Around Indies

Lake Forest Book Store Celebrates 65th Anniversary

Eleanor Thorn, who purchased Lake Forest Book Store a little over a year ago, is planning a party to mark the business’ 65th birthday.

Thorn, who was Lake Forest’s bookkeeper, purchased the 1,800-square-foot store with a staff of 18 from Sue Boucher. The Lake Forest Sun-Times noted that the business’ history can be traced to 1949, when a group of local women decided it was time for the city to have its own bookstore.  In 2004, the store moved a block from its home of 55 years to a space in Market Square previously occupied by a B. Dalton.

To put her own stamp on the bookstore, which she hopes someday to pass onto her children, Thorn recently added a toy department.

Charis Books & More Marks 40 Years

In November, the feminist bookstore Charis Books & More will celebrate four decades of selling books and providing a safe space for many of Atlanta’s communities, according to the GA Voice. The store is co-owned by Sara Luce Look and Angela Gabriel.

Elizabeth Anderson, executive director at Charis Books, said part of the store’s success is due to its “loyal, interested, committed customers” who know they can trust the books that Charis staff place in their hands. Also contributing to the store’s longevity is a strong nonprofit programming arm, Charis Circle, which creates more than 200 diverse events a year, from book groups, author readings, and writing groups, to Sunday morning yoga, anti-racist workshops, trans youth support groups, teen ’zine making classes, and more.

In November, Charis will kick off a whole year of celebrations.

Hooray for Books! Seeks Funds for Expansion

Alexandria, Virginia’s Hooray for Books! is in the final two weeks of an Indiegogo campaign to raise $50,000. The business, owned by Ellen Klein, is healthy and growing at about six percent per year, the Washington Post reported, but Klein can’t get a bank loan in today’s post-recession economy.

Klein has enough capital to pay for an expansion that will double the size of the store to 4,000 square feet, but she is hoping the Indiegogo campaign will help her buy new bookcases, computers, carts, and A/V equipment for author appearances. The store holds approximately 300 events a year.

The campaign runs till November 5.

 Women & Children First Rallies Community Support

Chicago’s Women & Children First, which has already raised more than $25,000 of its $35,000 Indiegogo campaign goal, is rallying support through a “Perk Party” on November 11, featuring readings by local Chicago authors, feminist jams, and a raffle of more than a dozen autographed hardcover books, including titles by Michael Pollan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

New co-owners Lynn Mooney and Sarah Hollenbeck are seeking the funds for a storewide renovation and expansion of programming.

The store, which was founded in 1979 by Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon, was recently recognized with a portion of a street in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood renamed in its honor.

Russo’s Opens Office Space

Bakersfield Now reported that Russo’s Books, which closed its retail location earlier this year, has opened a new office in southwest Bakersfield, California. The 25-year-old business, owned by Tony Russo, is now an online-only store, which offers an inventory of more than two million books and free shipping for arrival within one to two days, the paper noted.

Russo’s remains an active part of the Bakersfield community and continues to host community and author events.