An interesting (and sad for us) piece about bookstores in the Los Angeles Times today. We made a commitment when we went on the road with Grub that we would only go to independent, non-corporate chains on our tour. And we did. Now, many of the places we hit -- including our launch at Coliseum Books in New York City -- and that my mom and I went to for the Hope's Edge tour are no longer. It's so sad to see them go: Independent bookstores were such an important part of the community-building element of the Grub tour and a central part of the vision of local control and community-based businesses that is integral to the food system (as well as the 'idea system'). --Anna