Saturday, November 22, 2008

Books=Gifts

Our local, independently-owned book shop may not be around come January. The owner said as it stands, she won't be able to make payroll after the holidays. The same scenario is playing itself out across America. You've heard sales are down sharply this quarter at Barnes & Noble; Borders is in even worse shape. As if it weren't bleak enough for writers.

What can you do? Act locally, my friend. Walk into your neighborhood bookstore and buy books, lots of them.

This holiday season, give the gift of reading. Buy books for friends and family, and be sure loved ones know books are on your list. Can you think of another gift that can be handed down through generations; shared and discussed passionately among friends; used and used again; and can help make your dream of being published come true by teaching you how to write?

And while you're at, post this image, or one like it, on your blog. Save yourself, save your local small business, save an industry. Buy a book.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish we had a local indie. All of them folded in the last few years :(

Jess Riley said...

So sorry to hear of your bookstore's fate! We have a fabulous local indie, and I adore the owner. She has been hugely supportive, and I will definitely be returning the favor this Christmas.

Lynne Griffin and Amy MacKinnon said...

Jill, so sad, isn't it? You can still supposrt booksellers though by buying online from Powells (an indie) or via Borders and Barnes & Noble. We love ALL booksellers.

Jess, congratulations for making a difference. We all need to show our support for booksellers now!

Malena Lott said...

In Oklahoma City we have two wonderful indies that do very, very well here - Full Circle Books in OKC and Best of Books in Edmond. FC also has a nice cafe and fireplace and I hosted 8 guest authors for workshops there in '07. Best of Books does an amazing job of hand-selling books and makes sure at least one of the booksellers has read your book and will be there to promote it before and after your signings.

I'll give credit to B&N and Borders, too. Borders locally had not bought my book, Dating da Vinci, but when I pointed out to them that I am local, she ordered copies of it. B&N kindly let me sign the the copies at both of their OKC stores and were super nice. B&N donated profits from an event in Tulsa last week where 20 OK authors signed and sold books.
I wish the best for booksellers, everywhere! I'll be giving books for gifts, for sure!

Carleen Brice said...

I like the label on this post. Tis true.

Anonymous said...

It's great to see so many people on the same wavelength this season...it's also great to see the Books=Gifts materials making their way around the 'net. I just wanted to share with you guys--

We have the exact same concerns at IndieBound, and we've created a variety of tools we think can help:

Holiday E-Cards - Simple reminders you can send to friends & family to tell them to shop local!

Book Wish Lists - Build a list of books you want for the holidays, along with a list of your favorite bookstores.

Of course, we also have an interactive map that can help you locate independent bookstores near you.

Thanks for spreading the word about shopping local this season!

Amy MacKinnon said...

Malena, I love hearing about other indies and I agree, Borders and B&N are fantastic stores.

Carleen, tis, tis.

Amy MacKinnon said...

Matt, we love it! We'll bring it up to the top with a post on Black Friday!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Amy! Let me know if there's anything else we can provide.

Anonymous said...

Am reading "The Secret of Lost Things" by Sheridan Hay which is not a novel anyone recommended or one I had heard of, just a title that jumped out at me the other day on a random book shelf. I love it when books do that and prove to be wonderful. This book is set in a bookstore, so I thought of you gals and your local independent.

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