Sat 4/27
For some of us, there’s never a bad day to visit an independent bookstore (unless we’re worried about spending too much!) But on Independent Bookstore Day, Saturday April 27, you might want to make a point of supporting your favorite literary business. And unlike Record Store Day, which entices customers with special releases, often by major artists, that get snapped up by dealers who list them online for inflated prices even before the stores can open their doors, stores create their own promotions to encourage people to stop by, whether it’s refreshments, discounts, giveaways or in-store events.
Sixteen area stores are part of the northeast Ohio Indie Book Store passport celebration. They range from the 46-year-old Mac’s Backs on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights, which will have a jazz duo playing from 1-3pm, a poetry reading at 5pm and — alert the kids! — faceprinting from 2-4pm, and the 30-year-old Loganberry Books on Larchmere Boulevard, which will have live Wordle games, visits from local authors and cake, to Black Cat Books & Oddities which opened in Medina last year.
“Independent Bookstore Day is a chance to spotlight all the neighborhood bookstores in the region as several have opened in the last few years,” says Mac’s Backs owner Suzanne DeGaetano. Loganberry Books’ Harriet Logan adds, “Watching participation in Independent Bookstore Day blossom over the past decade is like the gratification of eating a plum off a tree that you planted.” (Brief pause to offer condolences on the death of Loganberry’s longtime store cat Otis, who retired from active duty a few years ago.)
All the participating stores in the area are listed below. Go to each store’s site to find out what they’re doing.
Appletree Books – Cleveland Heights
Black Cat Books & Oddities – Medina
Browsing Room Bookstore & Cafe – Cleveland
Clevo Books – Cleveland
Corner of the Sky Books & Beyond – Cleveland
Elizabeth’s Bookshop & Writing Center – Akron
Fireside Book Shop – Chagrin Falls
Index Coffee & Books – Cleveland
Loganberry Books – Shaker Heights
Mac’s Backs – Cleveland Heights
The Learned Owl – Hudson & The Thrifty Owl – Northfield
ThirdSpace Reading Room – Cleveland
Trust Books – Cuyahoga Falls
Visible Voice – Cleveland
Walls of Books Parma – Parma