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The 21st century has not been kind to independent booksellers — but Sacramento bookstores are surviving, leaning into their role as a community gatherer and cornerstone of local culture. There are hints, even, of a larger return to the physical book in a hyperonline age.

In 1994, the U.S. had at least 7,000 indie bookstores, according to the American Booksellers Association. The following year, Amazon.com — then a mere online bookseller — launched. By 2009, only 1,651 indie bookstores remained. With the growth of Amazon, the existing competition of big box stores like Barnes and Noble and the growing ubiquity of the smartphone, independent bookstores were eviscerated. But something is gently changing. 

Bookstores in Sacramento are eager for the shift, expanding stores and offering more opportunities for book lovers to come together.   

Data from the American Booksellers Association shows the number of U.S. independent bookstores increased roughly 70% since 2020, from 1,916 to 3,218.  Two opposing forces emerge — people are reading a lot less, and there is renewed excitement in the physical medium.

While shopping for romantasy novels and scoping out the location for an upcoming author event that they plan to attend, couple Gino and Veronica DeAngelo said they are at Capital Books on K Street trying to avoid shopping online.

“It’s just local and homey, and it’s good to support the local economy,” Gino DeAngelo said. “I don’t want to give my money to Amazon right now — unless it’s a last-ditch effort.”

An East Sacramento hidden gem expands 

East Village Bookshop isn’t tiny, but it’s comfy. It’s warm and the smell of fresh book stationery is inescapable. Couches are in the corner and rolled blankets in baskets on the floor. There’s a featured section called “feel good reads.” 

While meandering the shelves, the owner of the shop, Sabrina Nishijima, apologized for the mess, but everything looked natural for a local bookstore. 

The shelves are packed, and Nishijima is ready for more space. 

On Nov. 29, the East Sacramento staple will expand to a location at 25th and J streets in Midtown. Nishijima said the expansion is about visibility. The current location is a hidden gem within walking distance of McKinley Park, but she doesn’t want to be so hidden anymore.  

The second location will become East Village’s main store, and the East Sacramento shop will be a satellite. The intent was to completely move to the J street location, but Nishijima said she and her team couldn’t bring themselves to close the original.

East Village Bookshop on 3604 McKinley Blvd. in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)

It’s a big step forward for the business. After a tough year, record-breaking storms at the beginning of 2023 knocked out power and trees and the bookstore was in dire straits. The bookstore announced that it would close if it were unable to secure a buyer or business partner. Nishijima said the store was able to take out a loan and barely skate by, but since then, the loan has been paid off, and she is looking forward to the growth through this expansion. 

“We never want to worry anyone, but there are scares all the time,” Nishijima said. 

‘At this point we do it because we love it’

Other stores echoed Nishijima’s sentiment. Claire Bone, the owner of another East Sacramento bookstore, Wild Sister Book Co., said her store is surviving, but it’s not easy.  

“I would not be able to support myself on this. At this point we do it because we love it,” Bone said. “Our family has decided it’s important. My kids work here, my husband is an unpaid intern we always joke.”

Wild Sisters bookstore on 3325 Folsom Blvd. in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)

Wild Sister Book Co. moved from its original location in Tahoe Park 2½ years ago. That decision to move was also about visibility. If you have driven through East Sacramento on Folsom Boulevard, you are sure to have seen its script murals that cover the building. That’s part of what’s driving new business to the location, Bone said. But she said her team has had to work hard for growth, which means social media pushes but, more importantly, live events.

Book signings, author talks and a variety of book clubs seem to be critical to survival. 

Sacramento bookstores focus on the in-person experiences 

Ross Rojek of Capital Books said that events have been a crucial part of growth. 

Since it opened in 2019, it has offered a variety of author talks and book signings at the store, the neighboring Crest Theatre, Esquire IMAX and other event centers.

Those opportunities only grew when they introduced their new bookstore within a bookstore, Knotty Novels.

This store is focused solely on Romance. The renewed enthusiasm in reading could partly be explained by the dedication to romance novels by online communities like BookTok. This year, Capital Books hosted its first KnottyCon, a romance genre convention held at the Crest. The event sold out, and next year, Rojek is eyeing an expansion to the Memorial Auditorium for a two-day event. He told Abridged that this is what differentiates them from their online retail competitors. 

Romance novels section at Capital Books on 1011 K St. in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)

“We are competing with Amazon,” he said. “But Amazon doesn’t have those authors. … It takes independent bookstores to run an event with an author. If Amazon was going to do this, they would stick them in a studio, film it and then charge you 99 cents to download the video.” 

Events are also an important part of Oak Park’s Underground Books sustainability. The nonprofit St. Hope owns and runs Underground books out of its 35th and Broadway building.

The Guild Theater also belongs to the organization and is right next door. That allows the bookstore to host a variety of author talks and a speaker series that brings in big names like Ibram X. Kendi, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jayne Kennedy. President and CEO of St. Hope Cassandra Jennings said a bookstore — especially a Black bookstore — culturally enriches the neighborhood. She said business ebbs and flows, but it remains an important asset in the effort to revitalize Oak Park.  

Bookstores as a community asset 

“It becomes a little literary hub for people to connect with books, with literature, and have that experience. It also serves as a gathering place,” Jennings said. “… And in a time such as this, especially for Black bookstores — with any bookstores — its importance is to preserve the authenticity of history.”

Jennings, like other local bookstore owners, recognizes that a bookstore has inherent value to the community. 

Rojek of Capital Books said he wants to educate the population on this value.  

“Part of what the plan was getting people to see bookstores as a community asset and not just a place you shop,” he said.

Miranda Culp of Amatoria Fine Art Books on F Street similarly advocates for this recognition.

“Bookstores represent a really important piece of local culture, and it’s a form of activism in a way,” Culp said. “… The alienation and the disconnection that is happening as a result of social media and our collective addiction to devices. I think the solution is to read more and get into the bookstore more. And to just get out into the world more.” 

Amatoria Fine Art Books on 1831 F St. in Sacramento. (Denis Akbari)

Amatoria’s focus is on art books. Culp said that an art bookstore is an important resource in a creative ecosystem. 

“Artists really need to be able to feed their eyeballs,” she said.  

The space formerly occupied by Richard L Press Fine and Scholarly Books for 17 years was taken over by Culp and her former business partner Laurelin Gilmore in 2020 after an out-of-towner bought the business to sell part of the collection and take back the rest to his home, Culp said.

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted those plans. Gilmore recently left the business, but Culp celebrated the fifth anniversary of Amatoria at the beginning of November.  

‘We do it because we love Sacramento’

Culp said that she, like the aforementioned businesses, has seen slow, incremental growth, but it’s still only enough to get by. 

“Every day is still a struggle,” Culp said. “You are never safe. The store has miraculously been able to cover its expenses. But if we hit a bump … we are always vulnerable. … Let’s just put it that way.”

The owners aren’t in it for money, they said. They’re in it for Sacramento.

“Anyone that owns a bookstore is doing it because we absolutely love Sacramento, we do it because we love books,” Wild Sisters’ Bone said.  “It is a community-based decision. It’s not a decision to make money.”   

And for all these booksellers, that means finding ways to create personal, curated in-person experiences — something opposite of what online book ordering offers you.

You can’t recreate the feeling of a book in your hand, the gentle conversations between patrons and staff, the smell in the air of printed paper or the personal curation of a bookstore in an online experience. And you get a different version of those things at every bookstore in town. 

These Sacramento booksellers understand their success lies in working together. Nishijima said that all the indie bookstore owners in town are bookstore fans, so when a new one opens, they are excited. 

Owners all expressed similar friendly support for each other, suggesting an alternate way to beat online retailers like Amazon. The answer is being more in touch with the community and more supportive of each other. 

“I think book culture is poised to really catch fire,” she said.

“I, myself, welcome the sight of new bookstores around the city. … The bookstore owners we have here are so passionate about spreading literacy and love of reading. We need more of us in every corner of the city, not less.” 

The newest bookstore to the region is Bloodstone Books in Land Park, an indie that focuses on speculative fiction like horror, science fiction and fantasy.

To strengthen their bonds, independent bookshops in the area formed Read the Region. In the wake of COVID-19, a bookstore crawl was launched where patrons can be entered to win prizes for spending money at bookstores participating in the event. 

The alliance is launching a new crawl for the holiday season between Nov. 29 and Dec 25. All of the aforementioned stores are participating in the event. 

Jordan Mata is a Digital Audience Producer and reports on Arts and Culture for Abridged.