If you’re lucky enough to live in a city or town with an independent bookstore, please support them. You are more likely to find people who know, love, and read actual books and who can give you good advice and great suggestions than you will at the big box stores. If you don’t have an independent book store where you live, you can still support them thanks to Internet commerce. Below you’ll find links to Booksense (which allows you to find the independent store near you) as well as some of the stores that I know and love. If you know of a store I don’t have listed, send me the URL and I’ll post it here.

All of that is not to say there aren’t some fine people at some of the big box stores. In fact, some of my staunchest supporters work there and I’m proud to call them my pals. Thanks, y’all! But the simple truth is that the big stores don’t need my help to drive customers their way. No matter where you buy your books, those of us writing them appreciate it. But the main reason to buy at your local independent store is that you support someone in your community and you keep money in your local economy instead of sending it to a corporate boardroom somewhere else.

General Interest Book Stores:
To find the independent bookstore nearest you: http://www.booksense.com/

Some of my favorite general interest bookstores:

Horizon Books in Northwest Michigan -- http://www.horizonbooks.com/index.htm
Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS -- http://www.lemuriabooks.com/
Square Books in Oxford, MS -- http://www.squarebooks.com/
Pass Christian Books in Pass Christian, MS -- http://www.passchristianbooks.com/
That Bookstore in Blythville in Blythville, AR -- http://www.tbib.com/
Kepler’s in Palo Alto, CA -- http://www.Keplers.com/
Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA -- http://www.thirdplacebooks.com
Book Soup in West Hollywood, CA -- http://www.booksoup.com/
Sarasota News & Books in Sarasota, FL -- http://www.sarasotanewsandbooks.com/
Skylight Books -- Los Angeles, CA -- http://www.skylightbooks.com/
Dark Carnival Books in Berkeley, CA -- http://www.darkcarnival.com/
Crosshaven Books in Birmingham, AL -- http://www.crosshavenbooks.com/
Book People in Austin, TX -- http://www.bookpeople.com/
Thunderbird Bookshop in Carmel, CA -- http://www.Thunderbirdbooks.com
Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, AL -- http://www.Alabamabooksmith.com
Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA -- http://www.Bookpassage.com
Dutton’s Bookstore in Los Angeles, CA -- http://www.Duttonsbrentwood.com
Chapter 11 Books in Atlanta, GA -- http://www.chapter11books.com
Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, NC -- http://www.quailridgebooks.booksense.com
Happy Bookseller in Columbia, SC -- http://www.happybookseller.com
Davis-Kidd Bookstores in Tennessee -- http://www.daviskidd.com
Diesel Bookstore in Oakland, CA -- http://www.dieselbookstore.com
Elliott Bay Bookstore in Seattle, WA -- http://www.elliottbaybook.com

Mystery book stores (in semi-order by state):

RETAIL MYSTERY BOOKSTORES DIRECTORY: http://www.mysterynet.com/bookstores/directory/

Here are some of my personal favorites, where I’ve visited in the past or plan to in the future:

Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ -- http://www.poisonedpen.com
Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, CA -- http://www.mystgalaxy.com
Book ‘Em in South Pasadena, CA -- http://www.bookem.com/
M is for Mystery in San Mateo, CA -- http://www.mformystery.com/
The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles, CA -- http://www.mystery-bookstore.com/blog/
Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks, CA -- http://www.mysteriestodiefor.com/
San Francisco Mystery Bookstore, SF, CA -- http://www.sfmysterybooks.com
Book Carnival in Orange, CA -- http://www.home.earthlink.net/~bookcarnival
Murder by the Book in Denver, CO -- http://www.murderbythebook.com/
Big Sleep Mystery Books in St. Louis, MO -- http://www.Bigsleepbooks.com
Partners & Crime in New York City -- http://www.crimepays.com
Mysterious Bookshop in New York City -- http://www.mysteriousbookshop.com
Murder by the Book in Portland, OR -- http://www.mbtb.com/
Adventures in Crime and Space in Austin, TX -- http://www.crimeandspace.com
Murder by the Book in Houston, TX -- http://www.murderbooks.com/
Remember the Alibi in San Antonio, TX -- http://www.booksense.com/
Murder by the Book in Warwick, RI -- http://www.abebooks.com/home/kbbooks/
Creatures & Crooks in Richmond, VA -- http://www.cncbooks.com
Seattle Mystery Bookshop in Seattle, WA -- http://www.seattlemystery.com
Booked for Murder in Madison, WI -- http://www.bookedformurder.com/