OPINION: Two weeks in and going strong

A couple months ago when I first heard about the Iowa Indie Bookshop Tour, I was a little skeptical. Sure, the idea was awesome and I’d try to hit a few, but I didn’t think anyone would be able to hit all of them.

Thirty-six bookstores throughout the entire state is insane, even if participants are allowed three months to get to all the stops. Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize I would be attempting this immense challenge myself, due largely to my ambitious and competitive friend and coworker Cheyenne.

In June, we started mapping out some of the possible road trips we could take through Iowa. The goal was to hit as many bookstores as we could in one day while also factoring in the different bookstore hours and driving time. Some of these roundtrips will take up to 12 hours.

The tour officially began July 1 and will run until Sept. 30. At just over two weeks into the tour, Cheyenne and I have already hit a third of the stores. We now have two and half months to get the remaining 24.

To get a stamp on the bookstore passport, a purchase is required. We made the unwise financial decision to get a book at every store, meaning I have purchased 12 books in two weeks, just for this challenge. In the next 11 weeks, we’ll be buying 24 more. Let’s just say, this will take my book budget over the edge, and I might need to buy another bookshelf, but these are all books I would have eventually bought anyway.

The shops we’ve managed to stop at so far have all been generally closer. The places we’ve visited so far include: Des Moines stores Reading in Public Bookstore, Beaverdale Books, The Little Book and Storyhouse Bookpub; The Latest Edition Bookstore in Creston; Brick Road Books in Winterset; Pageturners Bookstore in Indianola; That’s What She Read in Mount Ayr; Wandering Raccoon Books in Grimes; The Green Dragon Bookshop in Fort Dodge; Dog-Eared Books in Ames and Dungeon’s Gate in Ankeny.

So far, the furthest we’ve gone was Fort Dodge for The Green Dragon Bookshop, the founding bookshop of the tour. However, some of the stores are as far away as the Iowa/Wisconsin border, so those will take some driving.

Along with seeing various indie bookshops, we’ve had the opportunity to try some local restaurants as well. In fact, in Fort Dodge, not only did we stop for lunch, we also visited the Fort Museum and Frontier Village before the bookstore opened. I’m excited to visit some of the other suggested locations as we continue through our journey.

As we’ve visited each bookstore, we’ve been documenting our finds and experiences on Instagram (@the.wanderquill). It’s fun to look back at all the unique aspects of each store. Some, like The Little Book, had gorgeous window displays. Others, like Reading in Public, had a cafe in the middle of the store. Pageturners had an amazing selection of both new and used books, while Dungeon’s Gate had the adorable Frenchie Olive to greet all its guests.

Every place we’ve gone has had something unique that made it stand out. Even if a bookshop wasn’t necessarily our favorite, it was absolutely made for someone.

I’m excited for the rest of our journey. Book Vault in Oskaloosa is found in an old bank, while Paper Moon in McGregor looks whimsically charming. And as a Wisconsinite, it’s cool to see new parts of this state.

Additionally, the next few days are Prime days with Amazon. While I know these prices can be hard to beat, just remember Amazon is actively taking a loss on book sales, which has put numerous independent bookstores out of business. If you can, support your local bookstore instead.

If you haven’t checked out the tour, find them online or stop in to any of the participating bookshops for more information. There are multiple ways to win gift cards to a bookstore of your choosing for those who participate. Happy reading!