If you are a book lover, like I am, you know the joy of being in a physical book store. When I’m on vacation out of town, I try to visit both their farmers market and their local independent book store. But that is getting harder as more and more bookstores are shutting down.

Today is Independent Book Store Day. So please visit your local independent book store (my favorite in the Triangle area is Quail Ridge Books) and/or buy some books from them online. Many are hosting special activities and/or giving discounts.

However, we really need to support our independent book stores every day. So Bookshop.org , the online seller representing independent bookstores, is giving away a free ebook. You can download the ebook version of How to Resist Amazon and Why at: https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-resist-amazon-and-why-the-fight-for-local-economics-data-privacy-fair-labor-independent-bookstores-and-a-people-powered-future-danny-caine/15217857?ean=9781648411236&next=t.

Full disclosure: I haven’t read this book. But I’m living it. I was devastated last October when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and owner of The Washington Post killed the paper’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for President. But I didn’t cancel my subscription because THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP WANTS. The Washington Post, or WaPo among its fans, was the newspaper that that reported on his impeachments and other misdoings more than any other. And it is the newspaper with the broadest and deepest connections with the many federal agencies that Trump and Musk are attemping to eliminate or decimate. So few things would make President Trump happier than the closing of The Washington Post.

Instead, I decided on an Amazon ban. I’ve never been a paid Amazon Prime member, so I couldn’t cancel that. But I have used it. However, for Christmas 2024, I vowed not to buy any presents (including for myself) on Amazon. And I kept my vow. Last year, many of my presents were books. I bought those books NOT from Amazon, but from Quail Ridge Books. And were they more expensive than Amazon? Yes, they were. However, I bought them during the Black Friday sale, so they were cheaper than full price. And they were all wrapped and I think? included a bookmark that showed they had been bought from an independent book store.

I’ve continued my Amazon ban since then. It is less convenient and usually more expensive. However, as my man Senator Cory Booker said on The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast last week, (https://www.npr.org/podcasts/458929150/the-new-yorker-radio-hour), “This is the time that America needs moral leadership, and not political leadership.” To me, boycotting Amazon is a moral issue. I don’t want my money going to a man who is using his legitimate power to mute one of the current Administration’s greatest challengers. Physical bookstores not only allow you to peruse a book before buying it, but sponsor programs that support local authors, encourage children to read, host book discussions, among others. All that costs money. At the very least, local bookstores don’t get the deep discounts from publishers because they aren’t selling thousands or millions of books like Amazon does with its worldwide reach.

So if you can, buy a book today from an independent book store or Bookshop.org. It will probably be good for you as well as for independent bookstores, so it’s a win-win situation. Or if you aren’t convinced, try reading the free book above that explains the issues related to buying from Amazon (there are more than I’ve gone into in this post).

And if you are an independent book store owner or worker, I acknowledge, celebrate, and send love to you today!