"Hey. I'm thinking of trying something for a bit--recommending a book I love, and highlighting an indie bookstore, each week," author Celeste Ng tweeted last Saturday. "(Obviously you could get the book anywhere but it's nice to shout out indies who will ship to you!) Would that be interesting to people?"
In an update, she noted: "Okay, it seems like the overwhelming response is YES, so--let's do this thing! Every day I'll highlight a book I love (old or new) and an indie bookstore you should know. Order from them or your indie of choice! #DailyBookAndIndie."
---
Curated Zoom backgrounds. In normal times, the Brattle Book Shop, Boston, Mass., "offers to curate bookshelves as personal or professional backdrops," Curbed noted. Now the bookseller is pitching the service to those legions of people hastily working from home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic:
"We see your book shelves in the backgrounds of Zoom meetings and TV appearances," Brattle tweeted. "Let us help you curate your background. Books in all subjects. Please e-mail us at info@brattlebookshop.com for more details."
---
The Village Bookstore, Pleasantville, N.Y., is offering thanks to first responders, doctors, nurses and others "who are taking care of us during a really difficult time. We are collecting notes like this one outside the store each day. We'll be delivering your notes to a community member for staff at Phelps Hospital. If you are taking a walk please drop off your own note or use the materials provided. Please practice social distancing. xoxo."
---
Firestorm Books & Coffee, Asheville, N.C., posted: "While we miss seeing you all face-to-face in the store, we have been working to bring more signature flair to our web orders! From now on, you can expect your books to arrive in an elegant and absolutely Instagramworthy hand-stamped package with a bookmark and a zine.
---
The Children's Book Shop, Brookline, Mass., is promoting the online purchase of gift certificates by customers, noting that "gift certificates provide us with short-term cash flow to help pay our bills, and you can redeem them when we're able to reopen--something for us all to look forward to!"
The store has a Google form for customers to fill out, after which it sends an e-mail invoice via Square. Then, "we will happily mail you or your recipient the gift certificate as soon as payment is received."
---
The Mysterious Bookshop, New York, N.Y., has launched a new project "where some of our favorite mystery writers recommend some of their favorite mystery novels, and the choices have been top notch so far! This week, we featured picks from Nelson DeMille and Thomas Perry, and coming weeks will include Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lawrence Block, among others."