My Video in Praise of California Bookstore Day

I’m a little late — the actual event was on May 3rd — but I’ve produced a little video to sing the praises of California Bookstore Day. You can watch it at the end of this post.

What is California Bookstore Day? Oh, I’m so glad you asked…

California Bookstore Day is a statewide party on May 3, 2014 as big and varied as the state itself.  It’s more than 90 stores in more than 80 zip codes putting their bells on and throwing out the welcome mat. Think Record Store Day, but for book nerds.

Each store will have its own party. The headline attraction are the just-for-us books you cannot get on any other day at any other place (click here to find the celebration closest to you). But there will also be readings, and prizes, and things to eat and drink.  In some cases there will be famous authors and artists, and people writing live poetry.

Your neighbors will be there, your friends will be there, your kids will be there.

You should definitely be there too.

Just what are we celebrating?

Independent bookstores are not just stores, they’re community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.

Indie bookstores, whether dusty and labyrinthine or clean and well-lighted, are not just stores, they are solutions. They hold the key to your love life, your career, and your passions. Walking the aisles of a good bookstore means stumbling upon a novel from India that expands your heart. It’s encountering an art book that changes the direction of your life. It’s the joy of having a perfect stranger steer you toward the perfect book.

In a world of tweets and algorithms and pageless digital downloads, bookstores are not a dying anachronism.  They are living, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. In fact, there are more of them this year than there were last year. And they are at your service.

You can find out more at the event’s website here, or in this video they produced for their Indiegogo campaign.

Check out my video below!