Industry trend? Jon McGregor just did his book tour by bicycle.
Here’s your delightful news for the day: Jon McGregor, author of Lean Fall Stand, decided to see how many independent bookstores he could visit by bike in just two weeks. Starting out in Corbridge, Northumberland at Forum Bookshop, he then went on to Grasmere village’s Sam Read, Linghams, Oswestry’s Booka, and the journey takes off from there.
Of the experience, he’s written:
“Having conducted my last book tour entirely online, it feels good to be outside again: meeting people and holding books and putting miles beneath my wheels. It’s been a while since I’ve been out in the world like this, and I’m interested to know what the place is like. The roads are quiet all the way to Carlisle. There are Ukrainian flags hanging from windows, and builder’s vans outside every other house, and the occasional stink of a lawnmower. The hedgerows are getting ready to come out.”
Doesn’t that sound delightful? And environmentally friendly! (Happy Earth Day, everyone.) What exactly is the carbon footprint of a book tour? I have no idea, but every little bit helps, right? Love the planet—do a book tour on a bike.
His final tally, by the way, is 32 bookshops and 500 miles. Challenge accepted!
[via The Guardian]
