Bound Books' new home.

Bound Books in York, Pa., has moved to a new, larger space, ABC27 reported.

Owners and married couple Chuck Blair and Sarah Timmcke opened the bookstore in its original location in April 2023. On Saturday, November 8, they officially opened in their new space at 2555 South Queen St. Bound Books carries general-interest, all-new titles for all ages, along with houseplants and gifts.

The store's new home is roughly double the size of the previous location, measuring around 5,000 square feet. And while the original home had a small cafe, Timmcke and Blair have decided to focus entirely on books in the new location. 

Blair told ABC27 that the main reason for the move was the additional space, which allows them to both expand their inventory and host larger events. The new space also has more convenient parking.

"Wow! Just wow!" the store posted on Instagram yesterday. "We were absolutely overwhelmed by the turnout for our grand reopening. You guys showed up! We saw old friends, new friends, Lancaster bookselling friends, and our old downtown neighbor friends. What a day! We were running on fumes after some very late nights to get everything ready, but we as we turned off the lights on our very first day in Olde Tollgate Village, our hearts were full.

"Now that we've had a minute to catch our breath, we want to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who has supported us through this move. We can't even express in words (funny coming from book people) how incredibly grateful we are for our community. Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday for the opening, helped box up books from S Beaver St, helped unpack books at S Queen, made/brought us food while we were working, and shared all of our posts! Plus a MASSIVE thank you to our families who got dirty and busted their butts to make this thing happen. This truly was a group effort.

"We are some lucky booksellers! THANK YOU!"

BookSmart, which has operated a bookstore in Morgan Hill, Calif., for three decades, is expanding with a new location at 2200 Eastridge Loop in Eastridge Center, Ste. 256, East San Jose. BookSmart Eastridge officially opens this month. 

"Eastridge has such a deep connection to local culture," said Cinda Meister, co-owner of BookSmart with Brad Jones, "and we're excited to be part of that story--bringing a place where people can browse, discover, and connect."

In addition to a curated selection of books for all ages, BookSmart Eastridge features gifts, puzzles, calendars, educational toys, greeting cards, and "whimsical book-lover treasures"--from bookmarks to book-themed socks and mugs. The bookstore hires primarily from the local neighborhood, offers discounts for teachers, and plans to host community events, including visits from local authors, literacy drives, and creative workshops.

"Independent bookstores are more than just retail spaces," Jones noted. "They're gathering places--where ideas and stories meet, where kids discover their first favorite book, and where neighbors connect." 

The co-owners added that, "for an area of the city that hasn't had a full-service bookstore in quite a while, BookSmart Eastridge fills an important gap--bringing access, discovery, and a place to belong back to East San Jose."

Jamie Anderson, owner of Downtown Books in Manteo, N.C., "is passing the torch" to the store's manager, Chloe Roy, early next year, the Outer Banks Voice reported, adding that the bookshop "opened on Sir Walter Raleigh Street on the Manteo waterfront in 2012 and since then, has weathered a number of floods given its location in a low-lying part of downtown. Aside from stocking its shelves with books from all genres, Downtown Books has also hosted numerous notable authors for book signings and readings over the years."

In an Instagram reel, Anderson, who also owns Duck's Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck, N.C., said, "It's been a great ride, but good things must come to an end, and the Jamie era has run its course. I am proud, pleased, and tickled to announce that on January 1, 2026, a new owner will be taking the reins of Downtown Books. What will this new era of Downtown Books be called? It will be called the Chloe era. I thank you all for your support over the last 14 years and know you will join me in welcoming Chloe in her new role. And come see me at Duck's Cottage. I'll be there."

Random House Children's Books is acquiring Cherry Lake Publishing Group, the children's publisher known for its trade, library, and educational titles. Under the agreement, Cherry Lake Publishing Group will join the Random House Children's Books division while retaining its editorial independence and creative leadership under Ben Mondloch, president and owner, who will remain with the company. Cherry Lake will remain headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Cherry Lake Publishing Group encompasses six imprints: Sleeping Bear Press, Cherry Lake Press, Cherry Blossom Press, 45th Parallel Press, Torch Graphic Press, and Tilbury House Publishers. Each has a distinct editorial focus spanning trade picture books, classroom nonfiction, graphic novels, and titles supporting literacy and social-emotional learning.

Founded in 2007, Cherry Lake Publishing Group has more than 6,000 active titles in print whose authors include Kwame Alexander, Roland Smith, Sandra Dallas, Devin Scillian, Tim Bowers, Petra Brown, and Kayla Harran. The acquisition of Cherry Lake Publishing Group will, the company said, deepen Random House Children's Books' extensive distribution and sales network, expand its reach in both the educational and consumer markets, and further enrich the overall RHCB publishing list.

Cherry Lake's Ben Mondloch said, "We believe joining Random House Children's Books gives our authors and illustrators the best of both worlds--the creative independence that has defined our work, and the unparalleled reach and resources that will help our books shine even more brightly. Random House Children's Books' strength in school, library, and trade channels will help our books reach the broader audience we've always envisioned."

Mallory Loehr, president and publisher, Random House Children's Books, said, "We have long admired Cherry Lake's commitment to creating books that educate, inspire, and endure. Their work in both trade and educational publishing complements our mission to create lifelong readers beautifully, and we look forward to expanding their readership and igniting the imaginations of young people together."

Sri Owen, a Sumatra-raised food writer living in London "who brokered her homesickness for her native cuisine into a prolific career as a cookbook author credited with popularizing Indonesian delicacies in the English-speaking world," died October 4, the New York Times reported. She was 90.

Owen published 10 books, starting with The Home Book of Indonesian Cookery (1976), a groundbreaking work that "brought to light a national cuisine that was little known in the Western world, weaving myriad recipes into a memoir format that also traces the swirl of cultural influences--Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Arabic and others--that shaped the Indonesian palate," the Times wrote.

The Rice Book (1993) explored the historical legacies of the grain, as well as its myths and legends, while offering more than 250 recipes from many countries. The Observer ranked The Rice Book #19 on its list of the 50 best cookbooks of all time. Her other cookbooks include Healthy Thai Cooking (1997), Noodles the New Way (2000), and New Wave Asian (2002). In 2017, the Guild of Food Writers honored her with its lifetime achievement award.

Owen moved from Sumatra to Britain in 1964 with her English husband, Roger Owen. A Jane Austen fan and self-described Anglophile, she later said she had been eager to move, but soon began to yearn for the foods she had grown up with. "When I arrived in London, Indonesian food was not known at all," Owen said in an interview with the Times in 2020. "I started cooking Indonesian food because I wanted to eat my own home cooking. The flavors of Indonesian food are difficult to leave behind."

A literary agent friend of her husband who had dined in the Owen home helped arrange a deal for The Home Book of Indonesian Cookery with Faber & Faber.

In 1984, Owen opened an Indonesian food shop on the ground floor of the family home, naming it Mustika Rasa, roughly, "jewel of flavor," which sold its wares at Harrods, the Times noted, adding that by her later years, she "had no shortage of Indonesian restaurants to choose from in London. But there was little point in asking her for recommendations. As she put it to Food52, 'I find I can cook better than any of the average eating places.' "

Riverhead Books and n+1 magazine hosted "Bridging the Gap: Bringing Chinese-Language Literature to American Readers" in Boston, Mass. Booksellers, translators, artists, and others in the publishing community were invited to engage in the effort of making contemporary Chinese-language literature more widely available to American readers. Pictured: author Lee Chia-ying (A Perfect Day to Put Your Head in the Oven, Riverhead, 2027); Han Zhang, editor-at-large, Riverhead Books; Mary Cotton, owner, Newtonville Books; author Ha Jin (Looking for Tank Man, Other Press); Anne Bark, lead bookseller, Newtonville Books. (Not pictured: moderator Tara K. Menon, assistant professor of English at Harvard University, whose debut novel, Under Water, will be published in March 2026 by Riverhead).

HEA Book Boutique and Swamp Fox Bookstore hosted a book swap.

On Sunday, in reaction to the administration's efforts to halt SNAP food benefits for more than 40 million people, five Iowa bookstores banded together to raise funds for HACAP, a nonprofit and member of Feeding America that serves nine counties in eastern Iowa. HEA Book Boutique and Swamp Fox Bookstore hosted a book swap at Lowe Park in Marion, where for $15 readers could swap up to five gently loved books and shop with the stores as well as with the Green Dragon Bookshop, in Fort Dodge, Perennial Pages Bookshoppe, Ackley, and Sisters Books and Nooks, Cedar Rapids. Once all rental fees were covered, profits were donated to HACAP. More than 70 people attended the event, and more than $900 was raised for HACAP.

In a related note, yesterday the New York Times reported at length on the independent bookstores that are collecting food for Americans whose food assistance is being threatened by the administration. The Times wrote in part, "Independent bookstores have long operated as hubs for activism and community service. In recent years, some stores have increasingly waded into political and social issues by conducting voter registration drives, sending free books to L.G.B.T.Q. prison inmates and distributing emergency contraceptives to women in states where abortion access has been restricted. Dozens of bookstores have rallied around the issue of food insecurity in recent weeks, according to the American Booksellers Association."

"We're feeling the love today," Perkins Cove Bookshop, Ogunquit, Maine, posted on social media. "When Emma and John asked if they could get married in the bookshop--a dream come true for Emma--I think my jaw actually dropped! Of course, the answer was a GIANT, storybook-sized YES! Here's a toast to Emma & John--may every chapter be filled with joy, laughter, and endless adventure! And a big THANK YOU for letting us help make your dream come true!"

Jisoo Leones has been promoted to associate director, sales operations at Simon & Schuster.

This Is a Message to Persons Unknown: The Story of Poison Girls by Rich Cross (PM Press).

Becoming Marlow Fin, a TV adaptation of Ellen Won Steil's novel, is in development from Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man franchise, Girl's Trip), who will direct and executive produce through his Blackmaled Productions. Deadline reported that the story is "set over the course of an explosive primetime interview where global superstar Marlow Fin's mysterious life is revealed. She recounts the events leading up to the disappearance of her sister and publicly makes the case for her innocence as the prime suspect in her presumed murder."

Becoming Marlow Fin is written and executive produced by Des Moran (Tiny, Beautiful Things, Bel-Air). In addition to Lee, Moran, and Steil, Dominque Telson and Michael Scott Allen also exec produce. Universal Television is the studio.

Coco Zephir is a bookseller at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass., where she works on the events and marketing teams. She loves romance titles and here offers a roundup of some of the books coming out this month that she's most excited about:

November Romance Picks! From angels to Iceland, there's something for everyone this month in romance.

Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi (Avon) is the paranormal romance of the fall, published November 4. Following the machinations of angels and demons, the romance centers on Galilee Kincaid, raised sheltered from society, who emerges into the world and runs straight into Lucifer's arms. As hellgates around them fall, will Galilee learn to harness the power within her or allow it to burn the world down?

We are counting down the days until Brimstone by Callie Hart (Forever) releases on November 18! The sequel to Quicksilver, Brimstone returns to the world of Saeris Fane and Kingfisher of the Adjun Gate. After the shocking conclusion in Quicksilver, readers can't wait to see how the mates will fare in the newest installment.

From Brimstone to the icy fjords of Iceland: Secret Nights and Northern Lights by Megan Oliver (Berkley), out November 18, is a second-chance romance. Travel journalist Mona navigates the reemergence of her high school flame, Ben, who joins her on assignment in Iceland. The scenery is exquisite and the banter is lively in this debut romance from Megan Oliver. Secret Nights and Northern Lights hits all the best Icelandic stops--painting the landscape as the best supporting character for Mona and Ben's love story. 

Shifting the setting to your backyard, i.e., late nights at Chilis, is Daddy Issues by Kate Goldbeck (Dial Press) out November 18. Readers meet Sam after her academic career has stalled out, living in her mom's guest room. Sam's life swirls between the pool at her mom's condo and her job at the local bar. When single dad Nick moves in next door, they strike up a connection that may be a little too real for Sam's 20-something lifestyle. Kate Goldbeck's writing captivates our attention and never lets up, elevating the everyday in ways we never could have expected.

Last up is The Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkley), out November 11, a fiction title with a strong romance plot. Head of family septuagenarian Magnolia stuns her traditional family when she kisses her girlfriend at a Chinese New Year Celebration. The aftermath leads to a recounting of her lifelong story of self-discovery to her granddaughter Izzy. The road is long for Izzy's grandmother, and spans decades, continents, relationships lost and found--ultimately leading both women to discover what was truly meant for them all along.

Saranya Murthi won the £10,000 (about $13,155) Deborah Rogers Foundation Award for her novel, Ratri. The prize, founded in 2015 as a tribute to the late literary agent, offers financial support to unpublished writers. It is given biennially and is open to writers residing in the Commonwealth or Ireland.

Chair of the judges Erica Wagner said: "Saranya Murthi's Ratri stood out to us from the outset of the process. It is such vivid, specific writing--it's always challenging to create a truly convincing young voice, but with her eponymous narrator Murthi has nailed it; this extract is so alive, so compelling in its portrait of an awakening consciousness, a child at the mercy of her family and yet alert and self-willed: we can't help but thirst to know how the story will end."

The two runners-up were novels: June Aming for Yellow Is Not For Girls Like Me and Piers Kobina Buckman for Ascension. Each author receives £3,000 (about $3,945).

photo: One Grid Studio

Chloe Gong is the author of the Secret Shanghai novels, as well as the Flesh and False Gods trilogy. Coldwire (Margaret K. McElderry) is her entry into cyberpunk dystopia, on sale November 4, 2025.

Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:

Coldwire takes place in a world ruled by virtual reality and follows a corporate soldier and an anarchist working together to uncover a dangerous program.

On your nightstand now:

Reasons We Break by Jesmeen Kaur Deo, which is coming out the same day as Coldwire! I was lucky enough to get an early copy and it's one of the most inventive, character-driven stories I've read lately. Truly a standout novel.

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. I found out later in life that Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym for various authors who contributed to the Nancy Drew franchise, but the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective installments specifically kickstarted my love for reading at a young age.

Your top five authors:

Tashie Bhuiyan: there is no one who knows how to pierce to the core of a coming-of-age character arc like Tashie.

Racquel Marie: lyrical, evocative, and all-around brilliant whether she's tackling contemporary young adult or zombie horror.

Zoe Hana Mikuta: Zoe's works are utterly singular in feeling and atmosphere and I'm in awe of everything she writes.

Christina Li: Christina's range and depth is stunning--an automatic rec.

Ann Liang: a generational talent in my opinion, because her romances make me giggle more than anything, and her adult fiction makes me sob.

Book you've faked reading:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. A bolt of lightning is going to strike me down for being a phony English major, but I've "read" Jane Austen's entire catalogue... by which I mean I've read half of every book and skimmed the rest. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, on the other hand... now that's my full cup of tea. The 2016 movie adaptation is one of my favorite films of all time because I adore a historical setting mixed with speculative sci-fi.

Book you're an evangelist for:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I know reading is subjective, but the Raven Cycle series is actually perfect. Maggie Stiefvater's work is a litmus test for whether I will agree with someone's reading tastes--if they love The Raven Boys, we will get along!

Book you've bought for the cover:

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. It was one of the first times I'd seen an Asian character represented on a cover, and I snatched it up immediately. The series became one of my favorite reads, not only because of how compelling the story itself was, but also because it was the first time I'd experienced reading an Asian character who was so fully formed, who got to be flawed and imperfect.

Book that changed your life:

Can I say The Raven Boys again? Alongside it entirely defining my personality in my high school years, it also was the basis of my friendship with one of my closest friends, Tashie. We were mere Twitter mutuals until the day I spotted a Gansey lookalike in the school library, and we exchanged numbers so I could keep texting her if I spotted him again. Then we became Internet video-call friends. Then, when I moved to New York, we became roommates. Although we are now ex-roommates, we are still best friends!

Favorite line from a book:

This is more than a line so please bear with me, but it's from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, which is another series that defined my critical developmental years. I return to this passage all the time. Not only was it a beautiful story that I latched onto as a part of my personality, but it is one of those works that made me want to write.

"Karou wished she could be the kind of girl who was complete unto herself, comfortable in solitude, serene. But she wasn't. She was lonely, and she feared the missingness within her as if it might expand and... cancel her. She craved a presence beside her, solid. Fingertips light at the nape of her neck and a voice meeting hers in the dark. Someone who would wait with an umbrella to walk her home in the rain, and smile like sunshine when he saw her coming. Who would dance with her on her balcony, keep his promises and know her secrets, and make a tiny world wherever he was, with just her and his arms and his whisper and her trust."

Five books you'll never part with:

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare: The Mortal Instruments is yet another series that changed my life. I got into it when the fifth book, City of Lost Souls, had just come out, so I was eagerly waiting with the rest of the world for the release of the sixth and final in the series. I ran out to the bookstore after school to get my hands on City of Heavenly Fire, so that copy is very precious to me.

Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake: This is a story that pierced me to the core. I read it as an ARC and annotated, circled, and outlined all over it.

Now I Rise by Kiersten White: Now I Rise is book two in the trilogy that starts with And I Darken and it's the first signed book I ever bought! Being from New Zealand, there aren't too many authors who are local, so signed books were rare. When I moved to the U.S. for school, my freshman year dorm organized a bus to the huge Target in Philly so we could pick up essentials. And while everyone else was buying lamps and toilet paper, I beelined to the book aisle and picked up Now I Rise, which had a signed tip-in. It was very exciting.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong: I think this series, The Darkest Powers, was the absolute peak of the YA paranormal genre and every once in a while I have to re-visit it to feel alive again.

The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle: Such a beautiful book in every sense of the word. I accidentally stumbled onto it in the bookstore, and it became one of my favorite reads. Just absolute perfection.

Leah Johnson (You Should See Me in a Crown) and George M. Johnson (Flamboyants) bring queer exuberance to their heartfelt YA holiday romcom, There's Always Next Year.

Cousins Andy and Dominique Cole's family have been in the Midwest town of Oakrun for generations. Two years ago, a magazine did a feature on Oakrun and, ever since, the "Start Up Tech Ninjas" with "more money than God" have been moving in. Around the same time as the magazine feature, Dominique went viral as a fashion influencer and left for New York City. Now, 17-year-old Andy's parents are on the brink of losing Cole's Hardware--just another local fixture being demolished to push out the "Black folks who have been the backbone of this town"--and 19-year-old Dom is coming back for the first time.

It's New Year's Day, which means Andy and Dom should be looking forward to reconnecting at their town's famed Festival of Lights this evening. But Dom is only back to act as the face of a fancy hotel chain opening in town, courtesy of the town's mayor. Andy loathes Mayor Youngblood, especially after she learned the real reason the "grimy man" chose Dom as his spokesperson. The Dom Andy knew two years ago would be appalled by the truth--but will Internet-famous Dom care? Meanwhile, Dom desperately needs the gig to make up for his recent lack of bookings. While Andy and her "lesbian punk band"-vibed crush embark on a madcap dash to get to Dom before the Festival of Lights hotel announcement, Dom reunites with an old track teammate who had always felt like "something more" than a friend.

Andy's and Dom's sympathetic, enthusiastic, and candid first-person narratives unfold over a single day, each deeply investigating what they're running from, and considering what they should run toward. The authors (no relation) sprinkle the story with plenty of twists, hilarious hijinks, an "ageless fairy gayparent" drag queen, an elder town gossip, icy streets, warm cocoa, and so much small-town nostalgia. They tactfully touch on racism, the complexity of life post-high school, and the need for unconditional love. Above all, the witty prose brings constant laughs. There's Always Next Year is a holiday title that will brighten any spirit. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer

Shelf Talker: This cozy and candid holiday romp features two queer love stories, a local hardware store that needs saving, a loathsome money-hungry mayor, and drag queen shenanigans.