More than any other time in Roundabout Books’ eight-year history, our customers are asking us to match the prices of books they see on Amazon. It may surprise you that I am heartened by these requests, as I think it is a sign of greater general awareness of the damage monopolistic companies like Amazon have […]
Cassie Clemans, owner of Roundabout Books & Cafe
Posted inCulture
Books for a Healthy Mind and a Healthy Year
A 2023 Forbes Health survey reported that most New Year’s resolutions are abandoned within the first four months of the year. Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, a clinical psychologist, attributes this to our tendency to set very specific goals, rather than general improvement, and discouragement sets in before we put the necessary time in to meet our goal. […]
Posted inCulture
Intentional Reading in 2025
Read books that bring joy, challenge our growth, explore nature, build community and grow our understanding of the world
As I write this month’s column, I hear bookselling chatter and bustling holiday shoppers all around me. Before I start talking about next year’s books, I want to take this moment to thank all of you for your support this year — not just at my shop but at literary outlets all over Central Oregon. […]
Posted inCulture
Give Books for a Thoughtful Season
Books connect us through shared experiences and conversation
It’s easy to forget that the darkest time of the year is when the Earth is at its closest point to the sun. The cold days and long nights draw us inward as we reflect on the year and bring our loved ones in close. The glittering ice and twinkling lights remind us that the […]
Posted inCulture
“How To” Ideas for Authentic, Sustainable, Civic Engagement
Topical books encourage readers to stay involved
One of the questions I always get asked as a bookstore owner is some version of, “What surprises you about running a bookstore?” I’m continually surprised by the connections we form as a third place – a place to spend time beyond home and work. Sharing a bookstore space with our community means we talk […]
Posted inCulture
In Conversation with Author Donna Barba Higuera
"The Last Cuentista" is a classic story for all ages
The day Donna Barba Higuera won the John Newbery Medal for most distinguished American children’s book, she had no idea that the award was coming. “The moment they said it, I was speechless and so emotional. I had to calm down after the call. It was one of those experiences where you know from then […]
Posted inCulture
Summer Reading, Central Oregon Style
In the deep exhale of summer, add some
bucket-list books to your repertoire
It’s almost August, the deep exhale of summer. Heated days rest heavily on our shoulders and demand a slower pace, an unwinding, a pause before the bustle of autumn. It is the perfect time to read. One of my great pleasures of summer is to wake up early, pour a cup of coffee, sit on […]
Posted inCulture
The Long History of Queer Literature
It's here, it's always been here, get used to it
T.J. Klune, New York Times Bestselling author of queer fiction such as “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and “In the Lives of Puppets,” recently visited Bend as part of the Season of Nonviolence Speaker Series at Central Oregon Community College. While prejudice of LGBTQ+ authors still persists, it’s heartening that Klune could come and […]
Posted inCulture
A Conversation with Best-Selling Author Lisa See
Talking inspiration, history and more ahead of the author’s visit to Bend June 26
One day in October, seven months into COVID lockdown, Lisa See was wandering her Brentwood home, feeling the isolation and gloom of not being able to do the thing that drives her historical fiction writing: the research. The libraries, the archives, the countries were all closed. But on this day, she glanced at her wall […]
Posted inCulture
One Day. 50 States. One Thousand Bookstores
Celebrating Indie Bookstore Day
I canceled my Amazon Prime account more than six years ago and haven’t bought a single thing with it since, that is, until a couple weeks ago when I was helping my daughter with a last-minute move in Washington, D.C. Her roommate had left with the couch, brooms, coffee maker, bathmat, dishes and trash can, and […]