Read This! Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores, introduction by Ann Patchett.
This small book has staff from 25 independent bookstores recommend books. The bookstores are arranged alphabetically and each one has a short description of the bookstore, a short interview with the staff member from the bookstore, a list of their 50 books, and a shorter list of 4 or 5 with more detail on why they picked each of them.
These are followed but a short section of random statistics about the books and bookstores, then a very short description of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) to whom all royalties from this book go, a blank section for the reader to write in 50 favorite books, and a checklist for which bookstores the reader has visited. I've been to a few independent bookstores in the U.S., but only one of the ones here, and that one I visited earlier this year.
There are lots of great books listed here, and my to-read list has grown as a result. It's fun to see which staff have picked books I've read and liked and then to think about how that may mean their list will provide others I'll like. It's also interesting to see how many books I've never ever heard of before.
This will definitely be a book I refer back to often.
This looks like fun -- a great reading challenge for all of us...or a travel guide!
ReplyDeleteYes. They have checkboxes beside all the booklists too, so you can use it as a booklist yourself.
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