Independent store celebrates one year

A year after Boxcar books opened its doors to the Bloomington public, the independent and non profit bookstore celebra-ted its Feb. 1 birthday with a sale on books, readings by local artists, food, a raffle, as well as two separate auctions. \n"It's very unusual for independent bookstores to last," said Raj Ghoshal, a graduate student. "The failure rate for independent bookstores is enormous. So it's great that Boxcar is still going."\nThe idea for an independent bookstore was conceived by residents Ali Haimson and Matthew Turissini, about 6 months before it opened, and shortly after Bloomington's previous progressive bookstore Secret Sailor went out of business. \n"I think it just sort of had this unapproachable-ism to it," said Bloomington resident Rebecca Rakstad about Secret Sailor. "It was very punk rock … we just wanted to start fresh and in order to be a not-for-profit organization we had to start fresh."\nRakstad read from her zine, a self-published booklet about her life, at the event. Rakstad said Boxcar Books is run completely by volunteers and not even its founders get paid. Volunteers put in between five and 20 hours a week in addition to working regular jobs. \n"I know Americans like to be able to go to another city and find all their favorite things like Starbucks," she said. "But what about the little mom-and-pop shops? It's really making me sad and then I think that's what we are, we're just this small local group of people trying to make our local business work."\nHaimson said she tried to choose events for the celebration that would 'draw people in,' be fun for the bookstore's supporters, and also as in the case of the raffles and auctions, raise some extra money. \n"It's so different from anything else in town because you have so much more access to social justice literature and radical literature (here) and also culturally it's really valuable. It's not what you would get at Barnes & Noble or Borders," Ghoshal said.\nThe occasion itself hosted readings by local authors Sean Connelly, Rebecca Rakstad, Jenfish Superstar, and Carol Polsgrove, of the IU School of Journalism. Each read from a published piece of work. \nLocal artists donated works to be raffled off. Bloomington resident Emily Winter donated 'Pair of Eyes,' whose lashes and pupils were made out of small metal ornaments and screws set against a bright, sparkly background. Donated gift certificates and CDs were also raffled off. \nJennie Bailey, a Bloomington high school teacher, and her husband spent $50 on raffle tickets combined. \n"We intended to do that before we came, just sort of as a donation," Bailey said. "We come to the Boxcar all the time and they carry our kind of stuff, and so we wanted just to support them in general."\nBoxcar plans to start publishing books itself, as well as offer textbooks for some classes to IU students. Many local organizations also use its meeting space.\n"Borders is so mainstream -- where are you going to get the things that are really important; the alternative vision and alternative ideas?" said Bloomington resident Christie Leonard.\nHaimson and Turissini gave a keynote address to their supporters during the event. Drawing much laughter from the crowded bookstore, the pair outlined events on a fictitious timeline beginning with their first book to be published next year. \nThe timeline ended in 2015 with "local and independent bookstores forcing Borders and Amazon all out of business, and forcing all involved with Boxcar Books to smile," Turissini said.