TBR Books

It finally feels like fall here in O’Fallon! There’s a lot going on, and we have updates for you. This is going to be a long newsletter because we’ve included a helpful list of community resources.

Reading Suggestions

In our last newsletter, we shared some recommendations for Autumn reading. We might add some more to our Autumn reading lists, but we are going to keep the same links. Click on the banners below for suggestions!

Location Update

Our permanent location still isn’t ready for us to move in yet. They’ve been working on plumbing, and soon they’ll be able to get electricians and drywallers in there. Our original estimate that we’d be in by late November appears to have been wrong, so we have our fingers crossed for a December move-in. We know everyone has been really looking forward to the store having a larger space (and a meeting space for clubs and events), and we really appreciate your patience! Thank you!

Having a smaller space means that we’re going to have to plan really, really well for the holiday season.

If there’s any popular book that you’re looking forward to coming out in November or December, PLEASE let us know so that we can order enough copies of it!

Please also let us know if there’s anything specific you’d like to see from us this holiday season.

There’s a handy comments form at the bottom of this page, but you can also reach out using the Contact Us page.

100 Books Before

High School

The O’Fallon Public Library is starting 100 Books Before Highschool soon. It’s a program that rewards participating middle schoolers for reading. This is a great program, and TBR Books is excited to announce that gift certificates to our store will be offered by the Library as some of the rewards! Click the banner below to visit the Library’s website.

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday takes place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was started in 2010 as a way to help small businesses get more holiday shoppers, and it’s basically the Small Business version of Black Friday (the day AFTER Black Friday). This year, it’s on November 29th.

We’re offering a free sticker pack for every $50 you spend in our store on Small Business Saturday.

Why shop small and local? Because you’re supporting your community! TBR Books is owned by a member of the community and not by a corporation with a rotating cast of CEOs. Having a bookstore downtown makes downtown infinitely more interesting (if we do say so ourselves). We LOVE community engagement.

Books make great gifts! We might be very small, but we’ve got a great selection of books to choose from, and you can also ask us to order specific titles. It usually only takes a few days for them to arrive, so if you’re looking for something specific for the holidays, please let us know! We’ll take down your name and number and give you a call or text when your book arrives.

New Vendor Partnership!

TBR Books is excited to announce we have partnered with Pretty Okay Candles, a local candlemaker! We will have a small display of their candles in the store. Examples of their candles and wax melts are below!

Community Support

November is a time for family, friendship, and community. With the end of harvest season, the focus is also on food and feasting.

This is a great time to remember those in our community who may be struggling with financial and food security.

SNAP benefits have ended November 1st, although two federal judges have recently ordered that they receive emergency funding. If they’re not funded, things might be very difficult for a lot of people in our communities, including some of our military families. A lot of government workers have also been furloughed or laid off recently, as have many in the private sector.

We are small and just getting on our feet ourselves, but one of the purposes of a local bookstore is to be a place for the community, so here is how we are trying to help!

O’Fallon Food Pantry

TBR Books is partnering with the O’Fallon Food Pantry to help bring in more donations. O’Fallon Food Pantry serves clients in O’Fallon and Shiloh.

We will have a donation box in-store where you can bring donations.

For every item donated, we will offer you $1 in store credit – up to $5 per visit. You’re welcome to bring as many items to donate if you like, but we can only provide store credit for up to 5.

On behalf of the pantry, we can accept canned food, boxed foods such as pasta or rice, and toiletries and personal hygiene items (and diapers).

However, don’t forget that food banks could use more than just canned or boxed food! The O’Fallon Food Pantry also accepts fresh foods, breads, and desserts (we can’t accept those things in-store).  If you’re able, they also appreciate financial donations and volunteer help. Give them a call if you’re interested in helping out!

The O’Fallon Food Pantry is located at 801 E. State Street in O’Fallon, and it is open from 9am-12pm on Monday, 9am-3pm on Tuesday, and 9am-3pm on Friday. Their phone number is 618-624-7040.

Note: vendor’s goods will not be included in this promotion.

Toys For Tots

For the holidays, TBR Books will have a box for Toys for Tots donations. Toys for Tots was founded by the Marine Corps and collects new, unwrapped toys to distribute to economically disadvantaged kids at Christmas.

If you purchase one of our books to donate to Toys for Tots, we will offer 10% off your purchase including the donated book.

Other Resources

If the O’Fallon Food Pantry won’t work for you, or if you have friends or family who need assistance, there are other options. Please click the banner below to find more food pantries!

A Small Note about AI

Since everyone’s been talking about AI lately, we feel like we should be transparent. Nothing on our website has been written or made using generative AI. We do use Canva for our graphics, but we try to avoid their AI features as much as possible.

As booksellers, we know how important intellectual property can be to writers and artists, and we would not dishonor any creatives by using generative AI trained on materials without the creators’ consent. We don’t even use generative AI for research. All information you see on our website and in our newsletters is painstakingly researched using a browser and search engine with all AI features turned off. Since generative AI hallucinates and cannot be trusted for accuracy, doing old-fashioned information searches is much more reliable. And fun! For some of us. We also make sure to provide links to the sources of all of the information that we share (unless the source is us).

If you’d like to learn how to research without using generative AI, we recommend you reach out to the Library. You’re also welcome to come into the bookstore and chat with Tracy, who is studying to be a librarian and is very passionate about research, but she might also try to sell you a book.

That said, we are human, and humans make mistakes, so please let us know if you spot any.

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