By Cameron Crane
In my opinion, if you are a reader, there are three things
that are almost guaranteed to happen to you at least once in your life: (1) you
will fall head over heels in love with a book (or a character in it, or both); (2) you
will so deeply admire an author that you will find a friend in their words; and
finally, (3) you will one day find a bookstore that is so special, it becomes a
second home. I say this as a reader who has experienced all three of these
things a multitude of times—most recently in my position as the Marketing
Professional at Little Pickle Press.
The first time I read Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food and Other Life Lessons, I fell in love with the book
and even more in love with its protagonist, Connor. Before I ever talked to
Jodi Carmichael on the phone, I found myself smiling or audibly laughing every
time I read one of her emails, blog posts, or Facebook statuses. And when McNally Robinson Booksellers hosted
the launch of Spaghetti in Winnipeg, I knew that
it was a bookstore so special, it would immediately feel like home if ever I got the chance to walk through the doors.
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| Jodi Carmichael greeting her audience at McNally's |
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| Jodi signing copies of Spaghetti for some lucky readers! |
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| Jodi's special audience showing support with Spaghetti t-shirts! |
I knew this for several reasons. First, I knew that any
bookstore that supported Spaghetti
and Jodi was a bookstore I liked. Second, in Jodi Carmichael’s blog post with
pictures from the event, not only was she glowing with excitement, she also casually
referred to McNally’s as “the finest Independent Book Store in all of the
world”. But this
notion didn’t truly set in until I visited McNally’s website and began to
really explore what they are about.
McNally
Robinson is a family-oriented independent bookseller, committed to the values of
community bookselling. They believe that “reading is co-relative with a
thoughtful, imaginative and fulfilled life”, and, as the launch of Spaghetti demonstrated, they go above
and beyond to foster a love of it. From the floor-to-ceiling tree with a winding staircase leading to
the kids' department, to a beautiful collection of children’s books and a
highly supportive staff, McNally’s is definitely a placed to be loved. And we
do!
Thank
you, McNally’s, for your generous support of Little Pickle Press, Jodi
Carmichael, and Spaghetti!










