Yes, this post is an advertisement for bookstores

And one very special place in Wichita, Kansas, that deserves your support

Let’s talk about something pleasant and affirming for a moment, shall we? It was a long, long night.

How many of you have a bookstore in your community (let’s say within a 15-minute drive) that you visit with enthusiasm, one that you truly love? We’re talking about a bookstore that represents a joyful threat to your credit-card balance whenever you walk through the door.

Now, let’s add another factor: This bookstore is truly independent, without ties to a corporate coffee-clutch chain.

Now for the kicker: If you are a religious believer, do the offerings of this bookstore warm your soul?

In the world of glowing screens, this kind of bookstore represents something truly countercultural, especially if it focuses attention on the needs of parents and their children.

I just moved to a new (but very old) community in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee and, to be blunt, there is no such bookstore nearby, that I know of. I hope to find one. I pray that someone savvy dares to start one.

However, I do know a bookstore that checks all of my boxes, other than the zip code thing. This is a nationally known bookstore that is very old fashioned, yet you can reach it through online commerce.

Yes, please consider this post an advertisement for that specific bookstore, Eighth Day Books in Wichita, Kansas (thus, the two embedded snapshots drawn from a visit I made last spring). However, this post is also a plea for more people to seek out and support this kind of bookstore.

Here is the specific reason for this post, at this moment in time.

Please join us in celebrating Eighth Day's 36th year in business with 20% markdowns on every book on our website. … Our shelves are overflowing with great reads in fiction, spirituality, history, philosophy, and the arts. There's no better time to stock up on your favorite authors and browse for new ones.

With the holidays just around the corner, Eighth Day Books stocks gifts for the readers of all ages in your life. We guarantee you'll find good reading for the remainder of 2024 and volumes you'll keep for years to come. Thank you for 36 years of great friends, book fans, and unforgettable customers!

— Your Eighth Day Staff

When I say that this bookstore is famous, I am not simply talking about chatter among it’s loyal followers in the world of classical schools and traditional Christianity.