Open Book Chocolates

Handmade, Bean-to-Bar, Fair Trade Chocolate Bars | Literary-Inspired Flavors

Literary Holidays | July 2024

G. E. Gallas

Celebrate this month’s literary holidays with Open Book Chocolates!


French American Heritage Month

“Somewhere along the line I knew there'd be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.“ —On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac was born in Massachusetts to parents of French-Canadian ancestry and was raised in a French-speaking home.

Purchase On the Road by Jack Kerouac while supporting independent bookstores.


Franz Kafka’s Birthday | July 3rd, 1883

“How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense.“ —The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Purchase The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka while supporting independent bookstores.


Alice in Wonderland Day | July 4th

“The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo: she succeeded in getting its body tucked away, comfortably enough, under her arm, with its legs hanging down, but generally, just as she had got its neck nicely straightened out, and was going to give the hedgehog a blow with its head, it would twist itself round and look up in her face, with such a puzzled expression that she could not help bursting out laughing: and when she had got its head down, and was going to begin again, it was very provoking to find that the hedgehog had unrolled itself, and was in the act of crawling away: besides all this, there was generally a ridge or furrow in the way wherever she wanted to send the hedgehog to, and, as the doubled-up soldiers were always getting up and walking off to other parts of the ground, Alice soon came to the conclusion that it was a very difficult game indeed.”

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Alice in Wonderland Day with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and our corresponding chocolate bar.


Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthday | July 4th, 1804

“Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world.“ —The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Purchase The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne while supporting independent bookstores.


To Kill a Mockingbird Publication Day | July 11th, 1960

“‘The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.’“ —To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Purchase To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee while supporting independent bookstores.


William Makepeace Thackeray’s Birthday | July 18th, 1811

“The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.“ —Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Purchase Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray while supporting independent bookstores.


Ernest Hemingway’s Birthday | July 21st, 1899

“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.“ —The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Purchase The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway while supporting independent bookstores.


Alexandre Dumas’s Birthday | July 24th, 1802

“‘The sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and hope.’“ —The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Alexandre Dumas’s Birthday with The Count of Monte Cristo and our matching chocolate bar.


Emily Brontë’s Birthday | July 30th, 1818

“‘I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society, be it country or town. A sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself.’“ —Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Purchase Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë while supporting independent bookstores.


Paperback Book Day | July 30th

“Paperback Book Day is observed as the anniversary of the date that the first Penguin paperbacks were published in England back in 1935.”

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Paperback Book Day with one of our favorite novels, Armadale by Wilkie Collins!


Check out Open Book Chocolates’s profile on Bookshop.org!