Independent Bookstore Day

 I didn't set out to go to Independent Bookstore Day, and I wasn't thorough. 

But I happened to be near Against the Current on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul last night and stopped in. I found a first edition of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried for $20, so that was cool.

Then today, after my usual Tesla Takedown morning, I thought I would make my way over to Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction bookstore (still in its "new" location) in Minneapolis.

It was very busy in there. I finally picked up copies of Nnedi Okorafor's new book Death of the Author and Ted Chiang's short story collection Stories of Your Life and Others. I've been meaning to get the Chiang book for years: it contains the story that the movie Arrival is based on. I hate to admit I'm not the biggest fan of short stories generally, but his are indescribably good.

Just around the corner from Uncle Hugo's is the general interest bookstore Moon Palace. They were swamped with customers and had worked with several other booksellers to set up popups outside their store: a book mobile, a comics seller, and a place called The Paperback Exchange. 

The area outside the store was a nice example of an urban shared space, with artwork on the ground in chalk...

And temporary paint...

Lots of people had biked and there were enough places to lock up bikes, too!

That only shows some of the bike parking.

It was a good book diversion from the usual drumbeat of doom.