Hello

I was raised by a single mom who taught me that books are magical. My favorite part of every week was our Friday night ritual of visiting Walden Books at our local mall, where I was allowed to pick a book for the weekend. Of course, one book is not enough for a voracious reader, but I managed to fill those gaps with my local library. Libraries are awesome! 

 

Fast forward to middle-age Karen and my love of books is as strong as ever, so much so, that I've graduated from UCLA Extension’s fiction writing program, I've published small pieces in literary journals, and I'm a proud bookseller at an independent bookstore. I'm a frequent traveler and when I'm away from home, one of my top missions is to visit local bookstore. 

 

Working in the book industry and visiting other stores, I realize how difficult it is to compete against big box retailers and the big threat, Amazon. It's so, so hard. But here is the thing, independent bookstores are irreplaceable. The joy of interacting with other booklovers, browsing the shelves and discovering a new-to-you author, petting a bookstore cat (or dog), supporting the local economy...the sheer positive energy of an independent bookstore is a cause worth saving. 

 

So, why this box? Subscription boxes are a delight in your mailbox, and I like spreading happiness, but more important, I was brainstorming on how I could help small bookstores and I thought as much as I love visiting them and supporting them, other people might too. I thought it would be fun to embark on a literary road trip and theme each box to a different state, including those local stores. My hope is that armchair road trips will lead to real life road trips. And in turn, real-life visits and support for independent bookstores.