Parnassus Books in Nashville has my newest handmade leather journals

It's been exactly one year since I wrote about Nashville's awesome new independent bookstore, Parnassus Books, which had just opened to much-deserved fanfare.

I've been to the store frequently in the past few weeks, including to deliver 20 of my newest handmade leather and suede journals. This line of journals ranges from the bright and colorful (you know me) but also includes books that are more rugged and earthy, including some with pages salvaged from old books and an especially awesome Handy Map of Nashville map book — which, unfortunately, became something of a collector's item after Handy Maps discontinued last year.

But Parnassus is going strong. My husband and I attended the store's one-year birthday party last week and heard some of the most uplifting "thank you" remarks we've ever heard, by both co-owners, Karen Hayes and Ann Patchett. My husband was especially excited to hear Patchett speaking of the resilience of her little independent bookstore. "Amazon and algorithms," will never put Parnassus out of business, she told the crowd.

Really, the store has received such acclaim this year, that I'm just happy my work can be a part of all the good vibrations. And we've also done quite a bit of Christmas shopping there. Plenty of good gifts to be found there — my books included!