Explore local bookstores during the third annual Houston Bookstore Crawl

Book lovers, it's time to visit as many local independent bookstores as you can before the end of April.

State of play: 31 bookstores have united for the third annual Houston Bookstore Crawl.

• We have a large variety of bookstores throughout the Greater Houston area — from shops that opened post-Katrina to new ones like Dreamers Books and Culture.
• Other participants include Pearland's Lit Java book and coffee shop; Murder by the Book in Rice Village; and Copperfield's Books in Spring.
• Check out a map of the booksellers here.

How it works: Pick up a crawl card at one of the participating stores. Get your card stamped or signed by each of the stores you visit through the end of April.

• Once you visit 15, you can submit your card to any of the participating bookstores to be entered into a raffle for gifts.
• Every store you hit after the first 15 counts as an additional entry. The cards must be turned in by the end of business on April 30.

The bottom line: Support Houston's vibrant book community.