A few years ago it seemed Amazon was about to send independent bookstores the way of Blockbuster Video. Now more than ever though, we’re living in a new Renaissance of independent bookstores. Slate explains why:

Independent bookstores never had to answer to the dictates of public markets. Many of their proprietors understood, intuitively and from conversations with customers, that a well-curated selection—an inventory of old and new books—was their primary and maybe only competitive advantage. In the words of Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, “The indie bookselling amalgam of knowledge, innovation, passion, and business sophistication has created a unique shopping experience.”