No, I’m not talking about Amazon, the publishing giant. I am talking about fearless women in the book industry. In Greek mythology, Amazon women were fierce warriors, strong and brave. In 2014, the real Amazon women were in the book business. While headlines were dominated by the seemingly intractable war between Internet giant Amazon and major publishing house Hachette (see my June 8, 2014 blog post, Burying the Hachette?), these women were insuring booklovers that the literary community would survive and thrive.

Across the country during the 1990s, we saw an alarming reduction in the number of independent bookstores, replaced by mega-merchants offering discounts and the convenience of shopping from home. That shift was captured in the movie, You’ve Got Mail. I wrote about it in my post, Guilty as Charged on March 10, 2013. It’s worth a look back.

Neighborhood independent bookstores are the cornerstones of the literary community. Libraries offer a repository of massive inventories of books but indie bookstores measure the pulse of what’s emerging in literary circles. They can do more to introduce readers to new authors through store appearances and social media, to support book clubs and expos, to host events where children not only handle books but can take them home as their very own. Neighborhood bookstores feed the senses and the spirit.

For self-published authors who may find big box booksellers have erected insurmountable barriers to inclusion on the bookshelf, local independent bookstores are often very welcoming. Considering that self-published books now represent around 50 percent of new titles each year, this means indie book stores may offer titles not found at chain stores and discounters.

The good news in Chicagoland (and I suspect elsewhere) is that independent bookstores are on an upward trajectory. What I find striking is the number of women behind the resurgence. They are either saving stores on the verge of closing by buying them or they are opening new stores. Perhaps there’s a link between the nurturing aspect of women’s lives as mother’s, teachers and counselors that motivates them. It’s just as likely these women see a business opportunity that is both intellectually and financially rewarding.

The culture of reading is in transition: what we read, how we read, where and when we read, how we access what we read. Owning a successful independent bookstore is no walk in the park. Sometimes the best man to get the job done is a woman. All I have to say to each of these real Amazon women is, “You go, girl!”