Customers were recently invited to Get Naked at Book Stop in Hood River, Ore. The enticingly dubbed event was a kick-off for both the holiday shopping season and the store's "One Warm Coat" drive. Jess Walter was on hand to read from his latest novel, The Financial Lives of the Poets, and libations were provided by Naked Winery. More than 125 new and gently used coats were collected. Those who brought one received 20% off purchases that evening--including one zealous shopper who vowed to be the biggest spender of the night.
Book Stop owner Cynthia Christensen came up with the idea for the coat drive after realizing she had an abundance of jackets she never wore--she believed other people might, too. Her goal is to gather 500 coats by December 31; the winter wear is being donated to a nonprofit family health care center. The response has been so great that Christensen, who has even been stopped in the grocery store by people asking about the coat drive, plans to make it an annual endeavor.
Every customer who donates a coat is invited to sign a banner that will be displayed in Book Stop's front window after the holidays. Said Christensen, "I think it will be nice for everyone to be recognized for what they did."
Like Christensen, other booksellers are lending a helping hand this holiday season. Dan Danbom and Nancy Stevens, the owners of Printed Page Bookshop in Denver, Colo., are conducting a "Food for Thought" drive. Customers receive a free book for every nonperishable food item they bring in to the store before December 20. Of particular need are protein-rich foods like canned chicken and tuna, beans and peanut butter. The food, along with monetary donations, is being given to the emergency food pantry East Denver FISH.
Danbom and Stevens opened Printed Page, a used book co-op, in August, and rent space in the converted Victorian house to several other dealers. "A bookstore is a fundamental part of a community's fabric, and we've looked for opportunities to be a good business citizen," Danbom said. An in-store display promoting the "Food for Thought" drive includes information about the growing hunger crisis in Denver and elsewhere, and the problems facing food banks. "We want this to be more than a food drive," added Danbom. "We want to educate our customers about the situation people find themselves in."
At Page after Page in Lewisburg, Pa., a reading raised money for a good cause. The town's Donald Heiter Community Center received approximately $3,000 to benefit youth programs after the store hosted a 24-hour Rock-N-Read Marathon last Friday and Saturday.
Marathoners sat in rocking chairs by the store's front window and read aloud in 15-minute segments. Participants were asked to raise a minimum of $25 in pledges per time slot. Of the 63 readers, who selected their own material, some read for longer than 15 minutes--including one energetic person who did so for three hours straight. They read passages from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, The Giving Tree and other children's tales, along with Hanukkah stories and classics like Moby Dick. Readers included a mother and her young daughter, a poet who shared her original verse and Santa Claus, who wrapped up the marathon. The literary extravaganza came about after a customer and community center board member approached Page after Page owner Murrie A. Zlotziver with a request. "She's aware that I worked in the nonprofit sector and asked me to come up with a fundraising idea that would be different," he said. The event coincided with Late Shoppers' Night on Friday evening, traditionally the store's busiest day of the year, and a Victorian Holiday Parade the next afternoon.
Author Laura Childs is giving back while promoting Eggs Benedict Arnold, the second title in the Cackleberry Club Mystery series. For every copy of the novel and its predecessor, Eggs in Purgatory, sold at Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore in Minneapolis, Minn., between December 1 and 12, she is donating a chick to a family in need through the aid organization Heifer International. The promotion was originally scheduled to run through December 5, culminating with Child's publication party at the store that day, but it has received such rave reviews she has extended it by a week. 85 copies of Eggs Benedict Arnold were sold during Saturday's two-hour soiree alone.
Childs came up with the idea for the good deed after brainstorming ways to bring attention to her new novel in the midst of the holiday whirlwind. "My first idiotic idea was to drive a huge flock of chickens down the Nicollet mall through downtown Minneapolis. Not too smart. I'd probably get arrested--me and the poor chickens," said Childs. She then recalled the Heifer International catalogue she had received. "I suddenly thought--bingo. Chickens! By donating a chick for each book sold, I'd hopefully be helping out several poor families who could turn their chickens into a cottage industry. That idea really touched my heart."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt