“For a true collector the whole background of an item adds up to a magic encyclopedia whose quintessence is the fate of his object.”
~ Walter Benjamin, Unpacking My Library
Lines forming early at Underground Sounds in Ann Arbor, photo by David Brenner, annarbor.com
April 20th was Record Store Day, an international day created in 2007, by a group of independent record store owners to promote vinyl recordings. Early that morning across the country, people lined up in front of small independent record stores to purchase and celebrate the survival and unique qualities of vinyl recordings. Limited edition albums from Van Dyke Parks, The Band, Half Japanese and over 200 other artists were released that day – with similar hard-to-find recordings released once each year on Recordstore day.
Excitement and buzz surrounds these small edition recordings, all simultaneously issued on the third Saturday of April. People discuss the selections and blog about them months ahead. Old OP blockbuster LPs, unreleased recordings, unusual oddities and dozens of limited editions come out for eager waiting fans. Forget Christmas, RSD is now the busiest day of the year for indie record stores, many who begin stashing rare goodies months in advance – all adding to the feeding frenzy.
“Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music. His legacy is tremendous,” Young said. “But when he went home, he listened to vinyl (albums).” -Neil Young [ source: Christian Science Monitor]
Real music lovers, audiophiles and anyone passionate about music, have long known the fact that vinyl recordings are superior in tonal quality to CDs or mp3 files, which use compression to digitize the sound. Compression lops off the highs and lows, reduces depth and equalizes tones resulting in a bland duller sound quality. The beauty of liner notes, gatefold designs and the artwork that comes with a 12″ format is also unsurpassed by the weaker CD or MP3 formats. The advantage to the compressed formats (as with pdf files for books) are cheapness and portability. “In 2008 more people purchased vinyl records then in the past 20 years” and the numbers are increasing every year. [source: The Vinyl Revival and the Resurrection of Sound] All praises to the indie record shop. They’ve amassed a giant grass roots effort, that is well organized and working on a large scale. RSD is also an essential tool in the fight against online shopping. A new generation has now discovered the pleasures of warm acoustic listening. Long may vinyl spin!
What would a bookstore day look like?
Perhaps bookstores could take a page from the playbook of record stores. Could publishers and bookstores combine a strategy to create a parallel day of international book mania ? The prospect of early morning line ups for limited edition book releases, readings, signings, artist designed book bags, food, art and events — would be an inspiring sight. Book collecting is an artform and this could become the perfect holiday for new and used collectors. The last time anyone lined up early for books was during the heyday of the Harry Potter book releases, which were spontaneous grass-roots events. Imagine a day that could create mass “book fever” on a grand scale, how fun and exciting that would be.
In some ways indie bookstores seem even better poised and organized to bring off a day of book celebration. The book world has always had an organized and centralized distribution system however diverse the products and stores. This could become an event to balance the economic power of chain stores and a certain unmentioned online company.
Both book and record stores have survived similar experiences, especially in their handling of the digital gulch. Nobody seems to be talking about piracy issues involved with music or books much anymore. Like the pirating of music and video in torrents, entire hi-jacked libraries of 2500 pdf- e-books are now offered for free and take only a couple hours to download. Music and bookstores both deal with a huge variety of selections, taste and styles -they act as gathering posts for discussion, learning and disseminating culture. Indie bookstores have regional groups, newsletters, the ABA and other support systems at their disposal; great resources they could rally together on a day for books. Perhaps vinyl music collectors are a more passionate and dedicated breed of collector than book readers and maybe the pressure from online retailers and piracy issues forced record stores to become more agile and better retailers. Record Store Day has helped bring attention to the diversity of stores and lift awareness of the products they offer.
Book Crossing is a recent effort at random book giving that tracks each book with a code, you can then follow online to find where your book has travelled to, and see what comments a reader has left. It’s like a public lending library for vacationers, similar to the anarchistic Little Free Library system. These are all great ideas and serve to get a limited number of books into the hands of people that might have a hard time finding books. What might be useful, or added to all these systems of free giving is the foundation of a Bookstore day, a celebration of book culture tailored to and targeted for readers of all ages and especially to book collectors -a day that could only happen if a number of bookstores desire and act on it, just as the record stores did. Tying the day to romance and gift-giving as it’s done in Barcelona on St. Jordi day could add to the day’s mystique and popularity.
The personal choice of one’s reading material is something done more effectively inside a bookstore or library in private. The act of browsing is a physical, visual and intellectual art, one that needs to be experienced and practiced. Art galleries, museums, libraries, music and bookstores all offer that experience at little or no cost. Browsing is now regarded as an online activity between a persons digital browser and his cell phone or computer. In his essay The Painter and Modern Life, poet Charles Baudelaire put forth the idea of the flâneur as someone strolling down the street, wasting time but still engaged with life, actively looking. The strolling person can wander freely and linger on his way, aware and in contact with their physical surroundings, engaged in thinking, an endangered act these days. Browsing slows life down and gives the mind some breathing room. It allows chance encounters and discoveries to happen, and you begin to find out who you are as a person.
Crowded book browsers and book stalls in Barcelona on April 23rd: St. Jordi Day in Spain
Many days now exist that celebrate book culture. World Book Night, which began in the UK is now spreading rapidly. WBN has usurped St. Jordi Day , a booksellers holiday that began in Barcelona in 1927. On April 23rd, droves of people wander through the streets of Barcelona, searching out bookstores and bookstalls to purchase books. It is a holiday for browsing and gift-giving. In its original intention, La Diada de Sant Jordi is comparable to St. Valentines day. It combines books and flowers into a highly personal and meaningful contact between friends, lovers and loved ones. This day of books makes people feel good, emotionally connected and stirs the economy in Barcelona, having a direct positive effect on readers, booksellers and publishers.
Sant Jordi day was created by a bookseller that wanted to inspire passion into book giving. He chose April 23rd because it was the death anniversary of both Shakespeare and Cervantes in 1616, and the feast day of Saint George. In the Detroit area, Núria (a native of Barcelona) and Elie, are both wine merchants and committed art advocates who have started “The Society of Saint Jordi” several years ago through which they produce The Day of Books and Roses festival held at the Ferndale Public Library bringing together books, authors, musicians, food and wine as a continuation of this wonderful tradition.
International Children’s Book Day is April 2nd (the birthday of Hans Christian Anderson) and also celebrates books and reading for children. Their Children in Crisis program, “provides support for children whose lives have been disrupted through war, civil disorder or natural disaster.” This group is based in Switzerland and seems to be running on limited resources. We would love to support any program that empowers children (or adults) with limited income by allowing them to choose their own books -and to find them inside of bookstores. If a token works in the UK, why not adopt that here?
Bookstore Day – or the promise of a global San Jordi day will come to pass when booksellers and publishers come together and feel it imperative to make it happen. Authors and publishers are in the unique position to create special works that celebrate the book – and we’d have a one day party to announce and spread the book mania. Working in a bookstore is a liminal position, an uneasy balancing act. Attacks come from all directions. Publishers seem both supportive and threatening -while the looming specter of a paperless, book free world appears both possible and frightening. We remain as bookstores to try and postpone the book-replacing e-readers in our Fahrenheit 451 world as long as possible. Kindles are just another name for book-burning. By keeping book culture alive and prosperous inside bookstores, we can take part in slowing down the advance of book burning. Just as the premature death of vinyl records was called too soon and was clearly reversed by Record Store Day, so might a similar reversal and appreciation of book culture be accomplished by a united Book Store Day celebration.
UPDATE: Since the writing of this essay in 2013, Bookstore day came to pass in 2014 in California. It was later rolled out to the rest of the USA through the American Bookselling Association and its regional branches. Indie Bookstore Day is now an annually celebrated on the last Saturday in April. The groundwork has been largely left to the imagination of indie bookstores with oddly next to zero acknowledgment or participation from publishers who are clearly missing a great opportunity to showcase authors and promote awareness of their books. World Book Day ended as a national day sponsored by the ABA and Record Store Day continues to grow and thrive due to the continued support and collaboration between record labels large and small and the indie stores who distribute their music. Publishers please wake up and smell the books!