Introducing a new feature at The Quivering Pen: the Bookstore of the Month. If you look to the upper right corner of this webpage, you'll see an independent bookstore enjoying the spotlight for four weeks at a time. All links to book titles mentioned in Quivering Pen blog posts will direct readers to that bookstore's website during that given month in hopes that you'll give some consideration to purchasing that book (or, better yet, several books) from that store.
I earn no commission or kickbacks on your purchases; this is merely my small way of supporting small businesses and saying thanks to independent bookstores who have so enthusiastically supported Fobbit since its publication. I know I speak on behalf of a majority of writers when I say that I am buoyed by that brave army of booksellers--from the cozy, tea-scented Red Lodge Books in Red Lodge, Montana to the bustling McNally Jackson in Manhattan--who believe there is still value in pressing a book into a customer's hands, saying, "I think you'll like this one." Booksellers (most of them, anyway) provide that personal touch which is hard to duplicate anywhere else. It's like the difference between drinking a glass of fresh, hand-squeezed orange juice or one in which oranges have been pulped and strained through a factory machine then poured into cardboard cartons. The juice is still orange, but there's an aftertaste of the impersonal chemicals and machine oils. Independent bookstores serve fresh-picked books every day, and for that I say "Merci beaucoup" from the bottom of my ink-stained heart.
If you are an independent bookstore interested in participating--or if you're a blog reader who knows of a shop which would make a great Bookstore of the Month--please get in touch by drop me a line at david.abrams@gmail.com. Participation is free and only requires booksellers to fill out a short questionnaire and submit a few photos. To qualify for Bookstore of the Month, the store must have a website with the ability to link to particular titles and ship books to non-local purchasers.
Very cool idea. You could probably even code the window to pick a store randomly from a list of same.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll go ahead and throw out Brazos Bookstore in Houston, as well as Murder By The Book (another cool indie just down the street from Brazos, this one catering to murder mysteries especially. Cornelia did her tourstop there.)
Rock on.