supporting the indy bookstore

via booktumbling

If you use blogger then you probably also got the email about the Blogger and Amazon.com integration. The bait is that if you use this feature (which claims to not only simplify how you hyperlink to Amazon, but allows you to directly search the website from Blogger editor) then you will earn "commissions" from the Amazon-linked items you've recommended and your readers have bought.

All this is well and good and I've got nothing against earning a couple of extra bucks or Amazon (trust me, I've bought plenty from them!). However, I hate the manipulation of this "integration," how the recommendation of a book and the use of a hyperlink to that book becomes a marketing ploy to trusting readers. Aside from that - it also seems like another way for a huge business/website to not only take more business away from other, smaller, bookstores, but also attention from authors' pages, book reviews, etc.

Anyway, before I step off my soap box - I'd like to make a commitment to hyperlinking any books Hiving Out recommends to IndieBound, an online place that helps locate local independent and small bookstores (hope that's okay with you, L. and Mae!). And, yes, with this website you can also earn commissions too (something we have not signed up to do), but at least it's in support of the independent bookstores and who doesn't want to support them, right? Okay, I'm off my soap box now - have a great weekend everyone!!

"The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them." - Samuel Butler

If you call the Boston area home or are just passing through, there is one spot you can not miss. At most, a bibliophile's dream come true and at the least, the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon, the New England Mobile Book Fair (http://www.nebookfair.com/) is the most extensive and unique bookstore around. It is a discount bookseller's warehouse filled with everything from current bestsellers to out-of-print treasures. The maze of a space is organized by publisher and navigating can be a challenge, but the wandering is the best part. It is the perfect place to outfit a library or classroom, find that unusual gift, or pick up your book club's latest selection. I'm partial to rooting through the children's remainder titles- there is nothing like holding your favorite picture book from the second grade again. Located in the Boston-neighboring city of Newton, the Book Fair offers titles for a minimum of 20% off of the retail price, but more importantly....it smells like your childhood library. Breathe it in.