Books > Boys: Alex Lopez of Bookishly Happy

Engage people in a way to get them reading, that is what I am all about!

My name is Alex Lopez, owner of Bookishly Happy the last used bookstore in Coeur d’Alene. I love my God, people and introducing my community to the world of literature.

To wake is a personal decision that must be made daily. Opening one’s eyes with the hope of seeing something new. To be fully awake we must not only see what is going on around us but within us. When you open a book you are allowing a current of wisdom into your inner self, so that you might better awaken to humanity. This wisdom can come in the form of a self-help book or finding the world of a fantasy novel that mirrors our own reality. I have selected a few books from a couple genres for new or seasoned readers to help their journey of awakening to this new world we find ourselves in.

Fiction:

- “Blonde Roots”, Bernardine Evaristo: What if instead of Africans being enslaved the English found themselves bound and forced into hard labor? A “crazy” topsy-turvy world written in a satirical voice gives all of us more to think about.

- “Parable of the Sower”, Octavia Butler: A 1993 science fiction novel that takes place in the 2020’s. And wouldn’t you know it, there is rampant dissension, corporate greed, growing wealth inequality and a young woman who finds that she might help change the course of her world.

Non-Fiction:

- “The Untethered Soul”, Michael A. Singer: A self-help book focused on emotional intelligence. You will walk through why you feel your emotions and learn to feel them fully and to let them pass through for a fuller life. Applicable to many belief systems, this book may help quell some of the feelings of aggression and help you look inward at parts of yourself that need to be released.

- “The Four Agreements”, Don Miguel Ruiz: A quick read that challenges us to simplify and find inner strength within ourselves, by committing to four agreements to live by. Ruiz explains at one point that words are magic and we as humans have the power to create good magic or black magic with what we say. If that alone is what you take from the book then the read is worth it, for me there was much more bounty to glean.