Fall is officially upon us, and the weather has been beautiful! With that said, I have now jinxed us and it will rain for the next two weeks.

Either way, we have begun the slippery autumn holiday slope. Halloween is just around the corner, calendars are in and flying off the shelves, and the big books of fall are starting to arrive. Believe me, there are any number of books coming out that you don't want to miss.

I understand some of you are reluctant to venture downtown, so I figured this would be a good time for a much needed construction update. The plans have in some ways veered way off the track since our last update. At this point, the waterline replacement is basically done. Now we are moving on to the beautification part of the program. Since this aspect is much more labor intensive, our fearless contractors and city liaisons have come up with a new plan. Our part of North Main Street will be returned to its previous state with functional sidewalks, lines for parking, benches, large planters, etc. We will be left alone for the duration of the working year, and our facelift will occur spring / summer next year. In the meantime, all efforts will be focused on completely finishing the area between 303 and Clinton. Despite the fact that we were assured all the work would happen overnight, daytime work will apparently start as early as Monday. There will continue to be two lane traffic; however, trucks will be diverted from Main Street, there will be no left turn to go south on Main Street, and there will be no parking between Park and Clinton. This phase of the construction is due to be completely finished around Nov. 15th, so we can all gaze upon its beauty through the holiday season and beyond. This may seem like a drastic change in the plans, but don't worry - we feel that way too.

Needless to say, they are making progress and we are all hanging in there. Please let me remind you again that we are happy to deliver or ship books to your home. You can still feed your reading cravings without having to experience orange barrel hell.

Give us a call with any questions you may have, or order directly from our website: www.learnedowl.com.

Thank you for your support, and happy reading!

- Kate