Firefly & Fox Books

Hey all! This post has been simmering in the ol' mental crackpot for awhile, and today felt like the day (beautiful! sunny! full of life and hope!) to write it all down and share with you, our beloved customers and shop community.
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The tl;dr is this: we will not, as a shop, sell, advertise, or promote art that is made with AI.
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The "i am here for Catherine's long and rambling thoughts" is:
AI is--fundamentally--nobody's story. As a shop, we have always been guided by the belief that sharing our stories with one another is what we're all about, and making space for the stories of our community is the gift we give and receive every day we open our doors. AI works by stealing the stories (in writing, music, visual art, the list goes on) of others in order to create a non-story, a pastiche of all of its inputs, that it then steals again (from our environment, via water consumption particularly) in order to produce for its users. Stealing from artists and the earth in order to produce content that is not necessary (guess what? we all lived, created, wrote, thought, made community posters without AI before, and we can do it again!) and reflects the lived experience of no one (because it is made from stealing experiences and their expression from millions of people) is antithetical to what we're about. So...it's a no from us.
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Is this all of my thoughts? Absolutely not! But this is a start, and it felt past time for us to be clear with our community about our policy on this issue. We are a people- and story- first shop. And AI is neither. Come in and chat with me about it anytime if you want to!
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The Golden Ticket isn't the only treasure to be found this Indie Bookstore Day...Saturday April 25th marks the return of our .ca -wide book scavenger hunt! Watch our stories on Friday and Saturday for clues about where around Norfolk County these books are hidden, and bring the card inside to the shop on Indie Bookstore Day and exchange it for one of many fabulous prizes, including treats from our favourite downtown pals, discounts, shop gift cards, and bookish merch, and our grand prize of a paperback club subscription for you to keep or give as a gift!
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Indie bookstore day is this Saturday! And we've got a golden ticket that will be hiding in the shop for one lucky winner! See you on Saturday?

we're booksellers, ofc we're late to the party on the cool kid internet trends 😎
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Hey everyone! We thought our young readers section needed a bit of a revamp, so that's what we did! ✨️ We've divided it into 3 categories; magical adventures, real-life adventures, and brand new readers! ✨️ Come and visit us in the shop to check it out, and maybe find your next favourite story! ✨️📚

MARCH BREAK FUN IS HAPPENING! check out the graphic above or the text below for details on all of our fun March Break Happenings--storytimes, sales, book exchanges, fun events with our downtown pals, and general fun times for every day of the break (which, ps, we are open every day of the break! Sundays and Mondays included! Wahoo!)
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📅SAT MAR 14 --Where's Waldo Downtown begins--find Waldo, take a selfie with him, and tag us for a chance to win fun prizes! New location and new winner every day! (Free event)
Free Kids Book Exchange begins--bring in your old/gently used children's books, and find some new-to-you books to take home! Book exchange happening all March Break! (Free event)
📅SUN MAR 15--Stock up for March Break Sale! 5% off your first book, 10% off your second book, 15% off your third, and 20% off fourth (or more!)
📅MON MAR 16--Read n Feed Graphic Novel Event 2pm ($25 includes drink, treat, and GN of your choice--hour of quiet vibes for parents comes free!)
📅TUES MAR 17--Storytime with Local Author Julie Park--she will be reading from her new children's book about her brother, Brandon Bot's Waffles (free event)
📅WEDS MAR 18--Grownup and Me Sale--buy any children's book, and get a grownup book for 20% off!
📅THURS MAR 19--Song and Storytime with Catherine at the Shop, 12:30PM--sing, dance, and read with everyone's favourite music teacher slash bookstore owner (free event)
📅FRI MAR 20--Storytime at 2pm! Treats from Joy and Reading with Catherine--what could be better? (Free event)
📅SAT MAR 21--Princess storytime with Belle (every bookstore's fave princess, for obvious reasons!) 12pm (free admission but donations accepted for the Pixie Dust Fund)
📅 SUN MAR 22--Last day for Free Kids Book Exchange and Find Waldo Downtown (free event)
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What's that, you say? You're looking for late night plans on October 26th? And Janaury 11, too? Well, ofc you'll be coming to our midnight release parties for the 6th and 7th books in the ACOTAR series! Dm us to get on the pre-order list and secure your copies (which we're happy to hold til the morning, too--but for those of you who want to get reading at 12:01 am, we gotchu!).

We're open today on this drizzly snow day, and popping up with a sale on kids books for your afternoon enjoyment! Bring the whole family, and save more the more kids' books you get! First book is 5% off, second is 10%, third is 15%, and fourth or more is 20% off! Sale applies to all in stock kids and YA books, including novels, graphic novels, board books, picture books, and kids non-fiction!
See you on this unexpectedly happy day off from 12:30-4!
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Taking a snow day today (Tuesday January 27), as we are all either snowed in, taking care of kids, or studying for exams. See you tomorrow, book fans!

💌Been meaning to write a note to someone you love?
💌Keep putting off a thank-you card to someone special?
💌Want to pop a little joy in the mail, but keep forgetting to buy stamps?
💌Just wanting to take the very clear cues to slow down and chill that this epic winter has been sending us?
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We got you 😘
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In honour of winter, valentine's, new year's, and-- most especially--our shared love of the written word, we've got a little pop-up for y'all in the back of the shop!
Cozy desk? ✔️
A variety of beautiful stationary? ✔️
Fun (and colourful, of course) pens? ✔️
stickers? ✔️
Stamps, in case you want us to mail it for you? ✔️
Stop by anytime during shop hours and write a note (or three) to someone(s) you love, and let us take care of mailing it for you, if they're far away!
💲3️⃣ to write a note (includes fancy notecard of your choice, pens to write with, space and time to write, stickers, and envelope)
💲5️⃣ to write a note and have us mail it for you (includes all of the above plus a stamp and the pure joy of not having to stop by the post office yourself!)
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(Ps this is also great for all of you on your way to birthday parties and baby showers--write the card while you're here, and let us wrap up your books for you, too!)
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