I work in a small independent bookstore on the Central Coast of California in a town with one of those downtowns that you can miss by blinking—as the clique goes. But, the people who live in this town whisper to each other, “I love it here. Don’t you love it here? Shhh…don’t tell anyone.”  

Our little town sits about ten miles from one of the most amazing shorelines in the world. Our bookstore sits next to one of the most popular bakeries in the county. We’ve been in business for over 30 years. We’ve weathered Barnes and Knoble and Boarders coming into the community at large. We survived Amazon stomping into the book world, even though Boarders didn’t. Will we survive e-books? I don’t know.

I have a Kindle. I do. My husband bought it for me for Christmas a couple of years ago. He bought it for me because he knows how much I love to read. He bought it for me in-spite of the fact that I work in an independent bookstore. Sweet. Sort of. I waited two years before I told my employers I own a Kindle. I still haven’t told them I have e-book available on Amazon. Yikes!

We are one of the last independent bookstores in our county. Five have closed their doors since I moved here thirteen years ago.

Independent bookstores are worlds within their own worlds. They each have their own smell, their own light, their own sensibility. Usually their own cat. Have you ever been in City Lights in San Francisco? Or Powell’s in Portland, Oregon? Then you know what I mean. 

Are you lucky enough to have one in your town?