Indie Bookstore Day Exclusives for Blog

Saturday, May 2nd is Independent Bookstore Day! Based on Record Store Day and test driven in California last year, Indie Bookstore Day is a national celebration of all the joys of indie bookstores. We’ve got a lot of fun planned for the day (stay tuned for more info about that) AND we’ve got some very cool, bookish items that will be available exclusively in store on that day. Here’s what you’ll be able to get at PSB on May 2nd.

Roxane Gay Chapbook

Roxane Gay is a force of nature. We’ll have a mini-collection of essays on books, reading, and the world of contemporary literature by Roxane Gay available as a limited edition, signed chapbook.
$10

The Finders Keepers Broadside

This color broadside from Stephen King’s forthcoming novel, Finders Keepers, is a love letter to passionate readers, written in King’s own hand. Suitable for framing.
$12

Hyperbole & A Half Broadside

For days when it just doesn’t seem worth it to clean all the things. Bring a little Allie Brosh home with this signed four-color print from her remarkable debut, Hyperbole and a Half. This high quality print is suitable for framing. (Right after you get the dogs in. OK, you can frame it before you get the dogs in.)
$15

I Love to Read “Bunsie.”

Made of 100% soft European quality cotton. This onesie has snaps at the bottom making it easy to change and dress little ones. Each onesie comes with a specially designed hang-tag reading “Made exclusively in support of indie bookstores for Independent Bookstore Day 2015” with IBD logo. Start ‘em early!
$18.99

Huck Finn Literary Map

A lush, hand-drawn road map depicting Huck’s river journey. The map, which will appear in Plotted: A Literary Atlas, has been extended and expanded upon for IBD.
$7.95

Bad Citizen Stencil

Illegitimi non carborundum! Suitable for use as a stencil or as a stand-alone art piece, this year’s Bad Citizen stencil quotes Margaret Atwood’s poem “Spelling”: “A word after a word after a word is power.”
$35

A Literary Map of the Seas

A hand drawn fine art print of 24 great books set in the ocean. Includes classics from The Odyssey and Moby Dick to modern favorites like The Life of Pi, Plover, Pippi in the South Seas, and Swamplandia!. A full-color, gallery quality giclee print suitable for framing.
$40

And now, some fine print in regular print. All the items will be available on a first come first served basis in the store only and only on May 2nd. Because we will have a finite number of these items, we will be limiting purchases to one each per customer.(So no snapping up all the Roxane Gay chapbooks to sell on Ebay.) See you on Independent Bookstore Day!

Ebooks Deep Dive: A Different Kind of Detective

One of the advantages of digital reading is the ability to dive deeply into a topic or genre you’re excited about. Into Civil War novels, histories of orange farming in California, or travel guides to places you never plan to visit? In a few minutes you can fill your phone or ereader with as many books on your latest obsession, the topic you want to research, the genre you want to become an expert in. So we’re asking authors to curate lists of books in particular genres, exemplifying particular traits or exploring particular topics to help you take a deep dive in your reading.

Our first list is from our very own bookseller and author Josh Cook, featuring a different kind of detective.

Since the invention of the character by Edgar Allen Poe in his short stories featuring C. Auguste Dupin, the detective has become a staple in western literature and entertainment. Whether featuring a cold, logical, detecting machine like Sherlock Holmes or a hard-boiled PI like Philip Marlowe, or someone kinder and gentler, there have been hundreds of different detectives solving thousands of different cases.

Here is a list of ebooks that feature a different kind of detective story, whether they incorporate science fiction (like The Shining Girls) or riff on the genre’s conventions (like Noir) or just kind of wander around an environment of mystery rather than seeming to solve anything (like Inherent Vice and The Search), these books play with and stretch the idea of the “detective” to new, interesting, and often entertaining heights.

Check out the full list here.

Tell us what books you’d add to this list in the comments.