|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
This weekend marks the return of Independent Bookstore Day, a national daylong celebration of indie bookstores typically held on the last Saturday of April.
On the Peninsula, the 12th annual event will feature author meet and greets, exclusive merch, discounts, story times and more. Read on to see what festivities to expect at your nearest independent bookstore.
Beyond Text Bookstore, Los Gatos: The Los Gatos bookstore, which is set to celebrate its first birthday next month, will have a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt for a year of free audiobooks.
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Beyond Text Bookstore, 318 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Los Gatos; 925-660-9336, Instagram: @_beyondtext_. beyond-text-bookstore.square.site.
Books Inc. Palo Alto: Stop by to get a free mystery book with any purchase while supplies last. There will also be a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt.
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Books Inc. Palo Alto, 855 El Camino Real #74, Town and Country Village, Palo Alto; 650-321-0600, Instagram: @booksincstores. booksinc.net.
Books Inc. Pruneyard, Campbell: The Campbell Books Inc. outpost will host meet and greets with local authors Patty Flores Reinhart (who will sign copies of her book “High Water”), Rohan Srinivasan (“An Imagined Life”) and Bhargavi Vatte (“Neuro’s World,” “Introducing Vinny”). There will also be refreshments and a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt.
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 26 at Books Inc. Campbell, 1875 S. Bascom Ave., Suite 600, Campbell; 408-378-2726, Instagram: @booksincstores. booksinc.net.
Books Inc. Mountain View: Kick off Independent Bookstore Day with a 10:30 a.m. story time to read books about books. In the afternoon, the bookstore will host a meet and greet with local author Lisa Towles with signed copies of her new thriller “Specimen.” Stick around for the Bookish Meet Up at 5 p.m.
Throughout the day, the bookstore will also host a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt, a scavenger hunt for kids and adults and giveaways with purchases. The first 50 people who purchase a drink at Bloomsgiving will also get 10% off a book.
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 26 at Books Inc. Mountain View, 317 Castro St., Mountain View; 650-428-1234, Instagram: @booksincstores. booksinc.net.
Fireside Books & More, Redwood City: Fireside Books & More, which opened in Redwood City Feb. 1, will celebrate its first Independent Bookstore Day with stickers and bookmarks to give away, its weekly children’s story time at 10:15 a.m. and a pop-up chai bar from The Chai Lab from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
10 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 26 at Fireside Books & More, 2421 Broadway, Redwood City; 650-503-8141, Instagram: @fireside.rwc. firesiderwc.com.
Ink Spell Books, Half Moon Bay: The Coastside bookstore will have a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt, Independent Bookstore Day exclusives and a prize wheel that can be spun with purchase.
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 26 at Ink Spell Books, 621 Main St., Half Moon Bay; 650-726-6571, Instagram: @inkspellbooks. inkspellbooks.com.
Kepler’s Books, Menlo Park: The longtime Menlo Park bookstore will host author and illustrator Arree Chung at 11 a.m. for a presentation featuring his latest graphic novel, “Don’t Cause Trouble,” and a drawing workshop.
At 3 p.m., a literary spelling bee will include gift cards and tickets to upcoming events as prizes. Special merch and signed book copies will also be available for online order on Saturday.
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, #100, Menlo Park; 650-324-4321, Instagram: @keplersbooks. keplers.org.
Linden Tree Books, Los Altos: The downtown Los Altos bookstore will have an Independent Bookstore Weekend featuring author story times, a mystery wheel with giveaways and discounts (including up to 100% off) and limited-edition items such as Blackwing pencils, buttons, tote bags and more.
Author story times on Saturday include Tim McCanna, Cindy Derby, Darshana Khiani and Arree Chung, plus a mystery musical performance at noon. On Sunday, Vicky Fang will lead a morning story time and Cindy Chang will hold an afternoon art workshop. Visit the bookstore’s website for a complete schedule of events.
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 26-27 at Linden Tree Books, 265 State St., Los Altos; 650-949-3390, Instagram: @. lindentreebooks.com/events-calendar.
Peninsula Books, Daly City: Peninsula Books, a project of Peninsula Book Collaborative, has a full day of activities planned for Independent Bookstore Day. Author meet and greets include San Francisco Chronicle columnist and former food critic Soleil Ho (“MEAL” and “The Memory of Taste”); Kristen and Cheryl Tom (“Peek-a-Boo Musubi” and “Boba, Boba”); and former “MasterChef” contestant Hetal Vasavada (“Milk and Cardamom,” “Desi Bakes”).
The shop will also have timed sales of new and used books, including 20% off young adult books, children’s books, biographies, memoirs and mystery, thriller, crime and horror genres.
Other activities include a Libro.fm golden ticket hunt, banned book bingo and a prize wheel for giveaways – Peninsula Book Collaborative tote bags, grab bags, sticky notes, advance reader copies and more. Visit their Instagram for the complete schedule.
10 a.m to 6 p.m. April 26 at Peninsula Books, 441 Westlake Center, Daly City; 650-232-7700, Instagram: @peninsulabookcollaborative. peninsulabooks.org.
Here are more local independent bookstores to check out:
B Street Books, 1471 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame. A used bookstore with over 20,000 titles, including rare books. The bookstore is temporarily closed until early May as it relocates from San Mateo to Burlingame.
Bell’s Books, 536 Emerson St., Palo Alto. The longtime bookstore carries new, used and rare books.
Coastside Books, 432 Main St., Half Moon Bay. Sells books for kids and adults as well as gifts and stationery.
Compass Books, San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 2. Buy books, magazines and gifts from this Books Inc. airport bookstore.
East West Bookshop, 324 Castro St., Mountain View. The downtown bookstore specializes in metaphysical books and gifts.
Feldman’s Books, 1075 Curtis St., Menlo Park. The store specializes in used and vintage books and also hosts a variety of events, such as poetry readings, concerts and other performances.
Florey’s Book Co, 2120 Palmetto Ave., Pacifica. A new and used bookstore for all ages and reading levels.
Gigglemugs, 1461 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame. A downtown Burlingame hub for children’s books, candy, toys and more.
Leigh’s Favorite Books and Bookasaurus, 121 and 125 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale. Neighboring sister bookstores in Sunnyvale. Kids-focused Bookasaurus has a large selection of toddler books, picture books, chapter books and ones for early readers, plus educational toys and games. Leigh’s Favorite Books carries over 40,000 titles and a large selection of cards and gifts.
Reach and Teach Books, Toys and Gifts, 1179 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos. An immersive bookstore that also offers board games, puzzles, eco-friendly products and fair trade gifts from around the world.
Recycle Bookstore, 275 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell. A used bookstore in downtown Campbell with over 100,000 titles.
The Reading Bug, 785 Laurel St., San Carlos. A children’s bookstore in downtown San Carlos that also carries gifts.
