Petting Zoo at Green Apple Books in San Francisco Tonight

Wednesday, June 08, 2011 at 10:30 AM

Posted by Pete Mulvihill, co-owner of Green Apple Books

Richard Savoy founded Green Apple Books in 1967 when he was 25 years old. In 1999, he handed the reigns over to three new owners: Kevin Hunsanger, Kevin Ryan and myself. Today our store in the Inner Richmond district of San Francisco is more than 10 times its original 750 square feet, with two storefronts and three floors of used and new books along with music, DVDs, and now... Google eBooks. In a dynamic industry that has seen the rise (and fall?) of discounters, chain super-stores, and online sellers, Green Apple has always strived to adapt and remain relevant to our community.
Green Apple Books is one of more than 250 independent booksellers selling Google eBooks nationwide. Readers can visit our website at GreenAppleBooks.com, browse and shop for Google eBooks, sample them and buy them directly from us. Then you can access your Google eBooks “in the cloud” without ever having to download them (unless you want to), picking up on the page where you left off as you switch among your PC,smartphone, and tablet. The best part about Google eBooks is that you can buy them from your locally-owned independent bookseller, and read them on devices of your choice. You’re not locked in to one bookseller or one kind of hardware. And keeping that money in your local economy really makes a difference.

We’ve found that it’s easy to learn once you get your hands on a device and try it. So we’re hosting a Google eBooks “petting zoo” this evening from 5:00 -- 8:00 p.m. in our store at 506 Clement Street @ 6th Avenue in San Francisco. We’ll have refreshments and digital enlightenment as we show you how to browse, buy and read Google eBooks by playing with an array of devices, some of which you may already own. And if you’re looking for a gift for all those dads and grads out there, a Green Apple Books gift card never expires and can be used to buy anything we sell including Google eBooks.

As a store with a sense of humor in addition to our well groomed selection of books, we made this YouTube video to explain how you can support us from anywhere in the U.S. by buying your Google eBooks from us.

We also display QR codes in front of many print books featured in-store that point to the corresponding ebook page online where you can sample and buy the digital version using your smartphone right here in the store. Because sometimes you want to get dressed and leave the house, right?

We know many avid readers prefer the tactile sensation of a turning a page and the satisfying thud of a finished novel on a nightstand. So do many of us, but for those of you who want to dabble in the digital, are considering lightening your literary load or crave a healthy mix of 1s and 0s with your paper pulp -- look no further than Green Apple Books. (We buy books, too, so if you go digital, think about selling those used books to us for re-use!).

Thanks for reading. We hope you’ll drop by to touch some screens.