Why we partner with Bookshop.org
This post contains affiliate links. As a Bookshop.org and Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. Where possible, our book links point to Bookshop.org to support independent bookstores. For readers who prefer Amazon or Prime shipping, we also include Amazon links. Rest assured, every recommendation is thoughtfully curated, from one reader to another.
There’s something about wandering through a bookstore.
Maybe you’re on a mission, looking for a specific book. Or maybe you’re stopping by your favorite local bookshop just to browse. Either way, before long, you’re picking up a book you’ve never heard of because the cover caught your eye. Reading a bookseller’s handwritten recommendation tucked beneath another. Spotting something intriguing on a table you almost walked past.
You may leave with a book. You may leave with three. Or you may leave empty-handed, except for a want-to-read list that’s six books longer.
Books just seem to show up differently in a bookstore.
We love that kind of discovery at Read & Nest. But let’s be honest. We also love the convenience of buying books online and getting them delivered straight to your door or e-reader without leaving your comfortable reading chair. There’s no wrong way to buy a book.
Still, there’s sometimes a twinge of guilt when you choose online convenience over your local bookseller. Because you want those local shops to thrive so they’re there to wander into, with shelves to browse and tables full of possibilities that you simply wouldn’t find by typing into a search box.
But what if you didn’t have to choose between the two?
Bookshop.org lets the two parts of your reading life overlap by supporting independent bookstores with every purchase made online.
A different way to buy books online
That’s why becoming a Bookshop.org affiliate—and creating our own storefront there—felt like such a natural fit for Read & Nest.
Bookshop.org was created to give independent bookstores a way to benefit from online book sales. You can even choose a specific participating bookstore to support—like your favorite hometown shop or one you discovered on vacation and wish were closer to home. If you don’t choose one, your purchase still helps support independent bookstores through Bookshop.org’s profit-sharing program, which has contributed $49 million to local bookshops so far.
We like that there’s room for all of it.
Browse the shelves when you have an afternoon to spare. Order the book online from the couch when you don’t. Read the hardcover, paperback, or ebook. Supporting independent bookstores doesn’t have to mean giving up the convenience of reading—and buying books—the way that works for you.
Our own little corner of the bookshop
But there’s another reason the partnership appealed to us.
We want Read & Nest to capture a little of what we love about wandering around a favorite bookstore—that feeling of serendipity when you discover a really good book you weren’t looking for.
That’s the idea behind the curated lists in our virtual Bookshop.org storefront. Because some of the best books are the ones you didn’t know you were looking for.
Think of our lists as little bookshop tables we’ve set up for you to wander through. Maybe 400 pages sounds exhausting right now. Maybe you’re in the mood for something a little weird. Maybe you want to read the book before everybody starts talking about the screen adaptation.
If we add a title or two to your want-to-read list, we consider that a successful browse. And if you find something you can’t wait to read? Go ahead and buy it, guilt-free.