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| The steps at Appletree Books |
As if having books for sale weren’t enough, Northeast Ohio’s independent bookstores are expanding their offerings Saturday in honor of Independent Bookstore Day.
The nationwide celebration will have a decidedly Cleveland tone on the East Side, where three indie bookstores are sharing a promotion. A bicycle tour with Heights Bicycle Coalition will start at noon at Appletree Books in the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood of Cleveland Heights. Cyclists will tour sites from local author Celeste Ng’s best-selling novel, “Little Fires Everywhere,” and make stops at Mac’s Backs on Coventry Road and Loganberry Books on Cleveland’s Larchmere Boulevard near the Shaker Heights border before returning to Appletree. “Little Fires Everywhere,” which is so good I read it in one day, takes place in Shaker Heights.
The bike tour is just one of many free events the East Side stores are holding Saturday. You’re also invited to enjoy mimosas, meet some authors, go on a scavenger hunt, listen to music, pick up special tchotchkes and get discounts on books and other merchandise. There’s more, so click the links above for details.
On the other side of town, Visible Voice Books in Tremont is offering shoppers who spend at least $25 Saturday a chance to win a $25 store gift card. There also will be a performance from Conor Standish and Front Porch Lights Saturday night.
All of our local indie bookstores have unique features that make them worth visiting any day. Visible Voice sells coffee, beer, wine and baked goods and is upstairs from Crust pizza. Loganberry offers an extensive collection of used and new books and has a resident cat, Otis. Mac’s Backs fits a lot of books and other merchandise into a small space and it’s next door to Tommy’s restaurant, a Coventry institution.
If you usually buy your books from Amazon, consider supporting your local booksellers. They might even match the prices you find on Amazon. Ask them.
Two other indies that don’t seem to have anything special planned for Independent Bookstore Day are Fireside Book Shop in Chagrin Falls and The Bookshop in Lakewood. But you can still visit them on Saturday or any other day they’re open. I haven’t been to either yet, but I plan to go. I hear The Bookshop has its own resident cat, Hobbes.
Great list - to be honest only 2 of the ones you named were already on my radar so it's fantastic to know of some more Cleveland area independents. Such a fun/relaxing way to while away a drizzly afternoon!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I would love to hear where you went and how you liked the day. I'm already committed to an all-day writing workshop, so I'm afraid I'm not going to make it to any of the bookstores on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I had no idea! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I hope you'll visit a few indie bookstores on Saturday,
DeleteI love all these places! Mac's, Appletree and Loganberry are some of my favorites. I need to get back to all of them!
ReplyDeleteYes! Hope you can get there Saturday,
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