Around Indies

The Country Bookshop Celebrates 60 Years

This month, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina’s iconic bookshop and historical landmark, celebrates its 60^th anniversary, reported the Pilot, which noted that the bookstore’s history encompasses many families and several different locations.

The Country Bookshop was incorporated in 1953 by Margaret Rounds, Lockie Parker, and Barbara Peck, who added gifts, toys, and pottery to the product mix the following year. The bookshop moved in 1956 to a cottage location that was known for having books piled from floor to ceiling.

In 1966, the bookshop was purchased by Mary Wilson “Peg” Benedict, who was soon joined in the business by her husband, Cadwallander.

The Benedicts moved the bookshop again in 1983, then sold it the next year to James and Joan Scott. In 1991, The Scotts moved the bookshop to its current location on Broad Street, but carried on many of its time-honored traditions.

Today, the store is owned by the Pilot publishing company and is managed by Kimberly Daniels.

Kazoo Marks 25 Years

This month, Kazoo Books in Kalamazoo, Michigan, marks 25 years of business. In a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, Gloria Tiller said that her store’s success was due in part to the town’s growing buy local practices, as well as the strengthening of the organization Buy Local Greater Kalamazoo.

“As an owner of a growing business,” wrote Tiller, “I think we have learned to adapt to change and to become a place that fits our community. Our customers expect good service, they want a pleasant place to shop and someplace their book group or writers group can meet. They want knowledgeable staff; people that know them and can help pick out just the right read or a gift; a place that gives back to area charities and supports local schools in ways that many people never notice.”

Vroman’s Hill Extends an Invitation to Oprah

Allison Hill, president and CEO of Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena and Book Soup in West Hollywood, California, has written an open letter to Oprah asking her to support independent bookstores and calling for an “Oprah Indie Bookstore Tour.” In the letter on the Huffington Post,  Hill recalled the power of the first iteration of Oprah’s book club and said she hopes that in the future, when recommending books, Oprah includes indies as a place to shop.

“My ongoing fantasy all these years has been that you would have one of your signature ‘aha’ moments and realize how important bookstores are to reading and the future of books,” Hill wrote, “that perhaps you’d stop championing your Kindle and referring people to Amazon. But that hasn’t happened. In your defense, I can only assume that you’re a little isolated. I know you’re too smart to not understand the repercussions for the future of books and publishing, authors and reading, if bookstores disappear. Bookstores are an endangered species and the entire literary ecosystem is at risk when we’re at risk.”

Hill invited Oprah to her bookstores and said she knew other indie booksellers would be happy to do the same. Many booksellers have echoed Hill’s sentiments on Twitter, with the hashtag #OprahIndieBkstoretour.

Giovanni’s Room Seeks New Owner

Giovanni’s Room, the nation’s oldest continually operating LGBT bookstore, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is going to be sold. Ed Hermance, the owner of the bookstore since 1976 announced his retirement last week, the Inquirer reported.

Hermance called running Giovanni’s Room “the job of a lifetime” and said, “I can’t imagine having had another job that would have engaged my skills and interests as much as Giovanni’s Room has. But it is time to find a successor, if there is to be one.”