an indie store on Harvard Square
We’re headed to the east coast for Thanksgiving this year, and one of the things I’m looking forward to is a return to Harvard Books. Browsing this wonderful indie on Harvard Square earlier this year made me much more comfortable that my son would be happy in his new home. The store has been family-owned since 1932 – opened 
originally with $300 borrowed from parents. (I guess that investment worked out pretty well.) It changed hands in 2008, sold to booklover and longtime Harvard Books customer Jeff Mayersohn and his wife, Linda Seamonson.
One of the most wonderful and unusual things about this store: Harvard Books has bicycle delivery if you don’t have time to pop into the store. If you do, though, it’s wonderful: shelves of new and used books and terrific author readings in a charming setting. They also have a “book-making robot” (an espresso machine) very cleverly named Paige M. Gutenborg for printing on demand books they may not have in stock. And enjoy their “Fiction Fridays” this month, with 15% off fiction purchases in the store and online. – Meg
I do occasional posts highlighting independent booksellers, who are so important to helping new literary voices find their audiences; the independents–especially those in the bay area–were instrumental in helping me find mine. If you have a favorite bookstore, please email me and I’ll do my best to have it featured here.
