Are we on the same page?

One of the many delights of working in a stationery shop is meeting wonderful and interesting people. We receive so many customers, including artists, teachers, librarians and authors among them. So the association to books has always been there. After all, we do sell notebooks and sketchbooks: natural birthplaces for creative scribbles, draft manuscripts, screenplays and all manner of artwork.

The change in seasons and academic vibe does create a bookish feel in the air. It's also a popular time for book launches. We've noted several of them, along with other relatively new titles:

Kids

• Garden of Lost Socks by Esi Edugyan
• Can You Find Santa? by Axel Scheffler
• The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo

Non-fiction, including memoirs & biographies

• My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
• American Prometheus by Kai Bird & Martin J. Sherwin
• Going Infinite by Michael Lewis
• Outlive by Peter Attia

Novels

• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
• The Paper Place by Miranda Cowley Heller
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Of course, some books capture the atmosphere of autumn, which can feel like a character itself. Books such as The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Possession by A.S. Byatt and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald are just a few examples.

Mystery, thrillers and fantasy are popular genres in October, leading up to Halloween. My favourites include Agatha Christie mysteries (of which there are many!) and I'm in good company there.

Although autumn is a busy time, when I find a few minutes to cozy up on the sofa with a cup of coffee or tea, I enjoy leafing through magazines. Some that I love are Kinfolk, Architectural Digest, Milieu, Magnolia, and even LCBO's publication, which has great photos.

I also think ahead to the books I haven't read yet, but are on my wish list:

• Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown;
• Frank Llyod Wright's biography; and
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

While bookshops and bestsellers' lists are great sources of ideas and inspiration for new things to read, so, too, are libraries. They're a wonderful community hub for all sorts of group activities, while also catering to those in search of a quiet place to read, write, and research. Also, not only is October Canadian Library Month, The St. Catharines Public Library just celebrated its 135th birthday on October 18th! (Visit your local branch to participate in activities and enter raffles.)

We hope you take some time for yourself this autumn to cuddle up with a good book or magazine. Such quiet and concentration can be a real balm. Depending on what you're reading, it can also be a wonderful escape into a magical world.

If you discover a title that you love, let us know! We all love a good story.