If you’ve spent any time around Chapter One Tees, you probably already know that we really like books.
Okay, that might be underselling it a little.
Books are the reason this store exists. They inspire our shirts, take over our shelves, pile up on our nightstands, and somehow continue finding their way into our house despite the fact that we already own more books than we have time to read.
So when we started expanding The Next Chapter Blog with more book reviews, recommendations, bestseller lists, and other things we’re reading, we wanted the books we talked about to connect back to something that felt like a natural extension of Chapter One Tees.
That led us to Bookshop.org.
A Different Way to Buy Books Online
Bookshop.org has a pretty straightforward mission: help local, independent bookstores thrive in the age of ecommerce.
Since launching in 2020, Bookshop.org has generated more than $50 million for local bookstores and supports thousands of independent bookstores. Bookshop.org is also a certified B Corp and says it gives more than 80% of its profit margin to independent bookstores.
One of the things we particularly like is that supporting independent bookstores isn’t something tacked onto the side of the business. It’s built into how Bookshop.org works.
When a customer shops through an affiliated independent bookstore, that bookstore can earn 30% of the cover price. For other eligible sales, Bookshop.org contributes 10% to a shared earnings pool distributed among participating independent bookstores.
That’s something we can get behind.
Why It Fits Chapter One Tees
Chapter One Tees may sell shirts, but this whole thing has always been about reading.
We make clothes for people who stay up for one more chapter, have opinions about fictional characters that are probably a little too strong, and understand that buying another book while you still have an unread stack at home is completely reasonable behavior.
At least that’s what we tell ourselves.
As The Next Chapter grows, we’re going to be talking about more of the books we actually read. When we mention a book in a review, recommendation, bestseller roundup, or other article, you’ll start seeing links that let you find that book through Bookshop.org.
That gives us a way to talk about books we enjoy while also directing some of that activity toward a company built around supporting independent bookstores.
A quick disclosure: Chapter One Tees is a Bookshop.org affiliate. That means we may earn a commission when you purchase books through our Bookshop.org links, at no additional cost to you. Bookshop.org says commissions paid to non-bookstore affiliates do not reduce the support it provides to independent bookstores.
Find Your Next Read Right From Our Blog
We’ve also added a couple of Bookshop.org tools directly to The Next Chapter.
On our blog pages, you’ll find a Bookshop.org search bar that lets you look for your next read. We’ve also added links to Bookshop.org gift cards for those occasions when you know someone loves books but have absolutely no idea which book they don’t already own.
Both will open Bookshop.org in a new window, so you can browse there without losing your place on Chapter One Tees.
And speaking of the perfect gift for a book lover...
If their bookshelves are already approaching structural-load-bearing status, perhaps give them something they can actually wear.
We Have a Bookshop.org Storefront, Too
This might be the part we’re most excited about.
Chapter One Tees now has its own Bookshop.org storefront, where we’re beginning to build curated book lists of our own.
And when we say beginning, we mean beginning.
One of the lists we’re working on is essentially our Whole Library — the books sitting on the shelves in our house. We’re also building out our TBR lists, because apparently owning a book and actually having read the book are two very different categories.
Getting everything added is going to take a while.
The overwhelming majority of our home library belongs to my wife. Her passion for reading is impressive. Her TBR is even more impressive.
My TBR looks almost responsible sitting next to hers.
Almost.
We should also probably attach a warning label to some of these lists: a lot of my wife’s library and TBR is romantasy.
So if you’re browsing our shelves with the kids...
Maybe don’t blindly hand them something just because there’s a dragon on the cover.
You’ve been warned.
Come Browse Our Shelves
Over time, we’ll keep adding books to our Bookshop.org storefront as we work our way through the physical library, our TBR piles, books we’ve reviewed, books we’re recommending, and whatever else inevitably ends up on our shelves.
Think of it as a slowly growing look inside what the people behind Chapter One Tees are actually reading — or, in the case of the TBR lists, optimistically planning to read someday.
Visit the Chapter One Tees Bookshop.org Storefront →
Once on our shop page, browse our book lists, or click the menu above to find the book of your choice.
Thanks for reading, supporting Chapter One Tees, and supporting the people and places that keep good stories on the shelves.
Happy reading.
— Chapter One Tees
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