Generous author

Kudos to James Patterson, one of America’s most well known writers and also a Florida resident. I am in the book business and have escorted him several times over the years on his tours of South Florida.

I thought he was a great guy and it turns out I was right: He recently handed out $250,000 worth of annual holiday bonuses to employees of independent booksellers in the United States. He also has a program where he has awarded more than a million dollars in grants to independent bookstores.

Bookstores all across America are closing. In my neighborhood, there were four different stores, and they no longer exist. Twenty years ago, we never would have thought there would be no bookstores for us to take our children and grandchildren to or sit with others at the cafes, browse through the shelves and have some coffee.

Book lovers, therefore, need to support independent stores and encourage their families and friends to do the same.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Generous author."