Paperback Dreams

Infobox Film
name = Paperback Dreams


caption =
director = Alex Beckstead
producer = Alex Beckstead
Joelle Jaffe
writer =
starring = Kepler's Books
Cody's Books
music = Nathan Grover
editing = Gail Huddleson
distributor =
released =
runtime =
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
website = http://paperbackdreams.com
amg_id =
imdb_id =

Paperback Dreams (2008) is a documentary film directed by Alex Beckstead. It is part of the KQED (San Francisco's PBS station) documentary film series, "Truly CA" [ [http://www.kqed.org/arts/truly/ Truly] ] . The film is "the story of two landmark independent bookstores and their struggle to survive. The film follows Andy Ross, owner of Cody's Books, and Clark Kepler, owner of Kepler's Books, over the course of two tumultuous years in the book business." [http://paperbackdreams.com/index.php/about/the-film/ Official Site] ]

"Publisher's Weekly" notes that Beckstead became interested in the topic after becoming a "fan" of Cody's and Kepler's. While working in Menlo Park, California, he frequently shopped at Kepler's. Beckstead stated: “When I heard Kepler's was closing [briefly in 2005] , I was shocked: it's in one of the most affluent, educated cities in America—just 15 minutes from Stanford University—and it made me realize that if an independent bookstore couldn't survive there, there must be a larger story.” [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6570314.html?nid=3321 Documentary Chronicles Indies' Challenges] ] After making the documentary, Beckstead stated that he discovered "four elements essential to the survival of an independent bookstore: Own your own building [...] Hire experienced staff [...] Sell used books [...] Figure out some way to sell books online."

creenings

"Paperback Dreams" will air on PBS stations beginning in November 2008 It was previously screened at Book Expo America on May 31, 2008 [ [http://news.bookweb.org/news/6020.html Book Expo Announcement] ] and at the Oakland Museum of California (presented jointly with the Oakland Film Office) on August 1, 2008. [ [http://events.kqed.org/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=2174&month=08&year=2008 KQED Announcement] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://paperbackdreams.com Official website]
* [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6570314.html?nid=3321 TV Documentary Chronicles Indies' Challenges]