Today is Independent Bookstore Day, and I thought I'd highlight some of the reasons to shop indies:
You keep dollars in the local economy.
You create local jobs.
You help the environment.
You create more choice.
You invest in entrepreneurship.
You take advantage of booksellers' expertise.
You make local bookstores a destination.
You support author events.
Bookstores provide a sense of community. They are warm and inviting providing places to gather. Many include cafes, storytimes, book clubs, and staff recommendations. They're welcoming and supportive to ALL.
I used to order my books online, but have recently chosen to stop supporting Amazon. It's the small things that can make a difference in this world.
Here are some of the stores we have visited in the past several months:
Jackson, Wyoming
Bend, Oregon
Lake Forest Park, Washington
Seaside, Oregon
Cafe Books - Canmore, Alberta, Canada
Polar Peek Books & Treasures - Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
Munro's Books - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Tanner's Books - Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
Windowseat Books - Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Cloud & Leaf Bookstore - Manzanita, Oregon
And a few more favorites that we've visited during our past travels...
Bookworks - Whitefish, Montana
Fact & Fiction - Missoula, Montana
The Elliot Bay Book Company - Seattle, Washington
Liberty Bay Books - Poulsbo, Washington
Powell's City of Books - Portland, Oregon
Sunriver Books & Music - Sunriver, Oregon
Dudley's Bookshop Cafe - Bend, Oregon
Third Street Books - McMinnville, Oregon
Eureka Books - Eureka, California
Copperfield's Books - Healdsburg, California
Parnassus Books - Nashville, Tennessee
Do you have a favorite bookstore?
I've been indulging in an independent bookstore crawl this month, and it's been a blast. If nature wasn't calling me this weekend, I'd be doing a lot more crawling today. I hope to do a wee bit more before the end of the month. I love seeing all these great bookstores you have visited, Les.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb. I love visiting bookstores when we travel. We used to have a few nearby, but they've since closed. Enjoy your time outdoors in nature this weekend!
DeleteI will hit my local indie bookshop later today!
ReplyDeleteGood for you! We only have one nearby, but I'm going to stop in later today.
DeleteYou've visited some wonderful Indies on your travels. Great to see these! Gosh I once lived in Lake Forest Park, Wash. back in 1992-3 and I commuted by bike on the Burke-Gilman trail to the U district to work at the UW bookstore. Wow you are giving me many memories. But I don't remember there being a Third Place Books then. The UW bookstore was really good though ... but I worked in the textbook & class book department for students (basement) which wasn't ideal. I wanted to be in the indie bookstore part upstairs but I was never able to transfer. I eventually left Seattle later in 1993 after three years there.
ReplyDeleteSusan, from Third Place Books' website: Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, we opened a store in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle in 2002, and another in the Seward Park neighborhood in 2016. So they hadn't opened when you were in the neighborhood. Interesting that you were at the UW bookstore right about the time we were visiting my dad and stepmom when they lived on their boat on Lake Union. I know we stopped in at the bookstore (and Trader Joe's) a few times. Our paths might have crossed. But they did a couple of years ago in Canada, which was nice!
DeleteCool to hear. Yeah I bet you were there during times I was in the Seattle area. I had a part-time gig on the tourist boats that went through the locks from the lake into the sound. Ha, It's been a long while since then, LoL. But we were out on the water so I probably bypassed you all.
DeleteSusan, we might have already discussed this, but I seem to remember you mentioning that you worked part-time on the boats that went through the locks. My stepsister did, too! She was on the Argosy.
Delete