Shelf Awareness for Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Quotation of the Day
News
Notes: Presidential Reading; New, Moving, Closing Stores
During the past several days, CNN's Wolf Blitzer has reported that President Bush is reading A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 by Alistair Horne (New York Review of Books Classics, $19.95, 9781590172186/1590172183), a 1977 account of the French war in Algeria, which ended with French withdrawal from its former colony. In the preface to this edition, published in October, Horne makes a connection to the current situation in Iraq. The title is in the low 100s on Amazon.com's bestseller list.
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The Peppertree Bookstore, which has one store in Palm Springs, Calif., will
open its second, delayed store, in Old Town La Quinta, on Monday,
February 5, according to the Desert Sun. Peppertree has been holding some events in office space and on the shopping area's outdoor lawn.
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The San Francisco Chronicle
browses through Black Oak Books and chats with some of its owners, who
are hoping to find a buyer for the new, used and rare bookstore. Black
Oak, which has two locations, one in Berkeley and the other in San
Francisco, is feeling pressures familiar to most booksellers: Internet
and big-box competition; high leases; and changing
customer habits.
Concerning that last dynamic, co-owner Bob Brown commented: "You build up an idea of the ideal type
of customer--the stereotype of the perpetual graduate student, someone
intellectually interested in a wide range of fields--but there seem to
be fewer and fewer of those people around."
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The Apollo Book Shop, Costa Mesa, Calif., which Mary-Alice and Lin Currie founded 45 years ago, closed last Saturday, the Daily Pilot reported. The 900-sq.-ft. store had stocked some 25,000 used books. Lin died last October; Mary-Alice is 78.
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The Bookshelf, Morgantown, W.Va., has moved to larger quarters, according the Daily Athenaeum. Among the most popular sections in the 30-year-old used bookstore: spirituality, "complemented by a variety of Buddhist incense imported from Tibet"; the children's section with a table in the center painted by the eight-year-old daughter of one of owner Jim Sachse's friends; and the 50-ft. wall featuring work by local artists.
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Final Draft Books, the used bookstore that opened in Staunton, Va., a year ago, is moving to larger quarters, the Staunton News Leader reported. Owner Linda Singer said that classics and history are the store's most popular categories.
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Jessica Dyer has joined Unbridled Books as a marketing associate. She was formerly director of marketing and publicity at Fulcrum Publishing and earlier worked at Pruett Publishing, National Geographic Maps Technology Division and Mountain Press. She will work from Colorado and may be reached at 888-732-3822 (888-READ-UBB) x 114 or via e-mail at jessica@unbridledbooks.com.
Sales: November Bookstores Off; December Retail Up 0.9%
Bookstore sales in November were $1.092 billion, down 1.7%, from
$1.111 billion in the same month in 2005, according to preliminary
estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Bureau revised October sales
downward to $1.003 billion from $1.006 billion.
For the year to date, bookstore sales were $14.156 billion, down 1.8% from $14.417 billion in the first eleven months of 2005.
Through June bookstore sales for the year had been up 0.8%, but with
the 9.3% drop in sales in July compared to July 2005 (the summer of
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince), year-to-date sales
slipped into negative territory
although they have stopped sliding. Also keep in mind that the Census
Bureau does not include several significant types of bookstore sales
(see definitions, below).
Total retail sales in November rose 4.6% to $329.4 billion from $314.8
billion in November 2005. For the year to date, total retail sales rose
6.3% to $3.55 trillion from $3.34 trillion in the same period in 2005.
Note: under Census Bureau definitions, bookstore sales are of new books
and do not include "electronic home shopping, mail-order, or direct
sale" or used book sales.
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General retail sales in December had a
surprisingly strong finish, rising 0.9% to $369.9 billion, compared to
November, the Commerce Department said. With autos excluded, sales were
up 1%, the biggest climb since January 2006. Compared to December 2005,
sales rose 5.4%.
At the same time, November sales were revised downwards, to a 0.6%
gain, instead of a 1% rise. Still, momentum rose toward the end of the
year, after a sluggish earlier part of the year.
Analysts credited the December gain on the popularity of
large-screen
TVs and other electronic products; warm weather; and low unemployment.
In part because of the positive news, some economists are predicting
healthy sales in 2007.
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Media and Movies
Media Heat: Movie Star, Aussie Chef, Man without a Country
This morning on Imus in the Morning: Kurt Vonnegut, whose bestselling A
Man Without a Country is available in paperback (Random House Trade
Paperbacks, $13.95, 9780812977363/081297736X).
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Today Live with Regis and Kelly turns the spotlight on actor Rupert
Everett, who shares the story of his rise to fame in Red Carpets and
Other Banana Skins: The Autobiography (Warner, $25.99,
9780446579636/0446579637).
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Today the Martha Stewart Show serves up Aussie chef Neil Perry, author
of The Food I Love (Atria, $50, 9780743292450/0743292456).
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Today the View works out with LL Cool J, author of LL Cool J's Platinum Workout (Rodale, $27.95, 9781594866081/1594866082).
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Today on WAMU's Diane Rehm Show, Terri Apter unravels The Sister
Knot: Why We Fight, Why We're Jealous, and Why We'll Love Each Other No
Matter What (Norton, $25.95, 9780393060584/0393060586).
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Today on NPR's Fresh Air: Zev Chafets, author of A Match Made in
Heaven: American Jews, Christian Zionists, and One Man's Exploration of
the Weird and Wonderful Judeo-Evangelical Alliance (HarperCollins,
$24.95, 9780060890582/0060890584). (This was originally scheduled for
last week.)
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Today Fox & Friends scores an appearance by Jerry Rice (of NFL and
Dancing with the Stars fame) about Go Long!: My Journey Beyond the Game
and the Fame (Ballantine, $24.95, 9780345496119/0345496116).
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Tonight on CBS's 48 Hours: Janet Pelasara, author of Love You More: The
Taylor Behl Story (ReganBooks, $24.95, 9780061145957/ 0061145955), the
story of her daughter and her murder.
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Tonight on the Charlie Rose Show: Ed Viesturs tackles the subject of his book co-written with David Roberts No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks (Broadway Books, $23.95, 9780767924702/0767924703).
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Tonight on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Michael Oren, author of Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present (Norton, $35, 9780393058260/0393058263).
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Tonight the Colbert Report hears from Dinesh D'Souza about The Enemy at
Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 (Doubleday,
$26.95, 9780385510127/0385510128).
Books & Authors
Book Sense: May We Recommend
Hardcover
The Day the Bozarts Died by Larry Duberstein (Permanent, $26, 9781579621346/1579621341). "This story of the residents of a Massachusetts artists' collective had me hooked from page one, especially because of the sarcasm and humor of its central character, middle-aged playwright Stanley Noseworthy. This is a captivating tale of getting older, changing times, and interwoven lives."--Pam White, Skyland Books, West Jefferson, N.C.
Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion, $34.95, 9781401301958/1401301959). "Jamie Oliver, the famed Naked Chef, has also just released a new cookbook, with alluring photographs and delicious recipes that are fresh and straightforward. From stews and spaghettis to roasts and risottos, he takes us on a journey through Italy with stories about the people and places he visited in the north and south of the country."--Alice Lee, Book Ends, Winchester, Mass.
Paperback
Venus Envy by Shannon McKelden (Forge, $12.95, 9780765315854/0765315858). "The goddess Venus is forced to become the fairy godmother to Rachel Greer, who is fed up with dating. The idea of combining classical mythology, fairy tale, and a chick-lit read was absolutely ingenious!"--Audrey Blaisdell, Sarasota News & Books, Sarasota, Fla.
For Young Adults
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin (Dial, $16.99, 9780803730012/0803730012). "This story of a family threatened by an unpredictable, psychotic mother is suspenseful, dark, and disturbing, and yet, also, hopeful. Werlin frames the story as a letter from 17-year-old Matthew to his youngest sister, dispensing personal thoughts and dramatic tension bit by bit as he works to protect his sisters. I really loved this devastating yet uplifting book."--Mimi Powell, Baker Books, North Dartmouth, Mass.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]
Deeper Understanding
Kate Whouley Remembers a 'Neighborhood Waldenbooks'
Here Kate Whouley remembers the Waldenbooks in Needham, Mass., which is closing--a store she managed in its early days. Whouley owns Books in Common, which offers consulting services to independent booksellers, and is the author of Cottage for Sale, Must Be Moved.
Another report of a bookstore closing as the year opens: we pause, sigh
and shake our heads, perhaps offer a little prayer for the owner and
staff. For most of us--independent booksellers and supporters of
same--the closing of a small-town Waldenbooks doesn't elicit the same
sadness. Hey, it's a chain, one of a zillion bookstores in the Borders
dominion, and haven't they finished closing those tiny Waldenbooks
stores yet?
But the Waldenbooks scheduled to close in Needham, Mass., is a
neighborhood bookstore in a downtown storefront that just happens to
have corporate ownership. Wonderful booksellers have worked there, many
for long stints; until a couple of years ago, one woman I hired in 1982
was still helping customers. In the 1980s, the décor was Walden
gray--the shelves, the tables, the counter, all gunmetal gray--with a
bright blue carpet. The coolness of the store's ambiance was rescued by
the light coming through the big plate glass windows in the front of
the store. A traffic signal at the end of the block meant cars and
trucks slowed as they passed our store. Looking out those plate glass
windows one day, I saw a small truck, not much larger than a pickup,
filled up with blue Post Office letter boxes, new models, destined to
be rooted to sidewalks--where? For a moment, I was caught up in their
adventure. Then the light changed, and they were gone. It was one of
those moments when we encounter familiar objects in unfamiliar
settings, and find ourselves forced to rethink what we know about the
world. The memory of that afternoon would find its way into Cottage for
Sale, written 21 years later.
I moved to Needham from Newport, R.I., where I'd been the assistant
manager in a Waldenbooks on Bellevue Avenue. I was sent to Needham with
a mission: clean it up; and with a promise: if you get it running
smoothly, we'll give you the next big Boston store. It turned out that
my superiors were speaking literally with their instructions to clean.
This I discovered the night before I was due to start working. Using
the key I'd been given, I let myself in that Sunday while the store was
closed, thinking, "It's been open only a year--how bad can it be?" The
answer: BAD. It was unspeakably, inexplicably messy. Imagine the worst
pack-rat you know, multiply his or her tendencies by 10 or 10,000. In
addition to the daily detritus of life--opened and unopened mail,
broken Rubik's Cubes, miscellaneous, notes, keys, papers, papers,
papers, there were books arriving daily. Ah, but books can be shelved,
right? It would be correct to say books may be shelved. Or they may not
be shelved. In the bookstore I'd volunteered to clean up, there were
piles of books in front of overflowing bookcases. It was clear
immediately that merchandising had not been a priority of the previous
manager, nor, it seemed, were returns. For in addition to all those
books blocking the aisles upstairs, there were the treasures of the
basement. As large as the store itself, the basement held an inventory
equal to or exceeding the books--shelved and not--on the sales floor.
That first night, I made my beachhead: the cashwrap, as it was known in
Waldenspeak. Because the backroom was not even a room, but rather a
hallway with a desk in it, the cashwrap area was also the shipping and
receiving center for the store. It was designed so that much was hidden
from the customer--or from the unsuspecting new manager until she
turned the corner. I feel grateful
to this day that I had a witness: my boyfriend at the time, a good soul
and a fellow bookseller; his gasp was even louder than mine. Then,
sensing my rising panic, he said, "I'll help. We'll do it tonight." We
filled, if memory serves, seven brown Hefty bags with trash--everything
from crumpled tissues to empty rolls of cash register tape to an
ashtray filled with cigarette butts. "At the register!?" We were both
suitably appalled, and I decided to throw out the ashtray along with the
cigarette butts.
As we worked our way down to the gray surface of the counter, I was
already writing the Waldenbooks Action Plan in my head: No smoking on
the sales floor; All books will be shelved in sections or in the
overstock areas. I don't recall the other items on the list, but I do
remember--I think I may have actually typed out the plan onto the
triplicate Waldenbooks' forms--that the staff, when asked to read and
initial the plan to signify they intended to comply with the new rules
of order, resigned en masse. Except for the assistant manager, who
stuck around only because she'd been promised transfer to another store
if she worked under me for some unspecified period of time. It turned
out she was the smoker, and she was not fond of my rules or of me. She
made a habit of lighting her cigarette as she put on her coat in the
backroom; then she would stride across the sales floor to the front
door, trailing smoke and resentment in her wake. Eventually, I amended
the Action Plan to move all smoking outside the store, and she--just in
the nick of time--was transferred.
I have to say it puzzled me, and still does: wasn't what I was asking
of staff simply what would be asked of any bookseller in any bookstore
in America? Shelve the books, keep the counters clear, don't blow smoke
in the faces of your customers. And yet they quit, some with unkind
words. My world-weary district manager wasn't surprised: "It's better
to start fresh with your own crew." And so it was. Impossibly,
magically better. It was a great crew; friendly, efficient, pleasant,
kind. The two strongholds were Kit, a special order whiz who replaced
me as manager, and June, who remains to this day my personal paragon
of great customer service. It wasn't only that she could sell books.
June knew how to make customers feel cared for--I suspect no one would
contradict me if I were to say that hers was the vibe that kept that
store going for more than 20 years after I left town.
From that small store in the Boston suburbs, I did move to a big store
in Boston; it wasn't a Waldenbooks, but the soon-to-open six-story
Boston University Bookstore. It was a dream job that I never thought
I'd get, but somehow I did. In retrospect, I am pretty sure I was hired
principally for my youthful stamina. Seventeen hour days and heavy
lifting were not a problem. At B.U., and subsequently, at the Booksmith
and Musicsmith stores, I loved the buying independence that I had, the
ability to make decisions on a small scale without having to consult
some distant home office. I became active in NEBA and ABA, eventually
launching my own business as a consultant to independent booksellers. I
revel in the freedom that independence fosters, and I work hard to
support my clients' survival, growth and business success. But I know
that some of what I teach my clients I learned working for a chain.
When business talk turns to blanket statements about how bad the chains
are, I'm inclined to say, "There are some great people working in the
chains, and some great stores, too." And when I say it, I am thinking
of Kit and June and that tiny store on Great Plains Avenue that soon
will be no more.