Kamala Harris and Bookstores

On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris showed members of the media the books she got after visiting Books on the Square bookstore in Providence, R.I.




Vice President Kamala Harris visited an independent bookstore in Providence, R.I., on Wednesday and bought four books.

She’d been wanting to read them, “and I’m going to find time to do it,” she said, according to a pool report.

Many of us share the aspiration. Just that morning, I had vowed, again, to find time to buy and read books.

One of the few upsides of the pandemic has been an uptick in print book sales. They rose 8.2% in 2020 over 2019, according to NPD Bookscan.

Much of the increase came as parents adjusted to remote learning and bought juvenile nonfiction books. The category was up 23% in unit sales year to year, Publishers Weekly reported.

Adult fiction sales rose 6% over 2019, led by a 29% increase in graphic novels.

But the news about bookstores isn’t as rosy. Many had to temporarily close during shutdowns, and dozens of bookstores permanently shuttered. Bookstore sales were down 28% in 2020 from 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

We all know it’s cheap and fast to buy books online from a certain retail behemoth and, during the pandemic, we often didn’t have much choice but to shop online.

Now, though, with businesses reopening, we have a choice. It’s inspiring to see prominent politicians take the time to support reading and local bookshops.

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