June 2020... Books for dad's, what we're doing and what we're reading!

Re-Opening Friday June 12th!

We hope you are well and we welcome you back. Marin County is allowing ”non-essential" retail stores that have been slammed shut for 3 months to resume interior operations at 50% capacity, which is more clearly defined as there must be SIX FEET of social distancing for everyone in the store. Since Target and other big-box stores have been selling many of the goods the small stores also offer this entire time (a gross inequity in my mind) we are happy to see even this partial allowance for opening again. But be prepared!

Pandemic Protocol

With retail opening again to the public, there are of course huge protocols for retailers, their employees and customers. All of us want to remain HEALTHY and SAFE. The County of Marin requires that in order to open and remain open we must ask our patrons to comply with the mandates outlined to the right.

You will see the ubiquitous blue tape on our floor advising you to remain at a distance from our employees and others at the counter while you wait to check-out. Our employees will be masked and gloved and asked to monitor their temperatures daily. No one will be allowed to work if they are ill. We will be limiting the number of employees in the shop at any given time to 2 to further reduce exposure.

What We're Still Doing

We know that many of you may still prefer remote
versus in-person sales – So We Will Continue….

– FREE Home Delivery –
right to your doorstep 

– FREE Shipping –
anywhere in the U.S 

– TAKE-OUT –
order books, jigsaw puzzles,gifts and PICK UP CURBSIDE–Noon-2PM
(free downtown parking)

FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE Call 415.887.9967

or email staff@sausalitobooksbythebay.com

Where You Spend Your Money Makes A Difference... Spend With Intent

Main Street USA is fading fast these days. We have long been a community that eschews chain and big box stores, but it’s likely where most people are shopping today and quite frankly, always have. Our residents have always wanted “boutique, small shop” retail, but if you don’t support them, these small businesses will disappear. Many are already belly-up.

NOW IS THE TIME to patronize the businesses you want to see survive post-pandemic. And I’m not just talking about our bookstore. If you want more than Walmart, Amazon and McDonalds in your future, shop accordingly. Shopping local makes a difference. Seventy cents of every dollar spent locally at an independent store goes back into the local economy.

Now and in the future, our choices add up. Use your money to support the world you want Be a conscientious shopper.people

– Fathers Day June 21–

Great Books For Dads

The Splendid & the Vile
by Erik Larson
A saga of Churchill,family and defiance during the Blitz in WWII London

What it’s Like to be a Bird
by David Allen Sibley
What birds are doing and why – from flying, to nesting, eating and singing.

24: Life Stories and Lessons from the Say Hey Kid
by Willie Mays and John Shea
A just-published autobiography of the legendary Willie Mays

Walk the Wire
by David Baldacci
The next in the Memory Man Series – the investigation of a murder in a North Dakota fracking boom town

Camino Winds
by John Grisham
Fact & fiction become blurred when the author of mystery thrillers is found dead after an island hurricane

The Body
by Bill Bryson
A very entertaining guide for occupants!

Intangibles
by local Sausalito author Joan Ryan
Unlocking the science & soul of team chemistry

Operation BBQ
200 recipes from Competition Grand Champions 

Project Smoke
by Steven Raichlen
7 steps to smoked food nirvana; 100 recipes

GR Dano Masks &
Hanson Vodka Hand Sanitizer

As always, we like to cross-promote and support other local businesses.

“Designer” Hand Sanitizer
Brought to you by Sausalito’s Hanson Gallery & Vodka Distillery
Where else can you get sanitizer made in a distillery!

In addition to fine art, the Hanson Art Gallery down the street from us also offers their handcrafted vodka at their lovely tasting bar. Since the pandemic, they’ve been using their sills to make hand sanitizer with the initial batch going to first responders. While I like to think there is a little vodka in this sanitizer – DO NOT DRINK it! It’s for your hands! It is in fact 70% alcohol (the World Health Organization requires hand sanitizers to be at least 60% alcohol) but not the sort of alcohol you can drink…

Face Masks
By local Sausalito designer Jill Giordano

Not only are these masks handsome, they are comfortable, re-usable AND proceeds benefit many important organizations during our current health crisis. Jill has stopped production on her clothing line at her grDano boutique/studio in downtown Sausalito and is instead making masks during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She has already donated 1000+ masks to UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco, CA), San Francisco SF-Marin Food Bank, Summit Medical Center (Oakland, CA), Oakland Memorial Hospital West, Sausalito Village, Sausalito Police Department, local Sausalito Restaurants and Grocers and many others. 

We are proud to support Jill in her efforts and hope you will too by buying her masks.

Community Supported Bookstore (CSB)
Loyalty Program

By opening an account with us -- or adding money to your existing account -- you provide us with valuable working capital to help make ends meet during this dramatic economic downturn.

Become a CSB member by opening an account with us which you can draw against when you buy books and receive a 10% discount. This money is yours to draw against any time you purchase books. Call us to set up an account. For more information CSB program

What We're Reading

The Mountains Sing
by Nguyen Phan Que

A poignant and riveting epic portraying the miraculous survival of four generations of a North Vietnamese family’s struggle against indignity, suppression, subjugation, brutal occupation, foreign and civil wars, and the near total destruction of their land and homes.  The Viet Nam war serves as a backdrop for the novel which is told through the eyes of the matriarch Tran Dieu Lan and her granddaughter. Steeped in the traditions of Viet Nam it is a tale of resilience among the women and children left behind by war. Cheryl P.

A Witch In Time
by Constance Sayers

In this novel about star-crossed lovers, Helen Lambert has lived several lives, beginning as young Juilet, a muse for the painter Marchant in 1890s France.  When Juilet becomes pregnant with Marchant’s baby, her mother casts a spell to end the pregnancy.  But because Juilet’s mother is a witch with limited talents, she inadvertently ties Juilet to Marchant in subsequent lives.  Is each Marchant version in her subsequent lives her forever love or is she destined to find another? Angela K.

The Henna Artist
by Alka Joshi

As richly woven as an elegant silk sari and as provocative as the scent of Indian spices, this evocative novel takes us to Jaipur in the 1950s where Lakshimi, an accomplished Henna artist, is catering to the whims of wealthy upper-class Indian women, including the Maharanis. Her carefully crafted independence is soon shattered however, as her past emerges to haunt her, including a sister she never knew she had. Joshi is a skilled story teller who envelopes us in post-independence Indian culture and society, as the country is pivoting from traditional to more modern ways. From arranged marriages, to lush gardens and herbal cures, abject poverty, palace intrigue, the prolific philandering of men, to proverbs and the intoxicating fragrance of jasmine and frangipani, it is a captivating read. Cheryl P. 

Enemy Of All Mankind
by Steven Johnson              

In Steven Johnson’s newest book, the story of Henry Every, the most notorious pirate of the 17th century is laid out in detail.  Every attacked an Indian treasure ship which had the Grand Mughal’s female relative in the hull.  After a savage encounter, Every made off with a ship filled with gold, silver, gems, ivory and other items, worth an estimated $20 million in today’s economy.  The implications of the relationship between the Mughal’s empire and Britain in a high sea manhunt are fascinating. Angela K.

White Fragility
by Robin DiAngelo 

Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism? Anyone invested in social change should read this book. This --and all of our books on racism—have flown out the door, but we have more on order. We have compiled a list of suggested relevant reading on this important topic. It’s posted on our Facebook page and website. We add our voice to many in grieving for the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and many more. The list goes on. There is no room in our lives for racism, white supremacy, and police brutality. #BlackLivesMatter

Good Boy – My Life In Seven Dogs
by Jennifer Finney Boylan

A memoir about a young boy who became a middle-aged woman and the seven memorable dogs that were there for crucial moments of growth and transformation. Jennifer is the well-known NY Times op-ed columnist, the author of 15 books including the first bestselling work by a transgender American. A beautiful and tender look at our love of dogs and their love for us and how they help us journey through life. Cheryl P.

Catlady – A Love Letter to Women & Their Cats
by Leah Reena Goren

During his lifetime Shakespeare was known primarily as one of the country's most accomplished poets, along with Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney, and not as a dramatist. Venus and Adonis and Lucrece are sophisticated, erotic, and daring (as they allude not-so-discreetly to Elizabeth I). The Sonnets, however, are his crowning glory. For some reason they were suppressed immediately after publication, and only in 1780 did they reach a wide audience. In my opinion, poetry begins and ends with The Sonnets. Jeff B.

Since we couldn’t flee to France as planned this month, I am consumed with going there
via food and reading. It’s not quite the same, but a journey none the less!

Dinner In French
by Melissa Clark

A marvelous addition to any cookbook collection, the beautiful photographs and delicious recipes in this book will transport you. As the author, who can’t really speak French notes, in the kitchen you can be fluent in French without knowing a word! I can’t even choose my favorite recipes, but there are some wonderful twists on classics like Lillet Fondue, Fromage Blanc Smoked Trout Dip, Lamb Shank Cassoulet, Gateau Breton with Plums & Cardamon. Bon Appetit! Cheryl P. 

The Louvre – the Many Lives of the World’s Most Famous Museum
by historian James Gardner

Fascinating and little -known history of this legendary art museum – from humble fortress to palatial royal residence to world famous museum. Francophiles and art historians will love this. Cheryl P

Giraffe Problems
by Jory John & illustrated by Lane Smith

Can you guess what's making this giraffe self-conscious? Could it be... HIS ENORMOUS NECK? Edward the giraffe can't understand why his neck is as long and bendy and, well, ridiculous as it is. No other animal has a neck this absurd. He's tried disguising it, dressing it up, strategically hiding it behind bushes – honestly, anything you can think of, he's tried. Just when Edward has exhausted his neck-hiding options and is about to throw in the towel, a turtle swoops in (well, ambles in, very slowly) and helps him understand that his neck has a purpose…and looks excellent in a bow tie. Angela K. 

Note to all friends & fans of Jeff Battis,
our manager & book buyer extraordinaire: 

Jeff’s hip surgery was a success and he is resting comfortably at home
(and working remotely of course!) He’ll be back at the bookshop later this
month. Meanwhile, we miss him and wish him a speedy recovery.

The Best Little Bookshop On The Bay!

SPECIAL ORDERS? We gottcha covered.
If we don’t have the book you want, we can usually get it in 2 days….and it can be delivered to your front door. 

Don't Forget our FREE Parking
In front of the store in the Sausalito Yacht Harbor lot