In the latest pitch to keep bookstores alive and well, or at least breathing, Salon.com gave credit to indies for finding and promoting the latest excellent book most of us don’t know:
An independent bookstore brings a lot to a city or a town: a showroom for the latest literary releases, an auditorium where authors share their work and meet their fans, a bookish environment in which to sip coffee and a fun place to browse in the 20 minutes before the movie starts. But what’s less immediately visible is your local bookseller’s expertise and influence when it comes to introducing great books to your community and, ultimately, to the world.
Name the last book you really loved — be it “The Help,” The Hunger Games,” “Like Water for Elephants” or “Game of Thrones.” The authors of all those popular titles and many, many more can testify that independent booksellers were crucial in moving their work from a sleepy shelf against the back wall to a stack prominently displayed on a front table. They’re the people who helped Harry Potter take off. Local booksellers know their customers better than any computer program, and when they press a book into the right hands, insisting “You’ve got to read this,” their recommendation really counts.
Readers of this blog know that independent bookstores add so much to the community in which they exist, but Salon makes a good point that the promotion of a book by River Run, across the nation from me, can very well have a ripple effect on what I’ll be reading in the next few months.
Salon is asking readers to help promote independents by sharing their stories about great bookstores. If you have one you’d like to give a shout out to, join their Declaration of Independents and help an independent bookstore stay strong. Of course, we would love to post any reviews or stories you have about bookstores, so feel free to send them to us also.
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