Cartoonist captures his love of local bookstores

Bob Eckstein is a New Yorker cartoonist, a snowman expert and a passionate aficionado of local, independent bookshops. His intelligent and evocative book “Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores” offers, as its subtitle says, “True Tales and Lost Moments from Book Buyers, Booksellers, and Book Lovers,” in the form of 75 gloriously colorful paintings and accompanying anecdotes about these book-filled spaces at the heart of communities around the globe.

Including contributions from such renowned readers as Terry Gross, Roz Chast and Chris Ware, plus a foreword by Garrison Keillor, this whimsical collection stands as a portable, handheld compendium of the ineffable joy that is to be had in the sociable browsing of the idiosyncratic, idealistic — and all too often endangered — shops that serve as the sanctuaries of literature and the people who love it.

On the eve of Independent Bookstore Day, which this year is Saturday, Eckstein discussed his book via email. Here’s an edited transcript.

Q: How did you decide to begin this project? How did you decide which stores to include?

A: This started as an assignment for The New Yorker on endangered bookstores in New York City. It immediately went viral and attracted a book deal within hours of its publication. Over the course of two years, I became a bookstore expert and became emotionally invested in this project having heard endless inspiring and heartbreaking stories from the trenches. With the help of a team of publishing experts and recommendations from hundreds of people around the world, I narrowed my list of favorite bookstores down to 150 and eventually used the best 75 for the book. My criteria were their community involvement (those that support charity and were culturally important), historic relevance, the structure’s beauty, their contributions to the publishing industry, their importance to its local artists and my personal gut feeling. There are so many incredible bookstores, and I would’ve included more if space allowed. At some point, I would love to create a sequel.

Q: Would you describe yourself as optimistic, pessimistic or something else when it comes to both the role and the fate of the independent bookstore in the 21st century?

A: I realize that the answer I’m supposed to give is that I’m optimistic. While it is true that the past two years has seen an upswing in support for independent bookstores, the truth is that they — and mom-and-pop shops in general — need our help in this country. In Europe, there are protections against online price wars, and the competition here is causing many to close their doors. I think price regulations are necessary to their survival; otherwise, people are going to continue to browse in person but shop on their phones. People need to reward physical stores and our neighbors who run them for paying taxes that go to our local schools, post offices, roads and whatnot, so that Main Streets don’t empty out. Bookstores are the cultural hub of our towns, where like-minded people meet. This thing about drones delivering our books — I can’t have a meaningful conversation with a drone.

It may sound corny, but it’s pretty amazing how nobody went into the bookselling business to get rich, and yet everyone I’ve met has been so nice. Their main motivation is getting a book in people’s hands and saving the written word.

Q: What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you in a bookstore?

A: I’m going to share a story my editor and I agreed to cut from my book, but here goes. My love affair for bookstores began when, as an innocent teenager, I had a hot and heavy romantic interlude in the mysterious back aisles of New York City’s Strand Bookstore.

Eckstein