Millennial asks Gen Zers what they do for fun, and the answers are surprisingly different

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/rp-what-does-gen-z-do-for-fun/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rp-what-does-gen-z-do-for-fun

The 51st: Meet the D.C. devotees of a very niche arcade game. “Killer Queen is a 10-player arcade game designed to get you off of your phone and playing with strangers. In one D.C. bar, dedicated fans are trying to get new players hooked.”

Best-loved Indie used/rare bookstores visited to date

Identified below are my favorite independent used bookstores that have been visited thus far. Not included are chains like Half-Price Books. Several of those listed are also sellers of rare and collectible books, as well. While many bookstores today sell some used/rare books, this list emphasizes those shops that primarily focus on used and/or rare books.

As more used/rare bookstores are visited both here and abroad, the treasured ones will be added to this list. Stay tuned!

Peace!

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Big Star Books & Music – Santa Fe, New Mexico – added 4/19/26

Curious Book Shop – East Lansing, Michigan

Defunct Books – Nashville (Five Points), Tennessee

East Nashville Books – Nashville, Tennessee – added 5/10/26

Grimey’s Preloved Music and Books – Nashville, Tennessee

Landmark Books – Traverse City, Michigan – books and vintage typewriters, oh my!

Open Door Bookshop – Roma (Trastevere), Italy – I love this store and my favorite outside the USA.

Legatoria/Libraio Prampolini – Catania, Sicily, Italy – ‘literally’ an Italian institution

Quirky Used Books – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Second Story Books – Durango, Colorado – none better in the USA. Two floors of absolute perfection. So much charm and uniqueness, including books displayed in three old vaults. An absolute gem! – added 3/24/26

Under Charlie’s Covers – Albuquerque (Bernalillo), New Mexico – sadly closing in May 2026 due to a substantial rent increase.

Protecting our Indie bookstores from rent displacement

“When a bookstore closes, it’s as if a light has gone out in the neighborhood. A bookstore is a city’s soul; it’s where we go to find ourselves and each other.”

— Unknown

Just the other day we visited one of our local independent bookstores in suburban Albuquerque to trade/sell/buy some books. Upon arriving, we were shocked and saddened to learn the store will be closing in May 2026. Why? Not because of poor business practices, nor a lack of customers, but because their landlord raised their rent by a $1,000/month!

For independent bookstores, which traditionally operate on lower margins set by publishers and exacerbated by online competition, such a sudden and substantial rent increase is often unaffordable. Furthermore, the local store could not find another nearby location. As a result the store sold their entire book inventory to someone who plans to open a bookstore roughly 10+ miles away and this Albuquerque suburb will be losing an iconic local retailer and its lone bookstore.

Such a sad story is hardly unique, as large rent increases are a common factor that drives independent bookstores out-of-business or forces them to relocate to a different (more affordable) location. When a bookstore owner does not own the building where they are situated, they can be subject to the whims of their landlord. And like apartments, some landlords are good and others…not so much.

“If communities want a strong, diverse, and dynamic retail and service base, they must find ways to support their local business owners. As ‘third places,‘ bookstores, coffee shops, pubs, and similar informal social gathering spots are particularly critical cornerstones to fostering economic vibrancy. They are literally the super glue that holds it all together.”

– panethos.wordpress.com

Rent burden displacement is not a problem solely for bookstores, it is a potential challenge for all small businesses who lease their space. Therefore, if communities want a strong, diverse, and dynamic retail and service base, they must find ways to support their local business owners. As ‘third places,‘ bookstores, coffee shops, pubs, and similar informal social gathering spots are particularly critical cornerstones to fostering economic vibrancy. They are literally the super glue that holds it all together.

Supportive efforts to help prevent rent displacement may include but not be limited to grants, subsidies, tax abatements, commercial land trusts, low-interest loans, or even kickstarter and go fund me campaigns. Bear in mind, the assistance often must be in the form of a rapid response to effective help the business owner during a crisis.

“We talk about empty storefronts as if they’re just an aesthetic problem, as if it’s acne, but let’s add up all the missing sales tax from all the businesses that are not there.”

“It’s easy to respond to this by saying a commercial lease isn’t a public concern, it’s a private negotiation between two private parties. But…it is public: this kind of landlord-tenant conflict isn’t a private matter because ultimately if you wind up with a downtown with no small businesses in it, it’s not private anymore. If small businesses can’t make it, it is a civic problem [emphasis added]. After all, policymakers tacitly acknowledge this when they give subsidies to larger-scale developers who promise economic activity.”

– How to Protect Bookstores and Why, page 119.

Without access to emergency rent assistance, impacted storefronts may sit empty for extended periods or become occupied solely regional/national chains who can afford the higher lease rates. Do we really want our Main Streets and other local retail areas to become blighted by noticeable gaps in their storefronts or to become overpopulated with the same bland cookie-cutter “Generica-style” appearance found along commercial zones all across the United States.

Abandoning your local businesses is also a bad financial decision. Chain stores and online retailers simply do not plow money back into the local economy like local businesses do. Here’s a comparison using independent bookstores:

“The ABA [American Booksellers Association] report claims that approximately 29% of all revenue at independent bookstore immediately recirculates in the local economy. This translates to a local impact advantage of 109% that of chain competitor Barnes & Noble, and a massive 405% local impact advantage over Amazon.”

– How to Protect Bookstores and Why, page 12.

[In other words, 29 percent of every dollar spent at an independent bookstore is immediately recirculated in the local economy, while a Barnes & Noble only plugs 13.9 percent of every dollar back into local economies and Amazon returns a paltry 5.74 percent to local economies.]

Lastly, what makes no sense to this retired planner is why landlords jack-up rents to only have their existing tenants depart, leaving vacant spaces for months or even years. Such an approach seems counterintuitive. An occupied retail space is a monthly payment coming in to cover property taxes and other ownership costs to the landlord. Maybe the landlord does not make as much in profits, but at least they are covering more costs than an empty space would do.

So…what gives? Are these empty spaces a tax write-off? If so, then our tax laws definitely need to be re-written and re-codified in a manner that supports retail spaces being occupied over and above them being left to sit empty. In the meantime, strategies for emergency assistance when a crisis arrises should be crafted to meet their immediate needs and help insure that your local ‘third places’ such as independent bookstores and other treasured local businesses remain open and operating.

Peace!

Favorite indie bookstores across the country

Even in today’s digital age, a community without a good bookstore can be a vast literary desert. In fact, many of us wouldn’t even consider living in a town or city that is void of a good independent bookstore. Sometimes, a terrific library can substitute for a top notch bookstore, but it rarely can replace the “third place” aspects of the store for ongoing communal gatherings, events, and especially vibe.

Quite often, the best bookstores now include a coffee shop, perhaps a small cafe, and host presentations and book signings by authors. One caveat here–if said coffee shop/cafe occupies too much space of the bookstore, it tends to lose its appeal (to me) as a bookstore. A bookstore should always be principally about books, not sell them as a side feature.

One of the joys of bookstores is being able to meander about, page through books that look interesting, and soak in the whole wonderful experience. You cannot do that in a store that is too small or which has a limited selection. Granted, diversifying their options helps keep independent bookstores alive, but at what point does it simply become a variety store or a cafe with books?

I am also not a fan of tiny bookstores carrying new and recent releases where you almost always have to wait several days for a book to arrive, and make a second trip back to pick it up. This is especially annoying at a location that requires paying for parking each time you visit. Might as well order it online by then. That is NOT to say the bookstores have to be gargantuan. But, at least make it big enough to likely have something in stock that could catch the interest of a book lover. One store recently visited in Nashville (not listed below) was no larger than an overgrown nook.

The majority of the favorite independent bookstores listed below are located in traditional downtowns or in quaint neighborhood shopping districts –always a plus, as brickwork, architectural ornamentation, wood floors, and tin ceilings ooze authenticity and permenance. Back of Beyond, Galena Books, Horizon Books (Traverse City), Kramers, Raven, Tattered, and Unabridged all win bonus points for their store location and ambiance.

The list is comprised of indie bookstores that I have visited. As more terrific bookstores are encountered, they will be added to the list.

Peace!

*Links to my top picks are provided.

——-

Back of Beyond Books – Moab, Utah – fantastic outdoor adventure section

Carmichael’s Bookstore – Louisville, Kentucky – my favorite new book store in the coolest neighborhood in the USA  – added 5/12/26

Galena Books & Paper – Galena, Illinois

Garcia Street Books – Santa Fe, New Mexico – a lovely shop in a quaint neighborhood adobe  plaza – added 2/25/26

Horizon Books – Traverse City and Cadillac, Michigan

Kramers & Afterwords Cafe – Washington (DuPont Circle), DC – books, bar, and fine dining!

Maria’s Bookshop – Durango, Colorado – added 3/22/26

Organic Books – Albuquerque (Nob Hill), New Mexico – added 2/15/26

Page One Books – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Parnassas Books – Nashville, Tennessee

Raven Book Store – Lawrence, Kansas

Sandmeyer’s Bookstore – Chicago (Printers Row), Illinois – added 1/3/26

Seminary Co-op Bookstore – Chicago (Hyde Park), Illinois

Tattered Cover Book Store – Denver, Colorado

The Bookshop – Nashville (East Nashville), Tennessee – added 5/9/26

Travel Bug Books/Cafe – Santa Fe, New Mexico – another shop with an awesome outdoor adventure section, as well as the best travel book and map selection seen anywhere.

Unabridged – Chicago (Lakeview), Illinois

Some good news to kick of your October: #friendships (and it doesn’t matter how many!) contribute to longer #lifespans and have multiple #health benefits 🥰

Listen to the full episode (S3 E3: Science, Community, and Third Places) @sci_burst on YouTube or at https://linktr.ee/sci_burst

#scicomm #solarpunk #community #thirdplaces #friendship #friends

Are the #teenagers you know gravitating towards #online spaces and lacking safe third places to hang out in-person?

🔗 Listen to the full episode https://linktr.ee/sci_burst or @sci_burst on YouTube!

#scicomm #thirdplaces #solarpunk #community