Confluence Records & Bookery recently opened at 311 Broadway St. #1 in Paducah, Ky. The Sun reported that owners Blake and Ashley Wilson want Confluence to offer more sober nightlife options in the city and to create a welcoming space where people can gather and socialize.

"There's not a lot of great places to hang out, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, if you're not a drinker and you don't want to be surrounded by alcohol," Blake Wilson said. "We want to be a place that brings people together, where people meet, and also we sell books and records, and we have a few other things like stickers and crystals."

He added that he had wanted to open a bookshop since 2012, and finally made it happen within the last six months, noting: "We scoped out various locations, saw that this location was available, sat on it for a while, and I was working another job at the time, and as time went on, this became more and more desirable, so we finally decided to move forward."

Describing the book and music selection as carefully curated, Ashley Wilson said, "We're not trying to have like everything under the sun, but definitely trying to like have enough variety that there's kind of something for everybody. Trying to find that sweet spot there."

The owners already have scheduled some events. "We've got like a couple of things that we're excited about down the road to roll out," Wilson added. "Kind of pairing like book and music lovers together, so we're looking forward to doing that too."

Moonlit Vine, a bookstore and bar, opened in Beech Grove, Ind., on June 20, the Indianapolis Star reported. Located at 614 Main St., Moonlit Vine carries a general-interest inventory with an emphasis on romance and fantasy. The bar side of the business serves beer, wine, coffee, and a variety of snacks. Owner Paige Maudlin runs a Desire and Diversity Book Club, which focuses on romance by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors, and future event plans include local-author showcases as well as a midnight release party in October for book 6 in Sarah J. Maas's A Court of Thorns and Roses series.

"I really want Moonlit Vine to be ingrained in the community," Maudlin told the Star, "from holding special events that raise money for certain causes to helping local schools with their reading programs, or having Moonlit Vine be a place for the community to feel safe and welcome."

A lifelong reader, Maudlin had always dreamed of opening a bookstore, but it "felt like one of those things that would always stay a dream and never be reality." That was until October 2025, when she was walking on Beech Grove's Main Street and saw a "For Lease" sign on an ideal space. 

"I recently moved to Beech Grove in January of 2025 and fell in love with Main Street," Maudlin recalled. "I knew if the universe gave me the opportunity, this would be the perfect place for a bookstore."

Currently Maudlin still works full-time, and as a result Moonlit Vine is open on Tuesday through Friday evenings and all day Saturday. The bookstore and bar has been well-received by the community so far.

"[T]hey're thankful to have a space like Moonlit Vine in their community," Maudlin said. "Hearing that from so many people has really been rewarding and makes all the hard work worth it."

Jenny Shima, owner of the Literary in Champaign, Ill., has purchased a building that will be used for reading retreats and other events in partnership with the bookstore, the News-Gazette reported. 

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house, built in 1898, is located on Springfield Ave., not far from the Literary's home in downtown Champaign. Once renovations and redecoration are complete, which will include the creation of a library, building reading nooks in the attic, painting, and other design work, Shima intends to host overnight reading retreats and other events that the Literary cannot accommodate in its current space.

"We've been very lucky at the Literary with the community we've been able to be a part of," Shima told the News-Gazette. She opened the bookstore and bar in 2021 and added a cafe in 2023. "And we just want to do more, create more for our community and new ways to gather, to engage in our reading."

People are increasingly looking for ways to slow down and connect, Shima noted, and reading retreats are becoming a popular option. Emphasizing that nothing has been set in stone, Shima said a potential retreat might begin on a Friday evening, include breakfast and activities on Saturday, and end with a brunch at the Literary on Sunday morning, with the Literary handling food and beverage service throughout the weekend. 

Adding that most reading retreats are "happening for thousands and thousands of dollars per person," Shima said hers will be "a fraction of that cost per person. We want this to be more accessible and more available to people."

At the same time, people have often inquired about doing private events at the Literary, but the bookstore has had difficulty accommodating them. Shima hopes to rent the home for things like small weddings, private book clubs, baby showers, and more.

Shima is currently working on a name for the retreat and event space and hopes to have it ready in the fall.

The first-ever Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl is set to run this weekend, July 24-26, with 13 stores in the greater L.A. area participating. 

Customers can receive a passport stamp with a purchase of $10 or more at any of the participating stores. As they collect more stamps, customers will receive prizes including stickers, a free audiobook download from Libro.fm, and a pin. Those who collect all 13 stamps will receive a tote bag and be entered in a grand prize drawing that includes a $25 gift card for each store.

Some of the participating stores will be hosting special events in conjunction with the crawl, and several L.A.-based authors will be stopping at participating stores throughout the weekend, including Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Atmosphere and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

Book Soup in West Hollywood, Calif., which closed on July 16 due to a massive water main break on Sunset Blvd., is one of the participating stores. As of July 21, the bookstore was once again hosting in-store events, though access to the store remained limited. Book Soup intends to take part in the book crawl.

A full list of participating stores and touring authors can be found here.

Barnes & Noble will open a new store in Farmington, Conn., in the Westfarms Mall, next Wednesday, July 29. The store spans 22,000 square feet and replaces a B&N store that closed on South East Road in Farmington in May. It will not include a B&N Cafe.

Local author David Borges will be on hand for the grand opening. He will cut the ribbon before signing copies of his book UConn Basketball: An Illustrated Timeline (Reedy Press).

The Farmington store is the sixth new B&N to open in Connecticut over the last three years. The company has opened 18 stores so far this year and plans to open 60 by the end of the year.

New adult romance publisher LYX Books celebrated its U.S. launch with an influencer event in New York City at Margaritaville Times Square. The event featured five authors from the initial list: (from left) Brittainy Cherry (Karla and Ash), Selina Mae (Ruled by Rivalry), Anabelle Stehl (Levels of Love), Anna Savas (Hold Me), and Sarah Sprinz (Anywhere).

Click here to see the latest Independent Press Top 40, the weekly bestseller list celebrating the bestselling 40 fiction and 40 nonfiction titles from independent publishers, as sold by independent bookstores across the country. The list is sponsored by the Independent Publishers Caucus and the American Booksellers Association.

This week's debut fiction titles:

32. The Odyssey by Homer (University of Chicago Press)
33. Astronaut!: A Novel by Oana Aristide (W. W. Norton)
35. Elisabeth by Eric Rohmer (McNally Editions)
38. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 5 by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press)

This week's debut nonfiction titles:

25. Living, Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection edited by Samantha Paige Rosen (Beacon Press)
35. Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life by Ezekiel J. Emanuel M.D. (W. W. Norton)

At Abrams:

Vickie Tu has joined the company as sales coordinator.

Stephanie Pando has joined the company as senior publicist.

Left Field Publishing, launched last year by industry veterans Kristen Gilligan and Len Vlahos, held its first Left Field Literary Salon: Where Books Meet After Dark. The monthly series brings together readers, writers, thinkers, and curious minds. Held at the historic Denver Press Club, the inaugural literary salon offered "a dark academia atmosphere," with a celebrity author trivia contest led by Vlahos, book swaps, signature drinks, tarot readings, a literary trivia game with authors, Scrabble, and more. Portions of the proceeds went to support the Denver Press Club and civil liberties work through the Colorado ACLU.

Left Field has also launched a Kickstarter campaign to help bring its fall list of four titles "into the world with the launch support, production quality, accessibility initiatives, and reader engagement they deserve."

Today:
Here & Now: Ocean Vuong, author of The Emperor of Gladness (Penguin Books, $20, 9780593831892).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Sunday, July 26
8 a.m. Melissa Murray, author of The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader (37 Ink, $30, 9781668221938), at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C. (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9:10 a.m. Soman Chainani, author of Young World (Random House Books for Young Readers, $21.99, 9780593905180). (Re-airs Sunday at 9:10 p.m.)

11 a.m. Jane Aikin, author of The Library of Congress: From Jefferson's Vision to the Digital Age (Georgetown University Press, $32.95, 9781647125714). (Re-airs Sunday at 11 a.m.)

12 p.m. Carrie Gibson, author of The Great Resistance: The 400-Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas (Atlantic Monthly Press, $35, 9780802165497), at A Cappella Books in Atlanta, Ga.

1 p.m. C. Evan Stewart, author of William Henry Seward's Quest to Save the Nation During the Secession Winter (1860-1861) (Twelve Tables Press, $20.95, 9781946074461).

2:10 p.m. Sarah Ruden, author of Reproductive Wrongs: A Short History of Bad Ideas About Women (Liveright, $17.99, 9781324099819). 

4:15 p.m. Alvin E. Roth, author of Moral Economics: From Prostitution to Organ Sales, What Controversial Transactions Reveal About How Markets Work (Basic Venture, $35, 9781541702011).

5:50 p.m. Matthew Campbell, author of The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and a Global Art Conspiracy (Portfolio, $35, 9780593716007), at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C.

The longlist has been selected for the 2026 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, which "recognizes the best debut novel of the year and supports emerging voices in fiction." Check out the longlisted titles here.

The shortlisted authors, to be announced this fall, receive $1,000 each and will read from their work at the Center for Fiction First Novel Fête on December 4. The $15,000 First Novel Prize winner will be named at the Center's Annual Awards Benefit on December 8. 

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, July 28:

Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe (Scarlett Press, $34, 9798347122363) is book one in a sci-fi romance duology.

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst (Bramble, $29.99, 9781250400673) is the third entry in the Spellshop romantasy series.

Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena (Pamela Dorman, $31, 9780593832479) is a thriller about a couple plotting the murder of a wealthy relative.

Meet Me in Paris: A Novel by Kristin Harmel (Gallery Books, $29, 9781668092538) follows nine Americans in Paris over the course of one week.

Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli (Knopf, $35, 9798217208319) is literary fiction about a mother and daughter on a trip to Sicily.

Anomalies 53: Dragon Dreams by Angela Cervantes (HarperPop, $18.99, 9780063245945) is the second book in the fantasy middle-grade series, Anomalies 53, in which the protagonists travel between Earth and alternate realms.

Rootbound: A Tangled Novel by Margaret Owen (Disney/Random House, $18.99, 9781368101042) is a YA novel about the events of Rapunzel and Eugene's lives after Disney's Tangled.

Biological War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (Dutton, $33, 9798217046034) considers the consequences of biological warfare.

Blizzard of Lies: Karen Read, John O'Keefe, and the Shocking Unsolved Murder in Cop Town, USA (BenBella Books, $29.95, 9781637749289) investigates the 2022 murder of a Boston police officer.

The Savage Landscape: How We Made the Wilderness by Cal Flyn (Viking, $35, 9780593833087) explores what humans have defined as wilderness.

Liberation Summer: The Moment That Changed the Women's Movement and the Future of American Politics by Micki McElya (Avid Reader Press, $32, 9781982166762) chronicles protests at the 1968 Miss America Pageant.

Paperbacks:
The Wedding People: A Novel by Alison Espach (Holt Paperbacks, $18.99, 9781250899552). 

Just for the Plot by Meghan Quinn (Bloom Books, $19.99, 9781464237843).

Wild Goose Chase by Sarah Adler (Berkley, $20, 9798217187492).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren (Gallery Books, $29, 9781668017753). "Emery is given the chance to save her husband Luca's life, and their marriage, after an accident. Combining a sweet and spicy romance with a science fiction thriller, this will keep you turning the pages!" --Melissa Law, Mostly Books, Tucson, Ariz.

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire, $27.99, 9781250398567). "Gruesome, intelligent, and full of biting commentary about parasocial relationships with celebrities, clout and wealth chasing, social media influencing, body image and how self-absorbed we can be when we limit our world to what's on our phones." --Jennifer Tidwell, Favorites Bookstore, Batesville, Miss.

Paperback
The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Books, $20, 9780593831892). "Ocean Vuong's sophomore novel is a societal epic as seen beneath a microscope. A lonely young man meets a lonely older woman, and after that? Everything. This book is a quiet marvel." --Laurel Rhame, Phoenix Books, Essex Junction, Vt.

Ages 4-8
Whale, That Was Unexpected by Casey Lyall, illus. by Kathryn Durst (Tundra Books, $18.99, 9781774883617). "What a fun, silly story! Maude and Claude aren't strangers to the random ebb and flow of the ocean. It certainly won't stop their adventure! Maude's sardonic, sassy energy made me giggle all the way to the last page. Perfect for emerging readers and people who read books to little ones." --Ashley-Nicole Smith, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Ages 8-12
Raven, Rising by Christine Hartman Derr (Heartdrum, 9780063432833, $18.99). "When Raven, a young Cherokee girl, loses her parents and moves to a new town to live with her aunt, she finds herself the target of bullies and cruel rumors. As she struggles to find her place, Raven turns to her unique gift of blending magic with baking to set things right. Hartman Derr handles difficult topics like grief with remarkable care and makes an abundance of space for hope and the joys of friendship, magic, community, and finding oneself." --Alexis Powell, The King's English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ages 13+
To Dance the Moon and Stars by Tasia M S and Barbara Perez Marquez (Joy Revolution, $24.99, 9780593809181). "Absolutely stunning! A fantasy story where dance is forbidden, yet that's all our main character wants to do. And these illustrations just floated right off the page, matching the flow of the story. I look forward to more collaborations by these artists." --Jurni Bayoc, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, Mo.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

A journalist's suspicions about a homemaking influencer's squeaky-clean, perfectly curated image don't even begin to approach the sinister reality in the intense, claustrophobic horror novel Trad Wife. Three-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Sarah Langan (Pam Kowolski Is a Monster!; Good Neighbors) here blends existential dread with the dark truth of traditional gender roles.

Journalist Jenny Kaplan earned her 15 minutes of fame with a viral autobiographical essay about her abortion, her breakup with her mentally ill boyfriend, and his subsequent theft of all her possessions. The moment of triumph soured quickly when a group calling themselves the Brotherhood of the American Agenda began harassing and protesting her online. Jenny's magazine fired her amid the backlash, leaving her unemployed when she already felt "an invisible goblin was chewing the string of her life, digesting it, leaving a dirty package behind." Her editor offers her a "soft landing" in freelance gig form when popular "Trad Wife" influencer Mia Wright requests Jenny visit her farm and write a feature.

Mia styles herself as "a traditional Depression-era wife from the 1930s: strong, capable, self-sacrificing." Jenny, who considers trad wives "pod people," spots something odd about Mia's supposedly authentic, relatable videos: her mistakes and accidents seem intentional. In person, Mia is warm and welcoming while simultaneously dodging Jenny's questions about her income and her pyramid-shaped "ambassador" program, which enlists her followers in selling home and beauty products from Black Swan Farm, Mia's husband's family land. Mia responds to Jenny's transparent skepticism by inviting her to stay for a week at Black Swan and have her mind changed. Jenny can't resist the opportunity to unravel Mia's allure, the strangeness of Black Swan, or the mystery of nearby Sylvan Village, known for its occasional "magic hour" of luminous yellow fog. Soon she realizes something hungry slithers through this haven of home-cooked meals and well-behaved children, but is Mia a part of the darkness, or a victim desperate for Jenny's help?

Langan's modern-day gothic narrative seethes with taut menace and scathing critiques of social media subterfuge and the pressure on women to meet a moving-target definition of perfection. Each step of Jenny's way is laced with an escalating loss of identity and bodily autonomy. A subtle callback to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's classic short horror story "The Yellow Wallpaper" cements the feminist lineage of this smart, chilling look at a polarizing trend. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads

Shelf Talker: A trad wife influencer's squeaky-clean public image hides a secret world of suffocating terror in this intense, claustrophobic horror novel.

The term "bookseller" is a very small, beautiful door leading to a fathomless room, positively Borgesian. Whatever the square footage of a particular bookshop or where in the world it's located, that space is story-filled. Not just the tales in books on shelves, but the those of the booksellers themselves--the lives they led before joining this profession and the lives they now lead. 

While there are plenty of novels set in bookshops, I'll confess that I tend to gravitate to stories about real booksellers, and one of those tales caught my attention recently. The Bookstore That Never Sleeps, a documentary short by Canadian filmmaker Justin Zoras, just had its world premiere at the Doc Edge film festival in New Zealand, with screenings in Auckland and Wellington. Earlier this year, Zoras spoke with Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand, which described the doc as, "quietly, one of the loveliest things a bookseller could hope to watch.... I can't wait for booksellers, bookshop lovers and anyone who loves a good story to see this film." 

Elizabeth's Books is owned and operated by Chris Webb, an 83-year-old former seaman. "Tucked along Montague Street in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, the shop keeps its own quiet rhythm," the doc's Facebook page notes. "If you are looking for a sign, watch the street. When the other shops are turning their keys and heading home, the lights at Elizabeth's Books are soon to glow. Most evenings, the door opens around 8 p.m., at the discretion of the proprietor. The store has stayed open as late as 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. More often, it closes sometime after the last customer leaves. Elizabeth's Books opens when the evening begins, and closes when the night feels complete."

A few years ago, Zoras was working on a production that sent his cast and crew to Lunenburg for several months. "After a twelve-hour day on set, the crew would wander a pitch-black town looking for anything still open, and the one thing they kept seeing was light spilling onto the street from a bookshop that, against all sense and logic, was alive at night," Booksellers Aotearoa NZ wrote. 

Zoras chose to enter the bookshop one night and met Webb. "After a lifetime at sea and experiences that left him with PTSD, Chris created a bookstore unlike any other. He keeps a chair beside his desk, originally as a courtesy for older visitors, now an open invitation for anyone who wants to sit a while and talk. Justin sat," Booksellers Aotearoa NZ noted. "They talked about books and films and the sea, and slowly the stories came out. These stories and the interview that anchors the documentary ran to roughly five hours, and crucially, everything that follows is built on Chris's own words rather than any preconceived idea of what a film or documentary should be."

Indies get it. Just before the premiere, Zoras posted that "we would be remiss not to check out a few of the local bookstores while in town. Getting the chance to explore and finally step inside @unitybooksauckland and @timeoutbookstore in person has been unforgettable. They are absolute gems. Massive love to both shops for partnering with us on a ticket giveaway. It's been incredible connecting with the local indie book community here. One more night. Tomorrow, we premiere to the world."

Lamplight Books in Auckland celebrated the doc in its own way: "Join us for a relaxed evening happy hour at Lamplight Books during the Doc Edge Film Festival. Taking a page from Justin Zoras' film The Bookstore That Never Sleeps, this gathering is all about physical spaces, book lovers, and documentary enthusiasts coming together after hours. Enjoy complimentary drinks and snacks while connecting with fellow readers, film lovers, and creatives. Plus, grab a complimentary mindset notepad from Kiwi Journals while supplies last."

And earlier this week, Zoras announced that after "three packed screenings" at Doc Edge, The Bookstore That Never Sleeps will be make its official Canadian premiere at the Regina International Film Festival and Awards, Saskatchewan's largest film festival, in August. 

"For a bookseller, the film lands somewhere tender," Booksellers Aotearoa NZ wrote. "Modern bookselling is beset by financial stress, supply-chain delays and, in too many places, censorship. Justin's film simply strips all of that away and returns us to first principles. Why are any of us here? To stand in a room full of stories, to meet people, and to help them find the story they happen to need. The Bookstore That Never Sleeps sees that, and it sees Chris, who has chosen to forgo a tourist town's worth of daytime trade because the night is when real conversation happens. It is also, quietly, a record of a moment, a small pocket of grace that may not exist forever, captured while it still glows. If you love bookshops, you will feel seen."

Will I ever get to see The Bookstore That Never Sleeps? I don't know. Documentaries, long as well as short, don't have the wide range of streaming options other movies do, so you have to be patient (a lot of online searching, sometimes over a period of years), observant, and lucky to track them down. 

I'll keep my eyes open, though sometimes the story of a story has to suffice. I've been searching for six years now for a streaming version of El tiempo perdido (Le temps perdu), director María Alvarez's Argentine documentary about an elderly book group that met regularly for a couple of decades in a Buenos Aires café to read and discuss Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. But that's another story.