Join us for a fun storytime with local author and VT Department of Education professor Gary Skaggs as he tells us Bosco’s story!

Bosco D. Beagle is a dog living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bosco loves playing with the neighborhood children. One day, he loses a leg in an accident. Even though he feels the same inside, the children won’t play with him anymore because he looks different now. That makes Bosco sad. He misses his friends. One night, during a terrible thunderstorm, one of the children, Pepe, becomes lost. The neighbors search in vain, but Bosco tracks Pepe into the woods. Bosco finds Pepe and leads him home. When the other children find out that Bosco saved Pepe, they realize that Bosco is still their brave friend. Even though someone may look different, they deserve to be treated the same as everyone else and valued for who they are.

Celebrate Poetry Month and join us for a reading by Brit Washburn from her new book of poetry, What is Given. She will be in conversation with award-winning poet and author Ed Falco.

Brit Washburn’s tender and generous new collection of poems, What Is Given, shimmers with a fierce sense of gratitude for the daily stuff of our lives. In poems acutely aware of loss, Washburn comes back again and again to the redeeming beauty of the sensual world. These are poems infused with love and a profound trust in, as she titles one of her poems, “the radical hospitality of the senses.” With poetry that reminds us to be grateful for what is given, to be “astonished by the fox / we’d seen in passing” and thankful for “the peaches we ate/on the riverbank,” Washburn establishes herself as a necessary poet for our difficult times.

--Ed Falco, author of X in the Tickseed and recipient of the Robert Penn Warren Prize in Poetry.

Brit Washburn's Notwithstanding introduces a true talent, every well-crafted poem is as wise as it is earned. It is a book of love and loss and the sensuality of food and nature, qualities often blended in poem after poem. It's a book that stays home, “one season slipping into the next...” about which she says, “I’ve been through this before: I know how to eat and swim and sleep alone, how to savor a sensation without sharing it, how to carry on.” An exquisite sensibility at work here.

—Stephen Dunn, author of Whereas: Poems, (W. W. Norton & Company), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Brit Washburn is the author of the essay and poetry collections, and has been awarded an artist's grant by the Vermont Studio Center and for many years served on the boards of the Poetry Society of South Carolina and the Low Country Initiative on the Literary Arts (LILA). She co-directed the salon Poets House South and has worked as a freelance writer, editor, and indexer, a Montessori teacher, and instructor in the Great Smokies Writing Program at University of North Carolina Asheville. She is the mother of four and a student in the MFA program at Virginia Tech. Her work can be found in print and online via www.britwashburn.com.

Join Blacksburg friends and literary fans for a celebration of Louisa May Alcott’s American classic, Little Women. Participants will explore the novel’s timeless themes of friendship, romance, and family as we consider how and why four young girls growing up in Civil War America have enchanted readers around the world for almost two centuries. Dr. Ashley Reed, Associate Professor of English at Virginia Tech, will facilitate discussion and offer context from Alcott’s life and culture.

Bring your own well-worn copy of Little Women or purchase a new one through Blacksburg Books: customers who mention the book club will receive a 15% discount on their purchase of the novel.

Make sure to get tickets to see the VT School of Performing Arts production of the play at the Moss Arts Center, April 23-26!

AND go see the 1994 film adaptation at The Lyric Theater on Thursday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m.!

Books & plants and plants & books! We're celebrating the Spring Equinox by heading over to Blacksburg's new plant shop, Bonnie Charlotte's Botanicals, for a botanical pop-up.

We'll have plant-inspired books, including eco-horror, sci-fi, nonfiction about native flora and fauna, how-to guides for taking care of your plant friends, and botanically-adjacent cool stuff.

Join us!

Preorder the phenomenal fifth book in the Hunger Games series!

When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Preorder here!

The Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble invites you and your family for an afternoon of musical fun at the Moss Arts Center. The program begins with Wild Symphony by Dan Brown (author of The Da Vinci Code), a wild adventure through the trees and across the seas with Maestro Mouse and his musical friends! This musical adventure is a magical blend of storytelling, music, and visual art, narrated by Virginia Tech’s own Patricia Raun, Virginia Tech Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts.

Inspiring the kid in all of us, the concert will end with music from the original Star Wars trilogy written by John Williams.

Come early and interact with the Virginia Tech Mind Music Lab Robots, purchase the book Wild Symphony by Dan Brown to follow along during the concert, and participate in a “conduct me” with Virginia Tech students.

This compelling work highlights the life and legacy of Nannie Berger Hairston, who became a pioneer of social justice and civil rights when she and her family moved to Christiansburg, in 1953 and who by the time of her death in 2017 had become a powerful leader and icon.

The event will feature a discussion with oral historian and author Sheree Scarborough who used Nannie Hairston's own words to tell her story. Scarborough will share insights into Hairston's remarkable contributions while touching on the history of civil rights in the region. Don't miss this celebration of local history and activism!

This event will be held at the Christiansburg Public Library.

Celebrating the release of Sophia Terazawa's debut novel, Tetra Nova, the poet will lead a creative writing workshop centered around imaginative storytelling, dreamscapes, and the baffling ways a Tetris shape might inspire our writing process. Writers of all genres and levels are welcome! Bring something to write with and get ready to play!

Admission is $20 per person and includes the workshop and a copy of Tetra Nova. Register here!

This compelling work highlights the life and legacy of Nannie Berger Hairston, who became a pioneer of social justice and civil rights when she and her family moved to Christiansburg, in 1953 and who by the time of her death in 2017 had become a powerful leader and icon.

The event will feature a discussion with oral historian and author Sheree Scarborough who used Nannie Hairston's own words to tell her story. Scarborough will share insights into Hairston's remarkable contributions while touching on the history of civil rights in the region. Don't miss this celebration of local history and activism!

This event will be held at the Blacksburg Public Library.

Chocolate Spike will be here with all sorts of goodies and free hot chocolate samples!

More of a night owl than an early worm? Come hang out with us after dark! We'll be open extra hours from 7-10 so you can get some holiday shopping done, read, or just hang out. The Coffee Cauldron will be here with coffee, hot chocolate, and baked goods so you can get comfy (or caffeinated) and stay a while!

Join us for an evening with Matthew Gabriele, co-author of The Bright Ages, as he discusses his new book - a real-life Game of Thrones—the story of the Carolingian Civil War, a bloody, protracted battle pitting brother against brother, father against son, that would end an empire, upend a continent, and redefine the future of Europe.

By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious’s sons tried to overthrow him—and then placed their knives at the other’s neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other’s blood.

The Carolingian Civil War would rage for years as kings fought kings, brother faced off against brother, and sons challenged fathers. Oathbreakers is the dramatic history of this brutal, turbulent time. Medieval historians David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele illuminate what happens when a once unshakeable political and cultural order breaks down and long suppressed tensions flare into deadly violence. Drawn from rich primary sources, featuring a wide cast of characters, packed with dramatic twists and turns, this is history that rivals the greatest fictional epics—with consequences that continue to shape our own world.

Oathbreakers offers lessons of what deep cracks in a once-stable social and political fabric might reveal, and the bloody consequences of disagreeing on facts and reality. The Civil War at the heart of this tale asks: who is “in” and who is “out”? And what happens when things fall apart?

We'll be serving warm cider and cookies - come hang out, watch the Blacksburg holiday parade, and get some shopping done!

Amy Friedl is the author of the Strong Girls Travel series, which showcases a young girl's adventures in America's National Parks. Each book finds her learning something new about herself, her world, and her part in it all. She'll be here with copies of "AJ's Connection at New River Gorge" and will sign copies!

She'll also have some fun coloring pages for kids!

In AJ's Connection at New River Gorge, AJ and her favorite aunt share some of their best moments over music, travel, and time together. But while Aunt E seems stuck in the old days, AJ just can't get her to see that the new ways are better. Doesn't she see how outdated her stuff is?

Take a trip from the past to the present with AJ at New River Gorge National Park. When she learns to listen to the world around her, not just hear it, she starts to realize that maybe "old" things are sometimes needed for new adventures.

***We STRONGLY recommend that you prepay for a book to guarantee you get a copy.

Baker and social media star Betül Tunç will be in-store to sign copies of her first cookbook, Turkuaz Kitchen!

Betül Tunç’s love affair with dough began when she was just eight years old in Erzurum, a city nestled in northeastern Turkey known for its long and snowy winters. During the dark, frosty days, she found solace baking Turkish breads and desserts with her mother and sisters.

In the cookbook, she shares shares 85 recipes for sweet and savory doughs and the dishes to make with them. With inspiration from traditional Turkish recipes, as well as recipes she discovered in her travels, Turkuaz Kitchen is a treasure trove of recipes.

SOLD OUT! Event is now full. Email to join waitlist.

Join us for a discussion of the importance of apples in the history of Appalachia. This event will include a cider tasting and apple treats. The event is free but registration is required - please email us to secure your spot!

Diane Flynt is the founder of Foggy Ridge Cider and author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising History of Apples in the South.

Anna Zeide is the founding director of the Food Studies Program at Virginia Tech and is the author of US History in 15 Foods.

Two of our favorite cozy mystery authors will be here to discuss the genre, the writing process, and answer all of your questions about cozies!

Ellery Adams is the author of the The Secret, Book & Scone Society mysteries, The Book Retreat Mysteries, The Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries, and The Books By the Bay Mysteries.

Krista Davis is the author of The Domestic Diva Mysteries, The Paws and Claws Mysteries, and The Pen & Ink Mysteries.