In Praise of Indie Bookstores
Ash Braley and City Lights Bookstore owner Chris Wilcox
I’ve always been a bookish person (of course) and spent many hours – days, weeks, decades – haunting bookstores. I mean, back when bookstores were intended as bookish places, that made you want to read, to learn, and dare I say it, think. I’m not above a book-crawl through Barnes & Noble, and I cringe to think of the sheer quantity of books I’ve hauled away from those outings. But did I buy them because I was interested in the titles? Or just beguiled by the massive amount of stock?
Compare that experience to a visit to an indie bookstore, where there is less stock, but it is thoughtfully curated by the owners, displayed with wit, and designed for readers and bibliophiles. Where I can browse and come away with perhaps fewer books, but ones that mean more to me. Books that I will read, reread, cherish, think about.
City Lights Bookstore in bucolic Sylva, NC is such a place. It’s on a steep winding side street, not conducive to foot traffic. When you walk in, you are immersed into a world of books, bookish artifacts, inspiration for curiosity and above all, imagination. Exactly what we want to get from books. It doesn’t make me want to just buy books – it makes me love books, want to read them, care about each one of them. And, of course, write them. Write better ones.
It is a pleasure and an honor to have City Lights carrying my books, An Older Kind Of Justice and Strange Rivers. Please check them out – it’s worth the trip. If you’re not in North Carolina, find another indie bookseller in your area, and buy your books there. It’s not just supporting a local business – it’s letting a passionate local business support YOU.
A Is For “Arachnid”
T shirt design by Macon County artist, Matt Gauck who created the “reading by lightning bug” drawing to highlight the southern Appalachian setting of this City Lights Bookstore.
Next article
What’s in a name? Ask Titus Groan.