Features
Spotlight on Bookshop Santa Cruz
Get up close and personal with this week’s featured Independent Bookstore
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When you shop this holiday, and all year round, help support independent bookstores in your community by ordering your books early or safely planning an in-store visit. When you shop indie you support your community.
We’re featuring some of the best indie bookshops around the country to celebrate and support the work they do. This week is Bookshop Santa Cruz. We spoke with owner Casey Protti, to get a sense of why it’s so beloved.
What’s the best part about being a bookseller/owning a bookstore?
Bookselling has always meant being part of a community- whether that is the larger community of people across the country that create books or if it is Santa Cruz where we work to create a vibrant literary community every single day. Those connections is what makes this all worthwhile. We all believe that books matter and that they make the world a better place. It is an incredible feeling to do work all day that you believe in.
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How can readers support indie bookstores most effectively?
Bookshop Santa Cruz once launched a campaign called the One Book Pledge. The idea is that even the most loyal customers to independent bookstores still only buy 4 out of every 10 books at an independent bookstore. We know people have a lot of options but imagine the power if every single one of those customers pledged to buy just one more book from an indie instead of from other places. One more book is what we need to not only survive but thrive.
Please describe a career highlight or a favorite event you’ve ever had at the store.
Two years ago, we hosted former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright for the paperback release of her book, Facism. It happened to be on the night of the State of the Union. It was our largest event in history- over 2800 people- but what I will remember the most is sitting in the green room watching the State of the Union with her and hearing her perspective of what it is like to be in that room when history is unfolding.
For folks who are shopping for the holidays, what 3-5 books are you recommending the most?
Hamnet– This is my favorite book of the year. Telling the story of Shakespeare’s family through the eyes of his lesser known, free-spirited wife, we learn about the death of one of his twins from the plague. The writing is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read and although reading about the plague right now didn’t seem like something I wanted to do, ultimately this book helped me move through this moment in history with compassion and love.
Ex Libris– Rejoice book lovers everywhere! In this exquisite gift book, literary critic Michiko Kakutani highlights 100 books to read that connect people across boundaries and viewpoints. What could be a better gift for someone who loves books?
The Searcher– This book arrived at just the right time. Who doesn’t need a smart, literary escape? Tana French is one of our mystery section’s favorite authors and for good reason. She’s just so good at what she does.
Girl with the Louding Voice & One Life– As a mom, I am always looking for books that speak to the rising voice of women and the way they strive to be heard. Both of these books do just that and coming from completely different backgrounds. These are perfect books for all those customers who bought Becoming by Michelle Obama.
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What are you personally reading right now?
I am just finishing The Great Offshore Grounds by Vanessa Veselka. I read it because Roxane Gay recommended it and there is nothing so pleasing as a bookseller than finding a debut author that you think is going to be a sensation. The storytelling is wonderful and the insight into poverty in America is incredibly illuminating. I am also reading James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time as this month’s choice for our internal bookseller anti-racism book group. It’s a tragedy that it is still so relevant today but I appreciate that we have his voice on this journey.