Tsundoku is a Japanese word that describes the act of acquiring reading materials and letting them pile up in one’s home. Do you do that? I sure do. I have piles in every room of the house, on almost every surface.  Magazines and books checked out from the library, loaned by friends, and found in from Little Free Libraries. I don’t save many books that I’ve already read, because what good is a book sitting on a shelf with no one reading it? But I have lots of things that I intend to read. Life is rich in reading opportunity!

April 26 is Independent Book Store Day. Indie bookstores are, unfortunately, a vanishing breed. They’ve been overrun by the cheap offerings of mega-stores like Amazon, who make their money elsewhere and offer books at under-market rates to get people shopping (books are actually called “loss leaders” on their balance sheets). Whenever possible, I shop Indies.

Shout out today to two GREAT Indie bookstores that I absolutely love:

Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais MN is a teeny little building chock full of books well-curated by their very helpful staff. You can check out their fabulous book offerings on their website: drurylanebooks.com
And here’s a fun little video with manager Gwen Danfelt showing us the store:
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/%20northlandia%20drury%20lane%20books

Pearl Street Books in LaCrosse WI is also an amazing gem, their high shelves packed with new, used, and specialty books in every category you can imagine. You can find them at http://pearlstbooks.com I highly recommend that you sign up for owner Beth Hartung’s monthly newsletter, which is full of interesting information as well as book recommendations.

Reading can expand our minds and take us places. I knew I’d been an effective parent when my then-10-year -old daughter exclaimed, “Mom, there are so many books and so little time!” Her very first job was at a book store––Drury Lane, in fact. She went on to get a Master’s Degree and is the source of many books in my piles : )