Throughout the year, I have promised to give updates on some posts. So, here’s a smattering of things that needed follow-ups.
– A Determined Dad was about a dad who was thoroughly fed up with his twin boys’ reading habits. He was fixated on reading Huck Finn with the kids. We urged him to start with something a little easier and lighter. Did he follow the advice? Nope. Sadly, two days after the blog went live the dad broke his leg skiing. Feeling the loss of several weeks to perhaps build up to Huck Finn, he leapt right in. I asked one of the boys how it was going and he smiled and said, “Dad can get a little intense about that book.”  They may not be reading the way we had all envisioned, but father and sons have been spending some quality time together.
– Book Talk Nation was a new initiative started by the Authors Guild whereby authors are interviewed on the phone and folks can call in and listen. Originally, I had said we sold just about 20 Katherine Paterson books. The fun of this event was the pleasure of going to Katherine’s house for her to sign the books; I got to have coffee with Katherine Paterson! The Authors Guild paid us promptly. I think this type of event could be a great way to remind folks about what indie bookstores can do.
– This update was supposed to happen in October, but I forgot. Workman had a Real Good Deal promotion that I thought would be wonderful. What happened was less successful than I had hoped. The main problem was the table that came with the books was just too little. If I could have put that table on a table I think we would have a lot more book sales.  The book mix was actually pretty good and it was so easy to return what didn’t sell, while the program wasn’t as successful as I had hoped, I do so appreciate Workman’s efforts with indies.
– Lastly, one of the first posts I ever wrote was about my love for e-catalogs. Well, three years later, I find I’m not in love anymore. I realized what I truly enjoyed about accessing catalogs on line was never losing them. I have discovered that I don’t relish spending more time online when I get home from work. While I used to thumb through catalogs and make notes in the evenings, I almost never log on and scan through web pages when I’m home. This is actually starting to be a problem as more and more publishers stop producing catalogs. I realized part of the problem was my desperate need to wear the right reading glasses. I finally saw the eye doctor and the glasses are on the way, so now I have no excuses.