Another Indie 100 Tour update from Marc Fitten. This time he's traveling through New England—specifically visiting Trident Booksellers & Cafe in Boston, MA.

I should have studied more in high school. 

I should have studied and then gone on to a university in New England.  Then I could have spent weekends at the Cape.  I could have learned to sail and ski.  I could have gone on to marry a Kennedy…or maybe a Westinghouse…or perhaps a General Electric…or one of the Amway girls.  Or maybe I’d have gone another route and married a plucky girl from a small village.  

Although, in thinking of skiing, I imagine New England winters suck.  It’s May and trees are only just starting to bloom.  That scares me.  After years of winter in Eastern Europe, I decided I hate winter.  I couldn’t really live here for that reason.  So, I guess it’s fine I didn’t study after all.

But I still think New England is a special place.  I intend to make friends and visit often.  I bet they have great Fourth of July parties.  From Concord, MA, to Middlebury, VT, I imagine a sky lit up in red, white, and blue and parades down Main Street.  Because this is AMERICA, people – the birthplace of.  Walden Pond is a real place and it’s gorgeous.  Hawthorne and Emerson are buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. 

And God bless it, most importantly, New England was made for indie bookshops.  As far as I can tell, they’re thriving here. Over and over on this leg of the tour, what I keep hearing is that local communities really care about their indie bookshops on Main St. and make a point of shopping at them.

Here’s an interesting business model: a full sevice restaurant, complete with beer and wine, and a popular weekend brunch service in a well-stocked bookshop in Boston’s Back Bay.

When I walk in on a Wednesday morning, I’m surprised to find a book store packed with customers who seem to be having a good time. People are milling about. People are reading. People are eating!

Read the rest at Marc's Indie 100 Tour.