Romance novels aren't only for Valentine's Day! They aren't only for your e-reader, either! We've got a dedicated romance section that is full of fantastic romance novels! When was the last time you took a look?

We're proud to participate in the 1st annual Bookstore Romance Day, a celebration of the great Romance novel!

As part of our celebration, we'll be hosting a panel discussion moderated by Stacie Williams about getting to know romance books featuring Kerry Winfrey, author of Waiting for Tom Hanks, book blogger Lindsay D'Angelo, and Suzanne Krohn, founder of Love in Panels.

Come by, listen to a fantastic conversation, and learn more about why your next favorite romance novel is at our bookstore!

We are excited to be the new host of the Fostering Racial Justice Book Club! 

About The Sisters are Alright: Changing the Broken Narrative of Black Women in America:


When African women arrived on American shores, the three-headed hydra—servile Mammy, angry Sapphire, and lascivious Jezebel—followed close behind. In the ’60s, the Matriarch, the willfully unmarried baby machine leeching off the state, joined them. These stereotypes persist to this day through newspaper headlines, Sunday sermons, social media memes, cable punditry, government policies, and hit song lyrics. Emancipation may have happened more than 150 years ago, but America still won’t let a sister be free from this coven of caricatures.

Tamara Winfrey Harris delves into marriage, motherhood, health, sexuality, beauty, and more, taking sharp aim at pervasive stereotypes about black women. She counters warped prejudices with the straight-up truth about being a black woman in America. “We have facets like diamonds,” she writes. “The trouble is the people who refuse to see us sparkling.”


Formed in Boxborough in 2015, the Fostering Racial Justice Group is on a mission to foster racial equity and justice by activating the community to dismantle bias and systems that reinforce racism. The book club is facilitated by Amy Osenar. 

 

Friday Fiction Book Club expands to evenings in September! Join us in the morning 10am-12noon OR in the evening 7pm-9pm!

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect; and to 15-year-old Bee, she is her best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette vanishes. It all began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, and secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and surprisingly touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.


Sure to be an entertaining summer read! Read it and discuss it with us before it becomes a major motion picture! 
 

We are happy to collaborate with First Connections Acton to provide a supportive playgroup for working parents in our area. This playgroup is for working parents with a child up to 24-months old.

This playgroup has been tailored to promote parental resilience, social connections, parenting skills and child development knowledge. The current trend toward shorter maternity leaves and higher cost of living in our region makes for a unique set of stressors facing full-time working parents. Finding a supportive community and being able to participate in parent & child activities in the early developmental years is difficult for those working Monday-Friday. In recognition of this new reality, First Connections has partnered with a group of experts in the field of the first year of life to provide a nurturing space for families to grow and learn along with their children. We are delighted to host this group at the story!

Each meeting will feature Parent discussion, developmentally-appropriate playtime, group circle time with songs, and storytime. 

 

Saturday Morning Storytime is already a special part of our week. Celebrating a local illustrator as they launch two new books makes for a really special occasion! Come out and celebrate with us as two new children's books launch right at our store! 

New Hampshire illustrator Mark Hoffman will be with us to launch his two newest books: Poop and Hawks Kettle, Puffins Wheel, and Other Poems of Birds in Flight!

Poop is probably the world's funniest word. Ask any kid and they'll agree! Have fun giggling along with your kiddos as you enjoy Poop together. It's the perfect read-aloud for giggles on a Saturday morning or anytime. Who knew there are so many perfectly fine words that rhyme with poop? 

Hawks Kettle, Puffins Wheel, and Other Poems of Birds in Flight celebrates birds in flight through poetry. Featuring 12 birds, each poem celebrates the vocabulary of movement and flight. Mark's illustrations of this book are described as "bold" and "highly engaging." His artwork is said to make this book "a visual standout among traditional nature books." Come see his stunning artwork for yourself and enjoy the poetry!

Come be part of our book launch celebration! And stay tuned for more details about this special Saturday Morning Storytime event!

 

Join us in the Backstage Lounge at the O'neil Cinemas in Littleton at 6 p.m. for a discussion of the Stephen King book before a showing of the new film at 6:50 p.m. (premieres Thursday, September 5!).

You'll get 15% off all Backstage Lounge food and dining purchases!

We are excited to host award-winning novelist Mona Awad for a talk about her newest novel, Bunny, which has been named a best book of Summer 2019 by The Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Vulture, Nylon, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, NPR, Bustle, TheSkimm, Refinery29, Purewow, LitHub, and Boston.com

Set on a New England college campus, Bunny follows 
Samantha Heather Mackey, who is feeling like an outsider in her highly selective MFA program. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and seem to move and speak as one. But when the Bunnies offer Samantha an invitation too irresistable to refuse, everything changes. 

Mona Awad is the author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize that won the Colorado Book Award, the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, and an Honorable Mention from the Arab American Book Awards. The recipient of an MFA in Fiction from Brown University and a Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Denver, she has published work in Time, VICE, Electric Literature, McSweeney’s, Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

Bunny has received a lot of attention this summer! Pick it up and read it before Mona comes to the store! 
 

A National Book Award Winner and a 2019 Carnegie Medal Winner! 

 

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.
 

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.
 

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.
 

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.



Well-Read Black Girl Book Club invites women of color in our community to join together to read books by authors of color and discuss them in welcoming space.

We are excited to celebrate the release of local poet Jason Tandon's  fourth collection, The Actual World. 

The poetry in The Actual World has been praised as "deeply felt, sometimes funny, often wise, and always capable of reminding us that, as Oscar Wilde said, ‘the true mystery of the world is the visible.’" 

Jason's poems have appeared in many journals and magazines, including Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, Beloit Poetry Journal, Barrow Street, Columbia Poetry Review, Esquire, AGNI Online, Passages North, Poetry East, Poetry International, Spoon River Poetry Review, and Tar River Poetry. 

We look forward an event filled with thoughtful poetry and discussion. 
 

Massachusetts author Jennifer Blecher will be in our store to discuss her debut middle-grade novel, Out of Place!

Set on Martha's Vineyard, Out of Place follows Cove Bernstein, whose best friend Nina has recently moved off the island to New York City. Now suffering as the target of  a school-wide bullying campaign, Cove has decided that her best escape is to follow Nina to New York. But Cove discovers that friends can appear in the unlikeliest places, and that maybe home isn’t the worst place to be, after all. 

Jennifer's debut novel has been described as "a sensitive and compassionate tribute to every child who has ever felt like a misfit... vibrant and memorable" by the School Library Journal. Among other reviews, Publisher's Weekly has said that Out of Place is "a tender, uncomplicated coming-of-age story that illustrates how hard it can be to fit in at any age."

Perfectly timed as we all get back into the school routine, this is a great book to read and discuss together!



 

What's better than getting a new cookbook? Cooking with it, of course! When you add a few new friends, a beautiful space, and lively discussion, you've got the perfect recipe for a unique new book club!

Introducing the Orange Door Cookbook Club, a collaboration between the Silver Unicorn and Orange Door Kitchen!

Every month, members will cook from a chosen cookbook. Because so many cookbooks these days have beautifully written prose alongside the recipes, we plan to dive into discussion about the author’s thoughts in addition to talking about the dishes that club members cook and bring to the discussion. 

In September, the book is A New Way to Food by Maggie Battista. Pick up the book here at the Silver Unicorn with 10% off, then take it home and get cooking!

To learn more details about joining the club (for free) and getting a ticket to the September 24th gathering, please sign up for the newsletter online or at The Silver Unicorn or at Orange Door Kitchen. Happy cooking! 

 

You do not want to miss this fantastic opportunity to sit in on a conversation between Rebecca Kim Wells, author of the new novel Shatter the Sky, and Sara Farizan, award-winning novelist of three novels, including Here to Stay. They will be discussing Rebecca's novel, which has been described as one of the best reads of the year.

Massachusetts author Rebecca Kim Wells is the author of debut novel Shatter the Sky, which was recently short-listed for a New England Book Award. The high-fantasy tale has been praised as "a wondrous adventure... filled with high stakes, sweeping romance, and fascinating dragon-lore." The YA adventure follows Maren. Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.   

Sara Fraizan is also a Massachusetts-based writer. Her debut novel, If You Could Be Mine, won multiple awards. Her newest book, Here to Stay, offers a humorous and heart-filled story about Bijan Majidi, who is pulled off the bench during a high school varsity basketball game to score the winning basket. Exclusive parties and high-fives in the hallway quickly turns into something more serious when  an anonymous photo sent by a school cyberbully that makes Bijan look like a terrorist. The administration says they’ll find and punish the culprit. Bijan wants to pretend it never happened. He’s not ashamed of his Middle Eastern heritage; he just doesn’t want to be a poster child for Islamophobia. Lots of classmates rally around Bijan. Others make it clear they don’t want him or anybody who looks like him at their school. But it’s not always easy to tell your enemies from your friends.

This is sure to be a fantastic discussion, perfect for an autumn evening! 

 

We are looking forward to participating in another WAVMA Oktoberfest! Come out to support the local businesses of West Acton, partake of good food and drinks, and let the kids enjoy fun activities! Is there any better way to spend a beautiful Fall day? We'll be there with books for sale and recommendations for your next cozy Fall read.

We'll also be celebrating with Josh Funk has he launches his newest book, How to Code a Rollercoaster! Pearl and Pascal are back for another adventure! 

Pearl and her trusty rust-proof robot, Pascal, are enjoying a day out at the amusement park. Spinning teacups, ice cream, and of course: rollercoasters! Through the use of code, Pearl and Pascal can keep track of their ride tokens and calculate when the line is short enough to get a spot on the biggest ride of them all—the Python Coaster. Variables, if-then-else sequences, and a hunt for a secret hidden code make this a humorous, code-tastic day at the amusement park!

Join us for this extra special event during Oktoberfest! It's going to be a great way to spend the day! 
 

Join us as educators from Merriam Elementary School read their favorite stories to the community! A portion of the proceeds from the evening will go directly to Merriam Elementary School.

Come out for a fun night and support our schools!

Friday Fiction Book Club has expanded to evenings! Join us in the morning 10am-12noon OR in the evening 7pm-9pm!

The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of—and paean to—the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

We are happy to collaborate with First Connections Acton to provide a supportive playgroup for working parents in our area. This playgroup is for working parents with a child up to 24-months old.

This playgroup has been tailored to promote parental resilience, social connections, parenting skills and child development knowledge. The current trend toward shorter maternity leaves and higher cost of living in our region makes for a unique set of stressors facing full-time working parents. Finding a supportive community and being able to participate in parent & child activities in the early developmental years is difficult for those working Monday-Friday. In recognition of this new reality, First Connections has partnered with a group of experts in the field of the first year of life to provide a nurturing space for families to grow and learn along with their children. We are delighted to host this group at the story!

Each meeting will feature Parent discussion, developmentally-appropriate playtime, group circle time with songs, and storytime. 
 

It's a joy to celebrate Massachusetts poet Susan Richmond as she launches her debut children's book, Bird Count, in our store for a special Saturday Morning Storytime event! Join us as Susan reads her newest book!

Bird Count follows Ava, a young girl who eagerly identifies and counts the birds she observes around her town during the New England Christmas Bird Count. Charmingly illustrated and beautifully written, Bird Count has been described as "an engaging, informative introduction" to citizen science and the Christmas Bird Count by Kirkus Review! 

We can't wait to celebrate Susan and her new book! Come join us! 

 

All are welcome to join us as educators from The Taylor School read their favorite stories to the community! A portion of the proceeds from the evening will go directly to the The Taylor School.

Come out for a fun night and support our schools!

Join us for a Saturday Morning Storytime first: live owls at the store! 

Massachusetts owl experts Marcia and Mark Wilson will be at our store with a few of their feathered friends for a special storytime event. They will read from their new book, Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night. 

Featuring over 100 gorgeous photos taken by Mark, Owling is a book for bird enthusiasts young and old. Described as a "delightful and educational introduction to the world of owls," the book presents a one-of-a-kind look into the mysterious lives of these distinctive birds. Dramatic images of the 19 owl species of North America nesting, flying, hunting, and catching prey are accompanied by information about the birds’ silent flight, remarkable eyes and ears, haunting calls, and fascinating night life. Kids will learn how to spot owls; identify their calls, plumage, and pellets; and even carry on a hooting conversation with a nearby owl.

We can't wait to meet these beautiful birds and learn more about them! We hope you will come out to see them, too! 

It's sure to be a hoot! 

(We couldn't resist!) 

 

Newbery Medal-winning Massachusetts author Patricia MacLachlan will be in our store reading her newest picture book, The Hundred-Year Barn! 

A little boy watches his family and community come together to build a grand red barn. This barn becomes his refuge and home—a place to play with friends and farm animals alike. The boy leaves and returns as a young man to help on the farm and to care for the barn again. This joyful celebration of generations of family and their tender connection to the barn, beautifully illustrated by award-winning artist Kenard Pak, spins a tender and timeless story about the simple moments that make up a lifetime.

If you proudly live in one of the older homes in our area or lovingly live in one of the new-builds, this is a wonderful way to connect the kids in your life with the structures all around our communities. What a wonderful way to spend an autumn morning! Maybe you'll be inspired to visit a local farm for apple-pickng afterward! 

Massachusetts author Debbi Michiko Florence, author of the Jasmine Toguchi series, will be in our store to read from her newest set of books: The My Furry Foster Family series! 

As a special request, Debbi asked us to donate all sales proceeds from this event to a local animal foster/adoption agency. We chose Buddy Dog Humane Society of Sudbury, and they will be at the store for the event! Come out to support this wonderful organization that does a lot for the pets in our community! 

Truman the Dog, part of the My Furry Foster Family series, introduces children to the responsibility and patience it takes to care for a new dog in the house. "T" is for Truman, tricks, and TROUBLE! Truman the black lab might be an older rescue dog, but he's still got enough mischief beneath his collar to keep eight-year-old Kaita Takano and her animal-fostering family on their toes from morning till night. Chewed through and through, the playfully illustrated, Kaita-narrated chapter book promises plenty of canine fun.

Reviewed by both the School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, the book offers "many worthwhile elements-a responsible and helpful protagonist, a diverse and loving family, and the message that rescuing animals is worthwhile." This is the perfect book for any family thinking about inviting a new furry friend into their family this year!

We look forward to hosting Debbi and Buddy Dog at the store! Come out and support a thoughtful local author and a helpful local organization! 

Massachusetts author Jacqueline Veissid will join us for Saturday Morning Storytime, reading her newest release, Caspian Finds A Friend. 

Jacqueline has two releases this year, the first being Ruby's Sword, which came out in October. Called "a charmer" by Kirkus Reviews, Ruby's Sword introduces readers to Ruby, who is always racing after her big brothers. But no matter how hard she tries, she can never catch up. Then one day, she discovers some sticks in the grass. Not just any sticks—swords! And suddenly the world is her kingdom.

Caspian Finds a Friend is Jacqueline's second book, set for release on October 15th. Caspian lives in a lighthouse surrounded by a cold gray-blue sea. Every day, he watches, wishing for a friend. But no one comes. So, Caspian decides that wishing is not enough. What follows is a friendship story that is tender and warm.

These cozy books are just perfect for an autumn Saturday!

Looking for a fun challenge this November? We dare you to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days! That's right: 50,000 words. 30 days. (That's about 1,667 words a day.) You can totally do this!

Are you up for it? 

If the answer is yes, join us for the MetroWest Region's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) kickoff party! We'll be welcoming enthusiatic writers just like you! Meet other writers in the area who are taking on the challenge and meet the municipal liaisons who will run write-ins in our area! Stay tuned for more information about door prizes, guest speakers, and other fun details!

Want to learn more about NaNoWriMo? Sign up at NaNoWriMo.org and join the USA::Massachusetts::MetroWest region today!
 

We are so lucky to have two fantastic memorists list living in our area! If you're looking for engrossing reads about the intersections of womanhood, motherhood, expectations, and the opioid crisis that is sweeping the nation, look no future than these two books. We are proud to have Maureen Stanton, author of Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of Deliquent Girlhood and Sharon Lamb, author of The Not Good Enough Mother in our store to talk about their books and the stories behind them. 

Described as "sharp, candid, and deeply felt" by the Boston Globe, Body Leaping Backward is a haunting and beautifully drawn story of a self-destructive girlhood, of a town and a nation overwhelmed in a time of change, and of how life-altering a glimpse of a world bigger than the one we come from can be. Set in 1970s Walpole in the shadow of the maximum security prison, the book follows Maureen's life through her parent's divorce, her mother's significant changes as she attempts to raise seven children on her own, and the emergence of Angel Dust, a homemade form of PCP sweeping through her town. A professor at UMass Lowell, Maureen has been awarded the Iowa Review prize, a Pushcart Prize, the American Literary Review award in nonfiction, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Not Good Enough Mother brings a modern story, clinical perspective, yet empathetic voice to the opiod crisis. A psychologist and expert witness, Sharon evaluates parents, particularly in high-stakes cases concerning the termination of parental rights. The conclusions she reaches can mean that some children are returned home from foster homes. Others are freed for adoption. Well-trained, Lamb generally can decide what’s in the best interests of the child. But when her son’s struggle with opioid addiction comes to light, she starts to doubt her right to make judgments about other mothers. In its starred review, Booklist says of the memoir, "this honest look at how society judges parents, mothers in particular, deserves a wide audience." Alongside her credentials and duties as a therapist to children and families, Sharon is a professor of counseling psychology at UMass Boston. 

We look forward to this important discussion and these two intersecting viewpoints on this significant concern that is impacting families and communities across our state and country. We hope you'll join us!  

 

Friday Fiction Book Club has expanded to evenings! Join us in the morning 10am-12noon OR in the evening 7pm-9pm!

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
 

We are happy to collaborate with First Connections Acton to provide a supportive playgroup for working parents in our area. This playgroup is for working parents with a child up to 24-months old.

This playgroup has been tailored to promote parental resilience, social connections, parenting skills and child development knowledge. The current trend toward shorter maternity leaves and higher cost of living in our region makes for a unique set of stressors facing full-time working parents. Finding a supportive community and being able to participate in parent & child activities in the early developmental years is difficult for those working Monday-Friday. In recognition of this new reality, First Connections has partnered with a group of experts in the field of the first year of life to provide a nurturing space for families to grow and learn along with their children. We are delighted to host this group at the story!

Each meeting will feature Parent discussion, developmentally-appropriate playtime, group circle time with songs, and storytime. 

We're welcoming back Matt Tavares to our store and cannot wait to experience his newest book, Dasher, a beautifully illustrated holiday book just perfect for gift-giving and holiday read-alouds. 


Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.

What a perfect read for a Saturday morning! We hope you'll join us for this special reading. Dasher may be your next favorite yearly holiday read!

 

Massachusetts Author Lisa Rogers will read her beautiful new picture book, 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and "The Red Wheelbarrow" in our store for Saturday Morning Storytime! It is based on a very famous poem.

“Look out the window. What do you see? If you are Dr. William Carlos Williams, you see a wheelbarrow. A drizzle of rain. Chickens scratching in the damp earth.” The wheelbarrow belongs to Thaddeus Marshall, a street vendor, who every day goes to work selling vegetables on the streets of Rutherford, New Jersey. That simple action inspires poet and doctor Williams to pick up some of his own tools—a pen and paper—and write his most famous poem.

In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews called this non-fiction picture book, "at once spare and lush: a gorgeous introduction to the power of poetry." It's wonderful for the aspiring young writer in your life, or the budding poetry enthusiast!


 

We are happy to collaborate with First Connections Acton to provide a supportive playgroup for working parents in our area. This playgroup is for working parents with a child up to 24-months old.

This playgroup has been tailored to promote parental resilience, social connections, parenting skills and child development knowledge. The current trend toward shorter maternity leaves and higher cost of living in our region makes for a unique set of stressors facing full-time working parents. Finding a supportive community and being able to participate in parent & child activities in the early developmental years is difficult for those working Monday-Friday. In recognition of this new reality, First Connections has partnered with a group of experts in the field of the first year of life to provide a nurturing space for families to grow and learn along with their children. We are delighted to host this group at the story!

Each meeting will feature Parent discussion, developmentally-appropriate playtime, group circle time with songs, and storytime.