I mentioned this in Your Week in Readings, but I thought it could use a little elaborating here: the Saturday after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday, when consumers are reminded to turn their backs on malls and chain stores and online retailers and visit the stores that help make their communities vibrant, interesting places to live.

Even better, local independent bookstores are celebrating Indies First, a program (invented by Sherman Alexie) in which authors work as booksellers at their favorite bookstores for a day. In short, you can go support small business, get a book signed, and get a personalized recommendation from your favorite Seattle authors. Here's a list of all the Indies First participants that I've found (in alphabetical order) and a list of the authors appearing at the stores. Click the links for schedules and more details.

1. The Book Larder presents cookbook authors Jeanne Sauvage, Renee Erickson, Susan Volland, Shauna James Ahern, and Erica Strauss.
2. Elliott Bay Book Company hosts Sherman Alexie, Peter Mountford, Nicole Hardy, and Sonya Lea.
3. Fantagraphics Books in Georgetown is hosting comics memoirist Colleen Frakes.
4. Open Books is hosting Emily Kendal Frey, John Burgess, Alejandro de Acosta, Sarah Mangold, and Susan Rich.
5. Queen Anne Book Company presents Sanae Ishida, world-famous showroomer Allison Stieger, Sarah Adler, Lala Rukh, Elizabeth Rose Stanton, Toni Yuly, Sherman Alexie, Erin Malone, Jessixa Bagley, Kevin O'Brien, and Matthew Buscemi.
6. Seattle Mystery Bookshop hosts Urban Waite, Neil Low, Ingrid Thoft, and Candace Robb.
7. University Book Store hosts Greg Bear, Terry Brooks, Rosamund Hodge, Isaac Marion, Stephanie Oakes, Chelsea Pitcher, Julia Quinn, Adam Rakunas, Dana Simpson, and Conrad Wesselhoeft.

Go give your local booksellers some love. And give the people you love books for the holidays. Books are obviously the best gift.