On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bookshop Santa Cruz, widely seen as one of the most vibrant and community-friendly independent bookstores in the nation, Northern California author Wallace Baine checks in with a passionate, personal story of books and the power they have to transform our lives.

In bringing alive the remarkable tale of Neal Coonerty and his wife Candy – and ultimately, their daughter Casey – taking over Bookshop and nurturing it and the community it supports over the decades, Baine helps readers fall in love all over again not just with books, but their local bookshop. Far from declining, Bookshop Santa Cruz is more dynamic all the time, the kind of community center that inspires and nourishes writers like Karen Jay Folwer and Jonathan Franzen.