Looking for a summer read? There’s no better place than your local independent bookstore. While it’s good to support businesses that are locally owned and operated, to keep your money in the community, a local bookstore is much more than a warm fuzzy feeling. With online sales and big chains cutting into their market more every day, you’ll find that the independents are still in the biz because they fiercely love books. They work hard to bring new authors and titles to your attention just because they know you’ll love them.
Saint Paul has two independent bookstores of note. The one that most people have heard of is Common Good Books, at Selby and Western, known often because its proprietor is our own Garrison Keillor. He’s a good example of the dedication an indy bookstore owner has to literature because his “Writer’s Almanac” is syndicated to many public radio stations all across the nation. Keillor made his name telling stories, and his respect for the art goes much deeper than that.
Common Good Books is one of the most noted local places to have a launch party or a signing. Many of the books laid out on the tables as you walk in have been signed by the author because the author spent more than a little time there making sure it was all ready for you. That’s a touch you don’t find in every bookstore. This passion for local authors who have had an experience somewhat like yours makes the recommendations even simpler for the staff of dedicated book heads. You can meet them by taking a quick trip down the stairs from Nina’s Café, a local hangout for writers and readers alike. Everyone here appreciates a good story, and if you’re interested you can linger long enough to make one of your own.
The other independent seller in Saint Paul is Red Balloon on Grand Avenue, just west of Victoria. This is a children’s bookstore that does what they can to promote local authors and quality children’s literature. There’s a small stage-like feel to the corner of the store where they hold readings amid the rapt attention of little ones. Writers for kids are especially fun to see in action because the usually act out their work and draw their young audience into the story. The Red Balloon is important to Saint Paul because they go out of their way to being in new voices that related to new generations of readers.
If all of this isn’t quite what you were looking for, Saint Paul is also home to a large number of antiquarian and plain ol’ used book stores that have amazing finds buried deep in their stacks. The largest is Midway Books, at Snelling and University, with what feels like acres of stacks filled with books that have that well-worn smell to them. If you’re looking for something far out of the ordinary, there’s a good chance that one of these stores will have it for you.
Whatever your taste, the independents are a great place to spend gobs of quantity time perusing the offerings for something a little out of the ordinary. There are a lot of writers out in the world today, but only those with great commercial appeal can make it into the hype machines of large chains and internet retailers. If you’re not interested in the hype, Saint Paul has a few alternatives for you as you look for that typeset getaway to sink yourself deep into. With any good book, the passion and attention to detail often makes all the difference; that’s true of a book seller as well.
