I have a book-buying problem.
There are countless times I have stopped in bookstores, promising myself I would not buy anything, and walked out with two or three books in hand. I would like to say I have read all of the books I bought, but this is simply not the case. Even so, they are still some of my most prized possessions.
The thing about physical books is they could be seen as somewhat obsolete. With e-readers and audiobook apps, the need for physical books as a means to read is long gone.
Even for physical books, we have websites like Amazon and even Target aisles for us to buy books, compared to stores that are solely devoted to them.
We do not need bookstores to buy books, and we do not even need physical books to read them.
But against the odds, bookstores remain standing, supported fiercely by their surrounding neighborhoods and constantly adjusting to ever-changing needs.
Just a few blocks off campus, The Book House in Dinkytown is one example of an independent bookstore working to serve its community.
Matt Hawbaker, co-owner of The Book House, said as an independent bookstore, the store can adapt to the needs around it.
“It’s really about the connection to the community,” Hawbaker said. “The used bookstore situation is a great example because our customers are also our suppliers. It’s a reciprocal relationship that we have with them.”
Hawbaker said The Book House’s book curation differs from other independent bookstores because of its proximity to campus.
“We have a very academic focus,” Hawbaker said. “We probably have a larger philosophy section than most places, especially in the Twin Cities. At other stores, it would probably be hard to sustain that.”
The thing about local bookstores, compared to websites or even larger chains, is that their curation and their provided space is truly a reflection of their patrons.
Wild Rumpus is another Twin Cities independent bookstore, with a specific focus on children and young adults, as well as animals. Timothy Otte, co-owner and bookseller, said one of the store’s guiding principles is accessibility for their community.
“Our big thing is really access and supporting young readers in discovering the world around them,” Otte said. “Helping them learn to live in such a way that is kind and generous and whimsical and fun.”
Otte emphasized how Wild Rumpus works to provide a safe space for young readers, regardless of what they purchase.
“We are a bookstore and our goal is retail and commerce,” Otte said. “But the really good bookstore is kind of more than that. We do all sorts of community-facing things, whether that is bringing authors to schools when they’re on tour, to doing story times and author events in our store. Our goal is never to pressure that person into buying something, but just being a place where someone can come and feel safe and seen for a little while.”
For Otte, the appeal of physical books is the ownership you get with them.
“The thing about a book is that once you buy it, it’s yours,” Otte said. “There’s no major corporation that can take it out of your library, and I think that that’s really important in an era of streaming. Buying physical books, that’s mine. I can write in it. I can throw it outside in the rain. I can do whatever, and no one can stop me. And I think that is an argument for physical media generally.”
When you own a book, you can go back to it again and again. The story can grow and change along with you.
Located in the Mill City neighborhood, Milkweed Books is a Twin Cities independent bookstore that acts as an extension of its independent publishing house, Milkweed Editions.
Zoey Gulden, the manager of Milkweed Books, said their goal is to provide a community around the books they sell.
“Our mission is, formally, to publish transformative literature and then create an engaged community around it,” Gulden said. “So having a brick-and-mortar store means that our engaged community is specifically in this space.”
As an independent bookstore and publisher, Milkweed may not drive as much traffic as the typical Barnes and Noble store, but Gulden said their role in the bookselling community should not be understated.
“Without independent booksellers, books would not be sold,” Gulden said. “It’s the main way to drive sales for authors. So publishers, of course, put the money into the production and the distribution, and they pay the authors royalties for their work. But if you don’t have independent booksellers who are independently championing books with no real attachment to how it’s going to do otherwise, books would not get into the hands of readers.”
Gulden added that the sale of physical books is about much more than just their writers.
“The fact of the physical books is that it takes a lot of people to make a beautiful book,” Gulden said. “It’s not just the writer, it’s also the copy editor, the fact checker, everybody in production, all the printing houses, the art people get paid to put their art on our covers. There’s a very robust economy that is working for a book.”
Even for bestsellers, the amount of people who work on a book may be greater than the people who read it. By this logic, the making and selling of physical books is a largely inefficient process.
In saying this, I am not trying to dissuade you from books and bookstores, but rather, show in spite of this inefficiency, how remarkable they are.
Bookstores are places holding an infinite number of stories, along with their physical and tangible representations. They provide an invitation to the world that any number of these stories could be yours to keep.