The Book Seller
The Book Seller in downtown Grass Valley has been selling books for over 40 years! The independently owned bookshop has been in business since 1977 and specializes in books on the history, nature, outdoor activities & touring information for the Gold Country, in addition to a great selection of non-fiction, contemporary literature and children’s books. This coming Saturday, April 27th, the Book Seller will be a part of the nationwide Independent Bookstore Day, one of over 400 bookstores around the country who are participating in the event. The Book Seller will be celebrating with giveaways, goodies, and games. “Independent Bookstore Day is essentially a day-long party. We’re inviting the community to come celebrate with us at Nevada County’s oldest independent bookstore” says Mikala, The Book Seller employee.
Local poet Kirsten Casey explained, “Independent Booksellers represent the best of our culture. They are the tireless defenders of literacy and creativity, and we should never take for granted their devotion to the written word. And the best independent bookstores sometimes have resident cats named Romeow, and irresistible fish tanks in their children’s’ books basements. Online booksellers do not have the secret algorithm for really loving books, and knowing their customers by name. Nothing can replace that.”
“Independent bookstores curate a one-of-a-kind mixture of local history and hiking guides with recommendations on the latest national bestsellers—and you can pick the books up and look at them. No online algorithm can do that,” said Jordan Fisher Smith, author of Engineering Eden and Nature Noir. Local author, and book store fan, Kim Culberston shared that “This community thrives because we are actively engaged in the work done here. We take pride in our small businesses. The Book Seller has nurtured me as an author and as a reader. My daughter grew up around their stacks. They know her, understand her reading interests, and set aside books they know she’ll love. This kind of human interaction can’t be recreated online. This is a valued relationship in my life and I’m so grateful for the work The Book Seller does in our community.”
And this post wouldn’t be complete without some sort of giveaway, so please post a comment on this blog post for your chance to win a $20 gift certificate and a canvas Independent Bookstore Day tote bag, winner will be announced on Monday, April 29th. And for those of you looking for other book resources in Nevada County, check out this blog post from last year on All Things Books. **Edited to say the winner is Sydney Moon.
I love that our beloved indy bookstores get their own day! They’re community gems.
My go-to shop when buying books for gifts and for fun!
I may be one of the few who still read actual books- and browse at book stores – but have not yet been to this spot! I hope to go soon!
Absolutely love going into the Bookseller and checking out their great selection. Plus everyone is so friendly and helpful.
I love this post. Bookstores and libraries bring back so many wonderful memories for me because they are where I spent most of my childhood. Now I love taking my daughter to book stores and seeing what kind of books she is interested in. Reading is such an important part of growing up for children…I believe if you can read well you can succeed at anything!
I can always find just the right book as a gift for a birthday or Christmas or whenever! I really appreciate the knowledegeable and enthusiastic staff.
I love the Bookseller! Thank you for the giveaway, Erin!
We are so lucky to have this treasure in our community!
It is so true that there is something very special about independent bookstores. The feel of the pages, the smell of the books, and the friendly faces of store clerks while you walk down the isles is something that can never be replaced by Kindles or buying books online. I hope these small community driven storefronts never are a thing of the past. In a digital world, they are truly an invaluable resource that I hope I can share with my future children and their children one day.
My favorite place in GV
We LOVE our little bookstore. There’s something magical about being able to hold a book and look through it on your way to the counter. Not only that, but like a library, just walking through opens up new ideas of things to learn and read about. Thanks for sharing this post.
My kids and I love The Book Seller! Finding new books and reading them in the fish tank cave is one of our favorite activities. Hoping to start making it to more story times in the future!
My boys LOVE the bookseller. It is their favorite place to visit when downtown. Thank you for highlighting this treasure
It’s always a treat to browse at The Book Seller! Great staff there always ready to assist. Many years ago, I took my daughter in there frequently as she was growing up, and we loved visiting with their store kitty!
I am so grateful to live in a town where books are gifts and topics of discussion. I myself often want to bottle up the aroma of turning pages and wear it as a perfume. Long live The Book Seller! <3
I love the Book Seller! Their window displays have always been a favorite of mine. I was a very lucky kid and got to go downstairs to pick out a book regularly.
I hadn’t heard about this until I saw your post. Thanks for sharing!
I still prefer to hold a real book in my hand and I am grateful for our Independent book stores.
Ooooh, that bag is amazing. I love the idea of celebrating independent book sellers! And I always go to The Book Seller when I’m in Nevada City – special pilgrimage 🙂
I am so glad we have real, small bookstores here. There are many choices and all are run by local folks. Thank you for putting it out there! The Bookseller is a treasure!!
My family has loved The BookSeller for many years. I have great memories of the kids picking out books when they were little. It was a celebrated event, and it still is!
We love the Book Seller! Such a great selection of children’s books.
As a teacher, my favorite thing to do is read aloud novels to my students. No matter the age, they are so inspired to read, because reading is FUN! I choose paper over a screen any day, and I am thankful we have such a wonderful shop here in town to bring stories into their hearts.
Local independent bookstores—and books—need all the love they can get! Thank you for featuring this sweet stop and the day that celebrates all book sellers (capital B or not :))!
Thank you for this article about The Book Seller. You have inspired me to spend more time there getting to know the people and their books.
The Book Seller has been my favorite GV shop since I was a child and spent hours reading and finding new stories there. They even made a big effort to help my elementary school teachers find great books that would engage students in reading and make sure the classroom was full of new reading material. Thank you for all that you do BookSeller Team!
I absolutely love The Bookseller. The staff is always very helpful with suggestions. I usually find something I didn’t expect when I go there.
We are so lucky to have The BookSeller in our community. I love the selection. Especially the local stuff and children’s books.
I love this local book store.! It’s fun to shop at Christmas tine for that special book for someone you love.
3 generations of our family have loved the bookseller! One of our biggest treats is going in and browsing! One of our favorite stores and one of the reasons this area is such a great one to live in!
I love The Book Seller! I’ll never forget the midnight Harry Potter parties! Priceless!
I love The Bookseller! They are always so helpful and welcoming.
There is still nothing like the pure joy of walking into an independent bookstore and discovering books that will become part of your soul. I love living in a town that promotes creativity and small businesses!
My son and I love going in and buying gifts for friends or making a wish list for special days!