I’ve been visiting some local bookstores this week to discuss ways we can help save Booksellers and one theme has appeared at every store I visited: a sense of community. Local bookstores are more concerned with helping out their fellow bookstores than large chain stores. Although this may be partly tied to the fact that most local bookstores serve a particular niche, this is mainly due to the fear that many bookstores face with the “am I next?” mentality. If the largest independent bookstore in Memphis can close, then who’s to say that my store isn’t next? This thought lying in the back of many bookstore owners’ heads joins them together but also creates an unsettling feeling. We must remember that we are here to save Booksellers. We can argue (I do love to debate) all day what we think should happen to the store and who should own it, but all of that is meaningless unless we can save the store we love. Thus, we return to our 5-part series on ways you can help save Booksellers. Way #3: Odds and Ends It’s the middle of the week and I thought I might lift everyone’s mood by sharing some more…interesting ways you can help out Booksellers (a lot of these ideas came from people who sent in ideas). -Buy the furniture at Booksellers: What? You can buy the furniture at Booksellers? Yep. But to help out Booksellers you can buy the furniture during the liquidation sale and then return it if/when Booksellers reopens. Booksellers has a lot of unique furniture that you may not have noticed when browsing for a book (I’m looking at you wooden chairs near the back of the store). -Pick up some bookmarks next time you stop by Booksellers: I heard from several people that some of the Bookseller staff were handing out bookmarks and calling them “collector’s items.” If Booksellers must rebrand itself, they’re not wrong. -Share your favorite funny story about Booksellers: the news that Booksellers was going to close (not if 2,400 people now have anything to say about it) put a damper on a lot of peoples’ spirits. So, why not take to social media and share a funny story that happened to you at Booksellers. -Walk into Booksellers and head over to a section you’ve never visited before…then close your eyes and point randomly. Then open your eyes and buy the book you’re looking at. It might be a book you’d never normally read, but hey…who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new favorite genre. -Talk to everyone you know about the petition. Ok, so this one isn’t as “funny,” but it’s still extremely important. Sharing this petition keeps the momentum we’ve started going and shows potential investors that Booksellers is so much more than a store. Last note: If you are a librarian or local bookstore owner and are interested in helping out Booksellers, contact me at savebooksellers@gmail.com and I can send you (or drop by) some flyers with information about the petition and/or a printed petition form for those who don’t regularly use the internet. As always, don’t forget that #MemphisGetsLit, Emmett Miskell