AFAReads discussion

I know a lot of indie bookstores are struggling right now. Do you have any local favorites that are still shipping orders from their online shop that you want to give a shoutout to? Or any other handy book resources you've been using? Please share! :)

I, for one, have been leaning heavily on my Libby app to download from the Oakland Public Library.

In my neighborhood, one of my favorites, Pegasus Books, is still filling orders.

In my community, Warwick's of La Jolla, Ca is my favorite.

My all-time favorite is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Last fall I spent four days in Portland, my hotel was 10 minutes walk from Powell's so I made six visits over those four days!
It was at Powell's that I discovered the Learning Afar program written up in Julia Cosgrove's The Gift of Travel article. Love that discovery, it has been life changing for me.

Loved my February field trip to CCPA in Oakland to learn first hand about Learning Afar with Dave and Cindy from No Barriers. How inspiring it is to see how Afar is impacting lives.

Annette Mason wrote: "In my community, Warwick's of La Jolla, Ca is my favorite.

My all-time favorite is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Last fall I spent four days in Portland, my hotel was 10 minutes walk from P..."

Powell's is such a treasure! Sounds like you took good advantage of its proximity--and so pleased to hear Julia's note led you to your Learning AFAR discovery!

Books Are Magic in Brooklyn is still shipping! 💖

Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, NC is still shipping 24/7.

https://g.co/kgs/JhX9NP

Want to give a shout-out to Kepler's Books & Magazines, which I wrote about for the Bookstore of the Month in our newsletter.

When I first moved to California, it didn’t take me long to become a frequent customer of Kepler’s Books & Magazines. The shop sells new books in basically every genre and has been an integral part of the Menlo Park community for more than 60 years. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, ever ready to recommend the right YA title or the latest memoir when I ask, panicked, for gift recommendations. The live events with authors, put on by their nonprofit literary foundation, are thoughtful and engaging. When I lived in Menlo Park, my husband and I even had a regular Kepler’s date night. We’d go after dinner, wander the aisles of all the new books (I loved lingering at the staff picks shelf), read for an hour or so, and then share a slice of cheesecake next door at Cafe Borrone. Kepler’s is still here for us in our time of literary need—place an order through its online store.

Annette Mason wrote: "In my community, Warwick's of La Jolla, Ca is my favorite.

My all-time favorite is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Last fall I spent four days in Portland, my hotel was 10 minutes walk from P..."
Annette! I was just getting ready to post that Warwick’s is my fav, and I live in Florida!

I live in Florida, but whenever I get to San Diego (sadly which isn’t as often since I retired), I always go to WARWICK’s in La Jolla, I’ve even been able to go to some of their author readings and signings.

I live in Maine and my favorite bookstore is Blue Hill Bookstore. They have delivery service working right now and you can also call, stop by and pick your selection up at their door. Their service is always outstanding as well as the selection of books they have. A tiny magical place in the middle of nowhere, the perfect inspiration to find a book

My favorite is The Wild Detectives in Dallas!

In Portland Maine we have two that I frequent: Print and Longfellow Books.

I love Kepler's in Menlo Park too, Sara. Thank you for mentioning it in your email. Drove by it the other day, and it was so sad/weird to see it closed and lights off during CA's shelter-in-place...

Indie Bookstores are hard to narrow down to “favorites,” but I love both of the two Annette listed: Warwick’s in La Jolla, CA and, of course, Powell’s.
Naturally, I have to mention The Strand in NYC and The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. I also love Cellar Door Books in Riverside, CA and Small World Books in Venice Beach, CA, very near my home.
As much as I love all of those, I actually like Warwick’s the best.
In this time of the Corvid-19 restrictions, it is good to be able to patronize these stores online and to use Libro.fm to listen to audio books purchased from various Indie book stores. I hope fellow book lovers will think about their local Indie book seller and see if it offers online purchasing.
Man,, many nations rank ahead of the United States in how much their citizens read and every year, between 40 and 42% of Americans will not read even one book.
This virus gives everyone a chance to re-acquaint themselves with good books.

Annette Mason wrote: "In my community, Warwick's of La Jolla, Ca is my favorite.

My all-time favorite is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. Last fall I spent four days in Portland, my hotel was 10 minutes walk from P..."

I love Warwicks! I also love that they have a little shop in the airport too.

My favorite local bookstore is the Corner Bookstore on the UES in Manhattan!

I love Trident Booksellers and Cafe in Boston! When not under social distancing restrictions, they put on really cool events like book discussions, movie screenings, trivia, game nights, poetry reading, speed dating, you name it. Right now they're shipping books to anywhere in the US, and also doing local food delivery or curbside pickup.

My favorite indie bookstores in Nashville, TN is "The Bookshop" and "Parnassus" Both great places run by such wonderful people!

Carolyn wrote: "I love Kepler's in Menlo Park too, Sara. Thank you for mentioning it in your email. Drove by it the other day, and it was so sad/weird to see it closed and lights off during CA's shelter-in-place..."

Aw, I bet. :( I hope they weather the storm.

Like a lot of people here, one of my favorite things to do when traveling is to find an independent bookstore. I recently loved Sherman's Maine Coast Bookshop in Camden, Maine and the Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I never miss the Strand when I am in Manhattan, and love the Green Light Bookstore in Brooklyn, too. Here in Pittsburgh, I love City Books for used books and the White Whale for new!

RJJulia Books in Madison CT is my go to indie bookstore

Angela wrote: "Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, NC is still shipping 24/7."

Malaprop's is one of my favorite indie bookstores. I always stop by whenever I'm in Asheville!

Malaprop's in Asheville, City Lights in Sylva, NC, Politics and Prose in DC, and Skylight Books in Los Feliz, CA, are all among my favorites. They're all doing mail order now. I just ordered a copy of Ducks, Newburyport from City Lights and got a personal email from the owner thanking me for my order.

I like Skylight Books in Los Felix, too. Nearer to me is Small World Books, a beach front book store along the boardwalk in Venice, California.
Independent Book Sellers need support right now and with more people reading due to the pandemic, it is a good time to support them. Many still allow for mail orders. Others are supported by a mail order organization that discounts books, gives profits to your local Indie bookstore and skips books (real books, not e-books) to buyers. Check them out at bookshop.org.

Bookshop Santa Cruz is my all time favorite and they are doing fun spring reading programs right now

Elliott Bay Book Company! It's been the heart of Seattle’s literary community since 1973. People were pretty worried when it moved from its beloved Pioneer Square location to Capitol Hill, but it feels just as warm and inviting (to me). Now it's located in a former repair shop with wonderfully creaky wood floors and large, latticed windows.

As a student living in Seattle, I spent many happy hours perusing the new and used books that line cedar shelves, studying over a pastry or a cocktail in the all-day Oddfellows Café, and attending readings and events Elliott Bay hosts.

(Until we can visit in person, we can support it by shopping online. Also worth a view: Elliott Bay's quarterly Booknotes, which offers smart and funny staff picks and reviews.)

I love indie bookstores and no matter where I travel (from Ireland to Iowa) always make a point to visit the local bookstores and haul books back home. I've been ordering from my neighborhood bookstore, Broadway Books, for delivery and pick up for the past month. https://www.broadwaybooks.net They are also taking online orders for shipping. Other Oregon favorites include Powell's (of course) and two amazing spots on the Oregon Coast I highly recommend when travel resumes: Beach Books in Seaside and Cloud & Leaf Bookstore in Manzanita, both are wonderful community hubs and feature thoughtful selections that are easy to get lost in.

Elliot Bay Book Company will always be my favorite, no matter which neighborhood it lands in (currently it’s in mine). It just has the perfect spirit. I’ve been moved to tears spending a Friday night there surrounded by books and all the quiet reverence they attract—outside the doors, the nightlife is pulsing, but inside, you can feel the collective percolating of minds. But really, any bookstore with cats or even a resident dog among the spines is my style.

Alison wrote: "Elliot Bay Book Company will always be my favorite, no matter which neighborhood it lands in (currently it’s in mine). It just has the perfect spirit. I’ve been moved to tears spending a Friday nig..."

I'm a sucker for the resident bookstore pet, too, I have to say. At Copperfield's Books in Healdsburg (Sonoma) there is a pair of very fluffy kitties who have been there for ages, and even though I have allergies I love seeing them slink around the shelves. :)

I love Birchbark Books & Native Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Owned by the author Louise Erdrich, Birchbark specializes in Native American books, arts, jewelry, and gifts. Some of my favorite touches: All Erdrich titles purchased at Birchbark are signed by the author, and there’s a dedicated children’s loft and a confessional, where visitors are invited to sit for reflection. The store is closed right now, but we can support it by shopping online and tuning in to its Facebook page for live readings.

Oklahoma City: Full Circle Bookstore and Commonplace Books
Seattle: Elliott Bay Bookstore and Mercer Street Used Books

While you would think bookstores are found across NYC, the Lit. Bar in the Bronx is unique.

Here’s a description from their website:
“The Lit. Bar opened its doors on April 27, 2019 (National Indie Bookstore Day) and is currently the only bookstore serving the 1.5 million people of the Boogie Down Bronx. Our venue encourages curious readers and welcomes literary and community gatherings—while our wine bar connects the great pastimes of social sipping and introverted reading. What better way to loosen our tongues and talk about the books we love? We offer a carefully curated selection of general interest books, gift items, and programming which emphasize local interest and diversity for all ages.”

As an educator in the South Bronx, I deeply value this bookstore and hope it continues to grow and thrive.

I love Women and Children First in Chicago. Inclusive, community-oriented, outspoken, friendly, professional, generous, and home to my book group: Women Aging with Grace.
Also Semi Colon is currently Chicago's only Black-owned indie.
We actually have SO many wonderful indie bookstores here: I am grateful, as they are my happy places!

All great recs. I second Malaprop's and Parnassus. Novel in Memphis, Avid in Athens GA, and Books & Books in Miami are also great.

When I was searching for a copy of Americanah, I looked around locally in Edmonds, Washington, where I’m riding out the coronavirus with my parents. Lo and behold: I found a copy online at the Edmonds Bookshop, an independent store located in this charming Pacific Northwest city 25 minutes north of Seattle (fellow globe-trotter Rick Steves, whom I adore, lives here, too). Just hours after I ordered my book for pickup, I received a call from a kind staffer, who let me know my order was ready. I’ve never been so grateful for locally owned bookshops! Edmonds Bookshop recently reopened for visiting customers and will ship anywhere in the country.

This week I spent a lot of time with old photos from Venice back in 2016. Among them I found charming reminders of a unique indie bookstore I should have mentioned before. The Acqua Alta Bookstore on the canal is an eclectic delight! Inside books can be found piled in old gondolas—full size. Chandeliers, masked puppets, and all sorts of other Venetian specialties round out the decor. But the back courtyard is the best part: shellacked stacks of books double as an art installation and steps for peering over the ledge into the canals. Perhaps these books were damaged in Venice’s infamous high waters in the past, but they continue to inspire. When you leave with a stack of treasures, you notice that outside the entrance, wicker baskets hang at different heights, filled with books, cards, you name it. So charming!