It just so happens that Independent Bookstore Day is the last Saturday in August. I told this to my husband, and he laughed, because it coincides with our wedding anniversary. He should have known.
What are we doing to celebrate? And by “we” I don’t mean my husband and me, I mean “me and all y’all readers out there.” Is there an independent bookstore near you? Did you already know the answer to that, or is it inspiring you to check? I live within a half-hour walk of the nicest indie bookstore in our area. I love that place, and not just because one of the clerks is a super-smart and mega-fine surfer boy. I love it because I can count on the selection including plenty of interesting books I haven’t already read. I also love it because every time I’ve gone in there, I’ve gotten into a conversation with at least one other customer and one of the women who runs the place. These are people who live and breathe books, just like me. I want to make sure they continue to have somewhere to do what they do. Where will they go if people like me don’t shop there? More in my self-interest, where will I go if people like me don’t shop there, and there quits being any “there” there? There’s a big mall bookstore in the next town over. I can never find anything in there that I want to read, even though it’s twenty times bigger than the little indie store within walking distance. The manager spent ten minutes trying to hand-sell me a book that fell far outside my area of interest. “Your husband told me you like true crime.” Yeah, but not that kind! Know your audience, my guy. One night, we went into the big mall bookstore for half an hour while we were waiting for a movie to start. I wanted to buy what I call a BFB - “Big Fat Book” - for an upcoming camping trip. It’s family tradition to treat the Great Outdoors like a living room and sit around in camp reading for much of the day. { *** I MISS THAT *** } I wandered around, looking for any book more than an inch thick, only to discover that I had read almost all of them already. “Them” being the books that show up the most often on the “100 best” lists. All that was left was The Corrections, which I bought, and which was a terrific choice, but the process definitely poked one of my buttons. I found my husband, who always leaves the big mall bookstore with at least 2-3 good choices. “What am I going to do? I’ve already read everything!” I wailed. “No you haven’t,” he said, which was both entirely false and technically accurate. Hmph. I was there to comfort him when he realized he had exhausted the entire catalogue of Patrick O’Brian. It turned out, though, that my real problem was trying to find things that 1. suited my tastes and 2. had not already been read by me in the big mall bookstore. Growing up within easy traveling distance of Powell’s Books tends to ruin a person for any other bookstore. Nice try, Strand. Might as well call it a day, Green Apple. There is only one Powell’s. And if we keep on going like we are, there might not even be that. It’s our buying habits that determine whether there are any good bookstores. Anywhere. We can’t all afford to book a trip to London just because we need to stock up at Daunt Books. Soon we may be stuck with nothing but big, anonymous mall bookstores - or not even that. I admit, I really only consume ebooks and audiobooks now, as I have for the last few years. I do make an effort, though, to support indie bookstores. Whenever we go on a trip I seek out whatever is tiny and local. This is where I buy all my blank books and greeting cards. This is where I buy books as gifts for others. I only wish there was a way to buy ebooks directly from these indie stores, too, so they could have at least a percent of the sale. People who prefer paper books may scoff at this, but it raises the question which I must ask. Are your paper books bought at retail price from indie bookstores? Or are you buying off the remainder table? Or are you buying used? Or are you swapping with other people? Because at least when I buy an ebook, some of the proceeds go to the publisher and the author. Those other formats of paper books aren’t doing all that much to support the publishing industry. We treat books differently from other consumables. If we go to the movies, we’ve had the entertainment once, and we leave with nothing to show for it but the memory - and maybe a staircase moment when we realize there was a glaring hole in the plot. If we go to a restaurant, we’ve eaten the meal, and again we leave with nothing but the memory. When we read, there can be this expectation that we can cash it in, either by lending it to someone else to read for free, or selling it to a used bookstore. Maybe it’s time to question this. We’ve all been stuck at home for quite a while now, and books are the best way I know to be in one place while feeling like we are somewhere else. Cooler weather is coming. Maybe that’s why Independent Bookstore Day is scheduled at the end of summer. What are you going to read next? Where are you going to buy it? Comments are closed.
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AuthorI've been working with chronic disorganization, squalor, and hoarding for over 20 years. I'm also a marathon runner who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and thyroid disease 17 years ago. This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies. Opt Out of CookiesArchives
January 2022
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