With local connections and quirkiness, indie bookstores thrive

Shaw Taylor, owner of Rodney’s Bookstore in Cambridge, has been selling books for almost 20 years. But he’s been an observer of independent bookstores and the topsy-turvy industry for even longer.

“Cambridge in the ’70s had 35 bookstores,” Mr. Taylor says. “Now I think there’s probably 10 to 15.” 

While their numbers certainly aren’t what they once were, independent bookstores continue to defend their peculiar niche