If you love books, reading, writing, you are a published author and/or you work in the literary industry then you know there are major changes going on, particularly with print books. In some parts of this nation communities are banding together and thing called Pop-Up Bookstores was born. If you haven’t heard, the Pop-Up Bookstore is the love child of a grass-roots start-up project within the community to create a temporary, yet fiercely independent, indie mega bookstore formed inside abandoned storefronts, in particular the bankrupt and now in liquidation Borders chain.
It started with Fleeting Pages who opened a store in a former Borders location in Pittsburgh. WordUp Books “popped up” in a vacant pharmacy location in the Washington Heights district of Manhattan and in Berlin, digital bookshop Dialogue Books got its start for 6 months as a pop-up store. Like Dialogue, most of these pop-ups are temporary and have developed an online storefront to continue the cause.
There is a movement going and more book lovers, authors and activists are uniting together to continue their versions of the pop-up idea in their own towns, but why just temporary? The main reasons are money; time and the fact that it is a crusade in the making. How can we help? Let’s begin first by applying the awe-inspiring philosophy that Fleeting Pages had on some of their windows and interior walls: “Think outside the Big Box” and “Indies Exist Beyond Borders”. The increase of eReaders like Kindle and The Nook are in hot demand, but at the same time have led many in the industry to question the future of the printed book. Yes, I love the technology too…it’s great that we can load our entire library on our iPads and its cheaper to carry it onto the plane than pack your current reads, but nothing beats cuddling up to a good book after being wired to smartphone, laptop and iPod all day…in a heartbeat! Obviously I’m not alone in this, in fact just a few weeks ago I was being interviewed by a journalist at the Pittsburgh Review in regards to an author of ours, Frank Say that was the featured speaker in a town that loves books and reading, but just lost their only bookstore…that store was Borders, located in Bridgewater, PA and home to the Bridgewater Book Festival. The journalist informed me that this county doesn’t have any bookstores, not even an independent…in fact the nearest bookstore is miles away in Pittsburgh. So the solution is that this community could banned together just like those that formed Fleeting Pages and put a popup bookstore in that abandoned Borders location or even some other old storefront.
I plan on following up on this topic, its essential that we keep this buzzed. The print book is not and will not die, like any business Literary and Entertainment have its lulls, but where there are readers and authors there will be demand. Power of print contributes to society in so many ways: Job and business creation, Fosters Ideas, Educates, motivates and inspires the mind and really gets you thinking! There are also too many other reasons to name in this blog entry, but one that I will mention, is that it encourages literacy! Whatever your niche is…whereas its advocacy, writing, publishing or trendsetting…reach out, follow and help keep this great cause alive. When Indies Unite, greatness happens and the beauty of it all is that together we can make a difference beyond borders.
