Back in January, a date was set for the second annual Florida Bookstore Day. After the success of the first one in November 2014, they planned another for October 3rd this year.
Unfortunately that enthusiasm seems to have fizzled. According to organizers, there wasn’t much buy-in from bookstores around the state that had participated the first time around – like Books & Books in Miami or the Oxford Exchange in Tampa. Maybe it’s not surprising – brick-and-mortar bookstores are struggling to survive. They don’t always have time to throw parties.
So here’s a suggestion: Throw your own. Visit a bookstore and buy a book or three. Even better, choose books by Florida writers.
A few favorites published this year: Find Me, by Rollins alumna Laura van den Berg; or the Southern Reach trilogy by Tallahassee writer Jeff Vandermeer. And the revered Padgett Powell, who has taught at University of Florida since 1984, not only has a new book out – it’s called Cries for Help, Various – but he’ll also be reading as part of Functionally Literate at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park on Oct. 3, our putative Florida Bookstore Day. And Bookmark It, a local bookstore will be selling that book at the reading. Like almost every kind of shopping, these days you take your bookstores where you find them.