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Furloughed by the government? At least you've got time to read.

In the wake of the government shutdown, Baltimore-based breathe bookstore café is offering a 10 percent discount to furloughed workers.

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Pete Caster/The Chronicle/AP
A sign in the Mt. Rainier National Park administration building shows workers where to get furlough letters. A Baltimore bookstore, breathe bookstore and café, is offering discounts to government workers in the wake of the shutdown.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Breathe bookstore café is thinking government workers on furlough may have some extra time on their hands.

So the Baltimore store is offering a 10 percent discount to any government staff member who shows an ID card at the register.

“I just can't believe the government actually shut down,” Susan Weis-Bohlen, the store’s owner, wrote in breathe’s weekly newsletter. “I always think things like this can't happen, but I was proved way wrong this time! So I would like to help all of our friends whose emails end in .gov…. breathe bookstore café is a nice place to hang out while you wait to get back to work!”

The initiative was selected for the “cool idea of the day” section of the website of booksellers industry newsletter Shelf Awareness.

Breathe Bookstore Café opened in 2004 and hosts weekly meditation sessions in addition to operating its café.

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