I buy a lot of books—sometimes online, sometimes at my local bookstore. But since the pandemic I’m worried about my local bookstore. Especially with the growing power of Amazon.
This Saturday (April 24) happens to be Independent Bookstore Day. And it’s got me thinking about how to support local bookstores with my forthcoming book coauthored with Allen Mikaelian.
The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back comes out in November.
You can support independent bookstores (and book sales) if you pre-order it through your local bookstore—either through their online portal if they have one, or just give them a call.
The person who answers the phone might be interested in learning about the book and maybe ordering for the store when it comes out. (Go here to find independent bookstores in your region.)
Another option: pre-order it on Bookshop (which sends 75 percent of its profits to independent bookstores, publications, and authors).
But… you can also help me by talking with your local bookstore about hosting a book talk.
It could be virtual or the old-fashioned, in-person kind—once the pandemic subsides and travel is safer, of course. All you have to do is ask them if they have authors come speak. If you already know they do, ask them who I should talk to and pass along the contact info.
About the book… The Privatization Everything does many of the things we do here at In the Public Interest.
It chronicles efforts to turn our public goods—free education, public health, clean water, open parks—into private profit centers. It raises big questions about who controls the public things we all rely on. And it offers a road map for taking our country back.
I’d love to come talk to your community about it and support your local bookstore in the process. And I’d love your help—because together is the only way we can fight the privatization of everything.
Oh, and if you’re nterested in a bulk order for your organization, let me know sooner than later.