Charlene Ann Baumbich's novel Stray Affections isn't just a favorite hand sell at the Bookstore in Glen Ellyn, Ill.--it's also the inspiration for a festive window display (photo below). The snow globe scene on the book's cover was re-created as an oversize painting by bookseller Margie White. The work of art is surrounded by snow globes, sparkling ornaments and a copy of Stray Affections and holiday-themed titles.
To start the season, the store hosted its "First Annual Holiday Gift Idea Night" on November 17. Customers were encouraged to browse at the casual, open house-style event, where there was "lots of book chat," White said. Those who spent more than $100 received a Holiday Survival Gift Bag that included chocolate, peppermint and a small bottle of Schnapps. "Because the contents were a surprise, we had customers spending $100 just so they could find out what was inside," said White.
Attendees were provided with a list of gift ideas, including suggestions for hard-to-buy-for recipients. What do you get a wacky aunt? The Barack & Michelle Obama Paper Doll & Cut-Out Book or Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong. How about Twilight-y teens? The young adult novels Shiver and If I Stay, along with Nightlight, a Twilight parody, all of which have been given thumbs up by the store's teenage staffers. And husbands who don't read? "You have to be sneaky here," White advised. "The secret is to buy a book that looks like it's for him but is really for her." She recommends Malcolm Gladwell's titles, Stephen King's Under the Dome and John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River.
Other employee picks include Women Who Read are Dangerous by Stefan Bollmann and Madeleine Albright's Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box, paired with a brooch from a local jewelry store. For guys, there is The National Parks: America's Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert Edsel and When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. If there's a math geek in the family, White "absolutely loves" The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics.
White's recent authorial debut is also stirring customer interest at the Bookstore. In The Great Lakes Reader, a collection of essays by booksellers and librarians, she recalls growing up on a Wisconsin lake and sleuthing with Nancy Drew during family boat rides. The book was the brainchild of HarperCollins's Carl Lennertz, inspired by the Ecco title State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America with pieces about each state written by authors. Eight additional Reader volumes are planned (up next is The Pacific Northwest Reader in February), with proceeds benefiting the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. In addition to the philanthropic aspect, said Lennertz, it's "a vehicle to get booksellers and librarians published." (Visit www.GreatLakesReader.com for more information; the book is available from Partners Distribution) The compact trim size of The Great Lakes Reader, noted White, makes it an ideal stocking stuffer.
Shoppers will find no shortage of gift suggestions at the Bookstore, whether for wacky aunts, wee ones or anyone else. Popular children's choices are the pop-up books The Little Prince and In the Beginning: The Art of Genesis. But it's a tiara-wearing glamour girl who is leading the way during a strong December. The store's #1 seller is Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas. --Shannon McKenna Schmidt