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I Heard a Bird Sing
I heard a  bird sing, In the dark of December
A magical thing, And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring, Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing, In the dark of December.
- Oliver Herford
I heard a goose honk this morning but, with the fresh fall of snow, it didn't make me feel any nearer to Spring! Welcome to the December edition of The Bennington Bookshop Newsletter! This edition of the newsletter features The Bennington Bookshop Staff Picks for 2016. We also highlight the ways we, as a full-service bookstore, can help you find the perfect gift - a book. There is news of our Shirley Jackson Special, in honor of her birthday, 14th December. We also feature a couple of sneak previews from Linda, as well as a review from Phil. Best wishes for the holidays, and, as always, thank you all for your continued support of The Bennington Bookshop - your local independent bookstore.
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Staff Picks 2016
We asked staff at The Bookshop to nominate their three favorite books of 2016. Here are some of the suggestions. If you click on the book's title, you will be directed to a synopsis and a photo of the cover of the book.
Bret:
These are three of Bret's favorite reads this year, but they were not necessarily released in 2016.
Chris:
Kate:
Linda:
Mary Jo:
Phil:
And here are a couple more pick lists that might be of interest:
Happy Reading!
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Books: The Perfect Gift
Books make perfect gifts during the holiday season. We have had a number of dedicated gift shoppers dropping into The Bookshop since the middle of August in search of that ideal holiday gift for that special person. I am sure the books are all wrapped, beribboned and labelled. But for those of us not quite so forward thinking, we offer a number of services to make that last minute shopping a little easier:
- Free gift wrapping of books bought at The Bookshop
- Book Packages
We are pleased to offer a range of book packages featuring current bestsellers. Options include fiction or nonfiction, hardcover or paperback, twelve or six month subscriptions. We also offer young adult book packages, as well as packages for children's fiction and children's picture books. Prices include shipping and handling.
- Online catalog
- Reviews and Recommendations
- Student reviews
- Gift Certificates
- Extended Holiday Hours
We will be open until 8pm on December 21st, 22nd and 23rd to accommodate the last-minute shoppers amongst our friends. We will close at 5pm on December 24th, and reopen at 9am on December 27th.
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Shirley Jackson Centennial
December 14th is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Shirley Jackson. To celebrate,  we will have a special 20% off sale of Shirley Jackson books and biographies on that day. The discount also applies to our Shirley Jackson T-shirts and to the graphic novel version of Jackson's famous story, The Lottery.
Buy Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life
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Reviews
 Smoke and Mirrors
Elly Griffiths
Reviewed by Phil
It's 1950s Brighton, England. Two children, Annie and Mark, are reported missing, then found dead in the woods. A trail of sweets leads to the bodies. Is the local sweet shop owner the murderer? Or is this just smoke and mirrors? Does the trail link in some way with Annie's gruesome rewriting of Grimms' fairy tales? And what is the connection to an earlier murder, decades ago?
This is a great read, bringing to life a time when things moved much more slowly. It does not have the pace of crime novels set in more modern times, but is perfect for an afternoon beside the fire...
Buy Smoke and Mirrors
You can find more reviews here: Reviews and Recommendations
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Sneak Previews
 Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk
Kathleen Rooney
Reviewed by Linda
On Sale 1/17/17
Lillian Boxfish was the highest-paid advertising woman in the United States in the 1930s and early 1940s. The novel takes place on New Year's Eve in 1984 as Lillian bundles up for a walk around New York City. We join her as she visits old haunts in the city and reflects on the many joys, challenges and heartaches of her 85 years. Lillian is witty, bright and candid. This book is a joy to read -- particularly for those familiar with NYC and its transformation over many decades. It is also a stark reminder of the societal expectaions and limitations for women in the workforce in the 1930s and 1940s. Lillian is inspired by the work of the poet and ad woman Margaret Fishback who was the real highest-paid female advertising copywriter in the world during the 1930s.
 The Rules Do Not Apply
Ariel Levy
Reviewed by Linda
On Sale 3/14/17
When thirty-eight-year-old New Yorker writer Ariel Levy left for a reporting trip to Mongolia in 2012, she was pregnant, married, financially secure, and successful on her own terms. A month later, none of that was true. Levy shares the story of how she built an unconventional life and then watched it fall apart with astonishing speed. Levy reveals that she was raised to resist conventional rules—about work, about love, and about womanhood.
I wanted what we all want: everything. We want a mate who feels like family and a lover who is exotic, surprising. We want to be youthful adventurers and middle-aged mothers. We want intimacy and autonomy, safety and stimulation, reassurance and novelty, coziness and thrills. But we can’t have it all.
In this powerful memoir, Levy chronicles the adventure and heartbreak of being “a woman who is free to do whatever she chooses.” Her own story of resilience becomes an unforgettable portrait of the shifting forces in our culture, of what has changed—and of what is eternal.
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New Hours for the New Year
We will be open as follows in the New Year:
Monday~Saturday: 10am~6pm
Sunday: Noon~4pm
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Coming up...
We are in the process of finalizing some events for early next year. We will publish details as soon as we can. Friend us on Facebook to get all the latest news from your local independent bookstore!
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Etcetera
- New releases: Every Tuesday, we get shipments of new releases to put on the shelves. Come on down and check them out!
- Orders: We usually submit orders to our wholesaler on Monday and Thursday mornings. If you place an order before 11am on these days, we can have the book in The Bookshop by the next afternoon in most cases, or in three days if it is held at our Tennessee warehouse.
- Book Clubs: We offer a 20% discount to book clubs and are happy to ship for a small cost. Check out what the other clubs in the area are reading here.
- Dorothy's List: Vermont Public Radio compiles a list of books and reviews suitable for children. You can find the list here. We are happy to order books from the list for you if we don't have them in stock. There is no extra charge for special orders.
- Best Sellers: We update the bestseller list each week. You can find the latest list here: Best Sellers
- Looking for a book to read? Check out the Reviews and Recommendations page on our website.
- Ordering online: To order books online, simply visit our website (www.benningtonbookshop.com), enter the name of the book you wish to order in the "Look for Books" window (in the right-hand column on each page), then enter your address details and credit card information as prompted. There is a small charge for postage or, if you're a local, you can opt to pick up the book in the store. Please note: Books appearing in the on-line search are not necessarily in stock at The Bookshop. We may have to order them in, but can ship most books in 1~5 days. Please call us if you want to confirm immediate availability: 802 442 5059
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Store Hours
Monday~Saturday: 9.00am~6.00pm
Sunday: Noon~4.00pm
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