Back Pages Books, Waltham, Mass., closed Tuesday after 10 years in business. Owner Alex Green told the Boston Globe that he "had increasing opportunities to be part of the book world overall, including as a writer myself. It's very hard to balance the time it takes to be a writer and running something as labor intensive as a bookstore." Noting that financial challenges of owning an indie bookstore were "absolutely a component" of his decision, Green cited the loyalty of his customers, but added: "It's a book store--you don't go into these things to make a lot of money. We had up years and down years. I definitely felt those pressures." 
In a note to customers posted on the store's website, Green observed "it has been my great fortune that Back Pages has never wanted for love and support in Waltham and the greater Boston community.... I opened Back Pages when I was 22. I was the youngest owner of an independent bookstore in the entire country, and all of us knew that the odds on surviving were slim. At 32, I look at the life of this little bookstore and marvel at how outsized its existence has been. From that success I have had personal opportunities arise that I never could have expected. They now deserve my full attention and if I am to give them their full respect, I cannot balance them with continuing to run Back Pages." In 2009, Green launched a small publishing business.
He also offered a list of other local indie booksellers: "Below, I have included a list of similar places--locally owned and operated independent bookstores who are members of a national union of independent bookstores--where you can walk through the doors and find the same thing. If they are too far afield, consider opening your own. Looking back on having done it for ten years, I promise you that you will have no regrets."
