It wasn’t Joe Driear’s own quote, but it seems appropriate for the City of Vision: “A town can’t be a proper town without a bookstore. But it’s also true that a bookstore can’t be a proper bookstore without a community.”

Neil Gaiman is the originator of that quote, and many Rio Rancho residents have seemingly benefited from the FriendShop, opened and operated by Friends of Libraries and Literacy with a Jan. 28 ribbon-cutting.

To celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 24, the Friends of Libraries and Literacy’s FriendShop bookstore — on the north end of the Albertsons/Target shopping center — is having a one-day special.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, the entire store will be BOGO (Buy One, Get One free; the lower-priced item is free). Mix and match hardback and paperback books, CDs, DVDs, jigsaw puzzles, audio books and comics.

Visit folrr.org for more information.

Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national celebration at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different.

In Bernalillo, at Under Charlie’s Covers, owned and operated by Rio Ranchoan Lara Harrison, the store will be handing out tote bags with every purchase.

It’s not another Zoom promotion: “Please emphasize that in-store shopping is important,” Harrison says. “There are so many books out there that you don’t even know what you want to read.”

And if you don’t know what you want to read, ask her or an employee; after learning your interests, they’ll have a recommendation.

Under Charlie’s Covers is at 160 S. Camino del Pueblo, just south of its intersection with US 550.