'The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores' In a refreshing contrast to the general media's often superficial take on bookselling, in a wide-ranging feature called "The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores," the Christian Science Monitor noted that indie bookstore sales are up, and said booksellers credit "everything from the shuttering of Borders to the rise of the 'buy local' movement to a get-'er-done outlook among the indies that would shame Larry the Cable Guy," the paper wrote. "If they have to sell cheesecake or run a summer camp to survive, add it to the to-do list." Among the stores mentioned in the piece: Bank Square Books, Mystic, Conn., which was able to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy because of a surge of community support; Boswell Book Co., Milwaukee, Wis., an example of a store run by an owner, Daniel Goldin, who knew the business inside and out before he opened; BookPeople, Austin, Tex., which hosts extremely popular summer camps for younger customers; Singularity & Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., which started as a sci-fi publisher and specializes in "rescuing" out of print titles and now has a storefront; WORD, Brooklyn, N.Y., which is opening another store, in Jersey City, N.J., and whose owner, Christine Onorati, said, "Community-building is the most important key to an indie bookstore's success"; Bookbug, Kalamazoo, Mich., which doubled in size in 2011; McLean & Eakin, Petoskey, Mich., where Matthew Norcross and his wife--who met at the store--bought it from his mother and have "thrown themselves into the digital side of bookselling"; and Journeys of Life, Pittsburgh, Pa., which suffered a fire in November 2011 but has risen like a phoenix and had the second best January ever. The only down note was sounded by Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar, Asheville, N.C., whose sale of used and new books has slippe

Shelf Awareness

In a refreshing contrast to the general media's often superficial take on bookselling, in a wide-ranging feature called "The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores," the Christian Science Monitor noted that indie bookstore sales are up, and said booksellers credit "everything from the shuttering of Borders to the rise of the 'buy local' movement to a get-'er-done outlook among the indies that would shame Larry the Cable Guy," the paper wrote. "If they have to sell cheesecake or run a summer camp to survive, add it to the to-do list."

Among the stores mentioned in the piece: Bank Square Books, Mystic, Conn., which was able to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy because of a surge of community support; Boswell Book Co., Milwaukee, Wis., an example of a store run by an owner, Daniel Goldin, who knew the business inside and out before he opened; BookPeople, Austin, Tex., which hosts extremely popular summer camps for younger customers; Singularity & Co., Brooklyn, N.Y., which started as a sci-fi publisher and specializes in "rescuing" out of print titles and now has a storefront; WORD, Brooklyn, N.Y., which is opening another store, in Jersey City, N.J., and whose owner, Christine Onorati, said, "Community-building is the most important key to an indie bookstore's success"; Bookbug, Kalamazoo, Mich., which doubled in size in 2011; McLean & Eakin, Petoskey, Mich., where Matthew Norcross and his wife--who met at the store--bought it from his mother and have "thrown themselves into the digital side of bookselling"; and Journeys of Life, Pittsburgh, Pa., which suffered a fire in November 2011 but has risen like a phoenix and had the second best January ever. The only down note was sounded by Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar, Asheville, N.C., whose sale of used and new books has slipped, leading it to open a wine bar and café.