This past month I’ve been reading a lot about the small businesses closing in and around Harvard Square, such as Black Ink, as outside developers drive up rent to unsustainable rates. Therefore, this month, I’d like to take a moment to remind you all to support small and local businesses as you do your gift shopping this holiday season (F*CK AM*ZON). Some of my favorite places, in addition to Black Ink, for unique and whimsical gifts are Ward Maps, Nomad, Joie de Vivre, Magpie, and Loyal Supply Co. Rebekah Brooks is magnificent for vintage jewelry, and I love Raspberry Beret and The Garment District for vintage clothing. For delicious edible gifts, check out Honeycomb Creamery and Curio Spice Co., for all your toy and game needs go to Henry Bear’s Park, Comicazi, and Pandemonium, and if you want to paint your own gifts, go to Made By Me.

And, obviously, I am obsessed with independent bookstores. This past month I went to so many fantastic author events, all courtesy of your favorite local bookstores. So please, please, PLEASE consider ordering your book presents (because books make the best presents, right?) this holiday season from your local independent bookstores as opposed to the evil empire (F*CK AM*ZON). Some of my favorite bookstores include:

• Newtonville Books in Newton, MA
• Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA
• Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, MA
• Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA
• Papercuts J.P. in Boston, MA
• Book Ends in Winchester, MA
• Trident Booksellers in Boston, MA
• More Than Words in Boston, MA
• Blue Bunny Books in Dedham, MA
• The Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, MA
• Wellesley Books in Wellesley, MA
• The Concord Bookshop in Concord, MA
• Belmont Books in Belmont, MA
• I AM Books in Boston, MA
• McNally Jackson in Manhattan & Brooklyn, NY
• Astoria Bookshop in Queens, NY
• Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY
• The Strand in Manhattan, NY
• Barrett Bookstore in Darien, CT
• Elliott Bay Books in Seattle, WA
• Powell’s in Portland, OR
• Book & Bar in Portsmouth, NH
• Green Hand Bookshop in Portland, ME
• Hello Hello Books in Rockland, ME

Please tell me some of your favorite independent bookstores and/or other favorite small businesses in the comments below. And happy holiday shopping!

The post Shop small this holiday season! appeared first on E.B. Bartels.

So, let’s assess.

Part One: The Strand Edition.

Anyone who loves books and has ever been even near New York City has been to The Strand. I first went to The Strand when I was in sixth grade and my dad was working in Manhattan; it was the end of the 1990s and then The Strand boasted having eight miles of books. Now it has eighteen.

Please note here that I actually used to have more tote bags from The Strand, but when moving this past summer I tried to streamline things a bit and limited myself to keeping only a couple. That’s a joke though––you know the next time I go back to New York I am going to buy another one.

Part Two: Book Culture (née Labyrinth Books) Edition.

In my defense, I did spend two years at Columbia University for grad school, and Book Culture is the official bookstore of the MFA Writing Program. However, two of these bags are from back when Book Culture was called Labyrinth Books, purchased while visiting one of my high school best friends who was a first-year at Barnard. So, I have no real excuses here.

Part Three: Cambridge Edition.

Growing up in the Greater Boston Area, north of the Charles River, I always had a crush on Cambridge and its many cool independent bookstores. It is my great honor and pleasure that I now live within walking distance of both Porter Square Books and the Harvard Book Store. Gotta love that (Harvard) crimson.

Part Four: Not-in-the-Northeast Edition.

Both of these gems were bought on trips to regions outside of the Boston/New York area. Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon is legendary, so obviously I had to commemorate my trip there, and Book People in Austin, Texas is magical. One of my worst home-after-traveling regrets is having not purchased a tote bag from a bookstore that I visited. Why didn’t I get one from the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, Washington or McKay’s in Nashville, Tennessee? What was I thinking?!

Also independent bookstores should learn from Book People’s tote design––more tote bags need zippers! My books are always falling out everywhere!

Part Five: Boston/Brookline Edition.

I’ve spent many an hour and many a dollar at the Brookline Booksmith, especially during my years living in Dorchester and hanging out at Coolidge Corner. However, confession, I have yet to go to the new Jamaica Plain bookstore Papercuts JP. Both of these tote bags were presents from two of my BFFs: H. Tucker Rosebrock and Elizabeth Jane Good. Thanks for encouraging my habit, people.

Part Six: The Final Edition.

Don’t forget about Printed Matter, Inc. in New York! While not a traditional bookstore in the sense that it doesn’t sell copies of Yes Please by Amy Poehler, you can’t get much more independent than a bookstore selling zines, chapbooks, and artist books. Their tote bags are works of art themselves.

Remember: books is power.

FINAL TALLY:

TWELVE tote bags from NINE bookstores.

That’s it. For now, at least.

I’ve decided it’s probably less weird if I just accept that this is a “collection” and not an “intense subconscious hoarding situation.” So, in that case, let me ask all of you: What are your favorite bookstores that I absolutely must visit one day, and, from which, purchase a tote bag? 

The post Assessing My Independent Bookstore Tote Bag Problem appeared first on E.B. Bartels.