I don’t think there’s just one way to find a good book—sometimes you stumble across it in your local bookstore, sometimes it’s tucked away in a friend’s home library, and sometimes it finds you in passing, mentioned in a story or online.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not using affiliate links here. That’s intentional, for several reasons. Yes—affiliate links could have been an easy way to help cover the running costs of Beneath the Ink. But to me, it felt like a cheap way to monetize the time, energy, and creativity I’m pouring into this project. And more than that: I don’t believe that linking to corporate giants adds anything meaningful to your reading journey.

Speaking of corporate giants (yes, Amazon, I mean you)—they’re not the kind of business I want to promote here, or quietly nudge you toward.

I believe where you buy—or borrow—your books from matters. So if and when you can, I encourage you to support your local bookstore, swap books with friends and family, use your local library or explore one of the ethical online alternatives.There are also wonderful second-hand bookshops online that make it easy to give stories another life.

Since we’re still on the internet, and I want to offer you an easy way to find the books I mention, I’ll be linking my book recommendations to Better World Books—a global online seller with a mission I admire: to support libraries and literacy programs.

Here are a few options to explore:

And if you know of a great resource I should include, I’ll be delighted to hear from you.

So wherever you find your next read—on the shelf of a local bookshop, passed along by a friend, or in the next newsletter—I hope it sparks something in you. And when it does, pass it on. Share the stories you love, talk about them over coffee, gift them when the time feels right. Stories are meant to travel.