We bring this series to a close (I think, depending upon reader response, which has been great and kept the book group theme running much longer than I anticipated) with a road trip, a patented bookstore websiteseeing tour. Today's run will be a speedy cross-country dash (though not as fast as this guy) and hyperlink frenzied, so I'll just fire up the virtual engine and hit the digital pavement.
Pedestrian readers beware.
Here are some highlights from my purely subjective tour, a sampling that would have been labeled "stuff I liked" on the postcard I forgot to send you:
As might be expected, most bookstores offer discounts (generally 10%, 15% or 20%, though one shop mysteriously gives 21%) to local book clubs willing to pre-order titles in quantities as small as five copies. Some shops host in-store, staff-led discussion groups while others tend toward serving the needs of private reading groups. Some do both, and even though a few seem to offer neither, this impression could be misleading, since bookshops don't necessarily reveal everything about themselves online.
One of the most common questions I'm asked in the bookstore by newcomers to our area is, "Do you know any local book groups I might join?" It's a tough one to answer, since many groups are private and have a circle-the-wagons approach when it comes to adding members they don't already know. This is understandable, given that a mismatched addition to a discussion group might well tip the balance. Still, bookshops can help. I like the fact that Skylight Books, Los Angeles, Calif., offers a matchmaking service to "bring like-minded people together and provide resources to make some lively and successful book groups."
The art of naming a book group is worth considering. I think I've even become a connoisseur during this trip. Page Turners, Mother-Daughter Book Club and Happy Bookers are among the most popular monikers coast to coast. Some of my favorite discoveries include book groups at Schuler Books, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Bibliobabes, Dissident Daughters), Books & Company, Oconomowoc, Wis. (Between the Sheets, Wine & Spine), the Learnéd Owl Book Shop, Hudson, Ohio (Yada Yada Book Club), Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, Tex. (Tough Broads Out At Night Book Club), The Bookloft, Great Barrington, Mass. (Manhattan Transfers) and Books Inc., San Francisco, Calif. (The Quick & the Read, Oh My Gosh! Stories!!).
Village Books, Bellingham, Wash., wins the overall prize for its treasure trove of local book group names, among them Bodacious Bibliophiler, Book Whine & Thinkers Book Group, Bookies & Cookies and Not Now I'm Reading.
Rainy Day Books, Fairway, Kan., features a Top 10 Book Club Bestsellers list and, taking advantage of the fact that Rainy Day hosts more than 300 events annually, offers "Book Club Author Events." Quail Ridge Books & Music, Raleigh, N.C., also highlights its "meet your favorite authors" option.
The plot thickens. I love the fact that Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore, Salt Lake City, Utah, hosts a Nancy Drew Mystery Monthly Bookclub as well as a Hard Boiled Bookclub.
Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C., has one of the most wide-ranging lists of store-sponsored discussion groups, including Capital James Joyce Club, Fascinating History, Futurist, Poetry, Public Affairs, Spanish Language, Travel and more.
We end by considering a simple fact of bookselling life. Independent booksellers know that sometimes the biggest challenge we face is getting people simply to open that front door and walk in for the first time. There are doors on bookstore websites, too. McLean & Eakin, Booksellers, Petoskey, Mich., holds theirs wide open, adding a homey welcome mat to entice potential book club members inside. It's worth quoting in full:
"Reading a great book and then not being able to discuss it is like winning the lottery and telling no one. Hence, the creation of the book group. Designed for individuals passionate about great literature and interested in pushing their usual literary boundaries (for some, nonfiction=dentist office visit), the McLean & Eakin book groups are not intimidating; no one will ask for your highest level of education completed. There is no pop quiz. Selected works are diverse but not obscure. You may read a new release one month and a classic the next. But do come fully expecting to be surrounded by very avid readers."--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)