A Moveable Feast for Bay Area Bibliophiles

This Saturday, May 13, the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) is inviting Bay Area readers to attend the first "Bay Area Independent Bookstore Tasting." The independent bookstore tour was organized as a way to celebrate the role that booksellers play in their communities and in the Bay Area.

The bookstore tasting tour will be both an educational tool for the industry and a fun way for bibliophiles to spend the day, notes NCIBA. The association is hoping that readers take the tour to "discover the personality, passion, knowledge, community, and character of some of the East Bay's finest bookstores."

Planned bookstore stops on the tour include Bay Books in Concord; Diablo Books in Walnut Creek; The Storyteller in Lafayette; Orinda Books in Orinda; Rakestraw Books in Danville; and Towne Center Books in Pleasanton.

The bus tour will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the Walnut Creek Bart Station. The bus will embark on a daylong tour. It includes morning coffee and pastries; lunch prepared by Sweet Affair in Walnut Creek, served in the Garden Room at the Orinda Library; a special author presentation; and a reception at the end of the tour. The bus will return to the Bart Station at the end of the day. The cost of $40 covers the tour, goodie bag, lunch, refreshments, and reception.

Bus riders will have had the opportunity to meet guest speakers and sample the unique environments that each store offers. NCIBA hopes they will come away with a new appreciation and commitment to the independent bookselling community in the Bay Area.

Information about the tour is available from NCIBA at (415) 561-7686, or via e-mail at office@nciba.com.