, “I’m going to start going to the gym and eat more vegetables!” then begin by buying a gym membership and joining a CSA. Clearly that’s a great goal to have, but what is the most important part of our bodies? Our brains of course! And what better way to improve our brains and keep them healthy than by reading? That’s where Bennett’s Books comes in!

“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.”

- Jerry Seinfeld

You may of heard of our Community Supported Bookstore (CSB) program; it’s a unique endeavor that will allow our bookstore to thrive while providing amazing benefits to people that become members.The goals of the CSB are simple: to provide the store with financial security, but more important, to provide a space in which to promote affordable literacy and expand upon the goal of being a hub of community development.

“Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light”.

–Vera Nazarian

Among other benefits, the CSB provides members with free books throughout the year. Maybe you want to set a goal of reading one book a month in 2017; if so we have a membership level for you. Maybe you want to be more ambitious and set the goal of reading one book every week; if so, we have a membership level for you too! Maybe you have (or know) children and you want to encourage them to become lifelong readers; if so, we have a membership level for kids too!

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”

- Somerset Maugham

2016 was a tough year for many of us and many of us have vowed to make 2017 better. You can do that on a personal level by reading more and you can do that on a community level by supporting an independent, community-focused bookstore that strives to be a safe(r) space for POC and other folks from marginalized and oppressed identity groups. That's what Bennett's Books is all about and our CSB is designed to make sure we can continue to survive - but we need your help to make that a reality. You can become a member by visiting the bookstore or by signing up online at https://www.gofundme.com/booksaregreat. Either way, we look forward to building a relationship with you. In the meantime, feel to read more about our bookstore and our CSB via this great article: ‘Bennett’s Books Launches Community Supported Bookstore Program’ and we’ll leave you with this final quote:

“One glance at [a book] and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time—proof that humans can work magic.”

—Carl Sagan