literati – my favorite local independent book store.
their first book club night ever.
that’s me, 3rd person on the left in a white sweater. so happy to be there.
so happy to support them.
they’ve made it. one full year.
and this is what they wrote about how happy they are.
—
One Year Anniversary Party!
March 28, 29, and 30th!
The end of March marks our One Year Anniversary! To celebrate, we’re throwing a party.
All. Weekend. Long.
All weekend will be treats, raffles, and fun. On Sunday, we’re donating 50% of proceeds to BINC, a locally-focused non-profit that supports booksellers across the country.
We are thrilled to be part of this community. It’s been a dream come true. We are proud to be Ann Arbor residents, to return to the area we were raised, and bring an independent bookstore that sells new books to the downtown area. One year down, and with your help, hopefully many more to come…
Lastly…
This year. It’s really hard to articulate how much gratitude and thanks we have to this community. We recently read the dialogue in the NYTimes about how bookstores can survive. It was more a question — “Can they survive?” Certainly, opening a small independent bookstore is not the safest way to ensure a long, viable career. There are concerns and fears about rising downtown rents, online booksellers, e-readers… to name a few.
But this first year proves to me one thing: People want books. People want an event space. People want a downtown location to browse books, share ideas, attend author events, book clubs, story times, and a safe, welcoming place to surprise themselves. We’ve seen so many surprises this year: A marriage proposal on our typewriter. A Halloween literary-themed costume contest. A violin monster and a 7-year-old beginning a pen pal relationship. Friends who hadn’t seen each other in 20 years bumping into each other, wildly enthusiastic, hugging. World War II veterans talking to 20-somethings about their experiences.
One year down. We are still here. We are still surviving. And it’s all because of you.
Sincerely, thank you.
-Mike and Hilary and the rest of the Literati staff
“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” ― Mark Twain
I didn't have my glasses on.... 
I see you, well your white jumper and your hair at least ~ smile. How wonderful they have made the year. So many book stores closing down over here, we need more of them, more where you can have a cup of coffee and sit back on comfy couches and put your feet up. They sound lovely and appreciative people and I hope their success continues.
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well there you go, jen. i need to back off on all of these selfies on my blog post. happy you can imagine me smiling and it is one of my favorite sweaters after all. yes, i’m so happy they’ve made it and i think it’s their sincere and enthusiastic partnership with the community that’s made all the difference. )
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lol no we need more selfies, some of our communities are small but we lack the comradeship that you seem to have.
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okay, i’ll do my best with the selfies jen and i do feel a wonderful sense of comradeship, a great word for it.
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Wonderful!
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it is )
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Literati has it going on, Beth. The smart owners seem to know that their role in the community is not just selling books, it’s perpetuating the whole book experience. Bravo to them, lucky for Ann Arbor.
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exactly, mark. they really understand and embrace that. also the same from the community’s side. i’m happy for them and happy for us to have them here )
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I love that Mark Twain quote, and congratulations on Literati’s one year anniversary. I’ve always wanted to join a community book club… yours looks lovely!
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i love the quote too, and i’m so happy they are making it here, it can be a huge challenge for an independent )
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Sending them copious best wishes from Denver. We need and deserve to have these wonderful little book stores. I’m so afraid today’s children will grow up not appreciating real books!
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very kind of you pied. every town deserves to have these little kind of stores. i have the fear too, about the next generation, but somehow i feel books will always be a part of life. i hope )
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http://www.MichaelsBest1.com you will be amazed Have a good weekend 😉
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I’ve never belonged to a book club, but it sounds like fun. At some point I may join one just to see what it’s all about!
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it is pretty fun, it’s always the interesting mix of people that make these things fun for me )
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I wont be back in Michigan until summer of 2015, but I am confident that I will be able to find them alive and well when I come calling. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
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oh, i’m quite sure they will be and i think you’ll enjoy stopping in there )
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I’ll let you know, maybe we can meet there. 🙂
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that would be fun )
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Can’t wait to see it!
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i know you’ll love it, h )
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I am sad to say our special little bookstore in Delaware, Ohio: Beehive Books just closed their doors in January! It is a challenge in today’s world of internet, e-books, and half price books, to make it and they had such lovely gatherings and a coffee ‘shop’ inside, too! Thanks for supporting your local bookstore and good luck with raising monies for BINC, great organization! Smiles, Robin
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oh, i’m so sorry to hear that robin, but i know it is really hard for these little stores to survive. that’s why i’m happy to do whatever i can to keep them in business )
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community support, so important .. glad they are doing well 🙂
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it is and you are so right, bonnie )
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Glad this awesome place is surviving. Long live the book!
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me too, andra. and i agree! hope you are well –
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Today’s a rest day, so I’m great. 🙂
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enjoy every moment of it, andra. and i must say i’m getting kind of wistful thinking of it all ending and i bet you are too. (except for your feet who are really looking forward to it)
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Oh, congratulations! Next time we visit my spouse and I will have to pop in. Unfortunately it can’t be this weekend.
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fantastic. well hopefully it will be here for a long time to come )
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I love bookstores. And libraries. I don’t want to have to buy a kindle every three years when going to a library was free.
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me too. agree with all of that, brenda –
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We can’t let books die! We just can’t!
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i agree )
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Three cheers for independent book stores! They support local writers and have passion for the books.
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absolutely )
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I’d love to have my own bookshop and I’m going to try and learn the business by working in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye (Wales, ‘Town of Books’ I think you’d all love it) soon. Can’t wait!
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that is so, so wonderful. have an amazing experience and keep us posted. best, beth
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