“Books, inherently, require faith. Faith in an author that he or she will reward the many hours you’ll spend in those pages, faith that a good story will be told, a lesson will be learned, a light will be shone upon a dim corner of the world."—author Dave Eggers

And independent booksellers are an optimistic lot by nature. This time 17 years ago, we were working hard with a group of friends to create a new space for bookselling in Washington, DC. We planned to specialize in international politics, world literature and African American studies. We wanted anyone, no matter their heritage, to walk in off the street and see themselves reflected on the shelves of our store. We planned to host events, welcoming established and emerging authors.

A Little History
The DC area’s well educated population has long made it hospitable to booksellers. But the 1990s began to bring changes and closures as the big-box stores arrived, along with the home-grown Crown Books supersizing their stores. A shake-out followed.

But now the survivors of that shake-out are falling. Just in the past year the DC area lost:

• A Likely Story Bookstore, a beloved children’s bookshop
• Chapters Literary Bookstore suspended business, but hopes to make a comeback
• Karibu Books, offering books by and for people of African descent
• Candida’s World of Books
• Olsson’s has said good-bye most recently.

Local Ownership vs. Chains or Online Merchants
To those folks who consider yourselves committed to locally owned retail, yet find yourselves shopping at chains and online with greater frequency: we urge you to support your local independent businesses more regularly. Where you spend your money affects the world in which you live. For every $10 you spend at locally owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books         $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco     $1.30
Amazon             $0.00
The money you spend with us continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents. Yes, the internet is essential and awfully easy, but if you value real communities, you’ve got to support local businesses regularly in order to keep them in business. (more…)

Dear Friends:

Vertigo Books is at risk. We have short and long versions of why this is so, but both end with the same request: vote with your dollars now if you value our local economy and this store.

Where you spend your money affects the world in which you live. For every $10 you spend at locally owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books         $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco     $1.30
Amazon             $0.00
The money you spend with us continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents.

Why are we struggling? It may be a perfect storm:

• Market forces have not been kind to independent businesses and competition from internet and chain booksellers is keen.
• DC area residents use the internet more than many areas.
• An entire generation has grown up believing that Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon are the only places to buy books and this matters in a college town.
• The area lacks a coherent Buy Local effort that makes consumers aware of the real cost of chains.

Sales in 2008 are down substantially over last year. Vertigo Books simply cannot survive only on good wishes and fond thoughts.

If you believe, as we do, that bookstores are more than places of commerce, but places of community, conversation and ideas, we urge you to come in and shop. We’ll recognize more than your credit card. Frequently we’ll know your reading tastes (if not your name), ask how the new job is, whether your mom is doing well and lead you to the new book by your favorite writer. There is no log-in, no password required: just walk in the door. (more…)

Thursday, October 30 6:30 pm
Sumner School, 1201 17th Street, NW (17th & M Streets)

In 1944, 21-year-old Army Pvt. Herman Perry was working on the Ledo Road, a massive military project in inhospitable terrain. Perry, a black soldier, shot and killed his white commanding officer, then disappeared into the jungle, where he joined a tribe of headhunters and eluded capture for months. In Now the Hell Will Start, Koerner’s superb reporting creates a memorable book that is part thriller, part history—even the Post’s Jonathan Yardley liked it! More images.

Thursday, November 13 7 pm

Paperback Dreams Trailer from abeckstead on Vimeo.
Join us and producer/director Alex Beckstead as we screen and discuss his latest film. It’s an ode to two extraordinary bookstores that were key to the Free Speech Movement, but–more importantly–to their communities. In a world of 24/7 news, Blackberries interrupting dinner and tech-free vacations, Beckstead shows us the great worth of building community a bit more slowly, the old fashioned way–face to face while talking about books.

Maryland’s voter registration deadline is October 14, take a few minutes and do this NOW. Absentee ballots must be requested by October 28 in Maryland and Virgina, check here for DC absentee info.