Urban Think!’s Blog

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Nancy Davis Kho recalled her summer visit to western Massachusetts, where she was impressed by the buy local movement. Back home, she has sought to adapt a “buying local for the holidays” credo this year that includes bookstores: “Sure, every book I could ever want is available on Amazon.com. The site’s ‘Recommended for You’ technology is great and, for out-of-prints and rare books, I am appreciative of its scope and efficiency. But I’ve never logged on to Amazon in order to sit 3 feet away from a favorite author during a reading, nor does Amazon offer my kids cookies and a couch to sit on while they browse. Those things only happen at my neighborhood bookstore and, because I have a choice, that’s where I’d like my book-buying dollars to go.”