This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A book crawl linking four Wasatch Front independent bookstores is the new local page-turner to mark Saturday's Indie Bookstore Day.
The third annual event, borrowed from the success of Record Store Day, is a "national party" hosted by more than 400 of the country's bookstores on the last Saturday of April. Special merchandise available only on Saturday includes "literary condoms" named for Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations," a kids card game with book characters, and a onesie decorated with Mo Willems' distinctive pig and elephant characters.
The Utah book crawl invites customers to have a passport stamped by four stores — Ogden's Booked on 25th, Salt Lake City's Weller Book Works and The King's English Bookshop, and Sandy's The Printed Garden — to be eligible for a prize drawing. In addition, Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City will host a Nuclear Impact Utah poetry reading Saturday evening.
Beyond selling books, the event celebrates indie bookstore customers, says Catherine Weller, book buyer of Weller Book Works in Trolley Square. Her husband, co-owner Tony Weller, has created a custom stencil, which customers can have applied to a surface of their choice. Other events include games such as Celebrity Book Face and Blind Date With a Book ("We hope you build a happy life together"), as well as a virtual photo gallery and open-mic readings.
Printed Garden will hold a book release party for Mikey Brooks' new middle-grade book, "The W.H.O. Files: Potions in the Pizza," and Brooks will give away a classroom pizza party.
"It's one of our best days of the year, and it gets better every year," says Anne Holman, manager of The King's English, which will hold a storytime for children honoring author Amy Krouse Rosenthal, calligraphy and book-binding demonstrations and an adult spelling bee. "Sales are 50 to 75 percent higher than a normal Saturday, and it's just fun."
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Party with indie booksellers
Four Wasatch Front booksellers have banded together to create a passport to mark Indie Bookstore Day. Customers who gather stamps from all stores on Saturday, April 29, are eligible for a prize drawings. Visit websites or call to get each store's lineup of events.
Booked on 25th • 147 25th St., Ogden; open 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; 801-394-4891, bookedon25th.com
Weller Book Works • 607 Trolley Square, Salt Lake City; open 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; 801-328-2586, wellerbookworks.com
The King's English Bookshop • 1511 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City; open 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; 801-484-9100, kingsenglish.com
The Printed Garden • 9445 S. Union Square #A, Sandy; open 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; 385-695-2042, theprintedgarden.com
Also • Ken Sanders Rare Books, 268 S. 200 East, Salt Lake City, will hold a Nuclear Impact Utah poetry reading at 7 p.m. Saturday. Call 801-521-3819 or visit kensandersbooks.com for information.