'Indie Bookstores Are Beacons of a Decent, Flourishing Society'
"Like libraries, indie bookstores are beacons of a decent, flourishing society. I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by books, not just in school but at home. Every indie bookstore I've visited has its own personality and, most important, knowledgeable, book-loving owners and staff. People who own indie bookstores aren't in it for the money, they're in it because they know how amazing, and amazingly essential, books are for humans to thrive, individually, and in society. More indies = better world."
--Kenneth Oppel, whose novel Best of All Worlds (Scholastic Press), is the #1 July/August Kids' Indie Next List pick, in a q&a with Bookselling This Week
