Independent bookstores have taken a hit over the last ten years with the increased popularity of large chain stores. I've seen at least two family owned business in my area, that have been around for generations, close their doors because they couldn't compete with the low prices and immediate selection.

Indie Bound (formerly known as Book Sense) is a marketing campaign in America uniting approximately 1200 independent bookstores. This unification is brought together under one roof via the wonderful technology of the Internet.

The Indie Bestseller List is one part of their campaign and is run in "more than a dozen newspapers as well as monthly in U.S. News and World Report and on CSPAN." Their weekly list is based on in-store sales from hundreds of independent bookstores across America and is updated weekly on their website. The list is divided into nine categories: Trade Paperback Fiction, Trade Paperback Non-fiction, Hardcover Fiction, Hardcover Non-fiction, Mass Market, Children's Interest, and Children's Illustrated.

Each category can be clicked on to bring you to 15 books on the list. The new website has a side scroll visual book cover list that will give you the title and author if you put your mouse over it. If you click on it a pop-up box will open asking for your zip code to give you the nearest independent store carrying it. Unfortunately there is no book synopsis before this point.

Since I live in Canada I used a friend's zip code for Kansas. Five options came up quickly with the names of the stores and their addresses. The old system provided distance in miles from the code I entered which I thought was pretty cool. With the new system you can click on the store and be transported to the independent store's website to learn more about the store or possibly order the book online.

One of the things I like about this website is the lack of flashy advertising. It has to be one of the most uncluttered sites out there, keeping straight to the point without giving you a headache or a seizure.

Visit Indie Bound Best Sellers list.

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M. E. Wood lives in Eastern Ontario, Canada. If you are going to find this eclectic reader and writer anywhere it is probably at her computer. For more information visit her official website.