The San Diego Book Crawl makes its return this weekend for in-person participation for the first time since 2019, just in time for Independent Bookstore Day.
The event, after a pandemic pause on in-person appearances, includes more San Diego-area independent bookstores this year, along with prizes for visiting and supporting them.
The fifth annual crawl, opening Saturday and continuing through Monday, includes 11 bookstores in San Diego and Coronado.
Book Crawlers receive a “Passport” at their first bookstore stop and a stamp in it when they spend at least $5 at any of the participating stores. The more stamps participants collect, the more prizes they can collect, including limited-edition pins, buttons and tote bags.
Participating stores in San Diego include Bluestocking Books in Hillcrest; Diesel in Carmel Valley; La Playa Books in Point Loma; Libélula Books & Co in Barrio Logan; The Library Shop in the Downtown Central Library; Mysterious Galaxy in the Midway; Book Catapult in South Park; Verbatim Books in North Park and the UC San Diego Bookstore and Warwick’s in La Jolla.
In addition, Bay Books in Coronado is part of the crawl.
“It’s hard not to be inspired by the breadth and diversity of San Diego’s independent bookstores and the amazing community of book crawlers who support them,” said Scott Ehrig-Burgess, manager of The Library Shop and public engagement manager for the Library Foundation SD. “For book nerds, this is Super Bowl weekend.”
Hours vary for each store, but can be found via the local Book Crawl site or the event Instagram account.