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Middletown's Island Books hosts "Nightstand" book bloggers on Tuesday

Aquidneck Island's wonderful indie bookstore, Island Books, is hosting the Random House book bloggers Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness tomorrow, Nov. 29 at 6:30pm. They run the blog and podcast site Books on the Nightstand, and will be on hand to talk about their favorite books out this fall and for the holiday season, Island Books said in a statement, which continued:

"Many of you have been at the store when Ann & Michael have been here before, so you already know how great they are. The rest of you will just have to take our word for it - they're tremendously knowledgeable about books, incredibly nice and an awful lot of fun. So, join us - we'll sip some wine, snack some cheese and have a really good time!"

If you can't make it tomorrow, I'd still suggest you stop by the store or the newly redesigned Island Books web site. They've added a lot of functionality and are now selling Google ebooks directly from the site, and have an integrated search-and-order feature for any book by author, title, or ISBN. If you're buying books for folks this holiday season — and if you're a regular reader here, my guess is that you are — why not spend dollars locally and put them to work in our island economy.

Full disclosure: Written partially from an e-mail blurb, but I'd cover it anyway. I heart local bookstores.

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Localblogging, 02871, buylocal

Frajeelai going out of biz sale

Frajeelai
click image to embiggen.

Frajeelai, the Portsmouth jewelry company with delightful, quirky designs, has announced that they are going out of business, and everything is on sale for the next two weeks at The Old Amy House on 1016 East Main Road. They'll be there every day from 10:30am-6pm, cash, check, and credit cards accepted. This is your last chance to pick up some of their amazing work, so why not stop by — there's sure to be something perfect for the folks on your holiday shopping list.

It's sad to see any local business close up, especially one with so much creativity and sparkle. I'm particularly fond of the clever earrings that designer Christine Jenkins creates, and so is our son, Jack. It's been a family tradition for him to buy his mom a pair of Frajeelai earrings every year for her birthday. Guess we're going to have to stock up.

Full disclosure: I've known Christine Jenkins since the early days of Preserve Portsmouth.

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Localblogging, 02871, buylocal

Support your local bookstore (and enjoy snacks and bargains) tomorrow afternoon

Tomorrow, Thursday Oct 21, the stores at Wyatt Square in Middletown hold their second-annual Open House from 5-7pm. The Cornucopia Cafe will be offering appetizers, the Knitting Corner will have fantastic bargains, and our great local bookstore, Island Books, will be offering 20% off, store-wide during the event.

That's right. You can stop by Wyatt Square (just kittycorner from the Dunkin Donuts on East Main) and enjoy samples of Newport Vineyards wine, apple cider, raffles, and bargains. And since it starts at 5, you can grab some books for 20% off before you head up to Green Valley for the Portsmouth Public Education Foundation (PPEF) fall social (hint, hint).

Full disclosure: I love books, I love local bookstores, and I'm on the PPEF board.

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Localblogging, 02871, books, buylocal