News

We are over the moon to welcome award-winning and best-selling author Jason Reynolds for our first in-person event since 2020! Join Reynolds for a lively talk about his books, writing life, and his current "Grab The Mic" initiative with the Library of Congress as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature that has him visiting underserved and rural communities (including schools here in Dutton, Wilsall and Ronan, Montana). Author of middle grade books, graphic novels, young adult fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, Reynolds's wealth of work has a title for every reader--even those who haven't found their knack for reading (yet!). Reynolds's voice is authentic and deliberate, letting the truth shine through in each of his books--whether that be of historical, personal, or character based truths. After a long pause on our in-person events, we are so excited and honored to host such a prolific writer during his first visit to Montana. We hope you will join us for this incredible event.

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He's also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series ( Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain't Burned All the Bright; My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

This event is free, no ticket required!

Amanda Gorman Book Drive to benefit Thrive!

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Bookshop.org and Country Bookshelf are proud to partner with Penguin Young Readers to donate copies of Amanda Gorman’s books to Thrive! Thrive's mission to support our community's youth in growing and succeeding is very near and dear to our hearts. 

We are helping Thrive's Child Advancement Project recruit mentors. In just one hour a week, as a Child Advancement Project (CAP) mentor you can help a child believe in themselves. Join a community of over 500 students and professionals invested in local youth. We think that books, and in particular the words of our National Youth Poet Laureate are a great way to welcome CAP mentors and mentees to the program, and to inspire them to chase their dreams.

When you purchase a copy through this page, you will be supporting our chosen donation partner Thrive with the donated books, as well as supporting our bookstore with your purchase!

Book donations accepted from March 14, 2022 through May 13, 2022, but you can become a CAP mentor at anytime.

Country Bookshelf is delighted to welcome several local authors for a round of speed dating to find your next great read. We'll hear from each author in turn, with a few minutes for questions after each one. We are excited to be joined by skiing legend Dan Egan to share Thirty Years in a White Haze, Susan B Fisher and  Martin Fisher for Body of 9, and John Phillips with his memoir Four Miles West of Nowhere. Register on Eventbrite!

We have more great virtual events coming up this month with Books in Common NW - check out our calendar for more!

Meet Mel!

Mel is one of our new booksellers. "I love getting to talk to our customers about books all day." Mel was a member of our YA Book club before she became a bookseller, and we're so excited to put those "book talking" skills to good use. Mel is a fount of knowledge about Yellowstone and has great recommendations for anyone looking to explore Montana through fiction or non-fiction. 

Outside of the bookstore Mel is working towards her Masters of Library and Information Science. She also enjoys crafts, running, hiking and adventuring with her partner and cat (and yes the cat goes on adventures too!) If you spot Mel hiking around South Cottonwood Canyon, don't be afraid to ask her what audiobook she's listening to. Like many of the booksellers you've already met, Mel is a big fan of Wild Crumb and Red Sugar Dim Sum, and of course Montana Ale Works.  

Meet Matt!

Country Bookshelf regulars will recognize our tallest bookseller, Matt! Besides chatting with folks about books, much of Matt's day is devoted to inventory management, particularly with receiving all our amazing new titles, and returning those that have had their day in the sun and are ready to retire to greener pastures (like our bargain section!)

One of Matt's other hidden talents is juggling! He is a prolific book profiler for our Blind Date shelf, you'll definitely want to swipe right on a few of them. He's got a penchant for sci-fi, fantasy, and graphic novels - scroll below for some of his favorite recommendations. 

Meet Christina!

"I'm a bookseller and I love discovering new books and meeting people."

Another of our Library Science students, Christina can most often be spotted in our Kid's section. She also enjoys music and theater and has some great recommendations from our music, drama, and pop culture sections as well.  If you ever felt like challenging one of our staff members to karaoke, set your sights on Christina. One of her favorite cards says "Can you perform under pressure?" "No, but I'll give Bohemian Rhapsody a go".

Outside of the bookstore she spends time with family and friends, listens to music, reads (of course!), watches movies, makes jewelry (you can spot some of her designs on her etsy store), explores the outdoors, and spends a lot of time studying for school. She loves hiking in Bear Canyon, and pizza from Colombo's. 

Meet Sage!

"Albert Camus came to me in a dream once. He was very polite and told me to do my dishes. Also we were in space and my cat was there but you couldn't see them."

                                                                                                                        -Sage

Sage is one of our newest booksellers, and our new philosophy aficionado. "I find it very meditative to shelve and organize books but my favorite part about working at Country Bookshelf is getting to interact with customers. Whether it be giving a recommendation, hearing about a book they loved, or simply ringing them up, I love all the moments in life I get to witness." They can often be found handselling The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to anyone and everyone nearby.

Sage is a student at Montana State University with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality studies. They love philosophy but when they're not reading or writing for class they can be found drinking tea, hanging out with their cats, playing games on their Switch, or hiking. Sage has hiked coast to coast in England, walking 150 miles in 11 days! Enjoying the wild flowers in Triple Tree is one of their favorite local hikes. They love breakfast food so you might catch them at Wild Crumb or The Cat Eye Cafe before work in the mornings. Stop in and say hello to Sage!

Holiday Shopping Tips for Bookworms

• Shop Early: Supply chain, printing scarcity, shipping woes - it's chaos! If you know what you want to gift, preorder or buy it when you see it.
• Think Ahead: Don't get overwhelmed - think about who you're shopping for and start a list. We have plenty of sources for gift inspiration! Browse our online catalogs and suggestions, or ask one of our booksellers for a recommendation. 
  • Here are some recommended deadlines. Sadly we can't make absolute guarantees, but these are our best estimates. We recommend placing your orders with us by the end of day on Tuesday, 12/14 for the best chance of receiving items for a pickup on or before Christmas Eve. As for shipping - we don't recommend using media mail after 12/1, as these packages will be de-prioritized by the postal service and likely won't arrive in time. If you're shipping packages with us, make sure we have them by the end of day on Wednesday, 12/15 for the best chance at arriving on time for Christmas.
• Come Say Hi: Skip the shipping! We are bursting with great books, imaginative stockings stuffers, and fun, locally made gifts. Our enthusiastic booksellers are ready to help you find mind-blowing gifts this holiday season.
• Be Flexible: If your first choice is out of stock, there are so many more titles we want to recommend to you! You're sure to find some unexpected or surprising treasures to give (and maybe a treat for yourself too). We're happy to make recommendations over the phone or virtually. 
  • A digital audiobook from Libro.FM, or even a monthly membership, can replace that deeply desired out of stock title.
  • Gift Certificates and Country Bookshelf T-shirts (and other merchandise) also make great gifts.
• Stay informed! The holidays are always a wacky time, and pandemic concerns continue to influence shipping delays, store inventory, and more. Stay up to date with all the happenings at Country Bookshelf by signing up for our newsletter and following us on social media.

And Most importanly:

Stay Well: We are so fond of our customers and want you to have a joyous, peaceful, and safe holiday season.

Shop Early, Shop Local: November is the New December

Why Shop Indie Local early this holiday season? 

Supply and staffing shortages mean locally owned businesses face even more challenges this year. While we won't run out of books, we may run out of specific titles and not be able to restock due to hiccups in the supply chain. And please chat with our staff if you don't see the title you were looking for, we probably have more than one recommendation to make to replace that out of stock title, or surprise someone with a book they'll love that they hadn't even heard of. Our neighboring businesses are facing similar challenges, so we encourage you to shop local and shop early for the holiday season. 

Let’s ensure that our local independent businesses can stick around for holidays to come:

• Pre-order gifts and supplies today
• Buy a gift card
• Can't find the book? Try a digital audiobook from Libro.FM!  You can also click the "Get the Digital Audiobook" button underneath the cover image for specific titles. 
• Support fundraising campaigns - you can find our tshirt campaign on Bonfire!
• Share on social media how much you love locally owned businesses (tag your post with #shopindielocal)