[conspire] OT: Support your local independent bookstore

[Rick Moen]

I didn't know until recently that the last of the many Stacey's Books, 
the flagship store on Market in downtown San Francisco, had closed
(as of March 2009).  See:
http://sf.metblogs.com/2009/03/30/merlin-mann-says-goodbye-to-staceys/

It was a fabulous bookstore, which included an almost equally terrific
branch on University Avenue, Palo Alto, and all of the branches had
excellent selections of technical books.  What reportedly killed them
was out-of-control levels of rent on their invariably excellent street
locations:  The Market branch was costing them $65,000 per month, just
in rent outlay.

We in our household are somewhat fanatical devotees of Kepler's Books in
downtown Menlo Park, also a true landmark independent bookstore and one 
that had its own near-death experience in August 2005:  Clark Kepler,
the founder's son, actually shut the store and laid off all employees 
with no advance notice.  The store was revived only with new investment
from well-heeled supporters at the Sand Hill Road vulture capital firms
and others, who among other things put pressure on the rapacious real
estate firm renting out the property until they negotiated a more
reasonable rent agreement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler's_Books

Remember, folks, if you don't patronise independent book stores, there
won't be any.  Keep your "wish list" at Amazon.com, if you like, but do
your buying at Kepler's.