In this week’s issue:

We’re FIVE years old!

The Tiny Bookstore officially opened in January 2019. In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday and in others it feels like it was a lifetime ago. We’re so grateful for the support of our community that has stuck with us through thick, thin, and a pandemic. Thank you for all of our loyal customers, our neighboring businesses, the schools who send their readers our way, and our social media community that keeps us from feeling like we’re shouting into a void!

So, the SAVE code is sticking around for a while

I feel really good about being able to offer more of a discount for my fellow bargain shoppers, so I’m going to keep the extra savings going for a while. Remember:

20% off of most books with the code SAVE at checkout. Use the code SAVEMAX to save 25% and get faster processing (the books might be a little dinged up).

Random Thoughts: About taking inventory of your life and being brave enough to make hard decisions

For those who haven’t been reading the newsletter for the past few weeks, The Tiny Bookstore switched to a by-appointment in the winter, regular hours in the summer model. It was an incredibly hard decision, but it was a necessary one. Before I get into the details of what happened, I should probably explain something about myself: I hate quitting or doing anything that seems like it could be seen as weakness. Which is a great thing to have ingrained in you if you’re a goal oriented person. Turns out that it isn’t the best thing if you’re trying to have a healthy work/life balance.*

Having the store open on Fridays and Saturdays meant that all of our family time had to happen on Sundays. With our work schedules and our school schedules, that wasn’t leaving much time (or energy) for quality time and fun stuff. I had a feeling that something had to give back when the school year started, but, like I said: I’m not built to give up on my goals. So, what happened to finally get me to change my mind and change the schedule? An episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Seriously. There’s an episode where Dr. Miranda Bailey is doing all the things. She had the clinic. She had her primary work as a surgeon. She was the chief resident. She was a wife and mother. She loved all of the things that she was doing, but she was just stretched too thin. Dr. Bailey looked at the big picture and realized that she had to let go of one of the things she loved because the path she was on was untenable. I get that it’s very “Grey’s Anatomy” to get insight on your situation from something that’s completely unrelated, but this episode really gave me some needed perspective. I love all of the things that I’m doing, but the path I was on was untenable. But I definitely was not going to let my bookstore go completely. Which brings us to our down-the-street neighbor, Willi’s.

I know what you’re thinking: How does a ski shop with locations in Ross Township, the South Hills, and 7 Springs come into play here? It’s simple—They are thriving on a seasonal schedule. In my ideal world, The Tiny Bookstore would be open for in-store shopping four to five days every week. Our schedule couldn’t accommodate that year-round. But, we just might be able to pull that off for the summer. So, that’s what we’re going to do.

I’m not saying that what I did is something that other people could or should do. I’m not even completely sure that I’ll feel content with the changes by the end of the year. What I can say is that it’s important to let go of preconceived notions you have about yourself and to be brave enough to at least try to do something differently.

*I get that people find the phrase “work/life balance” to be a cliche and ultimately impossible. I think that there’s an important difference between having a perfect balance and having a manageable balance. I’m talking about the latter

What Lea’s reading right now

Books: Still reading “Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge” by John Willis with Derek Lewis

“Deming’s Journey to Profound Knowledge” by John Willis with Derek Lewis

Audiobooks: “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity” by Michele Norris and “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning” by Peter C. Brown

Audiobooks

Check out our favorite audiobooks for January 2024:

January 2024: New Year, New Audiobooks Playlist on Libro.fm
Our favorite new audiobooks for January 2024

Tiny Books Blog

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