Wonder and enthusiasm at independent bookstores

Remember the pleasant bookstores of our youth? Most are gone, but not forgotten. Now, independent bookstores are beginning to emerge once more, in cities across the country. They are comfortable places to browse and learn about books from knowledgeable booksellers, to hear authors speak, to bring children for storytime, and to meet and share with other book lovers.

I recently attended the opening night, well-attended reception, of a new independent book store in Dallas, called Interabang. It’s named for a little known punctuation mark that combines a question mark with an exclamation point, communicating both wonder and enthusiasm.

To my delight I discovered our book, 70Candles! Women Thriving in Their 8th Decade for sale on the Body/Mind shelf in the non-fiction area.

There’s our book!!

Guest of honor for the evening was best selling author Ann Patchett who owns Parnassus, her own independent book store in Nashville. I gave her a book to take home with her. Fingers crossed that she’ll order it for her Nashville bookshelves. It currently is available from the Parnassus on-line site

Ann Patchett at Interabang opening reception

70Candles! Women Thriving in Their 8th Decade can be ordered from Ingram by bookstores, and is now designated “returnable,” which should make purchasing a more attractive option for stores. If you have a local independent bookstore, stop in and explore it, chat with the staff…and we would be most grateful if you would introduce them to the 70Candles! book. We’d love to see it available in stores everywhere.

Let us know how it goes.

Many thanks,
Jane