Oh - HERE Is Where The Journals Are! Stanza Books Has The Journal Nook

The journal nook at Stanza Books in Beacon on Main Street.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

As an avid journaler, I go through a journal a month at least. I journal every morning, and sometimes throughout the day, if things get extra sticky and need sorting. Thoughts need to be caught and captured on paper. The journals are like my best friend.

Paper is a very important component in journaling. Sometimes paper can be too thin; too slick; not lined. While several shops in Beacon carry journals, finding just the right one has been difficult. Therefore, I drive up to Barnes & Noble in Poughkeepsie, walk into the store, say hello to new books at the door, soak up the long magazine rack in the back under the escalators, sometimes ride the escalator up to second floor to walk past the Kids toy section, check on the Recipe book section, and then circle back down to the Journal section, where there are several styles of journals with usually dependable slices of lined-paper inside that are not too thin, not too see-through, usually cream, and feel just right.

The covers are the next component that have so far not been debatable. With so many words going into the journal, I like my covers plain, with no words telling me what to do or think. Even if they are very encouraging words. So Barnes & Noble has been my place to go for these things.

Until I took myself on a Walk To Nowhere last July 4th weekend. I walked all the way down Main Street - the full mile - and found myself at Stanza Books, 508 Main Street Beacon, NY. A bookstore that has been in Beacon for some time, but I just haven’t stepped inside yet.

Upon first walking in - there they were. All of my journal friends. The nook of journals was at the front of the store, with jars of colorful pens that I’ve not tried yet (one thing at a time…can’t go too wild). There was the Mushrooms In The Moonlight journal, with the silver moonlight glazing the evergreen trees. There was the other Midnight Mushroom journal with the vibrant orange and red variations. New journals were there, like the Gilded Rose With Honeybee, and Simple Wildflower.

These are names I made up for all of them, but you see the attachment. I’ve accepted that I’ll need to buy some of these journals on repeat, if there’s not a new one to catch my mood for that journal season.

But here they were. In Beacon on Main Street. At Stanza Books. With loads of other books of course. Next time I go in, I’ll need to pretend that I’m having a really hard time deciding which journal to buy, just to stay in there longer. Wanting to return soon, I was half-way through a murder mystery book my friend gave to me, and I hurried home to finish it that weekend while others watched the fireworks, so that I could finish the next book on my night stand, and then buy a new book at Stanza. And a journal of course.

Pictures below.

Writerly Happenings: Summertime Edition For July (and Maybe August)

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Listen, it’s summer and we are keeping it loose. This edition of Writerly Happenings is being brought to you by “Spontaneity and All The Popsicles,” and may contain happenings in both July and August. 

Katie’s Summer Reading List - no shame. #SaveTheMagazines

Katie’s Summer Reading List - no shame. #SaveTheMagazines

On The Nightstands…

In that same spirit, this edition of What Are We Reading is keeping it real and not worried about intellectual heft. Our fearless leader Katie confesses that she went to Rite Aid and bought all of the rag magazines and a Clive Cussler book for summer reading. She is on a quest to save the magazines. Right now, you’ll find all of them at big box stores. So, people need to buy them. You can pick up your favorites at Rite Aid too. And Vogel Pharmacy, if you’re out near Leo’s.

Managing Editor Marilyn Perez is reading “Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life” by Charlotte Bell for the third time! She comes back to it every couple years, and I can only assume it helps to inform her excellent yoga teaching at Firefly Yoga in Fishkill.  

As for me, I’m staying informed about local events and maintaining a very low overhead by enjoying the Chronogram and Edible Hudson Valley (yay, Weed Issue!) and the award-winning Highlands Current.

So then, what’s happening all around us?

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Writerly Happenings Around Town

Split Rock Books has this pretty incredible offsite event with author Benjamin Dreyer, discussing his book at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival on Friday, July 12. I’ve heard a lot of great things about his book, “Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.” 

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Saturday, July 20, competes for your heart and mine with an intergalactic event at BAU. Matt Clifton and Larry Sansone are organizing a reading alongside an exhibition of Sam Beste and Elizabeth Arnold’s artwork. The subject is space exploration (in tandem with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission) and the fragility of life on earth.

Also that night, there’s another Spring Street Reading Series over at Atlas Studios in Newburgh. “Women and their Bonding,” from 7 to 8:30 pm, features writers Laura Brown and Idra Novey and is curated by Ruth Danon.

On Sunday, July 28, you could take a workshop with Donna Minkowitz, who will also be reading at Get Lit on Sunday, July 14, at Oak Vino. In the Beacon Summer Memoir Intensive, participants “write about our lives using the five senses, lyricism, emotion, critical thinking, and the art of storytelling." Then on Saturday, August 24, she is offering Writing From the Body at Wyld Womyn. This is a memoir workshop for all who identify as women, nonbinary or trans, and want to write about their “lives, sensations, pains, pleasures, and feelings of all kinds.”

Speaking of Get Lit, there’s a great interview with the righteous Ronnie Farley up on their website, and on Sunday, August 11, from 5 to 8 pm at Oak Vino they will feature poet Catherine Arra. Their lineup is looking very interesting for the fall, too.

And while we’re on the subject of of 50th anniversaries, on Tuesday, August 13, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, you can head to the Howland Public Library in Beacon to hear local author Sharon Watts discuss her newest book, “By the Time I Got to Woodstock - An Illustrated Memoir of a Reluctant Hippie Chick,” which she both wrote and illustrated! 

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Farther afield, there’s this fascinating series happening up in Hudson that I’m really intrigued by - The Home School Poetry Readings at Time and Space Limited - and they have a pretty stellar (interstellar?) lineup of writers. 

Also I saw a very pretty picture of some lucky writer working away at the Kingston Writer’s Studio and felt such envy! They are all booked up for members, but you can get a day pass and write all the things.

So then, if you Writerly Types can put down your magazine and climb out of the hammock, come join us. There will be air conditioning and no judgment about your summer trash-reading game. We’ll be tailgating out front with a popsicle.

Happy Independent Bookstore Day, Binnacle Books! Last Chance On Their Original Tote Bag

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Happy Independent Bookstore Day Binnacle Books! It’s risky for any retail shop to open a brick-and-mortar store, but perhaps even more so for an indie bookstore! Many cheers to Binnacle Books for doing that in Beacon, and for connecting all of us with the printed page and for readings and other book 📖 based events.

It’s also really easy to order any book you want from Binnacle - just tell them what you want over the counter or the phone, they click up some magic, and 💥 BAM, you can pick it up in the store!

Binnacle Books has helped promote other indie bookstores by making available the Hudson Valley Book Trail Map, debuting today in their shop. Plus, this is your last chance to get one of their original tote bags - perfect timing for the plastic bag ban!

Says their newsletter: “Stop by to browse some fantastic recent releases, revisit old favorites, or get a recommendation for something new. If you spend $75 or more with us today, we'll throw in one of our original blue totes with your order. If you ever wanted one, now's your chance: after this run sells out, we aren't printing them again.” 

A Little Beacon Blog is honored to partner with all of our sponsors, but especially so when Binnacle approached us, wanting to sponsor our Shopping Guide. Thank you for having faith in us! Binnacle Books is a Sponsor, but this is not a sponsored post. It’s a “Celebrate Indie Bookstores!” post.

Go give Binnacle some love! Binnacle Books is at 321 Main St., Beacon, NY.

Postbooks - Books To Be Mailed

Books meant to be mailed - better than a postcard, according to and available at Binnacle Books. We agree! In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, #putastamponit!

Binnacle Books is a sponsor of A Little Beacon Blog’s Shopping Guide, and helps make it possible for us to get the word out about everything local! Thank you for supporting businesses who support us! Click on the Guides + Calendars tabs above to get the Shopping Guide, and get the lowdown on all the shops in Beacon from one place.

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