Showing some indie bookstore love ...

I’ve been spending some time these past few days sorting and shelving the books I brought back from BookExpo America.  I picked up several Fall titles that editors and publicists are excited about, and advance reader copies of others that were being promoted at the show.

In addition to the books that were given to me for review consideration, I purchased a few books when I was away.  I also bought a few books locally (or near-locally, anyway!).  Let me share some of the books I’ve bought from indie bookstores over the past few weeks:

Beth Fish and I visited McNally Jackson – I’ll give a full report of that visit in an upcoming Spotlight on Bookstores post.  What I can tell you now is the power of their bookseller recommendations.  Several spots in the store highlighted bookseller picks, with short testimonials accompanying the book displays.  The cover of Joe Brainard’s I Remember caught my eye, then I read this recommendation card which was written in the style of the book – sold!

Next we visited Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks in the West Village.  Bonnie’s store sells pre-loved cookbooks, vintage linens, and other food-related memorabilia.  I went in looking for a cookbook that might have my Gram’s hermit recipe, and came out with this blast-from-the-past: Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cook Book – ; it’s twin lived in our kitchen when I was a kid.

A few nights later I found myself on the Metro with Beth Fish and Softdrink (and, yes, we started off headed in the wrong direction, but quickly righted ourselves!).  I noticed a woman reading a book that was unfamiliar to me – it had a simple graphic on the cover, and looked to be an illustrated novel.  The reader was smiling and laughing softly to herself – just what I wanted, a pick-me-up book.  In the spirit of investigation, Softdrink executed a near-perfect back-bend to twist and read the cover; we looked for it when we arrived at the Strand, but they didn’t have it in stock.  Instead, on the recommendation of Beth Fish, both Softdrink and I picked up Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Embroideries.  Maybe we’ll do a readalong later this summer.

Back in Boston, I saw that River Run Bookstore (about an hour’s drive north of me) was hosting Karl Marlantes reading from Matterhorn.  Oh, how I wanted to attend this event!  I scrambled (unsuccessfully, it turns out), trying to find childcare to cover the few hours on Friday afternoon.  Now, when I attend a reading I like to support the bookstore by purchasing the book there.  I already have the book from Powell’s Indiespensables program, so I got in touch with @readAndBreathe, the events coordinator at the store – could she order that mystery book that we spotted on the Metro the week before?  She could, and she did!  Although I was unable to attend the reading, I am now the proud owner of of Ricky Gervais’ The World of Karl Pilkington.  I thought the cover had a sketch of a vase of flowers, but Softdrink had a better view … I hope this was the book our mystery Metro rider was enjoying!

One more book for this week … I plan to go to our local bookshop on Sunday afternoon to hear Stona Fitch read from his novel Give + Take and to talk about the Concord Free Press.  Since, per the CFP philosophy of ‘paying it forward,’ I shared my Concord Free Press edition of Give + Take, I plan to purchase a new edition which was recently re-issued by Thomas Dunne.

This was a good reality check for me – yup, I’m a reader, a book lover, and, apparently, a book collector.  Books I read come from all over the place, not just review copies from publishers.  I’m an eclectic reader, and I’m not afraid to take a chance with a recommendation (although there is one HOT upcoming title that I’ve passed along to a friend because the genre, in general, doesn’t appeal to me.  Any guesses?  Will I read it eventually?)

I know not everyone has access to a local independent bookstore — if you did, how would you spend your time there?  Browsing a particular section?  Looking at a recommendation display?  Talking to the booksellers?