a friend of mine wrote a book about owning an independent bookstore. It's actually a great read (of course, I'm in it so I might be biased.)
I posted a review on amazon but I said something about always buying books from independent bookstores and I'm not sure they'll post it (I submitted it thursday.)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1586856871/qid=1114887089/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-6513170-8809447Betsy is one of us, she raised money for Move-on during the election, has petitions against the patriot act in her bookstore and has a great wit. If you see it, pick it up.
It also has tons of lists of books from her bookstore (our favorites) as well as independent bookstores around the country making it a great resource.
Betsy is the person responsible for my great love of books. You'll see why if you get a chance to read this.