This weekend, I was living every bookworm’s dream: spending my Saturday at not one, not two, but five different independent bookstores to buy a truly impressive stack of new and used books to add to my already overstuffed home library. There was also a slew of literary-themed merch available – everything from scented candles, stickers and enamel pins to coffee mugs, T-shirts and tote bags.

I amassed an impressive haul of books and book-adjacent goodies after participating in the Greater Lehigh Valley Book(ish) Crawl this weekend.

April 27 marked the 11^th anniversary of Independent Bookstore Day, an event established in 2013 to promote the value of the indie bookstore community, and around 1,000 shops across the U.S. participated in the celebration. (For reference, there are more than 2,500 indie bookstores in the U.S., according to the American Booksellers Association.)

As part of the day, my local indie – Let’s Play Books Bookstore in Emmaus, PA, and its sister shop, The End: A Bookstore, in Allentown, PA – launched the Greater Lehigh Valley Book(ish) Crawl, creating a bingo card featuring 10 indie shops across four towns. Participants were encouraged to travel to as many shops as they could over the weekend, make a purchase and get a stamp to be entered into a raffle for an array of goodies.

Indie bookstores, coffeeshops, a plant nursery and a fiber-arts shop were among the stops on this year’s book(ish) crawl.

Book crawls have become a popular pastime on Indie Bookstore Day. In Greater Chicago, for example, there were 45 bookshops participating in a crawl this year, and organizers actually commissioned shuttle buses to transport customers between locations, according to Publishers Weekly.

Independent Bookstore Day includes an array of exclusive merch.

One of the big draws of this annual event – besides the chance to hobnob with other bibliophiles – is the exclusive merch associated with it. Among the standouts were a “Bans Off Our Books” zippered pouch from Out of Print; a striped onesie featuring a heart that says “Read to Me,” also from Out of Print; a glossy black coffee mug that proclaims “The Future Is Indie”; tote bags, T-shirts and hoodies that bear the same message as the mug; and a limited-edition, high-end pencil set from Blackwing Pencils. This is the third year in a row that the ABA has partnered with Blackwing for specially designed pencil sets, and each year interest and popularity for the items has grown.

Book-themed sticker sheets were popular giveaways on Independent Bookstore Day.

Many of the bookstores on the crawl also gave out freebies, like book-related sticker sheets and branded bookmarks.

The End: A Bookstore in Allentown, PA was selling custom-branded candles.

I think my favorite merch purchase, though, was my custom-branded “The End Bookstore” candle from Fly Paper Products. I love the enchanting tobacco + bergamot + ylang scent, but what I love even more is having a beautifully made and useful piece of branded merch that lets me rep one of my all-time favorite places. I can’t wait to find a cozy spot at home, light the candle and settle down with one of the many, many books I bought over the weekend.

Product Hub
Find the latest in quality products, must-know trends and fresh ideas for upcoming end-buyer campaigns.