Earlier this week, I had a passing thought to assemble a quick list of Southern California independent bookstores. But I found, even just writing down shops off the top of my head, that this list was longer than I’d imagined.
I hit 10 stores, then 20, 35, 50. Finally, with some checking and a helpful nudge or two, I had tallied more than 70+ bookstores and counting, new and used. And that list didn’t include Barnes & Noble outlets, college bookstores, online sellers, rare book dealers, Friends of the Library shops or variety stores that also sell books.
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Soon enough, it was 80 or so bookstores. I’d tell you exactly how many except I’m certain someone will alert me to a store I’ve neglected right after I post this. (Note: They did.) For instance, there’s a bookshop that I know will be opening soon but, at least as recently as last weekend when I tried, um, peering into its covered-over windows, isn’t open yet.
Why do this? A couple of reasons. One is that I like to know where the closest bookstore is at all times. If I’m running an errand or attending a social event and have a spare half-hour, then you’ll know where I am (and why I arrived late).
But here’s the other: The holidays are coming and local independent bookstores make the largest part of their earnings in the last months of the year – it’s what our former books columnist and current head of the American Booksellers Association Allison K. Hill calls the “Olympics of Bookselling.” So it’s a good time to start visiting your local to pick out the best gifts: books. (Was there ever any doubt that I’m a person who gives books as gifts? I thought not.)
I reached out to the American Booksellers Association about indie booksellers and the holidays, and Ray T. Daniels, the chief communications officer for the ABA, got back to me via email.
“When you support local independent bookstores, you are investing in your local economy. A 2022 Civic Economics report — Unfulfilled — reported that 29% of all revenue at independent bookstores immediately recirculates in the local economy. According to the report, that’s almost 5x the money circulated when you buy on Amazon.com and almost 3x when you buy from Barnes and Noble or big box stores,” said Daniels.
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“Independent bookstores provide more than economic contributions, they are vital community partners who offer safe spaces and new worlds to the most vulnerable in every community.”
So take a look at the map, which spans from the coastal cities to the Inland Empire and from Santa Barbara all the way to San Diego. It’s full of shops that we’ve written about – Bel Canto Books, Black Cat Fables, Chevalier’s Books, Cellar Door Bookstore, Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore, Octavia’s Bookshelf, Once Upon a Time, and many more we hope to tell you about.
And if you find one that’s not on the map? Share the info and let us know; we’ll add it onto the map. So please, check it out; a gift link is below.
GET THE GIFT LINK: Southern California independent bookstore map
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