Oh, Oprah

Today I heard that one of my favorite independent bookstores, With Pipe and Book, in Lake Placid, N.Y., is closing after nearly 30 years in business. Every fall I go hiking in the Adirondacks and buy books at that shop, with its creaky wooden floors; smell of tobacco; friendly, knowledgeable staff; and wealth of new and used books about the region.

The closing got me thinking: Can Oprah save independent bookstores? Will she?

Margaret Osundu, a bookstore owner in Waynesville, N.C., hopes so. She didn't like what she saw on the cover of the July issue of Oprah magazine: a discount on books bought at Amazon.com.

So Osundu launched a campaign to have customers write to Oprah, urging her to visit Osundu Booksellers and to tout the virtues of independent bookstores. (Fore more details, see last item in this Shelf Awareness newsletter.)

Osundu was a therapist in Boston for 15 years before she moved down near Asheville, N.C. No word yet from Oprah, but Osundu has a personal chef lined up for her, just in case she shows up in town.