Independent bookstores across Chicagoland have been preparing for months for the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl, taking place Saturday, April 25.
"The Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl is one day where we encourage people to go to as many Chicagoland bookstores as they can," said Ryvre Hardrick, owner of Goblin Market, a comic book store in Lakeview. "We have 84 stores participating, which I think is twice as many as anywhere else."
The event is the same day as Independent Bookstore Day, a one-day national party celebrating indie bookstores on the last Saturday in April.
Hardrick says for the Chicago crawl, participants will pick up a book crawl "passport" and get it stamped at participating bookstores. If they manage to hit 10 stores during the crawl, they get 10% off at all participating bookstores for a year. If they make it to 15 stores, they get 15% off.
"We had about 3,000 people complete the crawl last year, so it's doable," she said. "I think we had one person hit over 20 stores."
Eighty four stores are participating throughout the city and surrounding suburbs this year. Hardrick said each store is celebrating Independent Bookstore Day in their own unique way.
"A lot of stores have author signings, free food and drinks," she said. "We have a photo booth here with a bookish backdrop. I know other stores have things like live music."
She said part of the goal of the event is to show people the benefits of shopping locally versus on larger online platforms like Amazon.
"They reflect the communities we're in and what those communities are interested in reading and learning about," she said. "Bookstores also provide a third space, and I think we're all pretty thirsty for third spaces right now."
For bookworms, she said she hopes the crawl continues to foster their love for reading. And for those who haven't picked up a book in awhile, Hardrick said she hopes they find something they're inspired by.
"There's stuff for everybody," she said. "We've seen so much enthusiasm about about books and book clubs and just kind of analog hobbies the last couple of years, something that really lets them connect to other people. And that's something that I hope people find in this big celebration of books and celebration of reading."
The can find the full list of participating bookstores and operating hours here.
