A long shelf life: This indie bookstore super fan has browsed at 600 shops
When Bob Manson is asked which bookstore is his favorite, he pauses: "That would be like asking a parent who their favorite child is."
But parents don't have more than 600 kids − and that's how many bookstores Manson, a retired teacher from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has visited. The decadelong literary odyssey has taken him across 49 states and into Canada and Mexico.
And as book lovers across the U.S. celebrate National Book Month this month, Manson vows he's not finished yet.
"I love every bookstore I get to visit," said Manson, who taught band in middle schools for 32 years. "I am very aware of their owners and their communities."
Initially inspired by "My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read and Shop" by Ronald Rice, Manson set out to visit every store included in the book.
"It was his idea to start visiting them," said Rice, now semi-retired from a long career in publishing and bookselling. "And then he did!"
Rice, who still does consulting work, said he was amazed that Manson eventually visited all 93 bookstores mentioned in "My Bookstore."
"I didn't think he could to it. And then he didn't stop. He kept going," Rice said, calling it "a great honor" to have inspired Manson's bookstore binges.
Blogging about bookstores
Manson does more than visit bookstores. He talks with owners and regulars, and he tries to get a feel not just for the store but for its unique place in the community. He takes photos and then blogs about each store at The Indie Bob Spot and on Facebook.
"There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter indie bookstore," said Manson, who sometimes travels alone and sometimes with his partner. Depending on the distance, he'll drive or fly, staying with friends if he can. He can afford travel, he says, through a combination of frugality, a good severance after retirement from teaching and a period when he saved money by living with, and caring for, his mother, who'd sometimes accompany him on trips.
He and Rice have been friends since Manson reached out to the author to talk about his bookstore book. It's clear both men love talking about books and the people and places involved in getting them out to the public.
Manson – whose most recent stops include Sojourn Booksellers in Stevens Point and Books on Main in Friendship (both in Wisconsin) and Words Worth Books in Waterloo and Fanfare Books in Stanford, (both in Ontario, Canada) − still remembers many standouts.
Among them: The Strand in New York City; Powell's in Portland, Oregon ("the Disneyworld of books," he said); Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Browse Awhile Books in Tipp City, Ohio (in a historic and possibly haunted building), among others.
"I love the ones with coffee shops. But the fun thing about doing this is every single bookstore I've visited is different," Manson said.
From 'Midwest nice' to 'is this guy for real?'
Our bookstores are as diverse as our country, Manson said, and he's formed impressions from coast to coast. (He hasn't yet been to Hawaii.)
He's experienced what he called "Midwest nice" even in its biggest city, Chicago. Many Southern bookstores are owned by women, he observed, "and they are all the epitome of Southern hospitality."
"On the East Coast, especially the Northeast, they always seem a little guarded at first," he said. "There's a sense of, 'Is this guy for real?' But once you start talking to them, they let down their guard and they're as nice as anywhere else."
His thoughts, in a week that saw continued cleanups from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, were with the residents and small business owners whose livelihoods and lives were in chaos in the Southeast.
He pointed to the BINC Foundation, a nonprofit that helps bookstore owners and employees deal with unforeseen financial, medical and mental health emergencies, and its fundraising efforts for small businesses affected by this fall's severe weather.
Erika Mantz, BINC Foundation's communications coordinator, called Manson "an incredible ambassador" who has helped get the word out to bookstore owners and sellers that help is available.
"We've had some bookstore owners who've reached out to us after hearing about us from Bob," said Mantz, who added that BINC Foundation launched an online effort specifically to help businesses and employees impacted by Helene and Milton.
Some bookstores, Manson said, might not look like much from outside, but are "like leaving the black and white version of 'The Wizard of Oz' and stepping into the color version. You can't judge a book by its cover."
And he's made friends in nearly every bookstore, he said.
"There's such a diverse array of stores. Niche, romance only or children's books, some that emphasize different voices like Native Americans or Black authors or LGBTQ people.
"But they all share a common trait: The people in the bookstores are welcoming, open. I didn’t know what to expect when I started, but the people in these places are fantastic."
Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra