It’s easy to lose yourself inside Eagle Harbor Book Co. Walk down an aisle and books seem to jump off the shelves and into your hands. Turn a corner, and there’s a table with more books to entice readers. Go farther back and find delights for young readers from babies on up.

On a recent visit, it was great to see a father with his young children loading their arms with books and more people up front browsing through the tables of recent releases and displays of books by local authors.

We may be entering the third year of COVID-19 overshadowing our lives, but somehow independent bookshops like Eagle Harbor have managed to hang in and stay a vital contributor to the Bainbridge Island community. In fact, some reports show that the pandemic may have boosted book sales.

The resilience of independent bookstores seems nearly miraculous given the pile up of challenges they’ve confronted over the past two decades. When the pandemic struck, many of us feared it would be the final blow, that our favorite bookstores would never manage to reopen. But it looks like they have and also that new shops are joining their ranks.

Even those of us who already were avid readers, upped our consumption after COVIID-19 forced us to cut back on our usual social interactions. Maybe we had to postpone travel, but we could travel anywhere from our armchairs through the magical pages of books.

When I researched what’s happened to book sales and independent bookstores, I found mostly good news. To learn more, check out the article on PostAlley.

LINDA KRAMER JENNING is a veteran journalist who taught at Georgetown University and worked for national magazines before moving to Bainbridge Island in 2017. She currently is a regular contributor to PostAlley.org and is on the board of AHB.