Don’t Miss: California’s Bookstore Day

 

Remember Sleepless in Seattle? Not so long ago, we were all mourning the imminent end of independent booksellers, beset as they were by the megastores (Barnes & Noble, Borders) and the web (Amazon). Now they’re having the last—or at least the latest—laugh. Borders is an ex-chain, Barnes & Noble has been retrenching, and Amazon…well, yeah, Amazon’s not going anywhere. Still, the survival, and even resurgence, of the indie bookstore has been a pleasant surprise. It’s not a resurgence that can be taken for granted, though, which is why the folks behind San Francisco’s Green Apple Books—anointed the bookstore of the year by Publisher’s Weekly in March—have cooked up a plan to promote and celebrate their fellow California booksellers. On May 3, now known as California Bookstore Day, 93 shops around the state will be throwing parties, hosting readings, and selling made-specially-for-the-day books, artworks, and (of course) tote bags.

(And when they say made specially for the day, that’s what they mean: If you forget to stop in at your local participating store on May 3, you will have missed your chance.)

Feeling left out, all you booklovers living elsewhere in the West? Hang in there—we hear plans are simmering to take California’s Bookstore Day national… Photo courtesy of HarperCollins