13 bookstores, one weekend and a $325 grand prize: L.A.'s first book crawl is here

Los Angeles bookworms, wide your play plans: L.A.’s inaugurial Indie Book Crawl is kicking disconnected this weekend.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 13 indie bookstores crossed the metropolis and beyond are joining forces for an inaugural solemnisation of section literate culture. While the lineup looked to beryllium reduced aft West Hollywood’s iconic Book Soup closed indefinitely owed to a h2o main break, lawsuit organizers accidental they program to reopen for the crawl.

Richard Turner, who owns Diesel successful Brentwood, was among a tiny radical of store owners who decided to signifier the event.

“We’d been talking astir this for astir a year,” Turner said. “The extremity is ... to get existent books successful the hands of radical who inactive privation to work them.”

Diesel proprietor and L.A. Indie Book Crawl co-organizer Richard Turner astatine his Brentwood shop.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Turner and his peers primitively drew inspiration from San Diego’s publication crawl, which conscionable had its ninth anniversary. Now, the lawsuit has 15 participating stores and a shuttle work to instrumentality participants to each location.

Similarly to that crawl, L.A.’s volition diagnostic a passport system, which involves delegating stamps for each acquisition of $10 oregon much astatine each stop. Shoppers volition besides triumph prizes on the way, specified arsenic tote bags, pins, stickers and a escaped audiobook.

For those who deed each bookstores — with stamps to amusement for it — the expansive prize awaits: a raffle introduction for a $325 acquisition card.

Some bequest institutions amusement up connected the database of L.A.-area stores, specified arsenic Vroman’s successful Pasadena and Chevalier’s successful Larchmont, but determination are besides a fewer niche inclusions, similar children’s bookstores Once Upon A Time successful Montrose and Children’s Book World successful Cheviot Hills and Culver City’s classical romance work haunt, the Ripped Bodice.

Though the L.A. country is location to scores of bookstores, a crawl isn’t precisely walker-friendly. For instance, if immoderate bookworms privation to instrumentality to the westbound of downtown, they’ll inactive beryllium successful for rather a trip. Diesel successful Brentwood, Malik Books successful Culver City, the Book Jewel successful L.A.’s Westchester vicinity and Pages successful Manhattan Beach are each adjacent the coast, but to sojourn each would mean bouncing astir successful your car, inevitably hitting postulation on the way.

Chevalier’s Books successful Larchmont volition enactment successful this weekend’s L.A. Indie Book Crawl.

(Shelby Moore / For The Times)

“It’s specified a large metro area, and the thought that you request to thrust astir and sojourn each the stores successful a play … we’re trying to marque it an achievable goal,” Turner said. He added that if folks sojourn astatine slightest much than 1 autarkic bookstore, that counts arsenic a crawl.

Turner said that indie bookstores successful L.A. are a intimately knit group, 1 that is “remarkably collaborative and collegial.” They privation each different to succeed, arsenic they admit the value of the bookstore’s relation arsenic a 3rd space. Or a carnal determination wherever radical tin stitchery and connect, extracurricular of home, enactment oregon school.

Rather than simply serving arsenic an constitution wherever radical are successful and retired the door, Turner said bookstores invitation customers to stay.

“We’re not conscionable selling books; we’re a spot wherever assemblage gathers,” helium said.