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.