Indies are back.

• Position: NC TREND: Bookstore resurgence

When reports surfaced that Amazon.com may follow its first brick-and-mortar store in Seattle with hundreds more nationally, it confirmed Kimberly Daniels Taws' hunch: The Internet can't replicate the atmosphere of the physical bookshop. "[People are] looking for the kind of engagement we offer," says Taws, manager of The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines. Her shop and six others have created a field guide to their stores. April visitors who have their guides stamped at four stores qualify for prizes. Visit all seven by April 30, National Independent Bookstore Day, for even better swag, such as autographed first editions.

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