Do you know and love your local independent bookseller? What’s your favorite local bookstore memory?
I grew up in Denver and remember frequent visits to the original Tattered Cover bookstore on 2nd Avenue. I remember when they moved their store to the big four-story building a few blocks east, and we marked family milestones with lunches at the Fourth Story restaurant. My parents joined a Tattered Cover bookclub of strangers back in the early ‘90s, and they met monthly for decades, now counting those once-strangers as best friends through thick and thin.
Three years ago, I had my own author’s book-reading at the Aspen Grove location of Tattered Cover, receiving a brass bookmark to mark the occasion — a proud moment indeed!! Plus readings at the Boulder Bookstore and at Eagle Harbor Book Co. on Bainbridge Island and at Kazoo Books in Michigan. Those were in the Before Times when lucky authors could still show up in person (sans mask) and do a reading.
My current local bookshop is a tiny store called Out West Books with an amazing collection of childrens’ books, as well as wonderful list-topping books in fiction and nonfiction. I used to think they only sold regional books. Now I know better!
I’m also happy to know of these two lists of indie bookstores. If you want to expand your reasons for supporting an independent bookstore, choose to put your support toward Black-owned Bookstores or AAPI-owned bookstores.
This Saturday, April 24th is annual Indie Bookstore Day, with parties happening at more than 730 bookstores across the U.S. Bookstores are not just shops, they are hubs of the heart for your community!
FIND A STORE NEAR YOU and JOIN THE CELEBRATION!
IndieBound shared this news: Every store is unique and independent, and every party, online or in-store, is different. In addition to authors, live music, cupcakes, scavenger hunts, kids events, art tables, readings, contests, and other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day.
Bookshop or IndieBound?
During the pandemic, you may have begun ordering books directly from your local bookstore (in person or on their store website) to help them stay in business. If so, that was a huge boon to their business, though it may mean your reader’s heart needs to be patient compared to the delivery times with Amazon Prime. If you’d like to know more about the difference between ordering from Bookshop.org versus the store’s website, or IndieBound, check out this New York Times article.
By the way, last week I heard a keynote speech by the CEO of Barnes & Noble, who happens to also be an indie bookseller himself, which is where his heart is. He’s changed store policies to allow local stores to choose their own inventory, which is good news for local authors.
Special News Coming Soon!
Stay tuned for a special announcement from Creative Courage Press in about a week! We have some exciting news to share!!
In the meantime, here are two more pics from 2018 when I got to fulfill a childhood dream by giving an author talk at indie bookstores, surrounded by good avid-reading friends!
If you can, please order books from your local bookseller!! You can always ask them to order books for you! That helps small publishers and new authors who might not otherwise have their books stocked in bookstores. Thank you!!