Welcome And What We Are Reading

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Today on People of Northwest Arkansas, we are talking to the ladies who founded Bookfest and the new president of BookFest, an event nonprofit that is here in Northwest Arkansas. We're really excited. We talk a little bit about how we got into reading and how what started our love of reading. We also talk about not being ashamed of what's sitting on your nightstand. You know, those romance novels. They're okay. Go ahead and read them and be proud to read them. And also we talk a little bit about if you prefer a standalone book or trilogy. So let's get into it and we hope you enjoy.

SPEAKER_05 0:48

Alright, Danielle. I need to know if you've read any good books lately.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

I would say that I'm rereading Harry Potter with my kids right now, and that's kind of fun. Excited, looking forward to the new HBO Max show coming out. But I haven't really read a lot for me personally. I did a lot of reading over the summer and spring break and was reading like, you know, those cheeky female romance novels that, you know, you can read on the beach. So they're very trendy right now. Yeah, they are very trendy right now, which I did not think I would ever get into them, but they're kind of like a guilty pleasure right now when everything is so busy. So yeah, what about you? What are you reading right now? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:29

Well, I'm kind of in the depths of No, I'm actually not into a book right now. I'm I'm deciding what direction I want to go. Yeah. And I think that the guests that we have today can help us out with that, which actually you met when you were hosting part of NWA Book Fest.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Yes, for the Kids Book Fest back in the spring, and which was a really great time and had fun with my kids being there. And it was really cool meeting a lot of authors, local authors, local bookstore owners, and just people that are really into reading and really into I think what's really cool too, because I really want to talk about this as well today, is just this desire to hold a book and to touch it and to have something that's physical as well as something that you get immersed in. And I think that's really exciting. So, yes, that's how I met some of these ladies, and we've shopped at some of their stores, and it's all all the all the good things.

SPEAKER_05 2:26

Yes, and we have to thank Amelia Schimbrub for she's the board president of NDWA Bookfest for introducing us to our other two guests, and we're gonna bring her on later to talk about the Book Fest. But we have Rachel Stuckey Slayton with Two Friends Bookstore. Welcome. Oh, thank you. And then we also have Courtney Ulrich Smith with Underbrush Books and Dandy Roll. Hi. Hi, thanks for coming in, guys. Yeah, we're so glad to have you here.

SPEAKER_07 2:52

Yeah, so glad

The Return Of Analog Life

SPEAKER_07 2:53

to be here.

SPEAKER_05 2:53

Yeah, so there's all this talk about how everything's going back analog. And I'm wondering if that if you're noticing that in your stores.

SPEAKER_07 3:03

I I see it, of course. Well, so we're a bookstore and a cafe, and so I think that there is definitely a desire for in-person, non-like technology-mediated experiences in the world, but even little things like crossword puzzle books or like things that are entertaining and can keep your mind busy that aren't looking at a screen. I know for my own self, I have a love-hate relationship with my phone where I feel totally addicted to it and I am so resentful of it at the same time.

SPEAKER_05 3:36

Oh, I am too. I get my little screen time update, and I'm like, don't.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

I don't do it as well. Literally, no. No one needs, that's none of my business. Yeah, it's none of my business. It's not my business. Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 3:45

I mean, criminal to let me know.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

No, I think my mental health. I think we also like we see it from the books as well, but my husband and I also own a stationery store, which is two doors down from our bookstore. And that has been so fun to see people trying to get back into like scrapbooking and junk journaling and like all of these little like hands-on crafty things. So I think we're absolutely having this resurgence in in this analog and also like the idea of wanting to own physical media. I think that's becoming harder and harder. And so people are like getting being drawn back into like record collections and CD collections and DVD collections and and all of all of that.

SPEAKER_05 4:25

Oh, I redid an entire room just to listen to records and read books. Yeah, yeah. Because it made it was good for my mental health. Yeah, I like it. I there's a shop over because I'm gonna do that. Yeah, you can. Book club. Yeah. I have good cocktails too. So anyway, or coffee. Yes, and she makes really good cookies as well.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

I do, okay, sold. Yeah, I know. I know. I'm coming for the coffee and the wine.

SPEAKER_05 4:51

But I know that there we go. I

What Brought Us To NWA

SPEAKER_05 4:53

know Danielle likes to take it back. Because we are a podcast about the area. We always like to know what brought you to the area. So, Rachel, because you're sitting directly to my left, we'll start with you. What brought you to Northwest Arkansas?

SPEAKER_07 5:05

Well, I'm an Arkansas girl going back many generations. I grew up in Fort Smith and went to the University of Arkansas where I met my husband and my closest friends in life. And after college, I was really convinced that my career was going to be like working for the Foreign Service or doing something internationally. And so I moved to DC, worked in politics for a while, and was like, wait a second, I think that I don't love this. So I then spent my 20s in New York City, kind of building my career. And that's when my husband and I got married. But we kind of came to a point where we didn't have any debt. Thank you, state colleges. Appreciate that. We didn't have any children. We had great jobs, but they weren't terribly fulfilling. So we were like, you know what? We should go on an extended road trip. This is such a long answer. I'm so so I love this. We should go on an extended road trip for a year, traveled through out North America. I ended up getting pregnant and was like, I think I need to be close to my mom. So we moved back to Arkansas, and my husband just happened to work in New York City doing like transportation advocacy work and working in like the bike industry. Lo and behold, bikes are kind of a big deal in Bittenville. Yeah. Just a little bit, yeah. Yeah. And so I was like, Bittenville, really? And then we did like a little tour of the town, and then we went to, I remember I will never forget this moment. I was feeling very skeptical. Then we went inside Pedlers Pub and they were playing The Grateful Dead on the speakers. And I was like, okay, I can do this. I love that Peddlers is the reason you were like, I will. I was like, real people live here. Yeah. Wait, no, what song were they playing? And so then I was like, I can I can do this. And there's a great public library. So that's kind of what brought us here. But really, books and the community that we've built around books is kind of what's kept us here.

SPEAKER_02 6:59

I love that. That's a great story. That is a great story. I would love to hear the expanded version. We don't have time.

SPEAKER_05 7:05

But definitely that would be a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

At your house while we're listening to music and drinking coffee. Grateful Dead.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

I know now. Put on some dead. Yeah. Do you remember what song it was? I think it was Sugar Magnolia. Nice. Okay. Had to be a radio edit. Yeah. We're not going to do like, you know, a live show.

SPEAKER_07 7:25

No, no, no. It's like 15 minutes of Jerry jamming out.

SPEAKER_05 7:29

You're like, is this a new song? It's like, no, it's still the same song. Okay. And what about you?

SPEAKER_03 7:35

What brought you here? I am also an Arkansas native. So I grew up outside both Prairie Grove and Farmington, kind of in the middle of nowhere. My family has a farm out there and has had a farm out there since the Great Depression. And so I too went to the University of Arkansas because those state scholarships are too good to pass up. And also thought I'm going to move away. And change doesn't happen when everybody moves away. And so my husband and I decided to stay. And we also are close to our families. Both of our families are for uh live here. And we opened our first store a year out of college. And it was a similar, we had no children, we had no debt. It was like if there's ever a time to take a crazy chance, this felt like a better time than waiting until we were older and doing it later. And so we viewed the the space that dandy roll, our stationary stores in on like a Sunday, filled out an application on a Monday, had the keys on like a Wednesday, and then figured out from there how to do this crazy small business thing. And and similar to Rachel, that's the thing I think that keeps us in Northwest Arkansas is is our businesses and the life that we've built here, but also the community that we build here and all of the things that we're passionate about.

SPEAKER_05 9:14

So yeah, I've always always been an Arkansas girl. Well, you've done a good job because when we first moved here from Dallas, like 10 almost 10 years ago, your print stuck out to me. Because we we had to we moved from like a 1200 square foot house in Dallas in the inner city to like a 3,600 square foot. Oh my gosh. And we had nothing. Yeah. And I was pregnant and we had a little like a toddler, and I I was just wanting something unique. I didn't want to you know, I just wanted something unique, and we're very into gardening and we our whole backyard is like a hub for bees. And so when we saw all these prints, and you guys did a beautiful job framing. And by the way, I went to your store just the other day, like years later. I've been several times in the in-between, but you've grown it so both of your stores by the way, beautifully and accommodating for children.

unknown 10:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:02

So I love that about both your bookstore and and underbrush and dandy rolls. So y'all have done a great job and marketing it too. So yeah, thanks. And we also want to hear from Amelia what brought you here, and yeah, tell us your story.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Yeah, thank you. So I moved here in 1997 with my parents. I was 13 years old. And we moved to Springdale from Oklahoma City, and I was like, Where have you brought me? Because it was nothing but cow pastures and chickens. We moved here because my dad was a pastor, and so we moved here for him to take over a church. And I've lived here pretty much ever since. I went to college at Arkansas Tech in Russellville. Met my husband in Russellville the last semester of college, right before I graduated, and told him I'm moving back to Fayetteville after I graduate. So if you want to date me, you should consider moving to Fayetteville. And he said I could move. And so he came with me, and then we got married about a year later, and then immediately found out we were gonna have our daughter. And so we have a daughter who is now 16, and we have lived in Bentonville since 2009, and out of college, I started working at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. I worked there for six years, and then now I work for a fortune company here in Bentonville. But the thing that keeps me here is my sister lives here, my nephews live here, and they are my heart and soul. I can't go anywhere without my sister, she's my best friend. I do everything with her and the community that we have built here and all of the awesome stuff that we've been able to do. Building the book community here, it's super special to me. So I love living here. I can't imagine myself anywhere else. I always say that I I have a little tiny house in the middle of Batonville that I bought in 2009, and I always say that I'm gonna be like the little old man from up. They're gonna have to tie balloons to it and to get you to move. Get me. That's how they're gonna get me to move because I'm never gonna leave.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

So my uncle is a long time corporate person in Bentonville. And I remember being so mad as a kid when we would come to visit him because there was nothing in Bentonville but a Taco Bell. Yeah. And like that, those are my memories growing up of Bentonville. So it's been really like surreal the last like 10, 15 years, seeing how much it's changed because I like you were right. It was nothing but cow pastures and a Taco Bell. I love the your husband just went with it.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah, and that's that's his whole vibe. Like, he's still like that. We've been together now, we're going on 20 years, and that's his whole vibe the whole time has been just like yeah, I could do that. That's cool. So yeah, he he's like that now with the book fest stuff. He's just like, what do you need me to do? Yeah, I can do that. That's cool.

SPEAKER_05 13:21

I love that vibe. Just go with the flow. Awesome. Well, thank you

What Genres Are Selling Now

SPEAKER_05 13:24

for sharing. So since you guys have kind of already told us, you know, how you got into the business, tell us what I'm always curious about genres of book and what's trending. I I only know what my algorithm tells me is trending, and I don't know if that's actually true. What is a very popular genre at your store right now? What do you see people picking up the most?

SPEAKER_07 13:44

I mean, romance is always is kind of a perennial top seller. Romance and fantasy. I would say the in in my mind, at least before I got into the book business, the the most surprising genre that we sell quite a bit of is horror. So I am not personally a horror reader, but we have several booksellers who are passionate horror readers. And it's really been interesting to see the group of folks who sort of like gather around that specific genre. But we still at our store, we still primarily are selling like contemporary fiction, literary fiction. But as far as like what I would call genre fiction, which is kind of a what you know, I I always tell our booksellers that like shelving books into their categories is more art than science because these are all just made-up terms and categories that just help us as readers know where stuff is. But I don't know, a good story is a good story. Yeah. Yeah. What about you?

SPEAKER_03 14:43

We're a little different because we are a genre-centric store, and so we focus primarily on romance, romanticy, fantasy, horror, and sci-fi. We do less of like what we would consider like contemporary or literary fiction. We we obviously carry that, but it's not kind of our bread and butter. So I would say we have a pretty even spread across kind of what our our focus is on. As with Rachel, like romance, romantic are by far kind of our our biggest still, but we also have a really, really engaged horror community. We have a great like sci-fi group and and general, you know, fantasy group outside of the romantic fantasy. But yeah, we we specialize kind of in that genre fiction. So so for us, you know, as long we yeah, I don't know that there is one in particular that like we're more drawn to or that our customers are more drawn to than yeah others.

SPEAKER_05 15:39

I had never read a sci-fi book until Project Hail Mary. Oh, and then once I read that, yeah, my friends were like, Oh, you have to read Red Rising. So I'm not sure. Yeah, you like jumped into the deep end with Project Hail Mary. That's not an easy read. It no, and I cried a lot. Yeah. I didn't know it was a book about friendship. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:00

I thought it was the end of the world book. I thought it was about robots.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

I was like, and I was like, Amazing! My daughter was like, Are you crying again? I cried thinking about Rocky. Yes, I am I know for real. No idea.

SPEAKER_05 16:15

I'm like, oh my god. And now when we saw, I took them to see the movies, they haven't read it because they're nine, and my 12-year-old, she could read it, but yeah, there's a lot of scientific terminology and and stuff in the book. But they loved the movie. I couldn't believe it because it was so long. They love the movie, especially my nine-year-old. But no, then I read Red Rising and I was like, okay, it's getting really intense. Which I love I just read the first three, but anyway, but I am definitely into the I think The Hobbit got me into fantasy, probably as did most. Sure. And then Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite book series of all time, just because of how old I was closing. Yeah. Yeah. And but you know, I've I have reread all of the Hunger Games books with my oldest daughter, because she they're so good.

SPEAKER_03 17:04

Those are my like all-time comfort. The distant books, yes, and movies, and like I will rewatch the Hunger Games three to four times a year.

SPEAKER_05 17:14

Oh yeah. Yeah. Easy. Easy for me too. I and we're getting ready, we're trying to read all the what is it? It's not snow, it's Hamish's story. Oh, right. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

I cried on and off for like three days straight. Really? So just be mentally prepared for that. I it's gonna be worse than Rockney for anything. Would just burst into tears for like randomly for like days after this. I'll send you some tissues. I'll mentally prepare them. It's really good though. I think it's probably my favorite of the series.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

I've heard that from a lot of people. It's very good. That's really awesome. I like that you guys are talking about sci-fi. I was totally a kid growing up. I was so into R. L. Stein, like horror. Yes, yes, my kids love R. Stein. I like I it was like junior high, probably when I started getting into like all the Fear Street books. And it's really funny because it's so different. I remember when Goosebumps came out, and I was like, what is this? This is so cool. Oh no, my kids love goosebumps. I know. My kids, I'm like, you don't know horror, you don't know Arlstein. Goosebumps is so, so mild. And then I got to meet him when he was in Fayetteville. Oh man, it was crazy. We there were so many people that went to that event, and we arrived late. Surprise, surprise, and we were standing in line, and they had already filled up the whole auditorium at the Fayetteville Public Library, and we were standing like in the hallway. Oh, yeah. And he walked through the hallway and he stopped and talked to me, and I got to tell him that my love of reading started with Fear Street books, which was the coolest experience ever. And I was like, oh my gosh. And I was like, I gotta go tell Samantha I met R.L. Stein. But yeah, I didn't I didn't really get into fantasy books until I was older either. And even like romance books, like we won't go down my path of like books and weird stuff because I was very uh I read I wrote read Christian romance novels, if anybody has any idea what those are like. I have not tapped into those. Redeeming love. Did anybody read Redeeming Love? Yeah, Francine Rivers. Not my thing anymore. But yes, I remember it was it's so funny to think back

Formative Books And Reading Paths

SPEAKER_02 19:20

on those times. But I want to hear about like things that you guys read. Like what were the classics that you read, and what are like how has that transformed over time for you and into what you're reading now?

SPEAKER_03 19:32

So my grandfather is a huge fantasy reader, and growing up, he had specific shelves that he built in his garage specifically for tours, which is a publisher, mass market sci-fi and fantasy novels. I am the eldest grandchild and eldest daughter, therefore, obviously. And so I got to read and watch whatever I wanted to. And so my mom and my grandfather and I would just share books, and like there was no, and so I grew up reading like pulpy fantasy. Like, I, you know, I think a series that stands out to me is Mercedes, Mercedes Lackeys Joust series, which is one of the original kind of Dragon Rider series. And so I read all of those, and then my mom and I would share as I got into like my teen years and kind of this why this genre of like YA fantasy came up. Like I was I was like an original Twilight kid, I was an original Hunger Games kid. Like my mom, like we would share them. I actually remember when Twilight came out. My mom read it first and was like, you would love these, you need to read these. And I was like, no, I'm not gonna read them because whatever my mom likes isn't cool. And then like a year later, everybody was talking about it and I was like, okay, maybe I should go read those. And then I became kind of like one of the big Twilight kids. But yeah, so I mean, for me, I think it really was fantasy and sci-fi is is really what got me into reading. I but I also read everything.

SPEAKER_07 21:07

That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 21:08

That's really cool.

SPEAKER_07 21:09

I would love to see some of those covers of your granddad's collection. Yeah, I'm I am fantasy covers are so good.

SPEAKER_03 21:15

I'm hoping those come to me at some point.

SPEAKER_07 21:19

That's awesome. My mother was a big like classics reader. Like she's the only person I've ever met who's actually read like The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I love it. Orlay Mizarab covered a cover.

SPEAKER_05 21:30

Oh, we're trying to do that right now. So I bought some like third print and it's this thick because it tells the the like priest story beforehand, which Whoa.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

That's an audiobook. Anything that big, I'm like, no, no, no. It's a struggle. If I can't physically hold it open. I know.

SPEAKER_07 21:50

Well, so I some of my earlier memories of my childhood are reading Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter with my mom. Same I love Beatrix Potter. Yes. Actually, what One of my favorite and probably one of the more formative reading experiences of my childhood was the American Girl Doll. Oh my gosh. Yes. I was not allowed to have the dolls, but I had all of the books.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

So I knew all of the formative too.

SPEAKER_02 22:14

Do you know that someone's trying to bring back the magazine?

SPEAKER_07 22:17

No.

SPEAKER_03 22:18

No, there is an adult American Girl Doll book coming out.

SPEAKER_07 22:22

Oh boy. Can it be it's like an adult doll?

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Anyway.

SPEAKER_07 22:28

Samantha's going through the story about it.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Samantha's hot flash.

SPEAKER_07 22:34

Yes, Samantha's hot flash. Amazing. And then I think that I just sort of like continued on that strain of like reading like children's classics until junior high. I started reading Jane Austen. And that kind of like blew my mind a little bit. Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie. So I feel like that kind of like core story really imprinted on my mind, my my young, tender mind. And then after I read Jane Eyre, that was when I was like, oh, this is my favorite book. And it's the only book that I've read more than three times. Wow. I love it. And so I think that this is not really an answer to your question, but hearing you talk about romance novels earlier, I also for the longest time was like, I'm I'm not I'm not into that, you know? That's not for me, which is hilarious because I was so obsessed with Jane Austen and Jane Eyre, which is like hello. And then during the pandemic, I picked up a historical romance and was like, ah, the missing piece has come together, like in that Shell Silverstein book. Like, I am the circle and the missing piece came, and we were like, all right, we can roll. And then really ever since then, I've been like a huge romance advocate, reader, all of the above. So I'm just gonna be here to tell you it doesn't have to be guilty. I'm here for it. We can just love it. And if you ever want to chit-chat about uh a juicy plot, I'm here for it.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

Yeah, ask your ask your booksellers what they're reading if you are ever embarrassed about what you're reading, because I promise you it's gonna be weird. And you're not gonna feel it's gonna be strange.

SPEAKER_05 24:14

Okay, Shill Silverstein though, yeah. I bought is it where the sidewalk ends? Where the sidewalk ends? Yeah. Okay, I have such core memories of that book as a child, and I bought it for my kids, and I opened it up and they did not have the response I thought they were gonna have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 24:32

Okay, what?

SPEAKER_02 24:33

They were like, there's no buttons on this. I'm just kidding. It feels that way sometimes with kids and books. Although my daughter's an avid reader, she I love bragging on her so much. She, well, she just started sixth grade, but last year in fifth grade, she had a ninth grade reading level. So, like gosh, yeah, no, it's so amazing and impressive. Future bookseller? She's featured lots of things into art, music, theater. She's very artistic and creative to her core. But yeah, but I'd love to hear from you, Amelia. Tell us a little bit about what you kind of got started in with reading and kind of what you're into now.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Yeah. So fun fact about me, I was a homeschooled kid. So I was home with my mom all the time, which means I was bored a lot. And so I would raid my dad's bookshelves, and then my grandma lived with us, and so I would raid her bookshelves, which means I was reading a lot of stuff I shouldn't have been reading. So I was like 10 years old reading Danielle Steele. That's what I was named after.

SPEAKER_05 25:36

Really? Yes, romance. I love that. And I've never read one. That's I call it. All right, keep going. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

You have to tell me which one to read, okay? Okay. I'll have to dig back in my brain. Yeah. It's been a hot minute. But and then my dad, core memory that, and I've been looking for this forever. So if you guys ever come across one, let me know. My dad had this massive, and it was like dark blue, like complete works of Shakespeare. And I would read that over and over and over. I was obsessed with it. So that's a core memory for me. Rachel brought up American Girl. I read every single American Girl book cover to cover over and over. I have the dolls. I still have my dolls. So jealousy. So, Courtney, if you want me to heal your inner child, my mom's gonna listen to this later. We'll play dolls. We can get the books out. It'll be a great time because I kept them, my daughter played with them, and now I'm keeping them from my channel. Julie, the hippie basketball player. I'm gonna bring her.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

I found out that there's an 80s, or maybe it's 80s or 90s. Her name is Courtney. I found that out the other day.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Is that the newest one?

SPEAKER_03 26:44

Not the newest one. Okay, I think we're into the 2000s.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

So, like the newest one is like one that could be my daughter. And I'm like, no, that is not historical. Like, stop. But sidebar, that's why I majored in history in college because I was so obsessed with American Girl. Yes. I also, so I'm a I'm I'm gonna age myself a little bit, but I was really into Sweet Valley. So Sweet Valley Kids, Twins, and then High, and then University. I read them all. Babysitter's Club all day long. And then when I got a little bit older, Nicholas Sparks. I love Nicholas Sparks. I think I've read every Nicholas Sparks novel ever. And when I first started working at the Democrat Gazette, I got to meet Nicholas Sparks. Very sweet, very short, but very, very cool guy. So yeah, those are kind of the things that really stand out to me as being really formative in my like reading journey.

Read What You Love No Shame

SPEAKER_01 27:44

But one of the things that we really are advocating for with BookFest is along the same lines as what Courtney and Rachel were talking about is read what you love. We don't judge. It's all about just finding what you love and reading because you love it and it feels good to you. Reading should be fun, it should bring you joy. There shouldn't be any pressure involved with it. You shouldn't have to hit a certain number of books a year. You shouldn't have to hit a goal. You shouldn't have to read a certain thing to be a reader. Everybody can be a reader, but you can just enjoy it. It's supposed to be fun, right? So just find what you like. It can be a trashy romance novel that's great. It can be, you know, an unauthorized biography of Taylor Swift. Whatever. Just find what you like and enjoy it and love it. And that's all. So what are you reading

Current Reads And Recommendations

SPEAKER_01 28:46

right now? Ooh, okay. So my sister and I just read Heart the Lover by Lily King, and we cried for days. And then we followed that up with The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. My friend just told me about it Saturday. Then we cried some more. So we've had a really therapeutic couple of weeks. Both of those were really good. And so now my book club book for this month is The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. So I'm really excited to start that. So yeah, it's like a it's like a 1940s like espionage World War II spy thing. So I'm excited for it. It hopefully won't make me cry.

SPEAKER_08 29:30

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 29:32

Although I feel like everything that we're saying right now is like, come join our book club and we're gonna just have a cry fight. Yeah. It's fine. Yeah, it's just past the tissue. It's good for you. One of the things is great hearing what the list you're listing off. I was like, oh yeah, I used to read Nicholas Sparks. Oh yeah. Start getting to a certain age, you just start forgetting your whole life. It's fine. It's fine. I also had to look up the Courtney American Girl doll and have an update for you guys right now, really quick, because I need to tell you, she's from the 1980s. 80s, yes. 1986. She was from Orange Valley, California. She her plot deals with blended family, her mother running for local office as mayor, and her love of pop culture. I mean, sounds good. And also the Challenger Space Shuttle talks about that. Oh no. Arcade games, music videos, you know, all the things that we got to grow up with. And we're coming back to. I mean, it's all the analog stuff. So Courtney, that's a great American girl doll named.

SPEAKER_03 30:29

Yeah, my friend's obsessed with in one of our booksellers, she's obsessed with American Girl. And so she always cuts like the pictures of Courtney out of the catalog and like collage them onto cards for me. So awesome. So I've got actually think I have one in my backpack in my car downstairs.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

You're like, you're like, I already know the whole plot. It's so great.

SPEAKER_05 30:50

So what are you reading right now, Courtney? Or do you are you reading a book right now?

SPEAKER_03 30:53

Oh yes, yes. Um, I am reading two because I like to have options. So I'm reading the Red Sacrament by Sarah Hinckley. I am a huge vampire person, which is 1800 French vampires. They run an opera house, but it's just kind of like a ploy for like eating people.

unknown 31:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

For lack of a better word. So that one's really like slow, atmospheric, very like detailed, dense. And so I've been reading that one, and then I'm reading Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer, which is a queer fantasy romance about the local villain who is trying to defeat the local hero. So it's like nemesis to lovers, is how they they call it. But it's just very fun. I've like been really into this trend we're having with like medieval rom-coms, where it's like these just like really funny low-stakes plot, but in like a fantasy setting. So this is the two I'm reading right now.

SPEAKER_05 32:34

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that reads two books simultaneously because at least two, if not sometimes four. I just I just read Mad Mabel and Theo of Golden at the same time, and I just kept alternating. I was like, what are you doing? Like, I don't know. Sometimes I need a Theo of Golden moment, sometimes I need Mad Mabel. I don't know. I just sometimes I can't decide. Yeah. No, that's so fair.

SPEAKER_07 32:57

What about you? What are you reading? So I also usually have typically more than one book going at a time. And I find for me it often is the time of day that I find myself available to read. So during the daytime, when I feel like I need more critical reading faculties, I'll usually go more towards nonfiction or literary fiction. And then at night, when I'm exhausted and I want to just have like me time, that's when I go to my romance novels. And if I wake up in the middle of the night and I need to go back to sleep, I want something comforting, and that's when I'll go back to the romance. So right now I am reading May We Feed the King by Rebecca something, something. I'm forgetting her last name, but it was just long listed for the Booker Prize. And it's about a woman in England who does if you've ever like walked through a historic home and you see like the kitchen looks like it's like a set piece essentially. So she's a curator who does these like historical set pieces in like old homes. And it's kind of about like the memories that we can like hold on to and come sort of like bring to the forefront because we uh pay such close attention to the details and the like caretaking of like the minutiae of life and how that can sort of give us meaning. So that's book one, and then book two is a historic historical romance called Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas that is devastating me right now. It's about a a married couple who are really having a hard time, and it's set during like the Victorian era. They have like a we have parted ways as soon as we got married, but they're both secretly pining for the other. And there's a lot of real conflict that feels like if you've ever been in a long-term relationship where you're like, oh dang, that's real. That's kind of where I'm at. But because it's a romance novel, I know that they're going to end up together. And so right now I'm just like, honestly, Sherry, how are you gonna make this happen? Because I'm stressed right now.

SPEAKER_05 34:58

So that's why I can't read some romance at night. Because if they're gonna be enemies to like lovers soon, I mean, I can't go to bed yet. Or they're finally gonna admit. That's right. You know what I mean? Yeah, no, for sure. Well, Sherry's.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

We would just want them to just just go in an opposite direction and just shock everybody. That's right. Oh, you really hate each other? Yeah, like they just end up hating each other and it ends.

SPEAKER_05 35:23

That's right. That actually well, I don't want to ruin the book, so I'm not even gonna say there are some books that happen. I did read a new book. It's not a standalone, but yeah, it was kind of like that. Yeah. Yeah. They were like, eh, no, I actually do hate you.

SPEAKER_07 35:36

Actually, I want to read those stories too.

SPEAKER_05 35:39

We'll go off the mic, I'll tell you. Well, now I'm gonna ruin it, so I cannot say anything.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

You can't say anything. Just mix it in with like your recommendations. Yeah, but I'm not gonna say which one. But I'm not gonna say which one. Do you want to kick us off with this or that, Danielle? You all have to answer.

SPEAKER_05 35:54

Yeah, it's just this or that. Quick fire, answer which one. Okay, fantasy or sci-fi, Rachel.

Quick Fire Book Preferences Game

SPEAKER_05 36:00

Fantasy, fantasy or fantasy. That was easy. Oh, okay. Avatar or fourth wing?

SPEAKER_03 36:06

Acatar. Oh, I'm panicking. Uh probably honestly, fourth wing, I think. I'm a dragon. I'm a dragon girl.

SPEAKER_05 36:15

Fourth wing. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:17

You wanna go? Thriller or mystery? Thriller. Thriller. Neither.

SPEAKER_03 36:23

Okay. I don't like knowing that real people can kill me. Horror, I can do all the time. Thriller and mystery, I cannot. Okay, that's fair.

SPEAKER_02 36:32

That's a fair, that's fair response. All right. Series or a standalone? Standalone. Standalone. Trilogy. Jim. I'm a trilogy. Anything more than that. It's gonna have some sort of completion. Like a long, long button. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 36:49

Okay, if you can't have a physical book, Kindle or audio. Okay. I would like to just plug a non-Kindle ebook option. There, they are out there, and I would say even if it's just your iPad, bookshop.org now sells ebooks, and so does Libro.fm. So I'm gonna go with either of those. Or as a bookseller, I do a lot of advanced reader copy reading on NetGally. Sweet.

SPEAKER_03 37:13

I actually read 90% audiobooks. I I don't really read physical books almost ever. So audio.

SPEAKER_01 37:19

One for audio? I'm an ebook, Girly.

SPEAKER_05 37:21

Ebook, okay. All right. I have one more from me.

unknown 37:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:26

Just because I want to know. I know. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Harry Potter. I it's okay. I fall asleep every time I try to watch Lord of the Rings. And my husband calls me out every single time. I have never successfully watched the movies all the way through. Ever. Cancelled.

SPEAKER_06 37:51

Their movies about walking. They're just about walking.

SPEAKER_03 37:55

You're not wrong. But there's other things that are happening while they're walking.

SPEAKER_05 38:03

Well, in Harry Potter, they're just flying, right? I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

I mean, they are flying. No, I'm kidding. No.

unknown 38:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:10

Are you asking me? You have one more? I don't have any more. All right. But I'll wrap that. I I think we do need to wrap things up, but this has been a great conversation. We could talk for a very long time.

SPEAKER_01 38:21

Yes, and we need to know more about BookFest.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Yes, we do need to know more about BookFest.

SPEAKER_01 38:26

All right. So I will tell you. Okay, so BookFest is September 26th. It is at the Walton

BookFest Date Schedule And Partners

SPEAKER_01 38:33

Art Center, which we are so excited about. And the Walton Art Center has been a fantastic partner this year. It is 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. From 10 to 6, we will have the big bookish market and we will have author readings and panels going on all day. And then from 6 to 7:30, we are doing open mic. So you can come if you're an author, poet, even like a songwriter, if you want to come and share a song. It's it's true open mic. It doesn't have to be prose. You can do whatever you want. So 6 to 7:30 is open mic. Come and share with us. We're really, really excited about this year. We're we're sold out of vendor booths and author booths. We are full. So the Walton Art Center is a big place. So to be full in the Walton Art Center, like we're stoked. We're we're amazed at the turnout for authors and vendors this year. So we have a lot to share with you guys. We're real, we're really excited. So we have several partnerships going on with the Walton Art Center that are tied to their bookish productions this year. So we they're doing The Outsiders, they're doing Twilight with Sona, and then they're doing the notebook. So Bookfest and Underbrush, Two Friends, and then our friends at Pearls Books are partnering up with the Walton Arts Center to do some really fun activities with them to tie into those productions. So be on the lookout for those as well.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

If you could just explain a little bit about Bookfest in case some of our listeners hear this episode after the September event happens, just like the frequency. How often are you having BookFests? And tell us what to expect just over the next couple of years and where you guys are trying to take it.

SPEAKER_01 40:24

Yeah. So Northwest Arkansas Bookfest is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. And

BookFest Mission And Year Round Events

SPEAKER_01 40:31

we seek to really build the bookish community in Northwest Arkansas through what we call gentle reading practices. And what we mean by that is kind of what I was talking about before. You don't have to read a certain type of book or hit a certain number of pages or books a year to be considered a reader. We want everybody to be to feel welcome in the bookish community and to come out and have a good time reading and celebrating authors and discovering new books to read. And then we also want to give local and regional authors a platform to share their work. So they get to come out, they get to share their work through doing readings and panels and having discussions. And then they get to sell their books at our events. So our big event is Northwest Arkansas Bookfest. We do that once a year, typically in the fall, usually the end of September. We also do NWA Bookfest Kids, which is a children's centered event and it's centered around children's authors. We typically do that sometime in the spring. I think this coming year we're shooting for end of April, early May. So date to come there. And then we do a lot of smaller events throughout the year as well. We'll do book swaps, we'll do trivia nights, things like that, just to get out and have fun with our what we call our bookish besties, and just have a good time with the bookish community here in Northwest Arkansas.

SPEAKER_02 42:07

There's a connection to Book Fest with Danielle too. Why don't you tell our listeners?

SPEAKER_05 42:12

Yes. So my daughter, my youngest daughter, who's nine, submitted a story for the contest for the, you know, it was a kids'

Kids BookFest Story Contest Impact

SPEAKER_05 42:19

contest for the kids' book fest. And she actually was one of the winners. And yeah, she it was it was a great story about a sandstorm in this family that it honestly it's it's not a standalone. She needs to follow it up.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

No one's a trilogy, but it needs to be a trilogy only.

SPEAKER_05 42:38

No, only a trilogy. I told her that. And I'm like, I need to know what happens. Does does she does her dad get lost in the sand? Like, does he come back? Do they find food? She went to look for her friend. It was a great story, it was called the Sandstorm. So anyway, she won. And I have to say, the way that they, you know, rewarded her with the young author hat and backpack, and they give her a little coin from a like it's like a Shire inspired. Yeah, the Mint Post, the Shire Mint Post, and all these and the gift cards to the bookstores. And it it was just her experience with it was incredible. She felt really inspired. She wanted to keep writing. And I loved seeing that spark. And I know it will be a core childhood memory for her, the whole experience. So what you guys do with BookFest is really important. The value to the community is incredible. And it like it brought me so much joy as just a parent, too, seeing her get excited about this, you know. And so we didn't know what would happen with it. But yeah, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 43:45

Truly is awesome. I'm really glad that we have organizations like BookFest, and I'm really glad that we have local bookstores, and I've seen just so many people just stand behind what you look what you're doing. And I think that there's value in that and it comes back to the community. We like to wrap up our episodes with kind of asking a little bit about, you know, like what is keeping you rooted here in

What Keeps Us Rooted In NWA

SPEAKER_02 44:07

Northwest Arkansas. So this is we just have a few minutes to answer this question as much as we want to go super deep. But why don't you just tell us a little bit about what is keeping you rooted in Northwest Arkansas?

SPEAKER_01 44:18

Yeah, well, I'll just call out first of all. I'm really grateful. I'll call out that Courtney actually founded Bookfest four years ago, and then Rachel was a founding member on the board. I'm really grateful to them for getting. Giving me the opportunity to lead the board this year. I just took it over in 2026. I joined the board in 2025. And so one of the things that keeps me rooted in the community here is finding people like them who give me the opportunity to do things like this that I'm passionate about. Because, you know, in my day-to-day, I am working in corporate America. I am working in a job that while I love my job, it's not necessarily where my passion lies. So finding things like these that allow me to do things that are creative that I'm passionate about, and finding the people that are like-minded and that I can really collaborate and connect with, those are, you know, that really helps me stay grounded and you know helps me to stay rooted in Northwest Arkansas. And I find more and more people like that every day through working with Bookfest. So that's really wonderful. And then the other thing that keeps me rooted here is the fact that my my core family is here and we continue to see growth and community here for the next generation. My older sister has now two granddaughters. They are 21 months and six months old. And so we, you know, want to see them have more and more opportunities and have a wonderful place to grow up. And Northwest Arkansas continues to develop into the place that we want them to be growing up in and have, you know, has opportunities for them that we want them to have. So those are the things that keep me rooted in Northwest Arkansas and make me want to continue to work to make it such a wonderful place to live.

SPEAKER_07 46:20

I feel that too, Amelia, thinking about the generational aspect of it. I remember growing up there was this sort of feeling in my hometown of like, oh, if you stay, then like you didn't make it. If you leave, you make it. And I just remember that feeling like such a bummer, you know, and it still to me feels like a bummer. And I don't really want that for my own children. Of course, selfishly, like I want them to be close, but I also never, even if they do choose to move out, I want them to have a feeling that Northwest Arkansas is an exciting and dynamic place that they can come back to and that there are things for them here. Something that I didn't necessarily feel as much whenever I was growing up. And my husband and I are both very committed to that mission. We I started the bookstore with Monica because there wasn't one. And it was like, well, I want to live in a town with a bookstore, so why not us? And so that mentality and the fact that the opportunities here in this region are such that like you kind of like two random women kind of can start a business that has some longevity to it is also like such a blessing. And then, you know, of course, the nature and family and all of that, but there are these intangible things that I really feel like are keeping us here.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

Yeah, I I agree with Rachel, the idea that like all my friends moved away. Like all my friends move away to the big city. And while part like there was a time in my life where I thought that was gonna be me as well. The more that I've been here, the more that I've realized that it's important, it feels important for me to be here. And, you know, we're a queer centric bookstore, and that's really important to me is making sure that people realize that those experiences exist in northwest Arkansas and in small rural towns and all over the world, and it's not and and feel seen. And we do get a lot of comments of people coming to Rogers and being like, Well, I didn't expect to find a queer bookstore in Rogers, Arkansas. And it's like, well, why not? Like, what what what made you assume that that identity wasn't here? And so that's been something that's been really important to me growing underbrush and growing the work that organizations like Bookfest are are doing and making sure that everybody feels safe, seen, and welcome.

SPEAKER_05 48:40

I love it. I'm I'm so glad that we're able to have you all here and your stories are all unique, but also so there's that common thread, which is just the love of reading and community. And we're just so glad that you could come in and and share about BookFest and how it began and how the community can continue to get involved and go. I'll be there.

SPEAKER_02 49:02

I will too. Yeah. And for our listeners, you can check our show notes to find out where you can find all of these ladies, their stores, the BookFest,

Where To Follow And Closing

SPEAKER_02 49:11

online and on socials. Have a good day.

SPEAKER_05 49:14

Thanks. Hey, thanks so much for listening today. If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing to the podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also follow us on Instagram at People of NWA. Thanks so much.

SPEAKER_00 49:25

People of Northwest Arkansas with the two Danielles, produced by me, Brock Short of Brock Entertainment. Please rate, review, and like us on any podcast platform where you listen. For more information about today's guests and the show, please check the show notes. Thanks for listening.