Shopping Local is Green

If you follow this blog, you have heard me rant plenty of times about the importance of shopping locally. The creative folks at a fellow independent book store, The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina, have created a much more fun way to spread the message that shopping local is green.


Thank you Tom Campbell and friends!
If you don't know where your closest independent bookstore is located, check out the

Indie Store Finder on IndieBound.

Let's Make History!

On Tuesday the National Book Foundation announced that in 2009, for the first time, the public will choose The Best of the National Book Awards Fiction. National Book Awards is celebrating their 60th year by presenting a book-a-day blog on the fiction winners from 1950 to 2008. The blog, which runs from July 7 to September 21, started with Nelson Algren's The Man With the Golden Arm and will end with Peter Matthiessen's Shadow Country.

Writers connected to the Foundation have been sent ballots with all 77 books listed. They will select three. The top six vote getters will make up a short list, which will be announced on September 21st. Between September 21th and October 21st we have the opportunity to vote for our favorite on the Foundation’s web site. Each unique email address will be entered into a sweepstakes for two free tickets to the National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner and two nights in the Marriott Hotel near Wall Street.

What books do you think will make the cut?

Best Books Ever Written

Can you name the best book ever written?
Who can honestly answer that question?
Has anyone read every book ever written?
And who’s to say what the best is?

Newsweek gave it a shot with their Meta-List. They combined the numbers from ten top book lists to come up with the top 100 books ever written . There are many classics, plenty of Shakespeare, even the Holy Bible; but Charles Dickens
is notably absent as well as Ayn Rand. Another interesting observation is the fact that the first non-fiction title arrives on the list at #26. Ah well, what can you expect from a list that doesn't even link to IndieBound as an ordering option?

How about you?
What would you add, remove, or replace?

Celebrate Your Independence with Independents

“I can’t believe you have this book! I’ve looked everywhere for it!!”

I have heard this many times and while I take it as a compliment, all I can think is

“why?”

Time is money, as they say. Combine that with the price of gas, why would anyone choose to drive from city to city, store to store searching for anything? Especially when you have the convenience of shopping locally. Sure, I had exactly what the customer was looking for, but if I didn’t I would be happy to order it. And I know I’m not the only independent business in town to offer this service. In fact, from my experience I believe most of us will do whatever we can to get whatever our customers are looking for. You are, after all, the reason we are here.

Next week Celebrate Your Independence with Independents.

I challenge you to take the Indie Challenge – use Independents Week to explore your community’s independently-owned businesses. See how much of your purchasing for the week you can do with them.

IndieBound best explains the question

Why shop Indie?
When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:

The Economy
Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
More of your taxes are reinvested in your community--where they belong.

The Environment
Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.
Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community
Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.

Now is the time to stand up and join your fellow individuals in the IndieBound mission supporting local businesses and celebrating independents.
IndieBound supports Independent Business Alliances around the country. To find an alliance near you, visit AMIBA or BALLE.

Happy Father's Day!

Father’s Day is this weekend and if you are anything like me, you have yet to come up with the perfect gift. Face it; guys are hard to buy for. They buy what they want when they want it. Except for the completely out of the question gift ideas they continuously remind you of. Sorry honey, no Harley this year. Maybe that’s just the father of my children.

Books make great gifts for so many reasons. The choices are as varied as your dad’s interests. You can find the perfect title whether your dad is a gardener, hunter, fisherman, golfer, bird watcher or drinker. If he is a fan of fiction the possibilities are endless. When in doubt, you could always give a gift certificate, although the men in my life all hate to shop.

My gift buying philosophy is practically full proof – I purchase the books I am most thrilled about. If I love the book and dad loves me then he will love the same books, right?

What about you?

Have you found the perfect title for your dad?

Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

I hope you enjoy Pride and Prejudice!

One of Those Days

Did you ever have one of those days?

I’m guessing I did recently when I placed an order for a book based on title alone.

It must have been one of those days when all seven types of customers were the extent of my morning traffic.

What else would have possessed me to add F My Life to my order? It must have been one of those days if the title was enough for me to say, “That’s the book for me!”

I Do

This weekend kicks off the wedding season in my family. Many years ago when my sister was searching for her wedding dress, my mother thought she should wear something elegant like in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. For months she talked about the high necked gown Audrey Hepburn graced the screen with. My sister, not yet born in 1961 when the film was released, couldn’t picture this beloved gown so the two of them rented the movie with remote control in hand to freeze frame the desired scene. Imagine their disappointment when there was no wedding scene in the film! Right actress, wrong film. Eliza Doolittle wore the remembered dress in My Fair Lady.

Having been married now for more years than not, it’s difficult for me to remember the importance or lack thereof that I placed on the dress. For me it was more about the groom. I spent many years wishing I could marry Charles Ingalls before moving on to Fabio and then Nicholas Sparks . (Is there any man more romantic?)

Romance is usually where the story ends. Most romance novels do not include the years after the honeymoon. At some point my life moved from Danielle Steel to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, as in The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands , which my husband can attest, I have not yet mastered. That’s okay, he isn’t exactly Porn for Women , but I do see a little of Charles Ingalls in him.

What about you?

Is there a character that you envisioned as your significant other?