…what with the economy circling the drain, but it seems like things may be especially tough for independent bookstores. Like even tougher than usual, which is already pretty tough.
Kyle Minor and I have been traveling all around for our 25 (or so) city book tour, and anecdotally, we’ve noticed a lot of great indies going out of business between the time we were booking our readings and when they were supposed to happen, including Pages for All Ages in Champaign, Illinois and Harry Schwartz in Milwaukee. Even bars, such as the Charleston in Chicago (where the Sunday Salon Series used to happen), seem to be going under. That said, we have heard from other stores, like Skylight Books in LA, that they are having their best years ever.
It’s much better to hear the latter than the former, of course, but in any event, it made me wonder, Ploughshares readers, what are your favorite indie bookstores in your respective hometowns? What are they called? And how are they doing?
February 22, 2009
Things are tough all over…
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4 comments:
In Bend, Oregon we lost Book Barn as a "live" bookstore: it's now online. A great used bookstore, Dudleys, has taken its place, though. The other indies that are not as centrally located include Between the Covers and Camallis: I would guess that they are both struggling a bit despite a core group of loyal customers. Paulina's Bookstore in nearby Sisters, Oregon is another jewel in our midst.
St. Mark's Bookshop, Manhattan.
Fuck man. Shaman drum is shutting down in ann arbor. I was going to see y minor and rooney read there.
I know--it's SO sad that Shaman is closing. We are still reading there, but we are going to be one of the last events, if not the last. It's such a loss to the town.
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