Thursday, April 30, 2015

Independent Bookstore Day and a Horse Race

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This being Derby Week, Louisville is abuzz with parades, riverboat races, hot air balloon glows, and many, many beer delivery trucks.

The spotlight is on the city for this Saturday's 141st Run for the Roses. I tend to avoid the hoopla but am glad for the visitors who come from all over to watch the 'greatest two minutes in sports'. 

Instead of sipping mint juleps at Churchill Downs, I will be celebrating Independent Bookstore Day on May 2. Apparently independent bookstores have made a comeback - not believing the doomsday forecasts of their futures from a few years ago. This year's celebration is an expansion of last year's California program and, according to The Washington Post, four hundred stores across the nation will be celebrating their independent selves with programs and giveaways. 

Here in Louisville, there are two fiercely independent bookstores within a mile of each other. Carmichael's Bookstore has three locations - they just recently opened a children's bookstore - and has been around since 1978. According to its website, the stores will be giving away and selling literary stuff available only on Saturday: letterpress bookmarks, tea towels featuring bookish quotes, and an intriguing Literary Map of the Seas.

Judy Fout, owner of A Reader's Corner, told me her store will be celebrating both Derby Day and Independent Bookstore Day with 25 percent off all books and a drawing for a $25 gift certificate. The store sells mostly used books but also keeps a selection of new books on hand and can special order anything. It has been around since 1997.

So while horse racing fans are placing bets on horses, I will be browsing bookshelves. 

If you have no other plans for Saturday - it's OK to let the grass grow another day - head out to your nearest independent bookstore and thank them for hanging in there.

6 comments:

  1. Sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday! And what better way to support the independents than by buying something,..an excuse to shop for books. Not that we really need an excuse...

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    1. It will not surprise you that I did buy a few books! Like you say, Kathy, any excuse...

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  2. Oh, I missed Independent Bookstore Day! We only have one left here, but I'm sure it did its best. How exciting about the Kentucky Derby, but I know how it is: you get jaded if you live there! This year I actually missed that, too, though usually I enjoy betting with my husband.

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    1. Kat, I did get to do a little shopping but only picked up a NYT crossword puzzle book, a watercolor instruction book, and a little tome on mindfulness (which I could certainly use!). Both stores I went to seemed quite busy and the shoppers were enjoying themselves. As for the Derby, well, it came and went without too much attention from me. I was on my front porch reading.

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  3. Yeah I wrote about indie bookstore day on my blog too. Sounds like a good excuse to go & enjoy a book buy or two. !

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    1. I am happy to see that you too went shopping on Indie Day. I only ended up with three books (two were used and quite inexpensive). Both stores seemed quite festive and full of shoppers. I just recently saw that David McCullough has a new book out on the Wright Brothers. I am sure it is written with his usual flair and attention to detail. I'll look forward to hearing how you like it.

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