By day's end, all 45 Borders U.K. stores will have been shuttered (Shelf Awareness, November 30, 2009), but last night about 50 former Books Etc. employees gathered for a "wake" held at a public house in central London. The Bookseller reported that they were joined by surprise guests Richard and Philip Joseph, who founded the Books Etc. chain that was later sold to Borders. The last of those nine shops closed Saturday.
Richard Joseph decided to attend and pay his respects after "his final bid for 'a bunch of stores' had been rejected by administrator MCR," the Bookseller wrote. In an earlier article, Joseph observed: "I made a serious attempt to buy a bunch of stores, but it's not going happen. All I can tell you is that I tried really hard. I feel terrible for the Borders people, the Starbucks people, everyone.... Regrettably, discussions are now at an end.... It's a great shame--it could have been a great success."
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Joyce and Allen Moore, co-owners of City Lights Books, Sylva, N.C., since 1986, sent an e-mail newsletter to their patrons yesterday, extending holiday greetings and gratitude. They also had an announcement to make:
"As of the beginning of the new year Allen and I will be selling the business to Chris Wilcox," wrote Joyce. "Chris is a long-time employee and a person that most of you know as a dedicated, helpful and knowledgeable bookseller. I cannot imagine anyone more suited to navigating the future of bookselling than Chris."
Joyce also noted: "As I begin my 66th year and a new decade, I feel the need to slow and simplify my own life, but I believe that I am leaving the store in capable hands, well suited to dealing with the evolving complexities of the bookselling world."
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Barnes & Noble customers anticipating a Nook-less Christmas due to product shortage can now look forward to more than coal in their stockings this year. The Wall Street Journal reported that the company "has told customers who pre-ordered the Nook that if their electronic-book reading devices don't arrive by December 24, they will be given an online $100 gift certificate."
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Skip Prichard, president and CEO of Ingram Content Group, talked about his love of books, anticipating changes in the digital world and other relevant topics in an interview with the Tennessean.
"Every publisher is wrestling with what comes next, whether it's in the commercial or educational space--the relevance of digital products. One of our favorite quotes around Ingram is (hockey legend) Wayne Gretzky's quote: 'I skate to where the hockey puck will be.' We're always trying to position Ingram where the puck will be. We're trying to anticipate where consumers and publishers are moving, and to grow or acquire businesses that serve those needs."
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The Omaha, Neb., area is losing two of its indie bookstores: 30-year-old Lee Booksellers, Lincoln (as first noted in Shelf Awareness, December 2, 2009), and two-year-old Confluence Books, Bistro and Business Center, according to the World-Herald.
"It is a very tough world for independent booksellers, because there is so much competition," said Linda Hillegass, owner of Lee Booksellers with her husband, Jim McKee. "Books are everywhere." In addition to the economic downturn, an expiring lease and prospects for retirement contributed to the decision. "Sales had slowed because of the economy, and that was another reason we were not interested in signing a lease,” she said. “But it really amounts to the fact that we just got old.”
In a press release, Sue Lynn, owner of Confluence, "addressed the 'headwinds' contributing to her decision to close the store December 31: two minimum wage increases in the past 18 months; inability to get credit from banks; interest rate increases by credit card companies to as much as 32 percent; and city, county, state and federal tax burdens that consumed 20% of revenues," the World-Herald wrote.
"Now you have the daunting prospect of health care reform and additional taxes being levied on small businesses in 2010," she added. "A little too much to ask of small business today."
For those shops still in business, "'flat' is the new 'good,'" Beth Black, owner of the Bookworm, Omaha, told the World-Herald in noting that her bookshop has had comparable numbers of shoppers to last year, but they are spending a bit less.
"Not a whole lot less, but $5 or $10--enough that you see it. Or instead of buying a hardcover, they'd rather that you come up with two paperbacks," she observed.
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Last weekend, Buenos Aires, Argentina, celebrated its annual its annual Noche de las Librerias--Bookstore Night. NPR's Morning Edition reported that "the city closes a main avenue, and places sofas and chairs where cars and trucks normally idle. People with books from the many bookstores lining the avenue lounge in the seating and a festival atmosphere replaces traffic."
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The Santa Monica Dispatch praised Arcana Books as "the most interesting store on the Third Street Promenade, and one of the most interesting stores in the Los Angeles area.... Arcana just extended its lease, which is very good news for those of us who are devoted to independent book stores. If you don’t know it, you should."
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In an interesting twist on an all-too-familiar theme, Larry Hughes at Huffington Post Books selected the "10 Best Years That Are Books," focusing on years that have been published as book titles, like 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck
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Another oddly helpful book list appeared in the Guardian, where comedian Tim Key chose his "top 10 bite-size books," otherwise known as "books that won't detain you long."
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And Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life blog tried to assist readers by naming not only EW's best books of 2009--In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers--but also its pick for worst book of the year: How to Be Famous by Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.
