Around Indies

Ink Spell Books Collects Donations for Fire Victims

This week, Ink Spell Books in Half Moon Bay, California, completed a donation drive that collected items for victims of the Valley Fire, which President Obama declared a federal disaster on Tuesday.

Ink Spell owner Cindi Whittemore’s son is a Boy Scout in a local troop that helped organize the drive; the grandparents of one of the troop’s members had to evacuate their home in Northern California due to the fire, inspiring the boys to take action.

With donated tents, tarps, canopies, flashlights, and other survival items, Ink Spell and the Boy Scouts made six deliveries over the past two weeks to centers in the affected area. Ink Spell provided books and other items to keep children entertained while in shelters. The donation drive concluded on Monday with a final delivery.

“The needs are starting to change,” said Whittemore. “Insurance is starting to pick up. It’s not quite the panic that it was in the beginning.”

Since the Valley Fire started on September 12, it has burned more than 76,000 acres in Middletown and Lake Counties and is responsible for four deaths and the loss of more than 1,200 homes; officials say the fire is currently 85 percent contained. 

An Unlikely Story Featured on TODAY Show

An Unlikely Story Bookstore & Café, which opened in May, was featured this week on the TODAY show. Owner Jeff Kinney is the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (Amulet), which has more than 150 million copies in print in 40 countries.

During the segment, Kinney was shown greeting young customers at his bookstore, located in the town of Plainville, Massachusetts, which has a population of about 8,000. “As an author, you really come to understand how important independent bookstores are. They’re a fabric of a community,” said Kinney.

Kinney talked about the revival of independent bookstores, noting that people are shying away from big box stores and turning instead to local businesses. “There’s a real need for something different, something that has a flavor that’s unique to that community,” he said.

See the full interview here.

Books Inc. Video Celebrates Banned Books Week

In honor of Banned Books Week, which will be celebrated this year from September 23 through October 3, San Francisco’s Books Inc. created a video to share its enthusiasm.

The 15-second clip features a parade of titles spelling out “I read banned books” on the floor of the Opera Plaza bookstore.

See the full video here.

Michael Barnard Marks 20 Years at Helm of Rakestraw Books

Michael Barnard is celebrating 20 years as the owner of Danville, California’s Rakestraw Books. Barnard bought the store, which was founded in 1973 by Brian and Mary Harvey, in 1995 at the age of 25.

The Contra Costa Times noted that while the road hasn’t been easy, especially with Barnard taking ownership in the age of big box bookstores and Amazon, the shop has found success as a community gathering spot for face-to-face interactions and hands-on browsing, as well as for creative programming and events.

“We’re busier than we’ve been in years,” Barnard told the Times.

Next month, Rakestraw is hosting a block party with food trucks as part of a lunchtime event with former Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl, author of the upcoming My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life (Random House).