Indie Bookstores' Staff Picks Displays

Whenever I visit one of my favorite independent bookstores, I at some point make a beeline for the "Staff Picks" display. I'm always curious about what the bookstore's staff members are reading. It's also quite entertaining to read their brief yet colorful descriptions - often carefully handwritten on slender strips of paper - of the books that they're recommending.

Staff picks on display at McNally Jackson Books in New York City.  
Image via localpagesnyc/Flickr.

Seeing books that you already own underneath the "Staff Picks" sign is immensely gratifying - it feels like validation of your good taste in reading material. More often than not, though, there are books on display that you have never heard of before but now want to pick up because an employee's description piqued your interest. And from a purely aesthetic point of view, the recommended books are usually arranged in a way that is visually appealing. So it's also a treat to take in the bookstore staff's creativity.

Staff creativity and sometimes quirky book picks are almost always exhibited - and proudly so - at indie bookstores' "Staff Picks" sections. Flavorwire recently spotlighted this section of the bookstore at a few independent booksellers across the country, including San Francisco's Green Apple Books, Brooklyn's WORD, Denver's Tattered Cover, DC's Politics & Prose, and Iowa City's Prairie Lights. What Flavorwire found were eclectic selections that reflected a diversity of interests and sensibilities. But what they all had in common was a love of books.

If you want to take a "Peek at Staff Picks Shelves from Indie Bookstores All Over America," be sure to go to THIS LINK.