Support your local Indie Bookstore :)

I am sure most of you are aware at this point... but if you are not, I am a total book lover. I absolutely adore reading. When I was a child I used to beg my mother to lie to my friends and tell them I could not play... Just so I could go read my books. I love getting lost inside of books. I really cannot think of very many things that are better than reading a good book. Chocolate? Good. But, better with a book. Dr. Pepper? Oh so yummy... But even better with a book... You see what I mean?

My new friend Justina, Readergirlz Diva and author of Girl Overboard, posted this list over at her blog. I wanted to share it here, because I agree with it. I feel that its important to support our local indie businesses, and because I love to read I feel it is very important to support our indie bookstores.

So, without further adieu, I give you Justina's Fab Five Ways to Support Your Local Bookstore:

1. Attend an in-store author event. Actually, don't just attend one event. Attend a bunch of them. The sad thing is that so many author events aren't attended by many people. Oh gosh, at readergirlz, Ann Brashares (she of Sisterhood book, movie, and fame) told us about a recent signing where NO ONE showed up. SAD for the author, but GOOD for you. This just means that you might have a super intimate conversation with one of your favorite authors of all time.

2. Bring your friends. Make a pact to bring a group of friends with you to these author events: the more, the merrier. It could be a standing date with all your favorite readergirlz buddies: author comes to town; you all head out to hang out with the writer.

3. Buy first edition books…from your local indie bookseller. Soooo…about 7 years ago, my hubby trotted home with an auction catalog from Sotheby's where they were selling off a book from the very first UK printing of Harry Potter 1. He said, "We should go for it!" I said, "What? That's the dumbest investment idea I've ever heard of. We should invest in…HomeGrocer.com." (I know, I know.) Well…guess what that first edition copy is worth now. And it's not just Jo's books that become valuable. But forget collectability…go to 4!

4. Give books as gifts. (And books autographed to your BFF are even better…) Over at readergirlz, we created our gift giving guide for the holidays: Best Books for Your BFF. Those bookmarks, filled with fun and fabulous book lists from our beloved postergirlz advisory committee (the smartest and kindest and most expert children's lit bloggers on the planet), are actually perfect year-round. Books are a gift from the heart. Your heart.

5. Negotiate a Package Deal with Your Bookseller. I thought this was such a good idea from University Bookstore here in Seattle. They're offering a bundle of autographed books from visiting authors for a set (read: discounted) price. Why not pitch this idea to your local bookseller? Eoin Colfer, Jon Scieska (new Children's Lit ambassador for the U.S.), Libba Bray, Shannon Hale and so many other fantastic authors are TOURING the country right now. As in: RIGHT NOW. If they're heading your way, talk to your bookseller. That way, even if you can't attend the booksigning, you can still get a book personalized for yourself and / or your BFF.

Justina ends her post with this:

Long live (and love) our independent booksellers. Feel free to REPOST these ideas everywhere. And finally, what else do you think we can do to support our booksellers?


I also wanted to make mention of the Go Overboard Challenge Grant again, because I think it is such a good thing. If you know anyone between the ages of 12 and 20 you should tell them about it. We can all make a difference in this world.