Suzanna Hermans, co-owner of Oblong Books & Music, with stores in Rhinebeck and Millerton, N.Y., was interviewed by Hudson Valley Almanac Weekly. Among our favorite exchanges:
Your Dad, Dick Hermans, started Oblong Books in 1975--ten years before you were born--in Millerton. What made you want to join the business?
I was raised in a thriving established business. I grew up in the bookstore and was always a big reader. I spent my childhood and teen years adoring the theater, and got a degree in Theater. Though I love performing and see tons of shows, I realized I didn't want to make a living doing that. After college, when I wondered what I should do with my life, I realized I really like books--and we have these bookstores. In 2007, I joined the business and started managing the Rhinebeck store. I have not looked back, and have taken part-ownership of the business.
Do you still view Barnes & Noble as your prime competitor?
They're no longer our enemy, because now they're struggling--maybe more than the independent bookstores. Having a 30,000-square-foot store is extremely expensive to rent and fill with merchandise. They've been struggling trying to figure out the digital market, and their Nook business is not doing well. Borders closed. I no longer think of them as a competitor; in fact, they are providing books to a lot of communities that don't have an independent bookstore.
How well are you doing?
We're modestly profitable. We're pretty smart businesspeople who've been in business long enough to know what we are doing, and we can be agile. 2008 was a really hard year, and coming back was challenging. But this year at the Rhinebeck store has been the best year ever. Part of that is related to the village becoming bigger every year.
Given the enormous amounts of time people are spending on their computer, are you concerned about the future of reading?
As far as the future of reading goes, we're in a cool position. Not only are books still here after hundreds of years, now there are so many new ways to read and publish content. You can read essayists who have both print books and write on Tumblr. I'm not worried about books and appreciate the many ways we are consuming the written word. Social media and all its different platforms make this a really good time to be a writer and reader.
