The Borders bookstore in downtown Tempe, Ariz., next to Arizona State University, will close in January, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. Several real estate projects in the area have stalled, sales are reportedly off in downtown and there is competition from the Tempe Marketplace, home to a Barnes & Noble. Borders has other stores in the area.
Nationally Borders is planning to close four other stores in January, including ones in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Santa Monica, Calif., according to the Arizona Republic.
---
More than a few booksellers--and customers--have loved a five-minute discussion of women and friendships by Kelly Corrigan, whose The Middle Place (Voice, $14.95, 9781401340933/1401340938), is coming out in paperback next week. Called Transcending: Words on Women and Strength, her "toast" can be seen on YouTube.
---
After buying the Rainy Day bookstore, Salisbury, N.C., in September, Jennifer Koerner made some changes and reopened in October as Laughing Sky, the Salisbury Post reported. Koerner told the paper she aims to make the used bookstore "a friendly place where those who love to read could buy books at half the cost of retail."
---
Columnist Dan Barker recommended that Fort Morgan, Colo., Times readers might consider bypassing the big box bookstores this holiday season because "Morgan County gift buyers can just as easily order those same books from the Book Nook in downtown Fort Morgan, without traveling to another city. That keeps the profit right here in the county, to be spent at local businesses and circulated through the local economy."---
Barnett Books, a Meriden, Conn., store that sells overstocks, remainders and closeouts, will close December 28, after 20 years in business. "My customers are coming in and they're in tears," said owner Patricia Barnett, who will continue to sell some stock online.
She told the Record-Journal that the Internet, rather than chain bookstores, was the reason behind her decision: "If it wasn't for the big chain stores buying in the quantity that they buy, then there wouldn't be any remainders," she said. "Since the Internet has come along, and Amazon.com, the business has slowed down. It's so easy to shop online, and with the instant gratification from video games it's so hard to get that entertainment dollar."
---
One publisher's mistake; young readers' bonanza.
Komenar Publishing goofed on a print order and wound up with "200% more product than intended." As a result, Komenar is donating 1,000 copies of the trade paperback edition of Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill, an illustrated sci-fi novel involving "a quest across an alien landscape," to public libraries that have bookmobiles for underserved people or programs to bring books into schools.
For more information, e-mail info@komenarpublishing.com or call 510-444-2261.
---
"For obsessive collectors, nothing beats a classic golf book," the Wall Street Journal reported, but also warned new buyers in the field (or fairway) to "beware of falling prices."
"Golf is a sport with a great body of literature," said Bill Shinker, publisher of Gotham Books. "There's an aphorism in our business that is absolutely true: the smaller the ball, the better the books sell."
---
"Need a gift for a book lover?" asked the Detroit Free Press in a piece headlined "Books are a no-brainer gift, and they're the easiest thing to wrap."
---
Books for kids.
"Ogres and Dragons and Muggles, Oh My!" exclaimed Bloomberg.com while introducing its holiday children's books picks.
"Children's books to give and to cherish" were showcased by the Seattle Times.
The perfect gift for the kid who has everything? "A book, of course," the Kansas City Star suggested. "Not just any book but one to be read and re-read and shared with loved ones."
The New York Daily News featured a "best books to buy for kids" holiday shopping guide.