This past Saturday I had the great honor to be part of a local author event at the Lebanon, Indiana bookstore Between The Pages. I got to meet seven other local authors, talk about the publishing business, and have conversations about my books with customers. It was a very nice event and several people even decided to take home copies of my books Religion and Myth in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Malleable Mara: Transformations of a Buddhist Symbol of Evil. Here's a picture of me and my set up:
My family even stopped in to say hello. (We're all masked up, but I'm pretty sure everyone's smiling.)
Two former students from Saint Joe's stopped by as well! It was great to see them.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable event. It's true that big book sellers are able to offer more inventory and buying online enables you to order practically anything from anywhere (making it easier to acquire rarer and harder to find books). Admittedly, currently online sites like Amazon are still the best way to get copies of my books. However, events like Saturday's really bring home the importance of local, independent book shops. We were able to meet members of the public we otherwise wouldn't have met, spend time talking about local issues we otherwise might not have thought to commiserate about, and just generally create more social bonds than the average trip online or to a big book store would ever foster. Years ago, when I taught Core 1 at Saint Joe's, we read the book Deep Economy by Bill McKibben. McKibben argues, in part, that our capitalistic economy has proven very adept at providing us with "more stuff" but "more stuff" is not better stuff. Ultimately, he says that we need to reinvest in those things that create human relationships, and the best way to do that is to go into your local community. This past Saturday was a sterling example.
So, next time you have a chance, go visit your local independent bookstore!
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