Around Indies

Village Books Marks 35 Years

Village Books in Bellingham, Washington, celebrated its 35th anniversary June 12–14 and invited customers into the store for discounts and author events.

Owner Chuck Robinson presented a reading from the newest edition of his memoir, It Takes a Village Books: 35 Years of Building Community, One Book at a Time, before taking off on a 2,400-mile bike ride for charity on Monday, June 15.

Robinson, who will be blogging throughout the duration of his trip, is riding from Bellingham to his hometown of Galva, Illinois. He is pledging $1 per mile to each of three foundations: the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, Whatcom Community Foundation, and Galva Foundation for Educational Enrichment. Additional pledges can be made here.

Book Soup Turns 40

In Los Angeles, Book Soup marked its 40th anniversary on Friday, June 12, and celebrated throughout the evening with events, cake, refreshments, and special shopping discounts.

The event featured author friends of Book Soup reading aloud from infamous celebrity biographies. Readers included Frank DeCaro, a Sirius XM Satellite Radio host and author of The Dead Celebrity Cookbook (HCI Books); Beth Lapides, creator and host of Uncabaret and author of Did I Wake You? (Soft Skull); Meredith Maran, author of A Theory of Small Earthquakes (Soft Skull) and Why We Write (Plume); and Pam Ward, author of Want Some, Get Some (Dafina).

Aaron’s Books Celebrates First Decade

This July, Aaron’s Books in Lititz, Pennsylvania, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in business. A full month of special events, discounts, and giveaways are on tap to recognize the bookstore’s loyal customers. The schedule includes parties, a kids’ hands-on day, dinner with a celebrated author, and more.

Owners Sam Droke-Dickinson and Todd Dickinson, who serves as vice president and president elect for the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, opened Aaron’s Books (named for their son) in 2005, focusing on used books. “We wanted to run our own small business, and books were the perfect fit for us,” said Droke-Dickinson. “And when we found Lititz, we knew it was a great town for us, both to own a business and to raise a child.”

Aaron’s Books launched the annual Lititz Kid-Lit Festival in 2009 and in 2010 formed a partnership with the Library System of Lancaster County to sponsor its annual literary luncheon. Aaron’s has supported a variety of other local literary organizations over the years. “From the beginning, focusing on building and being a part of the community was key to our mission. It’s never been about increasing profits and taking home more cash,” said Droke-Dickinson.

In 2011, the bookstore received the Celebrate Literacy Award from the Lancaster-Lebanon Reading Council “for exemplary service in the promotion of literacy.” In 2014, it was a finalist for the Women’s National Book Association Pannell Award for general-interest bookstore of the year.

Anderson’s Launches Fundraiser for New Store

Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois, is looking to raise $50,000 through its I Built a Bookshop Indiegogo campaign for a new location in La Grange. Funds will go toward building the new store, stocking shelves, and coordinating author appearances.

Contributors can earn a range of exclusive perks, including T-shirts, tote bags, or mugs with artwork designed by a local artist. The “Golden Ticket” perk guarantees the donor autographed books and one of the first spots in line to meet authors of their choosing. The fundraiser ends on July 10.

Afterwords Holds Grand Reopening

Afterwords Books in Edwardsville, Illinois, recently celebrated its grand reopening at a new location on old Route 66, reported The Telegraph. The festivities, held June 13–14, were part of the town’s participation in the inaugural Route 66 Blue Carpet Corridor Weekend.

The bookstore is now in a historic house that was formerly used as a tourist home for travelers on the old Route 66. Customers visiting the bookstore during the celebration picked up their free Route 66 passports to earn discounts and specials. The shop also provided free tourist information about the town. Other festivities included tours of the bookstore and an afternoon author fair.

New Jersey Bookstore Owners Publish Local History Book

Robert Rando and Caroline Scutt, owners of The Book Garden, have published a local history book: Frenchtown, New Jersey: History Along the River (History Press). Autographed copies of the book are available at The Book Garden.

The first book written about the historic Delaware River town since the 1990s, Frenchtown looks at the town’s past and features interviews with longtime residents.

“Since we bought The Book Garden in 2012, we constantly have had people asking us if we carried a history book on Frenchtown. Now we do!” said Scutt. “Frenchtown’s rich history deserves to be showcased. Plus, we met some fascinating people who shared wonderful stories that might have gotten lost over time.”