Support Your "Local" Bookstores

I live in Toronto, and during normal times I'm privileged to travel around the world both for business and for pleasure. There are some cities which I visit often, and as a result I have my favorite restaurants, stores, museums, and other venues in each one. As I am a collector of books, I naturally have discovered several favorite bookstores around the world. My idea of "local" includes places where I'm likely to get to every year or so.

About two months ago I stumbled across an article talking about how The Strand, an NYC-based bookstore, was in danger of closing due to COVID-19. My first reaction was "Nooooooo!!!!!!" because not only is it one of my favorite bookstores it is one that I always try to visit whenever I'm in NYC. It was a horrifying thought that The Strand might not make it.

Luckily the article suggested that people should consider supporting them by ordering something online, a novel idea for me given that I had only ever visited their physical store. I went to their site, only to see that I wasn't the only one who had read this article and that they were currently overwhelmed processing orders. So I waited, popping by the site every few days looking for a sign that it was viable to shop there. After a bit of time I found three books that were on my wish list, so I ordered them. The first two arrived this evening, which got me thinking about what other "local" bookstores I want to see stick around. Here are my favorites:

1. Powell's City of Books, Portland Oregon. This is a huge multi-level book store that carries both new and used books. It is reminiscent of the now-defunct World's Biggest Bookstore that was an anchor of downtown Toronto for years. I typically spend an hour or two browsing through this store whenever I'm in Portland.
2. BMV Books, Toronto. This is a chain of bookstores in Toronto, so they're truly local for me, and by far my favorite is the three-story store on Bloor Street. The third floor has a great sci-fi and fantasy section, as well as a good selection of used graphic novels. On the first floor they have a section where they get collectable toys, often from sci-fi shows from the 70s and 80s, and I always window shop whenever I'm at the store.
3. The Strand, NYC. 'Nuff said.
4. Forbidden Planet, London UK. This is a short walk from The British Museum, another favorite place for me to visit. The ground floor is science fiction and fantasy collector items and the basement is crammed full of graphic novels and science fiction books. The primary draw for me is their section of signed books, often British and European authors who have done book signings there.
5. Blossom Book House, Bengalaru. This store is near the MG Road metro station so it's easy to get to. I discovered it about ten years ago when a group of speakers from the Agile India conference decided to go clothes shopping near by (there's a great tailor that I have make shirts for me there). There are also several other bookstores in the area, so overall it's good shopping for me.

I wrote this article in the hope that I could motivate you to think about what you can do to support local businesses that you don't want to see go away. I'm certainly not the first to write about this nor will I be the last. And my hope is that if you're a traveller, or someone with friends or relatives who own businesses, that you'll rethink what "local" means to you. I did and not only have I picked up some great books that I've wanted for awhile, I've also helped to do my part to save a "local" bookstore that I really like. I think I'll browse Powell's now. Stay safe.