Premier Independent Bookseller/Coffeehouse in Sauk Valley
COVID-19 2021
COVID-19 fight update:
Congratulations and thanks to all of you who are fully vaccinated and now boosted. This has made a big difference in the fight against this hard-to-understand virus.
As of 28 February 2022, please come in, shop, sit (or stand) and converse without requiring to cover your nose & mouth.
BUT, please respect our service team and fellow patrons who may want to continue to wear face coverings, keep a physical distance or do the safest thing for their & their loved ones' health & safety.
How to physically distance: Just stay 8 books laid end-to-end from your fellow booklover!
Whether you think the devastating effects of this novel coronavirus have been overblown or not, let's all work as a community to stay safe and keep our local businesses here for you!
Published under a pseudonym, J. K. Rowling's brilliant debut mystery introduces Detective Cormoran Strike as he investigates a supermodel's suicide in "one of the best books of the year" (USA Today), the first novel in the brilliant series that inspired the acclaimed HBO Max series C.B. Strike. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, creditors are calling, and after a breakup with his longtime girlfriend, he's living in his office. Then John Bristow walks through his door with a shocking story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry -- known to her friends as the Cuckoo -- famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man. You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.
About the Author
Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potterseries and The Casual Vacancy.
Praise For…
"One of the books of the year."—USA Today
"Robert Galbraith has written a highly entertaining book... Even better, he has introduced an appealing protagonist in Strike, who's sure to be the star of many sequels to come.... its narrative moves forward with propulsive suspense. More important, Strike and his now-permanent assistant, Robin (playing Nora to his Nick, Salander to his Blomkvist), have become a team--a team whose further adventures the reader cannot help eagerly awaiting."—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
"Rowling switches genres seamlessly...a gritty, absorbing tale."—People (3.5 out of 4 stars)
"[Rowling's] literary gift is on display in this work. She crafts an entertaining story [and] comes up with an ending that I'll admit I was surprised by. . . . A fun read, with a main character you can care about and one you'll want to see again in other adventures."—Washington Post
"An extravagant, alien, fascinating world for its characters to explore...great pleasures."—Slate.com
Thank you for your support!
For those of you not interested in ordering from that largest river in South America that rivals the Mississippi and the Nile, but BoF is out of stock at the warehouse, try our new affiliate, Bookshop, started by a Columbia University MFA who just wants to help the Indies out a bit while being able to put a meal on the table for himself and others.
We Now Are Affiliated with Hummingbird, a Great eBook Resource!
You can still buy titles in other formats (hardcover, paperback, audio CDs) with a Books on First gift card as well as buy a Books on First giftcard which we will send especially to that lucky recipient (free postage!).
More than a card.
More value than many other store-bought surprises (except a book!)
Put a 3D paper sculpture in a loved one's hands and see the spontaneous delight.
That's a lovepop.
The Last of Tim's Bees' Honey is Creamed
The Bee's are busy at the moment, but we will restock by mid-summer!
From Tim Benedict's Orion Artisinal Honey & Garlic Farm
HONEY from Tim's BEES flying around FRANKLIN GROVE, IL
While honey is the one foodstuff that never goes bad, it does get kind of hard to use when it crystallizes. Creamed honey is taking crystallized honey, heating it and stirring/blending in liquid honey until the result is a smooth, sweet treat, easy to measure for recipes or to spoon into beverages or onto the medium of your choice (honey peanut butter toast, yum, yum!)!
It's been said that local honey is great for warding off bad germs and aiding in the relief of sinus/breathing difficulties. Regardless, it tastes great!
And What a Great Gift Idea!
This is the last of this season's bounty, so get it while you can.
Based on the Book ...
We are always delighted when someone sees a movie in the book, because now, millions of more people know about the book! It might have been a great film or it might have been a total dud.
But, read the book yourself to see just how good or different the original is!
