Shoppers at University Book Store in Seattle, Wash., might be the
recipients of unexpected holiday goodwill while browsing the aisles.
For the second year, the store (which has several branches in the
surrounding area) sent 20% discount postcards to customers on its
mailing list. Extras are available in the store for staffers to bestow
on favored customers. "It's a thank you for shopping with us," said
head buyer Jay Weaver.
One of the biggest sellers at the University Book Store is Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. "He's a local boy," said Weaver of the recipient of this year's National Book Award for Nonfiction. "The paperback edition has been flying," he added, although it is currently out of stock. The Audacity of Hope by Senator Barack Obama and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai are other popular choices.
Although the University Book Store is a general interest retailer, sales are sometimes influenced by campus events. This connection accounts for the popularity of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. All incoming freshman are required to read a designated book, and this year's selection was the Pulitzer Prize-winning title. Freshman received the book free, but interest in Mountains Beyond Mountains spread throughout the community and has made the nonfiction narrative a popular gift selection.
School spirit is inspiring purchases of sweatshirts, jerseys, bumper stickers and other merchandise adorned with University of Washington sports team insignias. Additional sidelines selling well are games, puzzles, knitting supplies, journals and calendars--particularly the 2007 George W. Bush Out of Office Countdown Calendar. Perhaps customers are pairing it with another top selling item, the Bush Countdown Keychain. A clock on the keychain ticks off the amount of time (down to the second) left until the current president vacates the Oval Office.
Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky by local radio personality John Moe is featured in the University Book Store's holiday gift guide. Other books benefiting from placement in the gift guide, which is available both online and as a print version, include Les Beletsky's Birds of the World, Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Finlay, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz and Daniel J. Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.
Sales at the store indicate that some of the books Seattle's youngest residents will be unwrapping next week include Flotsam, Rainbow Bob, Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume 1: The Pox Party.
Last weekend the University Book Store held a book fair for a local high school. "It's a good time of year to do that," noted Weaver, "and we haven't held one during the Christmas season for the past couple of years." Parents, teachers, students and others associated with the school were invited to shop in the store over a three-day period, and 15% of their total purchase price was donated to the school.
Rachael Ray's 2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds was in the spotlight earlier this month when the bubbly chef and talk show host appeared at the store. A crowd of 400 turned out to stand in line for a signed copy of the book.
Aside from the frenzy ignited by Ray's visit, shoppers seem calm, noted Weaver, with sales steady but not stellar. "I don't think we're going to break any records," he said, "but it's going okay." Weaver expects substantial traffic the week between Christmas and New Year's, followed by "rush week" beginning January 3 when students return to the university for the new semester.
As for Weaver's holiday shopping list, friends will be receiving Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest by Gerard J. DeGroot and Destination Art by Amy Dempsey, while his 11-year-old son is getting a copy of D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths. And what book would Weaver like to be given this Christmas? Barry Lopez's Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape.--Shannon McKenna
One of the biggest sellers at the University Book Store is Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. "He's a local boy," said Weaver of the recipient of this year's National Book Award for Nonfiction. "The paperback edition has been flying," he added, although it is currently out of stock. The Audacity of Hope by Senator Barack Obama and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai are other popular choices.
Although the University Book Store is a general interest retailer, sales are sometimes influenced by campus events. This connection accounts for the popularity of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. All incoming freshman are required to read a designated book, and this year's selection was the Pulitzer Prize-winning title. Freshman received the book free, but interest in Mountains Beyond Mountains spread throughout the community and has made the nonfiction narrative a popular gift selection.
School spirit is inspiring purchases of sweatshirts, jerseys, bumper stickers and other merchandise adorned with University of Washington sports team insignias. Additional sidelines selling well are games, puzzles, knitting supplies, journals and calendars--particularly the 2007 George W. Bush Out of Office Countdown Calendar. Perhaps customers are pairing it with another top selling item, the Bush Countdown Keychain. A clock on the keychain ticks off the amount of time (down to the second) left until the current president vacates the Oval Office.
Conservatize Me: How I Tried to Become a Righty with the Help of Richard Nixon, Sean Hannity, Toby Keith, and Beef Jerky by local radio personality John Moe is featured in the University Book Store's holiday gift guide. Other books benefiting from placement in the gift guide, which is available both online and as a print version, include Les Beletsky's Birds of the World, Jewels: A Secret History by Victoria Finlay, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz and Daniel J. Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.
Sales at the store indicate that some of the books Seattle's youngest residents will be unwrapping next week include Flotsam, Rainbow Bob, Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume 1: The Pox Party.
Last weekend the University Book Store held a book fair for a local high school. "It's a good time of year to do that," noted Weaver, "and we haven't held one during the Christmas season for the past couple of years." Parents, teachers, students and others associated with the school were invited to shop in the store over a three-day period, and 15% of their total purchase price was donated to the school.
Rachael Ray's 2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds was in the spotlight earlier this month when the bubbly chef and talk show host appeared at the store. A crowd of 400 turned out to stand in line for a signed copy of the book.
Aside from the frenzy ignited by Ray's visit, shoppers seem calm, noted Weaver, with sales steady but not stellar. "I don't think we're going to break any records," he said, "but it's going okay." Weaver expects substantial traffic the week between Christmas and New Year's, followed by "rush week" beginning January 3 when students return to the university for the new semester.
As for Weaver's holiday shopping list, friends will be receiving Dark Side of the Moon: The Magnificent Madness of the American Lunar Quest by Gerard J. DeGroot and Destination Art by Amy Dempsey, while his 11-year-old son is getting a copy of D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths. And what book would Weaver like to be given this Christmas? Barry Lopez's Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape.--Shannon McKenna