Open Book Chocolates

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

January

Valentine's Day is Just Around the Corner! | Gift Ideas

G. E. Gallas

You may be surprised to learn that January and February are very industrious months for Open Book Chocolates. Why is that, you say? While the winter holidays may be over, we’re already busy preparing for Valentine’s Day!

With Friday, February 14th just around the corner, we thought we’d create some gift ideas for the favorite bibliophile(s) in your life:


No. 1: Our Literary-Inspired Chocolate Bars!

It wouldn’t be Open Book Chocolates without our literary-inspired, handcrafted chocolate bars! We recommend any and all our flavors as thoughtful and delicious Valentine’s Day gifts. Here are some of our favorite romantic flavors:


No. 2: The Garden Party Hand-Poured Candle!

In lieu of flowers, treat your special someone to the aroma of our The Garden Party hand-poured candle. The Garden Party is a bouquet of gardenia, tuberose, and jasmine. We design our candles to compliment all our chocolate bar flavors and to become an enticing companion during a long and cozy reading session.


No. 3: More Literary-Inspired Gifts!

Try matching our literary-inspired chocolate bars with literary-inspired gifts from our favorite fellow small businesses:


No. 4: Pair Our Literary-Inspired Chocolate Bars with their Corresponding Books!

Try pairing our Pride and Prejudice chocolate bar with a beautiful copy of Jane Austen’s novel. Or our Treasure Island bar with Robert Louis Stevenson’s. Or our Frankenstein bar with Mary Shelley’s. Then tie them together with a ribbon!

Purchase these classic books while supporting independent bookstores:

How does Bookshop.org work with Independent bookstores?

“Bookshop.org supports indies in two ways: 10% of regular sales on Bookshop.org are added to an earnings pool that is evenly divided and distributed to independent bookstores every six months.

Stores who are Bookshop.org affiliates, who sell books online using Bookshop.org (by sharing their Bookshop.org link on social media, email newsletters, or on their websites) earn 30% of the cover price on any sales generated from the link, without having to do the work of keeping inventory, picking, packing, shipping or handling complaints and returns. (30% of the cover price is the entire profit margin - Bookshop.org doesn’t earn money off bookstore sales, all profits go to the store.)”

Want to support independent bookstores and Open Book Chocolates in person? Our chocolate bars are carried in a number of wonderful stores across the U.S.


No. 5: Our "Read Books, Eat Chocolate" Pouch!

Our "Read Books, Eat Chocolate" pouch is not just adorable, but also made of eco-friendly, 100% recycled cotton. You can fit up to 4 Open Book Chocolates bars in this pouch, as well as any small literary-inspired accessories (enamel pins, bookmarks, pens, pencils, etc.). 


Open Book Chocolates wishes you a romantic and literary-inspired Valentine’s Day!

To receive your order by Valentine’s Day (February 14th), please place your order no later than February 7th!

Ink + Riddle | Order Drop-Off

G. E. Gallas

Today, we dropped off an order at Ink + Riddle in Clarksburg, Maryland! Ink + Riddle (inkandriddle.com) is a really unique and exciting store that carries everything creative — art supplies, stationery, board games, books, puzzles, and beyond. They offer many great activities including story time for kids, 3D printing classes, and creative workshops. Located in the Clarksburg Premium Outlets, Ink + Riddle will be moving to a new space in the same location in February. They’ve been carrying our literary-inspired chocolate bars for a while now, and we love visiting their vibrant and intellectually stimulating store!



If you live in or near Clarksburg, Maryland, we hope you’ll go check out this fantastic small business.

 

Literary Holidays | January 2025

G. E. Gallas

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


Public Domain Day | January 1st

“Public Domain Day (PDD) is an observance of when copyrights expire and works enter into the public domain. This legal transition of copyright works into the public domain usually happens every year on January 1 based on the individual copyright laws of each country.”

Here’s a selection of books entering the public domain:


National Science Fiction Day | January 2nd

Isaac Asimov’s Birthday | January 2nd, 1920

“National Science Fiction Day is unofficially celebrated by many science fiction fans in the United States on January 2, which corresponds with the official birthdate of famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov.”

Purchase Foundation by Isaac Asimov while supporting independent bookstores.


J. R. R. Tolkien’s Birthday | January 3rd, 1892

“When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.“ —The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Purchase The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien while supporting independent bookstores.


Wilkie Collins’s Birthday | January 8th, 1824

“Any woman who is sure of her own wits, is a match, at any time, for a man who is not sure of his own temper.“ —The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Here at Open Book Chocolates, we’re huge fans of the underrated Victorian novelist Wilkie Collins! Collins was close friends with Charles Dickens and his works were serialized in Dickens journals. While Collins is best known for his masterpieces The Woman in White (1859) and The Moonstone (1868), he wrote over twenty novels in addition to an impressive number of short stories and plays. His works are classified as “sensation novels,” a literary genre that’s considered the precursor to detective and suspense fiction. We’d like to introduce you to some of our favorite of Collins works:


Anne Brontë’s Birthday | January 17th, 1820

“All novels are, or should be, written for both men and women to read, and I am at loss to conceive how a man should permit himself to write anything that would be really disgraceful to a woman, or why a woman should be censured for writing anything that would be proper and becoming for a man.“ —The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Continuing this month’s theme of underrated authors, we’re excited to celebrate Anne Brontë’s birthday. While not as acclaimed as her sisters Charlotte and Emily, we believe Anne’s novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is just as worthy as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.


Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday | January 19th, 1809

“The Raven” Publication Date | January 1845

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

—The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday with The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe and our matching chocolate bar.


Library Shelfie Day | January 22nd

“Every year on the fourth Wednesday of January, library staff, readers, and book lovers share selfies of themselves in front of library shelves. It's a small, but fun way to show off beautiful books and share your love of libraries and the written word.“

How to Celebrate Library Shelfie Day:

  1. Visit your local library!

  2. Find your favorite book or bring a book you’re currently reading.

  3. Find a shelf of books that stands out to you or that you particularly like.

  4. Take a “shelfie” in front of your book shelf while holding up your book of choice!


Edith Wharton’s Birthday | January 24th, 1862

“It frightened him to think what must have gone to the making of her eyes.“ —The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Purchase The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton while supporting independent bookstores.


Virginia Woolf’s Birthday | January 25th, 1882

“A whole lifetime was too short to bring out, the full flavour; to extract every ounce of pleasure, every shade of meaning.“ —Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Purchase Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf while supporting independent bookstores.


Lewis Carroll’s Birthday | January 27th, 1832

“The Queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said, without even looking round.“ —Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating Lewis Carroll’s birthday with his literary masterpiece and our matching chocolate bar.


Pride and Prejudice Publication Day | January 28th, 1813

“‘If a woman is partial to a man, and does not endeavour to conceal it, he must find it out.’“ —Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Open Book Chocolates is celebrating the publication of Pride and Prejudice with Jane Austen’s novel and our matching chocolate bar.


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