Merritt Books - a great local book store

Everyone knows about the big book stores, both on-line and in "real life." As an author and a reader, I truly appreciate them all.

But a big part of my heart belongs to the independents, the small "mom and pop" places where the owners and workers know their customers by name. One of my favorite is Merritt Books in Millbrook, N.Y. (Their Facebook page is here.) That's why I keep supplying links to them (as well as to the bigger chains and on-line stores) as I did earlier when mentioning my Omar Bradley book, which will be published next month.

Why support local bookstores? Service is one reason - just as a matter of survival, independent bookstores have to do a better job than a lot of their rivals. Giving back to the community is another - Scott and the gang at Merritt are a huge community presence in the towns where their stores (he's up to three) are located. And I'm sure the same is true of the independent bookstore near you.

I'd link to them all if I could.