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The Journal

Short notes from the reading room. Written by hand, usually on a Sunday.

The journal

Short notes from the reading room.

Timothy writes a short piece for the journal every other week — usually on a Sunday, usually about a book, sometimes about the shop itself.

May 14, 2026 · Notes

Why we still shelve by mood

The mood wall began as an accident and has become the thing customers mention most often. Here is what nine years of shelving by feeling has taught us — and why we intend to keep doing it, even as the shop grows.

May 1, 2026 · A book

On "Blackland River" by C. J. Ainsley

A short appreciation of the best first novel we have handled this year, and a few notes on why East Texas remains one of American fiction's most underused landscapes.

April 16, 2026 · The shop

A quiet defense of the ten-book year

You do not need to read fifty books a year. Ten is a beautiful number. Here is how we help members choose those ten.

April 2, 2026 · Reading circles

What actually happens in a reading circle

Fourteen readers, one book, two hours, tea. No homework, no attendance, no wrong answer. A short guided tour of an evening in our back parlor.

March 18, 2026 · Notes

The case for the hardback nightstand

A short love letter to the object itself, and to the small pleasure of turning a stiff page in the last five minutes before sleep.

March 5, 2026 · The shop

What we look for when we buy used

We buy used hardbacks by appointment on Thursday afternoons. Here is the honest answer to what we are hoping to find in your box, and what we are politely going to send home again.

More entries in the archive by request — email manager@bob-books.com.

Newsletter

One quiet email a month.

The Chapter House Letter goes out on the first Friday of every month. One new title, one older favorite, one short essay, and a list of the events on the calendar. That is all — no marketing, no partners, no tracking pixels.

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