Welcome to Top Shelf Reads. On today’s episode, we chat about Chicago bookstores and an online book club. Nick reviews If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino and we share book gifting ideas for the holiday season. Enjoy the show! 00:55 -- Chicago Bookstore Adventures AfterwordsNewberry (in library)Exile in Bookville (in Roosevelt University)Book Haul:The Conformist  by Alberto MoraviaButcher's Crossing by John WilliamsThe Bear by Andrew KrivakParakeet by Mari-Helene BertinoThis Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno07:04 -- The Bear by Andrew Krivak (mini review) 10:05 -- Online book club for Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk Blackwell's link to buy BoJBook club17:20 -- If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (a review) 27:01 -- Holiday Reading Gift Guide (a discussion) Books Discussed: Circe by Madeline MillerSharp Objects by Gillian FlynnAn Unapologetic Cookbook by Joshua WeissmanBooks of Jacob by Olga TokarczukThe Door by Magda SzaboThe Sailor who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio MishimaThe Employees by Olga RavnNYRBWizard of Earth Sea by Ursula K. Le GuinLord of the Rings by TolkeinThe Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le GuinThe Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel KayPuffin in BloomPuffin Hardcover ClassicsJuniper Gothic Horror CollectionBlind Date with a Book [email protected] | Twitter | Instagram @topshelfreads | TikTok