Editor: I was delighted to see local books featured in Brenda Anderson’s article “Read local,” (The Times. Dec. 13), especially The Blue Umbrella and The Violet Flash by my husband, Mike Mason.
However, I was sad to notice the statement that all of the books could be purchased online at Amazon.ca. Surely we should support our local bookstores and encourage people to “buy local” as well as “read local.”
I know that The Blue Umbrella and The Violet Flash are in stock at Wendel’s Books in Fort Langley, Blessings Marketplace and also at Porter’s Store in Murrayville (where the books are set).
A friend of ours manages an excellent bookstore. He feels that, much of the time, his bookstore is a store front for Amazon. People browse in the bookstore and then go home and order the books online.
Books may be less expensive online, but that will never replace the joy and delight of browsing well-stocked shelves and finding treasures we’d never discover otherwise. Let’s support the real world, not just the virtual one.
Karen Mason,
Langley
