Wednesday, December 10, 2008

IndieBound

indiebound

Today we are celebrating your local independent bookstore. I love Nicola and her bookstore, not only because they have a fantastic kids' section that goes well beyond the standards and celebrity lit, but also because they do great author events, supply all the books for my school visits, always have my book in stock, and have given me tons of ARCs when I was researching what's out there. If you are an author, seriously, you've got to love on your local indie. If you are a book lover, especially one who likes to read things that aren't what every single other person on earth likes to read, you must love on your local indie, who is far more likely to carry mid list books than the chains. If you love someone who loves books, you must love on your local indie because they can help you find great gifts. If you hate books, you should love on your local indie anyway because it's just good karma.

What's that you say? You do all your shopping at Amazon. Okay, that's fine. I am no Amazon hater. BUT, I am in LOVE with IndieBound. Have you seen IndieBound's "Shop Local Online" feature? Click on that link. Search for the book you want. A window will pop up, asking if you want to shop local online. Type in your zip code and it will direct you to a listing of your local indies who have online ordering. Voila. As easy as Amazon. Try it. You can even set up a wish list. And make friends. Find me!

What? Are you still there? Sorry. I got distracted at the Indie Next List. Mmm. Books. Me like books. Nom nom nom.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are so right about indies. We lost our last best indie to a buyout by Borders. The place was called Thackeray's and wa reader friendly plus.
Tons of books, marvelous children's section, and like Nicola's, chairs and corners and nooks to curl up in and look at books.
Also knowledgeable staff. I sure miss them. There is one very small children's book store. It has a limited inventory and just doesn't take the place of Thackeray's. Boo Hoo.
Sharon

Brenda said...

I'm ashamed to admit that I did not know there were any Indie bookstores near me...I thought Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble were it...but I put in my zip and found out I have several within 30-45 minutes from me...

Thanks for the site!

Jacqui said...

Boo hoo, indeed Sharon. That stinks.

Brenda! I'm so glad you found them!

Mary Witzl said...

I am with you 100%. I would go out of my way to support an independent book shop.

If you ever go to England, go and visit Hay on Wye! This is an ENTIRE town stuffed to the gills with independent book shops. Really: you can't go half a block without finding a dozen or so. In Scotland, it's Wigtown. I could cry just thinking about them...

The books here are all in Turkish, of course. It's the strangest feeling, seeing a book fair and thinking -- Yay! -- then suddenly realizing the horror of it. Books in English are carefully passed around and you can find yourself reading a genre you might have turned your nose up at before...

Unknown said...

thanks for the link, jacqui!