Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America’s Indie Bookstores
Edited with a preface by Hans Weyandt
Introduction by Ann Patchett
An ode to the art of traditional bookselling and independent bookstores, this book offers lists of favorites that have flown under the radar, but off of bookstore shelves. First published on Hans Weyandt’s blog for Micawber’s Books, each check-list style contribution includes a bookseller’s top fifty books, anecdotes, and interviews about the life of being a bookseller, reader, and engaged citizen. Introduced by Ann Patchett, the book exhibits the range and diversity of these booksellers’ tastes and the stores in which they work. But it goes beyond a typical book of lists to show how independent bookstores are havens for readers where individual tastes, location, and personality matter and where the staff provide an expertise and wisdom about readers and books often lost in large and online retail spaces. One hundred percent of royalties will go to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE).
Reviews
“There is no greater joy for a bookseller than introducing a reader to a book they will love for the rest of their lives. Those of us in this business are, after all, matchmakers at heart. So consider this little book you now hold in your hands as a sort of catalogue of matchmakers.” —Ann Patchett, From the Introduction
“These professionals demonstrate exceptional curatorial care and a discernible passion for the art of bookselling, a craft Weyandt calls a ‘combo platter of bartender/barista and priest.’ [E]ntertaining, informative, satisfying and fun—everything books should be.”—Kirkus
“If I were still a bookseller, I’d be thrilled to share this wealth with my customers. As a reader, I’m deeply intrigued by the range of selections. . . . Do yourself a favor. Add Micawber’s Top 50 project to your must-read list.” —Robert Gray, Shelf Awareness
READ THIS! CONTRIBUTING BOOKSELLERS
- Sheryl Cotleur of Book Passage, Corte Madera and San Francisco, CA
- Emma Straub of BookCourt, Brooklyn, NY
- Stacie M. Williams of Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI
- Michael Boggs of Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville, KY
- Paul Yamazaki of City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco, CA
- Joseph J. DeSalvo of Faulkner House Books, New Orleans, LA
- Eowyn Ivey of Fireside Books, Palmer, AK
- Megan Sullivan of Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA
- Carla Jimenez of Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL
- Matt Lage of Iowa Book LLC, Iowa City, IA
- Jenny Lyons of The King’s English, Salt Lake City, UT
- Jay D. Peterson of Magers and Quinn, Minneapolis, MN
- Libby Cowles of Maria’s Bookshop, Durango, CO
- Hans Weyandt of Micawber’s Books, St. Paul, MN
- Paul Ingram of Prairie Lights, Iowa City, IA
- Michael Barnard of Rakestraw Books, Danville, CA
- Tom Campbell of Regulator Books, Durham, NC
- Liberty Hardy of RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, NH
- Josh Christie of Sherman’s Books and Stationary, Bar Harbor, ME
- Emily Pullen of Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA
- Cody Morrison of Square Books, Oxford, MS
- Kelly von Plonski of Subterranean Books, St. Louis, MO
- Neil Strandberg of Tattered Cover, Denver, CO
- Toby Cox of Three Lives & Company, New York, NY
- Stefan Moorehead of Unabridged Bookstore, Chicago, IL
Scheduled Author Appearances :
- Date: Thursday, September 6th 2012
- Time: 7:00pm
- City: Corte Madera, CA
- Venue: Book Passage (Corte Madera)
- Address: 51 Tamal Vista Blvd
- Venue phone: (415) 927-0960
- Country: United States
- Admission: FREE!
- Notes: A special panel discussion with Sheryl Cotleur of Book Passage, Paul Yamazaki of City Lights, and Michael Barnard of Rakestraw Books on Read This! Moderated by John McMurtrie, book editor of The San Francisco Chronicle.
- Artist: Hans Weyandt
- Date: Tuesday, September 11th 2012
- Time: 7:00pm
- City: St. Paul, MN
- Venue: Micawber’s Books
- Address: 2238 Carter Avenue
- Venue phone: 651.646.5506
- Country: United States
- Admission: FREE!
- Notes: Launch party for Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America’s Indie Bookstores. The book’s editor and co-owner of Micawber’s Books, Hans Weyandt, and Coffee House Press Publisher Chris Fischbach will talk about the evolution of the project from blog to book.
- Artist: Read This!
- Date: Thursday, September 13th 2012
- Time: 7:00pm
- City: Danville, CA
- Venue: Rakestraw Books
- Address: 522 Hartz Avenue
- Venue phone: (925) 837-7337
- Country: United States
- Admission: FREE!
- Notes: Oscar Villalon, editor of Zyzzyva, will moderate a panel discussion with Michael Barnard of Rakestraw, Sheryl Cotleur of Book Passage, and Paul Yamazaki of City Lights Bookstore, in celebrate of Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America’s Indie Bookstores.
Shared via Coffee House Press, 2012
St. Bride's Literary Group 