In Celebration of Local Bookstores

They’re back!

In many small towns across the United State, bookstores are re-taking their rightful places on main street America. Even my little village of Arroyo Grande, California, has opened a cozy store where customers can buy fiction as well as non-fiction books. Monarch, is the name of our new shop, honoring the butterflies who migrate to our town by the beach every year…in droves. More Monarchs visited us this year than in decades. To name a bookstore ‘Monarch’ is prescient!

Our new bookstore supports local authors in the form of book sales. Twice a year, ten writers display their art, looking forward to conversing with readers about their writing.

In the isolation caused by Covid, reading for information and enjoyment picked up popularity. Perhaps the world’s emphasis on technology has made humans pine for an uncomplicated relationship with a story, where readers determine how to take in information. Maybe pop-up bookstores are proof we’ve put away some of those shiny electronics in favor of immersing ourselves in new worlds.