Wait, am I selling out and “going commercial”? Hah, I wish. No, I’m throwing my support behind a local, Burlington, Vermont business that’s going to play a significant role in my community. So what’s this Phoenix Books about? It’s a new, independent bookstore in downtown Burlington (191 Bank Street) that only sells new books.
For the record, there’s definitely a place for giant online retailers like Amazon, but let’s face it: Not only do they NOT give you that real-time, physical pleasure of browsing using all your senses, they also don’t add anything of value to your community. For all the time you spend online, your real community is where you actually live. It’s where your kids grow and learn. It’s where your family and friends and neighbors and acquaintances ALSO live. Like it or not (hopefully, like it), you are all in this together. And that’s where the bookstore comes in.
A bookstore is more than just a bricks-and-mortar retailer. It’s a part of the fabric of a vibrant community that cares about people’s well-being, cares about the arts, and cares about literature in all its multifarious incarnations. And a bookstore that’s part of a vibrant, thriving downtown, one block from an amazing treasure of a pedestrian mall, becomes a part of your regular experience of the city.
It’s where you stop by after a restaurant meal to check out that book you heard about on the radio. It’s where you go to look for more books for that reading-voracious child in your life. After a little while, it becomes a place you go just to check in with the cool staff to see what they’ve been reading, what they recommend, maybe even what they’ve heard about the adaptation of a classic book that was just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
In short, an independent bookstore is as concerned with how its community experiences and benefits from printed media as it is with selling books. Phoenix Books is now Burlington’s only independent bookstore selling just new books. I hope you’ll consider being a part of its life, either by purchasing a membership or purchasing books. Or both!
Membership site: http://JoinPhoenix.com
Official Web site: http://PhoenixBooks.biz
And here are the lyrics. Sing along!
“Get Along, Amazon”
Well they promised me low prices
But they never said the cost
And I few years later
I can see what I’ve lost
So I’m speakin’ out now,
And I don’t wanna be rude:
But with no new books
My whole town would be screwed
Get along
Amazon, get along
Get along, Amazon
I want a bookstore in my downtown
Take a look into your future
And here’s what you’ll see:
You need jobs and schools
And lots of parks with trees
But without a good bookstore
Life is so much worse
So I go to Phoenix Books
My community comes first
Get along
Amazon, get along
Get along, Amazon
I want a bookstore in my downtown
Now some places don’t care
About quality of life
And they’d trade their soul
For the lowest price
But we’re in Vermont,
And we do what we like
So, hey, Jeff Bezos
Take a Long Trail hike
Get along
Amazon, get along
Get along, Amazon
I want a bookstore in my downtown
Copyright © 2012 Nate Orshan