As a bookseller, getting to handsell a stack of books is one of the greatest joys. But booksellers and bookstores play a vital role in communities across the country. Sure, they provide readers with an escape from reality, but they also help to curate a space where folks can become properly informed and educated about the reality that they live in—both the good and the bad.
Over the past few years there has been a spectacular surge in books written for folks who want to learn more about the industry as a whole by veteran booksellers about these important institutions and the truly incredible people who make them possible.
Below you will find 5 titles discussing what it takes to be a bookseller, some of the most vital bookstores found across the country, and a dedication highlighting the hard work that’s done behind the scenes.
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Paul Yamazaki, Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale
Though it’s not out until April 19th, it’s fair to say that you’ll want to add Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale to the very top of your TBR Pile.
For more than 50 years, Paul Yamazati has been the principal book buyer at City Lights Booksellers, one of San Francisco’s legendary independent bookstores. Paul is something of a legend in the bookselling community, to say the least, and has been imparting his wisdom onto generations of booksellers across the country. Reading the Room takes readers behind the scenes as Paul recounts what takes place over a twenty-four-hour period in a bookstore; the highs and the lows alike.
Josh Cook, The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-first Century
The Art of Libromancy, Josh Cook’s recent collection of essays, is necessary reading whether you work in an indie bookstore or not.
Written by a seasoned frontline bookseller,The Art of Libromancy is a candid and nuanced account of what it takes to be a part of an industry that faces a barrage of societal pressures and often finds itself at the forefront of social justice movements in a time where misinformation and fascism are on the rise. Cook’s collection covers a myriad of topics ranging from the importance of handselling titles to customers (and how the act inspired him to come up with the term “libromancy”), to how publishers can have an effect on the cultural influence of white supremacy, to his time spent working in a bookstore during the pandemic.
James Patterson, Matt Eversmann, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading
In his upcoming collection, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians, James Patterson (with the help of co-writer Matt Eversmann) introduces his readers to the folks who make their favorite bookstores and libraries possible.
The book itself is split into five distinct parts, each with a corresponding bookish theme such as “I could talk about books forever” and “It doesn’t matter what you like to read, so long as you like to read.” Those parts are then split into a series of narrative essays, each told by a different bookseller or librarian from across the country. It’s a clever and incredibly charming way to peel back the curtain on what truly makes the bookselling industry tick and the people who love it the most.
Danny Caine, How to Protect Bookstores and Why: The Present and Future of Bookselling
If you’ve spent any amount of time in the book industry, then chances are you’ve heard the name Danny Caine before. Co-owner of Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kansas, he’s been a passionate advocate for the importance of indie bookstores for years, and it was his first book, How to Resist Amazon and Why, that really got people talking.
His latest book, How to Protect Bookstores and Why, is not only a celebration of indie bookstores across the country, but a highly informative work on their importance and ongoing resilience in the face of volatile times. Caine provides readers with in depth profiles of ground breaking and progressive bookstores, highlighting what they do and have done to try and make a difference.
Jeff Deutsch, In Praise of Good Bookstores
Back in 2022, Jeff Deutsch – the director of Chicago’s beloved Seminary Co-op – wrote a philosophical, often nostalgic, and utterly charming 200 page long love letter called In Praise of Good Bookstores.
Hopeful in its vision for the future of indie bookstores, In Praise of Good Bookstores discusses how these institutions are some of the most important and also the most in danger as the world becomes more dependent on the internet. Throughout, Deutsch considers his own heritage and how spaces such as bookstores appeal to people who find community and meaning among the shelves and curated reading recommendations.
Jorge Carrión, Bookshops: A Reader’s History (trans. Peter Bush)
Translated by Peter Bush, Jorge Carrion’s essay, Bookshops: A Reader’s History, paints a vivid picture of the bookstores, both big and small, famous and lesser known, across the country. While still deeply informational, this book in particular is less of a resource guide and more an entertaining portrait gallery of the stores that brought Carrión joy, from Prairie Lights to City Lights.
Kristen Hogan, The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability
A former bookseller at both BookWoman in Austin, Texas and the Toronto Women’s Bookstore – the largest nonprofit feminist indie bookstore in Canada before its unfortunate closure in 2012 – Kristen Hogan turns an egalitarian eye on the art of bookselling in The Feminist Bookstore Movement.
Women’s bookstores have always been a deeply influential part of the industry as a whole, and Hogen uses The Feminist Bookstore Movement to highlight their importance. In particular, readers will find that writing highlights when women of color and queer folks who have made these spaces possible. This is a book that will enforce how fighting against the pervasiveness of Amazon is integral to society, and how (and who) we, as consumers, can spend time with to help.
