Thanks to Kalima and Jynne for joining us and sharing their picks. Thanks, as always, to Brett Fuchs for engineering and mixing this episode. This is our very last episode of 2020, so be sure to subscribe to Women Who Travel on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, so you don’t miss our 2021 return.
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Read a full transcription of the episode below.
Meredith Carey: Hi, everyone. It’s Meredith. Before we get into this week’s episode, the very last of the season, Lale and I just wanted to say, “Thank you.” We’ve been recording this podcast from our homes since March and are so grateful that you’ve joined us through this relatively travel-less year. We’ve really enjoyed answering your questions, airing our own anxieties, and catching up with women we admire around the world and we hope you have too. We’ll be back in January with new episodes, so be sure to subscribe so you’re notified when we drop the very first of the season.
Lale Arikoglu: Hi, everyone, and thanks for listening to Women Who Travel, a podcast from Conde Nast Traveler. I am Lale Arikoglu and with me as always is my cohost, Meredith Carey.
MC: Hi.
LA: As we’ve mentioned in previous episodes we’ve released over the last few months, books have served as both an escape and an education while we’ve been at home. And as we look to winter and oh, God, we are looking towards winter, which is both prime reading and book gifting season, we thought we’d spend our final episode of the year giving you just a few more ideas for your stack. Joining us to share their picks are podcast regular, Jynne Dilling Martin, an associate publisher at Riverhead Books.
Jynne Dilling Martin: Hey, everyone.
LA: And Kalima DeSuze, activist and founder of the intersectional feminist bookstore, Cafe con Libros, in Brooklyn.
Kalima DeSuze: Hi, everyone.
MC: So before we get started with our picks, I wanted to ask you, Kalima, a question. When we spoke to Emma Straub earlier this year, she spoke about the support and, almost equally as important, the patience that we need to be showing our local bookstores as people look to order books for the holidays and for themselves or their families. What advice would you give them?
KD: Oh my gosh. First, I’m going to say thank you for that question because it’s a really important one. I would say that folks need to shop independent bookstores. That’s number one, shop local for the entire season. I don’t want to be controversial, and I do want to be honest. Amazon does not need your money, I promise you. They are a billion dollar—looking at trillion dollar—company, but the independent bookstores, they do need your money. It’s been a very, very rough season, so I would say shop independent and local across the board.
Number two, I would say to plan out your list. Plan it out, do a little bit of research, and then try to order in advance to give those small independent bookstores or those small local businesses the time to ship your packages. For me, I ship USPS because I am in militant solidarity with the USPS system. Although, I respect the work of UPS and FedEx, I do think that it is really important that we stand in our politics and one of the ways in which Cafe con Libros is standing in our politics is to support the USPS, so that means that it’s going to take a little bit longer than normal. Have patience. Know that your dollar is not just about getting that gift. Your dollar means something in this world, in this sociopolitical climate, and so it means a shift in the way in which we engage with small businesses and engage with the USPS system. So again, shop local, plan ahead, be patient and understanding, and get creative in ways that you can continue to support your local businesses.
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