|
|
| At the Book Bird, Geelong | |
Bookshops offer us much more than a book. They present limitless portals to different worlds. Visiting a bookshop provides us all with an opportunity to be transported to wherever we want to go, maybe it's climbing a multi-story treehouse to find the marshmallow machine, a trip to the outer edges of the universe exploring Arrakis, or even back in time to watch the first pages of the Oxford dictionary come together. Wherever we want to go, we can get there via our local bookshop.
--BookPeople, the association for Australian bookshops, on the importance of Love Your Bookshop Day
Books Are My Bag Bookshop Day will be celebrated October 14 in the U.K. and Ireland, but Australia got a jump on the annual bookish festivities last Saturday with Love Your Bookshop Day. Organized by BookPeople under this year's theme of "Giving the Gift of Imagination," LYBD celebrates booksellers across the country and highlights what makes local bookshops great.
|
|
| BookPeople CEO Robbie Egan at Nice Stack of Books with owner Emma Trotman | |
"Love Your Bookshop Day was a very enjoyable experience this year," BookPeople CEO Robbie Egan wrote in a note to members in this week's newsletter, adding: "I did have a message from one member whose sales were almost five times a normal Saturday. I visited some new regional stores and they were enjoying the day but most importantly were loving bookselling." Among the shops Egan stopped by were the Hare & Tortoise Books in Korumburra, and Nice Stack of Books in Meeniyan.
I particularly enjoyed the #LYBD2023 love notes BookPeople shared on social media, many of them highlighting individual bookstore posts, including:
|
|
| Potts Point Bookshop | |
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to Potts Point Bookshop [Elizabeth Bay] and their wonderful window! Come and join us this Saturday for Love Your Bookshop Day! We've got a a special storytime at 11am, footpath chalk drawing on the street and coloring in in the shop. Thanks to @loveisa_sign for our lovely new window display to celebrate the event. We can't wait to see you there."
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to South Seas Books [Port Elliot] SA! Join us for Love Your Bookshop Day 2023!... we will have prizes, giveaways, treats and bubbles to celebrate our community of book lovers at South Seas Books. We hope to see you there!"
|
|
| Matilda Bookshop | |
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to Matilda Bookshop [Stirling]! What better way to remind you that's it's Love Your Bookshop Day tomorrow than by showing you (most of) us with the books that made us realize reading was amazing. We would have all bought these books, in the distant past, from independent booksellers like us, who wanted to share the joy and magic of reading. Much as we now do each and every day we're here."
"Sending #loveyourbookshop celebrations to Annie's Books on Peregian, Kabi Kabi Country, Noosa, Qld. Fitting snugly in amongst unique, owner operated retail businesses, this bookshop is in an ideal location for locals and visitors alike. It may be a small shop, but it is packed with treasures, and they pride themselves in keeping up with the latest trends in literature and new releases, right across all genres."
"A #LYBD2023 shoutout to @thebookbird_geelong, a beloved independent bookshop in Wadawurrung Country, Geelong! They're a small, independent bookshop that prides itself on matching readers with books they love."
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to Mary Martin Bookshop [Melbourne]! Happy Love Your Bookshop Day!!! Jaye and @toyillustration are all set up and ready for our teddy bear picnic and 'Bear' Storytime at our @vicmarket bookshop. And at Mary Martin Southbank and Port Melbourne we have piles of free mystery books ready to give to every customer so pop in to say hi and support your local indie bookshop today!"
|
|
| Bookshop Bowral | |
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to @thebookshopbowral [Bowral]! Every single day, we feel the love from our customers--so we are throwing around some extra love this Love Your Bookshop Day! If you happen to visit The Bookshop Bowral or The Bookshop Kiama today, we'll pop in something sweet with your purchase. Because to us our bookshops are about the people connected to it. We love readers of all kinds--so happy #loveyourbookshopday to you, dear #readers."
"Happy Love Your Bookshop Day to Fullers Bookshop, [Hobart] Tasmania! Ever wanted to hug your favorite bookshop? But it's a big, brick building with no arms and you don't want to end up in a documentary about people who love inanimate objects a little too much? Well, a great way to embrace Fullers and the whole indie bookshop community is to come along to Love Your Bookshop Day.... Running all day, we'll be celebrating ourselves (there, we said it) with a bunch of fun things for one and all."
 |
|
| At Roaring Stories, Balmain | |
"A happy belated Love Your Bookshop Day to the Kids' Bookshop, [Melbourne] VIC! How beautiful is this window display by Anna Walker?"
"Amazing to see the bookshop love on @abc_everyday with this piece by @thisgirl_writes on her favorite bookshop @theleafbookshop!"
And now for your moment of LYBD Zen, courtesy of the Leaf Bookshop, Ashburton: "Have you leafed through any good books lately? Join us on Love Your Bookshop Day and we can compare notes."