Booksellers from around the U.S. offer their assessment of the holiday shopping season so far:
At Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., the holiday season began with a strong Thanksgiving weekend and Small Business Saturday. Buying and inventory manager Matt Stowe reported that the bookstore was up 8.7% on SBS compared to the previous year, and has been up this holiday season so far.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney and The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates have been very strong sellers. Stowe noted that 2024 was "frontloaded" due to the election, so there is still "quite a bit of movement" on titles that were released earlier in the year, such as All Fours by Miranda July and Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. Major award winners like James by Percival Everett, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, and The Vegetarian by Han Kang have also seen some nice bumps. Since the election, Stowe added, there has been "renewed interest in books about fascism, resistance, and dystopias." The bookstore also had a very successful partnership with Justine Doiron for preorders of her debut cookbook, Justine Cooks.
On the subject of supply-chain issues, Stowe explained that he has been trying to "order a little tighter" this year, which means the store has been more susceptible. He said he was surprised to see Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer "immediately sell through their first printings" and go out of stock. Other issues have included some four-color cookbooks like Eat NYC by Yasmin Newman and Alan Benson, and The Four Horsemen by Nick Curtola, Gabe Ulla, James Murphy, Mike Paré, and Justin Chearno.
Based on how the season has gone so far, Stowe said he is "optimistic for the rest of the holiday season." While the fall was a bit light on major releases, "more and more people are outside, staying engaged with culture and politics, and looking for education and comfort through reading."
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In Petoskey, Mich., McLean & Eakin Booksellers has had a "great start to the season," reported general manager Zach Matelski. Black Friday and Small Business Saturday were very busy, but some severe weather did have an effect on sales early in the season.
Now that the weather has cleared up, the store is "catching back up," and Matelski expects to have some "very busy weeks" leading up to 2025. Website orders have been "flying in," and there are "more and more people shopping in the store every day."
Major titles include some "obvious" ones, such as The Serviceberry, James, and Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten, as well as All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker and A Tiny Fart Diary mini-notebook from Brass Monkey/Galison. Matelski said the store is doing "exceptionally well" with the last two, and Tiny Fart Diary, in fact, will "absolutely" make the store's bestseller list this year.
Asked about supply-chain issues, Matelski said McLean & Eakin is "just starting to experience some" with books like The Serviceberry, which is now "sold out everywhere." Overall, though, the store is stocked up and restocking orders "are coming in quickly."
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"So far, so good," said John Cavalier, co-owner of Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs and Lafayette, La. He and his wife, Michelle Cavalier, opened a second location in Lafayette this summer, and Cavalier called this holiday season "a learning experience" for that store, as they try to get in sync with their new staff members and new community. For the original location in Denham Springs, Cavalier said that although he has not had time to do a thorough comparison with last year's numbers, he feels good about how things are going.
Touching on strong sellers, Cavalier said that "anything that's signed or that has sprayed edges" is moving very well, and with regard to supply-chain issues, reported "smooth sailing." Discussing the late start to the holiday season, Cavalier also pointed out that in Louisiana, there is Carnival season to look forward to every Q1. Mardi Gras isn't until early March, and "that extended Carnival season will see a lot of tourists coming into South Louisiana."
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And in St. Petersburg, Fla., Tombolo Books has had a "fantastic" season so far, reported owner Alsace Walentine. Back in October, the bookstore lost nine days of business due to hurricane-related closures, and many of the store's customers lost their homes. There was a "general sense of wanting to put October behind us," and by October 31, holiday titles were already filling the children's sections and customers were apparently hungry for it, as the first weekend of November saw "incredible children's book sales."
Some standout titles include James, God of the Woods by Liz Moore, We Solve Murders by Richard Osman, the pocket and graphic versions of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, The Serviceberry, The Wager by David Grann, The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides, Playground by Richard Powers, and Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell.
Tombolo has yet to experience any shipping delays or supply issues, with Walentine saying vendors have been "excellent at communicating when stock is low." She is hopeful for the rest of the holiday season, noting that traffic has picked up in earnest, especially on the weekends, and this coming weekend marks the store's fifth anniversary. The celebration will include extended hours and a night market in the courtyard.
"Despite the depressing events of the fall, our customers have rallied around this community space and so far our sales are comparable to last year's sales," Walentine said. --Alex Mutter
If you are interested in having your store appear in a future Holiday Hum article, please e-mail alex@shelf-awareness.com.