Growing up, I was the kid who dragged her parents to the bookstore every weekend. And as an adult, bookstores are my favorite place to be. I can spend hours looking through books and chatting with booksellers about their favorites. Some of my best memories take place in the aisles of bookstores, selecting books from the shelves and losing myself in their separate worlds. COVID-19 has shut the doors to so many of our local bookstores. As a book blogger, I realized that my main audience is bookworms just like me. People who love books and have the potential to help.
I reached out to local stores in NC and my fellow book bloggers on Twitter. Our goal is to launch the Save the Bookstores Tag to help our local independent bookstores. Selling books is more than just a business. It’s a way to bring people together through their love of reading. And together we can help these stores stay open.
So What Are the Rules?
Retweet the post you’ve been tagged in
Link back to the tagged post
Reach out to your local bookstores to see if they would like to be featured
Reach out to fellow bloggers to see if they would like to participate and tag them in your post
Take pride in what you're doing! You’re making steps to help save your local bookstores in this difficult time!
Dog-Eared Books
Dog-Eared Books is a two-woman operation in Raleigh, NC. They were founded in August of 2016 in the spare bedroom of a house. And in April 2017 they were able to open their own bookstore. They sell books for $1 in their brick-and-mortar, but due to the stay-at-home orders have temporarily closed their physical location. They’ve opened an online store where you can still shop for a wide variety of books at discount prices. They even have book and movie combinations for only $5. Take a look at their website and see what you can find! https://dog-eared-books-2.square.site/
During COVID-19, they are offering same day delivery on Wake County, NC orders placed before noon, and next day delivery for orders placed after noon. And yes, they also ship nationwide! Make sure to like them on Facebook @dogearedboooks and Instagram @dogearedbooksnc to keep up to date!
Read With Me, A Children’s Book and Art Shop
Read With Me in Raleigh, NC is owned and operated by Christine Brenner, a former school librarian, and teacher. They have a wide selection of books and crafts for children ages 0-17. They also offer a creative corner in store for children to explore their writing and artistic skills. Read With Me is the perfect store to bring families together, but now due to COVID-19, the physical location has temporarily closed.
Read With Me is offering free drop-off to homes in Raleigh, Cary, Apex and Garner NC. You can also shop online at their website https://readwithme.indielite.org/ There is only a $5 flat rate shipping free with online orders. Audiobooks are also available through https://www.libro.fm/readwithme and Christine offers personal shopping to help you find the perfect books for your family. You can e-mail her at christine@readwithme.us Read With Me can also be found on Facebook @ReadWithMe.NC and Instagram @readwithme_raleigh
The Regulator Bookshop
Open since 1976, The Regulator is located in Durham, NC. The Regulator works with local organizations to provide books for the community. They also work with schools, providing discounts on bulk orders for classrooms. And both teachers and students can receive discounts on their individual purchases. They are a community driven store with a wide variety of books.
While the physical location may be closed you can still shop online at www.regulatorbookshop.com They are offering reduced prices for shipping right to your door. And audiobooks are available at https://libro.fm/regulatorbookshop The Regulator can be found on Facebook @regulatorbookshop
And to my fellow book bloggers who have joined in this tag, I can't thank you enough:
Black Sail Books https://www.blacksailbooks.com/index
The Bookish Hedgemom https://bookishhedgemom.com/
Books and Shadows https://booksandshadows.com/
Ity Reads Books https://ityreadsbooks.home.blog/
Nikki Swift Reads https://nikkiswiftreads.com/
The Swordsmith https://theswordsmith36.wordpress.com/
Used bookstores are amazing! My happiest childhood memories are also playing in the aisles of my local bookstore. I no longer live in CT, but this is the one I loved growing up: https://www.bookbarnniantic.com/ Most amazing place on Earth I’ve ever been to! Barns! Cats! Goats! Books!