We’re continuing to reflect on the many challenges and delights of 2020. One thing that kept us going and gave us hope was the outpouring of support we received from our community. We were able to do a lot of things with your support, like keep the doors open and our staff safe. We were also able to share the love with organizations and individuals in our community that needed it. 

The advent of early quarantine procedures spurred our Books 4 Kids program (which is still ongoing). Your generous donations to this program allowed us to help youth across the county have access to books when they couldn’t get to their schools and libraries. We raised over $3,500, which we matched, to donate to Thrive, the Salvation Army, Hopa Mountain, and the Bozeman Public Library Foundation. We also used this money to donate directly to folks affected by the Bridger Canyon Fire. This put more than 800 books into the hands of youth in our community.

We were able to support many other community organizations -- sending more than $12,000 dollars into our community, and more than 200 books. This includes the spotlight giving we did to celebrate Ariana’s 10 year anniversary of owning the store, which saw $500 donations given to the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, the Bozeman Schools Foundation, the MSU Library, the Montana Racial Equity Project, HRDC, Haven, BridgerCare, Cancer Support Community, GVLT, and Thrive. We also sent over $2,000 to local schools through our school book fair program, which we were able to send virtual to several schools this year. 

This is a snapshot of the good your reading habit supports, and we couldn’t do it without you! So thank you Bozeman from the bottom of our book-loving hearts.

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association is pleased to present the recipients of the 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Awards as selected by a volunteer committee of independent booksellers from 400 nominated titles published in 2020. Committee comments for the winning titles can be viewed on the 2021 Book Awards page of the PNBA website. 

This year PNBA and its member stores will host a free virtual public celebration with the winners of this year's Awards. The Pacific Northwest Book Awards Celebration will be hosted on Wednesday, February 10th at 6pm PT/ 7pm MT. Registration is required. 

About the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association PNBA is a non-profit trade association that supports independent bookselling in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Each year since 1965, the Pacific Northwest Book Awards have celebrated exceptional books written by Northwest authors. Visit our NWBookLovers blog promoting the authors and independent bookstores of the Northwest region. The site also hosts the Pacific Northwest Independent Bestseller List, a weekly presentation of the bestselling books in the independent bookstores of our five-state region. The list may be reprinted in any publication. For more information, contact info@pnba.org.

The holiday shopping season is flying by! This weekend is the deadline to place your order to arrive in time for the Christmas holiday. Of course 2020 is different in many ways, and that includes the time it takes to receive shipments from our suppliers and for our staff to process them -- orders are taking much longer than ever before. 

Orders received after Sunday 12/13 may have a chance of arriving in time for the holiday, but the likelihood will be significantly diminished. Our staff are working extra hard to help with all your gift-giving needs, so send us your orders as soon as possible! 

See it now, buy it now! If you see something you like, don’t wait, as it might not be available later. Publishers are running out of books much faster than usual, and some books just won't be back in stock again until after the New Year. This also goes for our nonbook merchandise like puzzles, cards, calendars, and other gift items -- most of which are not on our website, but with an email or a phone call we can help you shop these items from a distance. We are doing our best to keep in-demand titles and items well stocked, but we are approaching the event horizon of printing shortages and longer shipping times, so much of this is out of our control. 

All the major shipping companies are working extra hard while having an extra heavy load, and this will likely only get worse the closer we get to Christmas, so plan your shipping early. But hey, there's nothing wrong with getting a gift for New Year's, right?

And as a reminder - Country Bookshelf may be large, but we still must limit our capacity for everyone’s safety. Our first priority is people: customers and staff. Shopping online is a great way to avoid crowds. If you decide to come in person, we recommend bundling up in case you have to wait outside for a few minutes when we are at capacity. We promise it will be worth it! Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Exclusive Virtual Event With Meateater host Steven Rinella

Join Steven Rinella, the host of the Meateater podcast and Netflix series, and author Michael Punke to discuss Rinella's new book The Meateater's Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival.

Books in Common NW welcomes podcaster, television host, and author Steven Rinella to share his hard-earned experience and wilderness wisdom conveniently bound in his newest book The Meateater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival. Rinella will be joined by the bestselling author of The Revenant, Michael Punke.

Your ticket includes a signed copy of The Meateater's Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival.

Buy Tickets

An indispensable guide to surviving everything from an extended wilderness exploration to a day-long boat trip, with hard-earned advice from the host of the show Meateater, as seen on Netflix.

For anyone planning to spend time outside, The Meateater Guide to Wilderness Skills and Survival is the perfect antidote to the sensationalism of the modern survival genre. Informed by the real-life experiences of renowned outdoorsman Steven Rinella, its pages are packed with tried-and-true tips, techniques, and gear recommendations.

Among other skills, readers will learn about old-school navigation and essential satellite tools, how to build a basic first-aid kit and apply tourniquets, and how to effectively purify water using everything from ancient methods to cutting-edge technologies. This essential guide delivers hard-won insights and know-how garnered from Rinella's own experiences and mistakes and from his trusted crew of expert hunters, anglers, emergency-room doctors, climbers, paddlers, and wilderness guides--with the goal of making any reader feel comfortable and competent while out in the wild.

Can't Make the Event?

Pre-order your copy of Steven Rinella's newest book from Country Bookshelf. 

Click here to place your book only order today!

Check out more from Steven Rinella here! 

Michael Punke

is the author of four books including The Revenant, #1 New York Times bestseller and basis for the Academy Award-winning film. In his diverse professional career, Punke has served as the US ambassador to the World Trade Organization in Geneva, history correspondent for the Montana Quarterly, and an adjunct professor at the University of Montana. As a high school and college student, he worked summers as a "living history interpreter" at Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming. He lives with his family in Montana and is an avid outdoorsman.

Check out Michael's Books Here!

Visit our website to choose your favorite Michael Punke title today.

Shop Here

With lengthening nights and colder temperatures, we find ourselves seeking the homey comforts of a well cooked meal (or it's lunch time and we're just hungry). Check out these great new cookbooks to add to your collection and give as gifts this holiday season. 

They're here! The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best pieces to publish. This year's guest editors include: Andre Aciman, J. Kenji López-Alt, Jackie McMullan, Robet McFarlane, Curtis Sittenfeld, CJ Box, Michio Kaku, and Diana Gabaldon. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular of its kind. Grab your copies today!

Country Bookshelf and Books in Common NW is so excited to spend our lunch hour with New York Times bestselling author John Grisham discussing his newest legal thriller A Time For Mercy. Jake Brigance is back! The hero of A Time to Kill, one of the most popular novels of our time, returns in a courtroom drama that showcases #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham at the height of his storytelling powers.

Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/books-in-common-nw-john-grisham-tickets-125213241175 to register today, and add a copy of A TIME FOR MERCY when you do! We have signed copies available so be sure to purchase your copy while supplies last!

Dear Country Bookshelf Readers,

Thank you for your continued support through this chaotic year. 2020 has been unprecedented in many ways, including this note about the holidays -- which may seem out of season but stick with us. In short, we are highly encouraging folks to shop early for holiday gifts. 

We’ve never been one to rush the holiday season, but 3 primary factors this year have coalesced to make this necessary.

Printing issues

Shipping issues

COVID safety and capacity issues

When the country shut down back in March, many spring book releases were postponed or canceled because manufacturers, warehouses, and shipping companies had to abide by local lockdown mandates and social distancing guidelines. Those postponed releases are all happening now -- along with those already scheduled for this fall. This has led to paper shortages and backlogs at the two (yes, only two) book printers in the US. 

We expect this year’s hottest titles to sell out FAST. If the publishers run out and can’t reprint, we may not be able to restock. So, if you see something you like, don’t wait, as it might not be available later. This also goes for our nonbook merchandise like puzzles, cards, calendars, and other gift items. Most of those we will not be able to reorder again before the holidays.

Shipping is taking longer than usual -- to us from our suppliers and to you. All the major shipping companies are working extra hard while having an extra heavy load, and this will likely only get worse as the season progresses. 

Country Bookshelf may be large, but we still must limit our capacity for everyone’s safety. Our first priority is people: customers and staff. Shopping early avoids crowds and gives everyone time to select special holiday gifts. We don’t want you to suffer waiting outside in wintry Montana weather. 

So what should you do?

SHOP EARLY: Usually a last-minuter but have specific titles in mind? Shop in October and November for the best selection or to allow time for us to get in your special requests.

PREORDER: If you already know you want new books such as The Promised Land by Barack Obama, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 15: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney, or The Best of Me by David Sedaris, preordering now will guarantee your copy. This also helps us know how many to order and keeps you from being disappointed.

SHOP ONLINE: The safest way to shop is at countrybookshelf.com. Not quite sure what you’re looking for? Call or email and our booksellers will personally shop for you. And yes, we still gift wrap for free. Just leave a note in the comments section. We offer easy in-store pick up, local delivery, and nationwide shipping.

SHIP EARLY: To guarantee delivery in time, we recommend shipping gifts no later than October 25 for Hanukkah and November 15 for Christmas and Kwanzaa.

We are working our hardest to make this a safe, fun, memorable holiday season for everyone. We hope to see you downtown soon!

Be safe and be well, 

Country Bookshelf Staff

Join Senator Jon Tester for a virtual discussion of his new book Grounded: A Senator's Lessons on Winning Back Rural America. An inspiring and eye-opening memoir showing how Democrats can reconnect with rural and red-state voters, from Montana’s three-term democratic senator.

Buy Tickets Your ticket includes a copy of Grounded  with signed book plate, and a unique link to join this virtual conversation.

Senator Jon Tester is a rare voice in Congress. He is the only United States senator who manages a full-time job outside of the Senate—as a farmer. But what has really come to distinguish Tester in the Senate is his commitment to accountability, his ability to stand up to Donald Trump, and his success in, time and again, winning red state voters back to the Democratic Party.

In Grounded, Tester shares his early life, his rise in the Democratic party, his vision for helping rural America, and his strategies for reaching red state voters. Leaning deeply into lessons on the value of authenticity and hard work that he learned growing up on his family’s 1,800-acre farm near the small town of Big Sandy, Montana—the same farm he continues to work today with his wife, Sharla—Tester has made his political career a testament to crossing the divides of class and geography. The media and Democrats too often discount rural people as Trump supporters; Tester knows better. His voice is vital to the public discourse as we seek to understand the issues that are important to rural and working-class America in not just the 2020 election but also for years to come.

A heartfelt and inspiring memoir from a courageous voice, Grounded shows us that the biggest threat to our democracy isn’t a president who has no moral compass. It’s politicians who don’t understand the value of accountability and hard work. Tester demonstrates that if American democracy is to survive, we must put our trust in the values that keep us grounded.

Buy Tickets

Tester will be joined in conversation by author Sarah Vowell.

Sarah Vowell is the New York Times’ bestselling author of seven nonfiction books on American history and culture. Her most recent book is entitled Lafayette in the Somewhat United States.

We’ve partnered with some of our indie bookstore friends - Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Oregon and Madison Books in Seattle, Washington - to offer Books in Common NW: A Regional Literary Event Series. From literary fiction to mystery and fantasy, from nature writing to memoir and history and all the spaces in between, we’re packing the calendar with authors to inform and delight. You'll find interesting authors, engaging discussion, and maybe even your next great read. Enjoy world-class authors brought to your living room each Thursday, all while staying safely socially distant and supporting your favorite local bookstore!

We kicked things off on Thursday, July 7th with mystery mavens Elizabeth George and Iona Whishaw. If you missed it, you can still watch it here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/vkitbcc8. Don’t forget to grab copies of their books while you’re here.

And there’s even more where that came from with a great lineup for July, August - AND September! When you attend live you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions of the authors, and interact with other attendees in the live chat. If you can't make it in real time, still sign up for the event to get the link to watch later. 

7/9/20 - Phillip Margolin
7/16/20- Kendra Atleework
7/23/20 - Erica C Barnett and David Schmader in conversation
7/30/20 - Steve Olson and Sharma Shields in conversation
8/6/20 - Larry Watson
8/13/20 - Sarah Smith and Bookstore Romance Day
8/20/20 - Catherynne M Valente and Jeff VanderMeer in conversation
8/25/20 - Keith McCafferty and Craig Johnson
8/27/20- Daniel Mathews and Valerie Trouet in conversation
9/1/20 - Vanessa Veselka & Peter Geye
9/3/20 - Jane Kirkpatrick & Greg Nokes
9/8/20 - Geraldine Woods
9/10/20 - Janet Fox & Rosanne Parry in conversation
9/15/20 - Chuck Palahniuk & Grady Hendrix
9/17/20 - Jason Diamond & Andi Zeisler
9/24/20 - Ginger Gaffney and Pam Houston in conversation

And this is just the beginning. We’re adding more authors and dates all the time - so keep watching our calendar for more special virtual events.