Welcome to The Cottage Bulletin — our monthly note from the stacks. Each issue will have a few books worth your time, links that brought us joy, news that matters to our fellow bookworms, and whatever else feels right. Get cozy. Brew something warm. It’s time to read.
What we’re reading
Caleigh is reading
The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V. L. Bovalino
New trope? Lovers to enemies—potentially to lovers again? Who knows… Love a 30-year-old female main character (FMC) who complains about back pain. Obsessed!
Chris is reading
Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams
I’m loving this moody, atmospheric western so far. From the opening pages, you can tell disaster is brewing—but it hasn’t arrived yet.
Most anticipated
Our original idea was to feature a single book in this section—but it just isn’t possible! There are SO MANY great books coming out in September, we decided to do a list instead.
- Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
- Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang
- The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman
- Ply by Hernan Diaz
- The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon
- American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee
We could go on and on! There are plenty more September books waiting in our preorder collection.
New at the Cottage
Our stationery shelf just got a restock of Midori’s Yuru Log notebooks — soft dot-grid pages wrapped in gentle watercolour woodland scenes, with lay-flat bindings made for slow afternoons.
Watch this short film on the origins of magical MD Paper — the Japanese paper Midori has been quietly perfecting since the 1960s.
Links worth your time
A Thousand Ways to Live Within the SeasonsA conversation with David G. Haskell, Dara McAnulty, and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee in Emergence Magazine.
I’ll admit: I’ve been dreading the coming of winter. This conversation helped me re-examine my sensory relationship with the seasons. After listening, I’m dreading the long, long, LONG winter just a little less.
— Chris
The Bookstore-Slash-Skate-Shop Next to Ballerina FarmA Paris Review post about opening a bookshop that’s more than just a bookshop.
After reading that the first book they sold was Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School, I looked up our own first sale. It wasn’t nearly as fun: Babel, by R. F. Kuang.
— Chris
Forget New York, some of the most ambitious literature in America is happening in CaliforniaA Los Angeles Times story on Transit Books and Unnamed Press.
We love an indie press — especially when they focus on works in translation!
— Chris
The mobile library bringing books to rural SyriaAn uplifting story from Positive News.
A nice reminder of the power of books to help us heal and grow.
— Chris
Events coming up
Made for Mondays pop-up — Saturday, September 5 · 12:00–4:00 p.m.
Made for Mondays will be bringing their beautiful collection of small-batch gemstone jewellery to the Cottage, including an exclusive collection created just for us!
Dragon Keeper’s Cottage Threshing Day celebration — Tuesday, September 29 · 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
An all-day drop-in celebration as we welcome Threshing Day and step back into the Empyrean. Wander through our cozy little bookstore transformed into a dragon keeper’s haven, where hidden treasures, magical companions, and a few surprises await around every corner.
New on the website: special orders
You can now request books directly from our site — search by title or ISBN and submit anytime. We only show titles we can actually get from publishers, and we’ll confirm within a day or two. Give it a try!
— With ❤️ from Nottawa Cottage Bookstore