Joe Hill is the spectacularly-talented author of Heart-shaped Box. This is not the kind of book I normally read or recommend, because it’s considered “horror” and I am a weenie. But Toddly liked it so much, I had to give it a whirl. To my shock (not my horror) I loved it. Trying new things can be a little scary, but that’s the only way to grow.
Anyway, Joe and me have more in common than you might think. We are both rabid supporters of independent bookstores. We proudly shout our indie support from the tops of the barricades.
Joe has declared March to be “Love-Your-Small-Bookstore Month”. I second that motion.
Will you please join us?
Visit the closest indie bookstore to you this weekend. (Don’t know where it is? Indiebound will find it for you.) BUY A BOOK THERE. Buy a cookbook, or a book that gives spring cleaning tips. Buy a book for a child. Don’t know a child? Buy a book that explains how to make one. Buy something off the IndieNext list, ask the booksellers what their new favorite is. (Booksellers are wicked smart, you know.) Buy a book to help you understand the economic crisis, or cats, or the history of cod. (Yes, I’ve read that one, too. Fascinating.)
Indiebound makes many convincing arguments why we should be buying local. “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… Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint….More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.”
Here at the Forest, we’ve had our eyes opened to the importance of shopping local. Because of that, we’re in the process of changing all the bookselling links on my website. Here’s a sneak preview, from the WINTERGIRLS section of the site, still under construction. What do you think?
A Saturday morning in March is the perfect time to join the revolution. Give a shout-out to your favorite independent bookstore in the Comments section!
13 days til WINTERGIRLS comes out…