Are We in the Age of the Indie Bookstore?
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As big chains dominate retail, independent bookstores have quietly made a comeback.
Over the last few years it has felt like Big Business is winning, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see Indie stores are the ones that are really having a moment. The American Booksellers Association reports that 422 new indie bookstores will open in 2025, a 31% increase from 2024. There are probably a few things we can point to as the cause. One of them is the shrinking of the third space and The realization that going to a physical book store is more fun than buying books online from major retailers. Then again, since the pandemic, indie bookstores are also getting support from organizations like Bookshop.org. More details on that below.
Bookshop.org sales to increase by 55% in 2025, boost from romance and e-books
Talking about indie bookstores, Bookshop.org is killing it. The nonprofit platform has raised more than $40 million for indie bookstores since launching in January 2020. According to CEO Andy Hunter, during the pandemic, Bookshop.org became critical to the survival of booksellers without an online presence and has been thriving ever since. Its revenue for 2025 was about $70 million, a 55% increase from 2024, and twice a year, it gives 10% of all its profits to participating bookstores (last year, it gave a record total of $9.5 million). A large portion of Bookshop.org’s revenue comes from sales of romance books, as they are among the top three sales categories each month. Another big sales driver are e-books. The company began offering ebooks in 2025, and they now account for more than 5% of its revenue.
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People aren’t feeling Patrick Schwarzenegger in the lead role in this adaptation read the beach by Emily Henry
Okay, I have to admit that it’s a little funny (that’s because I love to mess). necessarily, Patrick Schwarzenegger has been cast Antonym bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor will star beach read Gus, and is a fan of the book it is not. This Substack post by Alyssa Morris Does a great job of collecting different people’s reactions to the casting selection, which are just like mine.Mentioned, mostly negative. One of the biggest complaints seems to be that Schwarzenegger is a Napo baby with Republican ties – quite the opposite. beach read universal internet boyfriendTMGus. People were also disappointed that Dev Patel was not chosen, which would have honestly guaranteed that I would have bought a ticket. Just putting money on the table…
These were the most challenged books in America last year, according to the American Library Association
Since 1990, the American Library Association (ALA) Has tracked books being challenged across the United States. These are documented and recorded challenges, either listed by the staff or shared with the staff by library personnel. The opposite challenges to book banning are complaints About the content; Challenges may result in a book being banned, but can also result in books being easily moved, modified, or banned. These may also result in no action being taken. -Kelly Jensen
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