An Indie Bookstore Day Love Letter An Indie Bookstore Day Love Letter

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Indie Bookstore Day

When writing a love letter, you go into it knowing that your words will never adequately capture your adoration and appreciation for the recipient. Still, you try anyway because silence feels suffocating, almost criminal. Consider this my love letter to my favorite bookshop on Indie Bookstore Day.

Dear Katonah Reading Room

Today is Indie Bookstore Day, and I want you to know how loved and appreciated you are today and every day. The first time I met you, you had a different name and looked a little different, but I fell in love with your heart and soul at that moment – those things never change.

Indie bookstores are the touchstone in the community for connection and transformation, though some may argue the library runs neck and neck in this race. Yes, libraries are vital, but for me – my indie bookshop is where I continually go when I need balm for the deepest wounds that are still too fresh and raw to share with the high-pressure world of return dates and late fees. I need not worry about tears wetting a page or scribbling down notes in the margins when the book is mine to keep. Katonah Reading Room (and Little Joe’s before that) is where I find the ingredients to heal, mixing a little self-help with a heavy dose of humor and a dash of Beam paintstones for good measure.

Steadfast and reliable, you bring in people with the biggest hearts, faceted by so many interests and abilities, offering up to our community daily – ready to serve. You know that it’s more than just ink on a page. You’re not so much selling a book as you are matching up individuals with who they are on their way to becoming. Like Kathleen Kelly said in the movie You’ve Got Mail, “When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.” I’d take it even a step further to say that the books we read when we are healing and going through the ever-evolving growing pains, decade after decade, are equally as important. We read to see ourselves, sometimes discovering for the first time who we truly are. We read to learn more about walks different than our own, strengthening our ability to feel empathy and spread compassion. And you embrace it and pour on love, acceptance, kindness, understanding, and support. Every one of you. And our little spot in the world is so much better off because you exist.

You gave me a place to work when I needed flexibility and craved connection. And you have given me space to learn, grow, and connect – with others and myself. You are a beacon for kindred spirits, which means I know to allow extra time to visit and chat with neighbors and friends when I run in for a quick pickup. Within your walls, I’ve found a family that shows up for us when we need it most. You love my kid as if he is your own, and you fill our souls with coffee, books, tea, food, and art supplies when we are hungry to explore and create.

So today and every day, my cup is full of gratitude, and I will shout your praise from the rooftops!

Thank you for loving us, Katonah Reading Room.

Love always,
Us

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