Ok, to start, we are so excited to announce that this week, we met (and exceeded!!!) our $10K fundraising goal for 2025! We wouldn’t be here without the generosity of all of you, and one of our incredibly kind, long-time supporters (hi Max McCauslin!) made an amazing contribution this week that launched us over the finish line. You all are the best ❤

And you know what that means – – – we’ll soon be raffling off (hopefully next weekend) some fun gnomish/bookish totes with some gifts and signed books from TJ! You might win one of three bookish goodie bags if you donated $100 or more to our 2025 fundraiser! We’ll be randomly selecting three winners, so stay tuned 🙂

And, as you all know, in January, we launched a new monthly “Community Kindness Sponsorship,” which helps offset the cost of the extra 15 books we hide after scavenger hunt weekend every month (the “random act of kindness” books!). This month, we are so grateful that our Instagram friend and, overall, lovely bookish Tucsonan, Michelle Brown, has been our Community Kindness Sponsor. Thank you, Michelle!

Do you know someone who might be interested in partnering with us as a Community Kindness Sponsor in 2025 ($250 for one month)? Please send us an email (tucsontomegnome[at]gmail.com)! We still have a few months available in the second half of the year!

Thank you!!! Now onward to the book-hiding wrap-up:

Happy 42nd book giveaway! To celebrate Black History Month, last weekend, we hid 30 copies of Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour. This book was the perfect read for February, especially at a time when cultural celebrations are under attack. Black history IS at the foundation of the history of the United States.

If you’re new here and didn’t get a chance to find a book last Sunday, some of our amazing guest gnomes will be hiding an additional 15 books of this month’s selection (on top of the 30) around Tucson over the next week or two. So keep your eyes peeled, as 15 more copies of Black Buck will be hidden around town! We do not post any hint photos of these books, as they are truly meant to be a random act of kindness for those who happen upon them. Yay for random bookish joy and delight!

Like January and February’s picks, our selection in March will be topical and appropriate for the changing times… (have we piqued your interest yet again?). So keep an eye out here, on Instagram, and on our Facebook page for updates. 

AND THE FUN ISN’T OVER YET! We have so many upcoming events (including #ThisIsTucson’s “Tucson Together Market” TODAY, February 22!). We hope you’ll drop by and see us. We’ll be hiding some books AND tabling at the event, so we’ll be there all day (10am-4pm).

But if you can’t join us today, here’s a preview of more of our upcoming events if you want to know what’s coming up. And don’t forget, you can also check out our “Events and Collaboration” page anytime for a regularly updated list of upcoming events.