This is a phrase that has been tossed around for more than a decade. The question is not whether or not people are buying books anymore; it’s where they are buying them from. There are some bookstores that are commonly overlooked, usually drawing the short end of the straw: independent bookstores. An example of this here in Carbondale is Confluence Books. 

Owned and run by Sarah Heyer, Confluence Books is a secondhand bookstore that has been up and running for three years. Whether it’s hosting local authors or the “Buck a Book” sale in the summer for charity, Confluence gets involved in the community. 

“That’s part of what being a bookstore is, that you are supporting the whole community.” owner Sarah Heyer said.

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The United States Census confirmed fewer bookstores are staying open each year. In 2012 there were 16,819 bookstores open while there were 10,800 reported in the 2020 census. 

Amazon has secured a place in the literary market, whether it be a physical book to be delivered, or an ebook. Barnes and Noble, the biggest chain bookstore in America dominates physical copy sales and says sales actually went up during the pandemic. It opened 30 new stores last year.

But Heyer says locally owned bookstores have a lot to offer.

An example of this is the launch party held for two local authors on Feb. 13:  Rafael Frumkin, a professor at Southern Illinois University and Mandi Jourdan who was a student of Frumkin’s. 

Bugsy by Rafael Frumkin is a collection of short stories described by him as “really personal, really weird, and really queer”. His writing ranged from comically real and awkward dialogue to a unique perspective on death and looking back at one’s life. 

Frumkin was super grateful for the chance to do the launch at Confluence and expressed the importance of supporting independent and local bookstores.

“We have a situation where books and brick and mortar spaces to discuss books, and authors being able to connect with their readership and promote their work in like a real organic way,that’s being challenged by places like Amazon.” 

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Mandi Jourdan read excerpts from two different books in her science fiction series called Shadows of the Mind. An important element to her books is the presence of strong female characters. Growing up, Jourdan said, she mostly saw male characters especially in genres like science-fiction. Writing female characters gives representation that she didn’t have in the books she read. 

Heyer said book readings are one area in which independent local stores stand out.

“Chain bookstores have to go up the chain and ask permission to do lots of things, so they can’t just on the spur of the moment say okay, but since it’s just me I can just say sure, I don’t see a problem with that. Let’s go ahead and do it,” she said.

Events at Confluence are posted on its website, along with a catalog of titles held there. 

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