Make like Obama and shop 'Small Business Saturday' this weekend
Saturday will see the launch of 'Thanks for Shopping Indie,' an independent booksellier promotion which includes discounts on 66 'Indie Next List' titles.
Broadside Bookstore in Northampton, Mass. is an independently owned bookstore.
Joanne Ciccarello
Want to take a page out of President Obama鈥檚 book? Shop local this . Last year, after Thanksgiving, Obama skipped the Black Friday crowds (a security nightmare, we imagine) and the Cyber Monday rush (he had a few other things on his plate, like Pakistan, Egypt, and healthcare reform). But he made a rare exception for Small Business Saturday, taking daughters Sasha and Malia to Kramerbooks & Afterwards Caf茅, an indie bookstore in Washington, D.C., where he browsed for books and greeted shoppers, including one young boy with his grandmother.
鈥淵ou doing some Christmas shopping? Not yet?鈥� he asked. 鈥淲ell, we鈥檙e starting early. This is 鈥楽mall Business Saturday,鈥� so we鈥檙e out here supporting small businesses,鈥� the President said, according to news .
is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses nationwide. This year, independent bookstores are playing a starring role. On Saturday, the American Booksellers Association will launch , a weeklong promotion bringing customers special pricing on a bevy of indie titles.
For this inaugural promotion, the ABA worked with more than 20 publishers to get discounts on 66 鈥樷�� titles, including B.A. Shapiro鈥檚 鈥淭he Art Forger,鈥� Jami Attenberg鈥檚 鈥淭he Middlesteins,鈥� Junot Diaz鈥檚 鈥淭his is How You Lose Her,鈥� and Bee Wilson鈥檚 鈥淐onsider the Fork.鈥�
Each indie bookstore has its 鈥渙wn unique plans for the promotion,鈥� Bookselling This Week reported.
鈥淏ecause we love so many of the titles on the list, we decided to go pretty big with the promotion,鈥� Libby Cowles, community relations manager for Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colo., told bookselling industry newsletter . 鈥淲e love the message of thanking our customers for supporting independent businesses during the Thanksgiving holiday.鈥� Maria鈥檚 Bookshop will display 25 of the staff's favorite titles in the front of the store with signage promoting "Books We Love."
According to ShelfAwareness, many bookstores will also be featuring a two-day sale on the for $49.99 (it鈥檚 usually retails for $79.99). That special Small Business Saturday promo price is only available Friday, November 23, and Saturday, November 24.
We鈥檙e grateful for indie bookstores and we plan to wear our gratitude on our sleeve this Small Business Saturday. We hope you do, too.
(And if you鈥檙e curious what was in the First Family鈥檚 book bag last year, here鈥檚 a list: 鈥淭he Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao鈥� by Junot Diaz, 鈥淭ails鈥� by Matthew Van Fleet, 鈥淭he Phantom Tollbooth鈥� by Norton Juster, 鈥�Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever鈥� by Jeff Kinney, 鈥淶en Shorts鈥� by Jon Muth, 鈥淭he Tiger's Wife鈥� by Tea Obreht, 鈥淒escent into Chaos鈥� by Ahmed Rashid, and 鈥�The Invention of Hugo Cabret鈥� by Brian Selnick.)
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.