The other day I passed a small independent bookstore and it reminded me that the only way they’re going to survive is if we actually buy books in them. That may be obvious but even though I champion such stores in principle, I confess that more often than not I end up getting books from Amazon or from the big Waterstone’s on the next corner from where I live.
I went into this independent and bought Dennis Lehane’s newest, “Moonlight Mile,” and I’ve resolved to get at least half my books from local stores from now on. I think it might also be fun to give you a little video report from some of these places about how they’re doing, what books people are buying, etc. ---assuming I find a manager or counter person willing to have a chat on camera.
We’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, why not drop into your nearest indy bookshop and buy something? Yes, it’ll cost more than you’d pay at Amazon; consider it a little tax for keeping such alternatives open.
(Of course you could also ask your local independent bookstore to order any of my books, including: "Creativity Now!" "Focus:use the power of targeted thinking to get more done" "Marketing for Entrepreneurs" (all from Pearson) or "Your Writing Coach" (Nicholas Brealey), or "Do Something Different" (inexpensive and innovative marketing techniques, Virgin Books). You could even ask them to stock them!)
