"To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries."   

- AC Grayling 

Dear Friends,

The arrival of July naturally brings reflection on what it means to be independent. Our lives are filled with the independence that our literacy skills give us. It's hard to imagine perusing a restaurant menu, looking at a website, or even getting on a bus (let alone graduating from school or securing employment) without being able to read. But that is the reality for many people and we believe in the historical power of used books to help change it.

When you visit the store this July and make your life-changing purchases (remember: sales support our literacy programs), please take a moment to sign our Declaration of the Right To Read located in our front window.

Kevin Elliott

Bookstore Manager

    Open Book Club Launches With   Discussion Of

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 

In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot seamlessly weaves together the saga of 1950's cancer patient Henrietta Lacks; how a tissue sample taken from Henrietta without her permission launched a medical revolution; the evolution of bio-ethics; and how the Lacks family came to understand the value (both monetary and scientific) that research on their mother's cells provided, even while they themselves barely understood what a cell or DNA even was.   

Below are a few of the discussion questions we'll use to explore The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at our first-ever meeting of the Open Book Club. Come join us -- no response is required, and it's free! For a complete list of questions, check out our Open Book Club blog posts.

  - There are really two stories here - that of Henrietta and her family and that of Skloot and her efforts to tell Henrietta's story.  How did the combination enhance or detract from the significance of each story?  Which one did you think was the more important story here?  Could one have been told without  the other?  

- In your opinion, did Johns Hopkins take advantage of Henrietta?  How does what happened to her compare to what happened at Nuremburg and at Tuskegee?  Do you feel that using her tissue samples is on the same level as these other examples?

- How does Skloot illustrate the difference between Henrietta the donor and Henrietta the person?  How do different groups of people view her in these different ways?  How does this disjuncture between the two become the main conflict for Deborah and her family?

July 12

6 pm 

FREE

Check out the

full calendar of dates and books! 

Where The Bookstore Ends... 

A SALE Begins!

We're throwing our first sidewalk sale! Come support literacy and work on your tan while browsing amazingly cheap books!

• Thousands of books priced at $3 or less!
• Dramatic Readings from Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends!
• Refreshments!
• Raffle Items!
• The debut of the very awesome Open Booksmobile! 
• ...and more!

July 23-24

Noon - 5pm

FREE

Open Bookshelves

One of our fantastic partners, Best Western River North, recently renewed their Open Bookshelf subscription!  They shared that "the Open Bookshelf has allowed our hotel to demonstrate an established commitment to our community and guests love having the opportunity to freely choose from a wide selection of reading materials while being away from home."  

Open Bookshelves are sturdy bookcases full of books from our donated collection. We'll cheerfully install one at your company, then return at regular intervals to refresh the shelves and replace the titles.  An Open Bookshelf is perfect for an office lounge, lobby or waiting area and is a great way to spread the joy of reading, support literacy, and partner with Open Books!  

Want one? Let us know at

dev@open-books.org!