As you’ve likely already heard, at 10:30pm last Thursday night, the Flagstaff Bookmans roof collapsed under the weight of a record snowstorm. After our initial grief at the loss, we’re just grateful that no one was hurt and that the employees will all be taken care of until the rebuild (thank you Bookmans!). 

Everyone knows that Bookmans proudly supports ideas such as literacy, free speech, animal welfare and the environment. But did you know that we love sports? Personally, I am excited about the upcoming spring training schedule for Phoenix. But there are many young sports enthusiasts who are gearing up for the spring little league season! Young men and women are currently registering and trying out with teams all over the valley for the opportunity to play on a team.

The Bookmans Flagstaff store has been closed for the remainder of the day and most likely tomorrow due to severe winter storms and inclement weather (as in SNOW... lots and LOTS OF SNOW!).

Please check back for more updates, stay safe, warm and dry out there!

Yesterday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day story time at Bookmans Grant was a wonderful success!! Kids and parents filled the community room to learn more about this remarkable man and the valuable contributions he made to our country, as well as the history of the civil rights movement. They enjoyed stories about Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Ruby Bridges, peaceful protests and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. It was a wonderful celebration of his life and the kids gave some great feedback about what they already knew about Dr. King and what they learned as well! You can check out pictures from the event here on our Flikr page.

It was a healthy and stress-free day on Saturday at Bookmans Mesa.

First, Infinite Wellness Chiropractic was in-store offering FREE five minute chair massages. Their highly-trained staff demonstrated how a relaxing massage can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. After each massage, customers enjoyed a bottle of water to rehydrate and given the opportunity to have any of their questions answered by the staff.

Bookmans has long been a supporter of the Orpheum Theater, but now we’re sponsoring great movies on a monthly basis! The Orpheum Theater, a local landmark in historic downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, was built by John Weatherford, who owned of the Weatherford Hotel just up the street in the early 1900s.

My favorite quote of all time is by Albert Einstein. “Imagination is everything, it is the preview of life's coming attractions.” If you take a moment to find out what a Bookmans employee is up to in their free time, you'll realize that we are surrounded by endless amounts of creativity. Personally, I enjoy sewing, paper arts and drawing in my free time. However, at Bookmans we have some incredibly talented people!

Being a self-professed Book Nerd, I thought I’d get our Flagstaff Bookmans employees to compile a favorite books list for 2009.  I asked the staff to each list a few of the books they read this year and loved.  Here are some stand-outs: The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon made several lists, as did The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and Fool by Christopher Moore.  Anyone who has shopped our store in the past nine months knows that Linda’s favorite was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  Some favorites are by authors close to home: T.Greenwood was in the store to read and sign her lovely novel Nearer than the Sky and local Gary Paul Nabhan’s Coming Home to Eat was also a hit. Others are classics by Jane Austen and Vladimir Nabokov, or rising literary stars like Alice Munro. As it turns out, we Bookmans employees are as passionate and diverse about the books we read as the books we buy and sell!