I’m all for Reverend Billy’s Church of Stop Shopping and the idea of the Buy-Nothing Christmas, but if you DO feel compelled to purchase some gifts, I thought I’d share this message from Roy Blount Jr., President of the Authors Guild:
“I’ve been talking to booksellers lately who report that times are hard. And local booksellers aren’t known for vast reserves of capital, so a serious dip in sales can be devastating … We don’t want bookstores to die. Authors need them, and so do neighborhoods. So let’s mount a book-buying splurge … Clear out the mysteries, wrap up the histories, beam up the science fiction! Round up the westerns, go crazy for self-help….
There will be birthdays in the next twelve months; books keep well; they’re easy to wrap: buy those books now … Hold off on the flat-screen TV and the GPS (they’ll be cheaper after Christmas) and buy many, many books.
Then tell the grateful booksellers, who by this time will be hanging onto your legs begging you to stay and live with their cat in the stockroom: ‘Got to move on, folks. Got some books to write now. You see … we’re the Authors Guild.'”
