Recap: Indie Bookstore Day 2024 🎉

Including lots of photos and my final (mini) haul.

Hi, book friends.

I hope you had a fantastic National Independent Bookstore Day yesterday! My mom joined me for a mini–bookstore crawl around the Syracuse area, and it was a great time. The weather was lovely while we were out and about, the bookstores were festive and busy, and we even had time for some top-notch pizza for lunch.

Before I dive into a more detailed recap, just a quick note that today is the last day of Libro.fm’s big sale. There are some really excellent audiobooks on the list, including some of my favorites like Braiding Sweetgrass, Raybearer, and Circe. Also, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping today. It’s a great opportunity for some preorders you’ve been waiting to place (or any titles that were on your shopping list yesterday you didn’t manage to snag).

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I have a lot of photos in this newsletter. If the email gets cut off in your inbox, you can read it on the web by clicking the title.

We started the day at a new-to-me bookstore located about 20 minutes west of Syracuse called That’s What She Read Bookshop & Boutique. It’s also pretty new in general, having only opened last summer. They sell mostly used books with a small selection of new ones, plus some clothing and a ton of odds and ends.

And y’all, this place was CUTE. It’s located in a brightly colored Victorian house in downtown Marcellus:

As we walked up, we were greeted by raffles and a chance to spin a wheel for a prize. I won a free used book of my choice, and my mom got 25% off. (We ended up swapping because she found two used books to take home, and I found one new one.)

Walking inside, this place was gloriously packed with people! And they were playing Hamilton. And the owner was handing out candy to people standing in line. Honestly, the vibes were joyful and festive and so, so good. I’m really glad we made the drive out there!

Purchases in hand (don’t worry, I’ll share them at the end!), we hopped back in the car and made our way to Golden Bee Bookshop, which is one of my favorite places in the whole Syracuse area. It’s a small, queer woman–owned store with a small but excellently curated inventory and the best window displays. I mean look!

Walking in, we were greeted by official Indie Bookstore Day merch and Taylor Swift on the speakers. The store also had its own golden ticket game, where if you found one, you earned a prize or a discount. Plus all books were 20% off!

You know I snagged one of those onesies!!

We browsed a bit, grabbed some purchases, and then took a photo together on their iconic bench.

Then it was time for lunch, and we stopped at Francesca’s Pizza in Liverpool, which has a strong fanbase and for good reason. There’s just something about a crispy couple of counter slices! My mom also got a caesar salad, and they gave us some complimentary garlic bread as a surprise.

Last but not least, we hit up Parthenon Books downtown. It’s only a couple of years old and already a Syracuse institution. I especially love their cafe, complete with amazing coffee and a gorgeous mural. I need to make it down for one of their monthly open mic nights sometime!

Bonus, they had a balloon arch!! Plus there were some pop-up local vendors and a whole tower of blind dates with a book, which we love to see.

So, what did I buy?? I’m proud to report that I was very well behaved, with one purchase at each store.

At That’s What She Read, I grabbed a 10th-anniversary edition of The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. She took a break from the series to write the Priory of the Orange Tree books, but now she’s gearing up to release book 5 early next year. The first four books have been revised into “author’s preferred text” editions and given gorgeous new covers. (Books 2–4 are coming out in May; I have them on preorder!) I haven’t read any of them yet, but I’m looking forward to it later this year.

At Golden Bee Books, I bought an IBD onesie (I’m due in two months!) and a board book for a cousin’s upcoming baby shower. I didn’t include the book in the photo because it’s a gift, but take my word for it!

And at Parthenon Books, I grabbed a copy of Grief is for People by Sloan Crosley. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this memoir, and I’m eager to crack the spine.

It was a great day!!

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Tell me in the comments: How was your Indie Bookstore Day? Where did you go, what did you buy??

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— Deedi (she/her)