Readers may already know that we have an affiliate shop at Bookshop, the online bookstore with a mission to financially support local independent bookstores.
We believe that bookstores are essential to a healthy culture. They’re where authors can connect with readers, where we discover new writers, where children get hooked on the thrill of reading that can last a lifetime. They’re also anchors for our downtowns and communities.
Bookshop.org mission
What we like about Bookshop is that mission, which seems even more important now after a year or more of Covid-related closures and limits on operations. Small businesses everywhere have been decimated by the pandemic.
If you purchase a book at Bookshop using the Exchange Mom link, we get a 10% commission. That helps us spend time maintaining this website and periodically updating the information we post about cultural exchanges and international education. Moreover, Bookshop gives a matching 10% of sales to independent bookstores, further helping them stay afloat. (If you have a specific local bookstore you want Bookshop to support, Bookshop says that store will receive the full profit resulting from your order. Otherwise, your order contributes to an earnings pool that is evenly distributed among independent bookstores (even those that don’t use Bookshop).
And let's not forget you get a new book!
Most importantly, you don’t need to go with our recommendations if you want to support the website and local bookstores. If you go to Bookshop through our link and then purchase anything, we still get your support.
So go explore! Thinking about traveling abroad this summer? Find a book. Want to read the latest science fiction. Find a book. Interested in historical fiction? Find a book. Start here at the Exchange Mom's Cultural Exchange Bookstore and take it from there!
Do you have a specific international education interest you want to find out more about? Here are several of the lists on cultural exchange and international education that we've created:
Some books on Bookshop that we haven't read yet but which we think look interesting include:
These books and many more are on our "to read" list!
We welcome input about books that you have read that you think we should include on any of these lists -- help us to let other people know about good books to read! If you have a favorite book that you think we should review or highlight here on the blog -- by all means, let us know!
Book sign photo by César Viteri; travel books photo by Ugur Akdemir.
