Posted on Instagram earlier this week by High Five Books, Florence, Mass.: "Today's New Book Tuesday falls on Prime Day, which sure is scary for indie bookstores like ours. Friends, we cannot beat Amazon's prices (or marketing budget, for sure): They don't need to make money on their books. And no, we just can't get our titles to you faster than they can: Their monolithic, omnipresent sales centers dwarf our independent regional book warehouses.
"But we will always have the newest, most joyful and inclusive books on our shelves for you right here at our shop in Florence, today and every New Book Tuesday. We'll be here when you zoom in a gift for that birthday party you're late for. We'll (try! very hard!) to remember your and your reader's names, and ask how that last book you bought was.
"Let's be real: This is an immensely difficult moment for small retail businesses like ours, when giants silently threaten to squash us with their 'unbeatable' deals. Please help us prove we're an indelible resource in this community."