In December, Deer Leap Books in Bristol VT , a wonderful local independent bookstore, closed it's doors. It wasn't for lack of local support, but it still wasn't enough to compete with Amazon, etc.

Today, I saw in the local paper that another fabulous indy bookstore, The Book Rack & Children's Pages (this one in Essex, VT) is also closing. Very sad. I thought their formula was strong enough to keep them going. (Here's the article.)

These are wonderful community places. The store's owner is going to get involved with a recently formed organization called Local First Vermont, to help other Vermont businesses.