Read For The Roses
A group of independent book stores in the Louisville, Kentucky area put their heads together and created an event that all of us book nerds truly loved.
I consider myself quite fortunate to have so many bookstores close to home. There are several of your typical big box stores such as Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Half Price Books. I don’t hate these stores or consider them evil. Yet, if you want something special, unique, with character and personality, you need to visit the independent bookstores in the area.
Our local independent bookstores created Read for the Roses, a plan designed to make me go broke. They knew I couldn’t resist visiting every store and spending money and this was created solely to attack my bank account. I feel personally victimized by this event and hold all the owners responsible.
The going broke part might be the only partial truth.
The premise for Read for the Roses was simple, visit all of the independent bookstores in the area between April 20th, 2024 and May 5th, 2024, get a stamp from each one, and submit your information. The winner is set to receive a $25 gift card to each store. There were eight destinations in total.
I noticed that a few brave souls visited every store on the list in a single day. These people are either younger than me with more energy, or injecting caffeine directly into their bloodstream. I am too old and too broken to do that, meaning my visits were split across two separate weekends.
I had already visited most of these stores at one point or another, but a challenge like this gave me an excuse to visit them again, spend more money again, and to also visit stores I had not yet shopped at.
Specifically, I had never been to The Rosewater or Set & Setting. Neither of these stores is what I would consider “close to my house” which is probably why they are rare trips for me. The same can be said for Foxing Books. You have to ask yourself, “Isn’t a cool bookstore always worth the drive?”
I think the answer is yes.
The first weekend, I visited Foxing Books, The Rosewater, and then A Novel Romance. I had not expected to be able to visit every single store on the list, but on a different Saturday, I visited Carmichael’s, Butcher Cabin, Set & Setting, and then decided to visit the other Carmichael’s. I was happy to learn that Carmichael’s Kids was just a short walk from where we parked.
“You know you don’t have to buy something at the store to get a stamp on your bookmark, right?”
I heard this a few times while out and about. The people asking, while well-intentioned, don’t seem to understand how I am programmed when I walk into a bookstore. The chances of me buying something are just too high.
I take a bit of pride in my bookmark with stamps from all of these stores. In fact, I may actually go get it laminated so I can make sure it hangs around for a long time. Overall, I absolutely loved this. I got to visit and support independent bookstores. I got to see parts of the city I rarely get to see and experience new things.
Will I win? No clue. Given the rate at which I win giveaways, I am fairly certain I will not see those $25 gift cards. But one thing is for certain, and that is my physical TBR here at home added another stack of books.