Shopping for Books

Ian, the leprechaun who lives & reads at Bookshelf Shenanigans in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

I loved Waldenbooks when I was young. We had two - TWO! - in my home county when I was growing up. Even though I loved my local library, the bookstore had the newest books and I could BUY them. We didn't have any indie bookstores but I live in a place where the map is dotted with tiny, miss-if-you-blink towns. So two chain bookstores was pretty good for us.

Until it wasn't.

Somewhere along the line online book shopping became a thing. A great thing.

Until it wasn't.

I loved online book shopping until it rapidly led to the closing of both Waldenbooks. Then I realized that online shopping was great when I knew exactly what I wanted to buy but not so great for browsing and discovering something new, completely by chance. So, a few times a year I would haul myself 45 miles to the nearest chain bookstore Barnes & Noble to browse and buy. It was the best I could do.

Until it wasn't.

Because at some point I discovered indie bookstores. Let's pause for a moment while I close my eyes and remember all the indie stores I've visited. Aaron's Books. Bookshelf Shenanigans. Browseabout Books. Bethany Beach Books. And the ones I want to visit. Mechanicsburg Mystery. Baldwin's Book Barn. Mysterious Book Shop. Storytellers. Let's face it, every time I pass a storefront with books in the window I feel the call to stop by for a visit. Because there's something special about indie book stores. They are passionate about telling you what they're reading, what everyone's talking about, what fun events they have coming up.

These are not the same salespeople in other stores who take the socks or avocadoes or grout you've chosen and ring it up without comment. I've been one of those salespeople (women's clothing shop and department store) and we really didn't care what you were buying, if you liked what you bought last week or if we could tell you about an upcoming product. We were tired, our feet hurt and we just couldn't summon a lot of enthusiasm for peasant blouses, coffee makers or whatever else you were purchasing. But people who work in indie book stores are a different breed. They could talk books all day long.

Going to an indie book store is less like going to a store and more like going to a secret club. The Readers Club.

So I like to support indie bookstores when I can. But that was the catch. Because most of them are at least an hour away from me I'm not stopping in all that often. So I continued to rely on the online behemoths that are putting my beloved indie stores out of business. And yes, the prices.

Recently, I really wanted to pre-order a book and the author was faithfully encouraging her readers to go indie. Although I've know about them for a while I never shopped at Bookshop.org but decided to check them out as a nod to this author. I was surprised to learn that, with my first time buyer discount, the price was comparable to the big online sellers. Plus, a portion goes to the indie bookstore of my choice. It sounded great but I worried that I was being tricked. Did my favorite indie really make any money? Would they make more money if I just waited until my next in-person visit and bought it then?

So I asked. I messaged a favorite indie and asked them if they would make more money if I bought in-person or through Bookshop.org. According to them, they make the same amount. AND I get it delivered straight to my house.

Even though I'll continue to visit and shop at indie bookstores in-person whenever I can, I'm also going to start using Bookshop.org more frequently. Competitive pricing, delivered to my house and supporting indie bookstores. What more could a book lover ask for?

***In case you're wondering, Bookshop.org didn't pay me to write this. They don't even know me! I was just so excited, I wanted to share my experience.