Buy a Book
April 30 is Independent Bookstore Day. If you are lucky enough to live near an independent bookstore, you are fortunate. There is a great indie store just off the plaza of downtown Sonoma, Readers’ Books. It is a hub for creative expression that goes beyond books. Random Acts is a monthly gathering hosted at the store where people read stories, poetry, sing, perform, and most import of all, it is a celebration of art and community.
Other nearby independent bookstores include Copperfield’s Books (with nine stores), and Book Passages (two locations). Both of these stores honor and independent authors and host a variety of events in support of writers.
Tips to Help you Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day
You can find a complete list of Independent Bookstores in Northern California at the NCIBA website, home of The Northern California Independent Booksellers Association. There is even a map to show stores across the U.S. At indiemap.bookweb.org
There is a whole website in honor of the day at http://www.indiebookstoreday.com/
Local Bookstores are Gathering Places
Reader’s Books, Copperfield’s and Book Passage are gathering places for writers and readers. My favorite stores provide a cozy atmosphere, encouraging me to hang out and commune with books. Books are alive, tangible, tactile, enticing, mysterious, wise, funny, friendly, informative, captivating, connections to myself and others, passports to strange and wondrous places, comforting, disturbing, revealing, guides and roadmaps to new and familiar places. Books are bundles of knowledge and emotion, with secrets waiting on each page. Successful stores host events and enrich the community.
Lifelong Love of Books
I love books. I can’t remember a time when I was not reading something. As a child, I made weekly trips to the library with my father. I treasured these times and struggled with the limited number of books I could check out each trip. It was hard to pick which books to possess and which ones to leave behind until next time.
When I migrated north to San Francisco, I was fascinated by the quirky bookstores throughout the City. I replaced long hours in the library with searching and sampling books at local bookstores.
Whenever I travel, I love to see the books featured by the local independent bookstores. I found a charming bookstore in New Orleans, the Garden District Bookshop. It is a bright and sunny spot, filled with people, books and lots of books by local authors. http://www.gardendistrictbookshop.com/
Writers Create and Read Books
I live in a creative community populated by writers, photographers, filmmakers, musicians, chefs, performers, artists and entrepreneurs of all kinds. The air sizzles with ideas. It is a complex, many-layered, innovative and textured community. We are fiercely loyal to our independence and independent businesses, like bookstores. The authors who live here support our gem of a bookstore. Authors are passionate and voracious readers. I think this appetite is part of what drives them to write.
Value and Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day
Show Independent Bookstores You Care on April 30, 2016. Support these hubs of thought. Go out and buy a book for yourself. Splurge and get one for a friend.
If you have a favorite Independent Bookstore, please share it with me.
