We were short-staffed this week: one bookseller on vacation, another still recovering from a fall, and one out with the flu. The other three happened to be unavailable to fill in on Wednesday, which left me alone at the store. This is hardly a tragedy during winter time; one person can handle even a fairly brisk store as long as there aren’t flurries of customers needing help all at the same time, along with a ringing phone and gift wrapping requests. But Wednesdays are story hour days, so at 11 am this week, in toddled seven or eight little snowsuited munchkins with their mommies.
We gathered in the picture book section on the rug, and I told the children that JP, their usual storytime reader, had a sore throat that morning and was very sorry to miss them, but that she had picked out special books and I would be happy to read them. I also explained that I was minding the store alone and might need to interrupt my reading to answer the phone or help a customer, in which case I hoped one of the parents might fill in. The children were good with this. They’re 18 months to four years old; they’re happy to go with the storytime flow.
One of the books JP had set aside for that week was Too Purpley! by Jean Reidy. This book got lots and lots of giggles. If you don’t know the story, it’s a very simple, toddler-friendly premise: a little girl rejects all of the clothes in her closet for various reasons — some straightforward, some fanciful (“Too purpley, too tickly, too puckery, too prickly!” and a whole host of other lively, funny examples.) The kids were fascinated by the book and had to point out things about their own outfits. I was tickled that JP had chosen this particular book, because earlier in the week, the author had posted a wonderful anecdote on Facebook about an encounter she had with a very young reader. Jean Reidy has given me permission to share it with ShelfTalker readers, so here you go:

A 3.5 year-old girl came up to my table at CCIRA, saw the TOO PICKLEY! Board Book, squealed “TOO PICKLEY!” grabbed it, sat down and immediately started reading it. And I mean reading it – like sounding out words and such.
So, I said, “Oh my goodness, you’re a very good reader.”
And she said, “Thank you. Would you like a bite of my apple?”
So, I said, “Oh that is SO nice of you, but no thank you, I just had breakfast.”
She continued reading.
So I said, “Are apples your favorite?”
And she said, “Would you like to play with something in my purse? I have a pony.”
She obviously wanted to keep me quiet, so she could finish the book.

Don’t you love that?
While I certainly wouldn’t ever wish a sore throat on JP, my unexpected fill-in time at story hour was lovely. I adore reading to kids. (Who doesn’t?!) There is nothing like those bright eyes and delighted giggles and excited additions to the story as you read. I was able to get through two whole books before the phone rang, at which time a mom stepped in and took over. She read two more books, and then another mom pitched in. It was a wonderfully cooperative story hour all around. A little chaotic, perhaps, but really fun. And not a single one of us needed to offer anyone a pony from our purse.
 

Children’s bookstores are in a unique place for sidelines. Because most children come to the store in the company of an adult we have a captive audience. While most children are delightful, many parents like to browse the store without their kids following them around. Time is limited for this kind of browsing, so we make the section fun and easy to browse while still keeping an eye on the little ones.
The first attraction of adult sidelines are the greeting cards. I realized last week how much people love the New Yorker cards. We had just restocked the cards and people started stocking up like they’d never be back in again. Having good card lines can really help a bookstore’s bottom line. People often don’t think anything of buying six to eight cards at a time and with a better discount than books, the profit margin is excellent. And it’s easy to display lots of cards in a small space, thereby increasing the odds you’ll have a card that customer will love. The other really great thing about cards is they keep people in the store longer. I love nothing more than listening to people laughing over the New Yorker cards. The cartoons are captivating and friends swap cards back and forth sharing the joke.
We are lucky to have found this next sideline. They’re felted nesting bird houses from Dzi. I saw these at the New York Gift Show over the summer and we took a chance on them. They’re made in Nepal by artisans earning a livable wage. So it’s a win-win for everyone: a unique gift that does good work. People loved these the minute we put them out with a delight that was infectious. As one person would buy someone else would ask what it was and then the purchaser’s enthusiasm created another sale. Folks bought six of these for the holidays to give as gifts to their bird-loving friends. Parents bought them to hang in their kid’s room, artists put them in their studios. They are so lively and bright that they immediately brighten up the store and by hanging them by the register people have to walk the length of the store to see them up close.
The last great adult sideline that’s really fun to carry is the Tea Duckie. It’s for tea lovers with a sense of fun. It’s a tea infuser that’s a rubber duck who floats in the cup. It’s simple, adorable fun. Since many readers seem to be tea drinkers, it’s a natural pairing for a bookstore to stock. These little guys are very reasonably priced and they made wonderful stocking stuffers as well as hostess gifts. And really, they’re just cute.
Sidelines need attention. They have to arranged in a way that’s visually appealing. The display needs to change frequently to keep things looking fresh and new. The allure of good sidelines are they bring people into the whole store and if you’re the store that introduces them to something they’ve never seen before, you’ve made a repeat customer who will expect that every visit. That’s the challenge of sidelines, and the fun.

I’ve always had trouble remembering the endings of books—which I have decided is simply a case of denial, the result of wanting a particular book world not to come to a close. But there are also books I just plain don’t want to finish, because I’m enjoying them so much. I suspect this is a fairly common phenomenon, that feeling of not wanting a good book to end. But do others find themselves slooooooowing way down while reading, or reading only a few pages at a time—in essence, sipping the book instead of gulping—to make it last? I have been doing this a lot lately, and worse: I have found myself simply not reading the last volume in a series. (I always buy the last book; I just avoid reading it, and look at it guiltily on my shelf.)
I hadn’t realized slow-reading and series-end-avoidance were an encroaching habit of mine until recently, when I picked up R.L. LaFevers’ Dark Triumph, the April 2013 sequel to a book I *loved* last year, Grave Mercy, about a female assassin in 15th-century Brittany trained in a convent by nuns to do Death’s work. It is SO good, and is a favorite handsell. When the ARC of Dark Triumph arrived recently, I chortled (a slightly more dignified version of ‘squealed’) and snapped it up and handed the second copy to another staffer, Sandy. (I’d asked for two copies, since she is equally hooked and no good would have come of the one-copy fisticuffs.) I rushed home and began reading and immediately sighed happily, because the book begins with the same vigor and narrative propulsion and effortless writerly authority that makes Grave Mercy so darned good. But then … I put it down after only a couple of chapters. Not because I didn’t like it; quite the opposite. I don’t want to be done with it. So I am going little by little, one breathtaking, action-packed, beautifully written snippet, a chapter or half chapter at a time.
Slightly more unsettling is my reluctance to finish series I love. Giant confession: I did not read Mockingjay, though I loved the first two and have every reason to believe I’d love the third. Nor have I broken the spine of the final volume of Patrick Ness’s incredible Chaos Walking trilogy, Monsters of Men, though I have a gorgeous edition in my bedside bookcase, waiting.
My most recent avoidance is Eternally Yours, the third in a fantasy trilogy by Cate Tiernan that is one of my all-time favorite YA/crossover fantasies and most successful handsells. The first in this trilogy, Immortal Beloved, has a title that can be a hard handsell at first (it doesn’t suit the sharp humor and prickly nature of the heroine and story), but once readers get their hands on it, as with Grave Mercy, they are hooked. And I mean hard. We often have people mention, on subsequent visits to the store, that they loved a book we recommended to them. But Immortal Beloved is the only book I can think of where people actually telephoned the store specifically to thank me for a book recommendation. It’s happened three times with this one! So one would think I would not be able to resist the allure of the third in the series. And I can’t. In fact, it’s so alluring I won’t pick it up.
Maybe it’s like being so attracted to someone you can’t ask her out. You don’t want to be disappointed, and you don’t want the beautiful dream of the relationship to end.
Readers, do any of you do this? And if so, what books do you read slowly? What series haven’t you finished, even though you loved them?
 
 
 

Saturday afternoon we were overrun with mostly little girls in pink. They had come to Shelburne Town Hall to meet Victoria Kann, creator of the wildly popular Pinkalicious series. Victoria was on tour for her new book, Emeraldalicious. The kids were ready and so were we.

Every time a prolific author comes to visit and we move off site, I’m struck by how many titles one person can write. These three tables were a riot of colors in support of the Pinkalicious franchise. We had I Can Read books, picture books, activity books, sticker books, paper dolls, and more. All the children seemed to hover over the right kind of book for themselves. Usually, at these events we don’t sell a lot of the early readers, but we sure did Saturday. The kids were so excited and honestly, what’s cuter than scores of little kids in pink with wands and sparkles?
Victoria was a consummate presenter. She had the kid’s attention from the moment she stepped up to the microphone. She asked if the kids knew what pink was and all the kids shouted YES. Then she asked if they knew what emerald was, and there was silence. Finally, one kid said, “Um, no.” The moment she started to read Emeraldalicious, every little child was rapt and silent. I have never seen a quieter, more attentive crowd for a reading. Even the smallest fans just listened. It was glorious. One moment that I particularly loved was when Victoria lost her place and admitted to occasionally getting nervous during readings. I think it’s really great for kids to see that even authors can get nervous.
The signing line was long and Victoria needed no help managing her fans. Usually, authors like to have someone helping with the line, but Victoria deftly handled the crush of a little kids and families. An hour after the signing began, the last, very patient family left and Victoria signed overstock as fast as anyone I’ve ever seen.
We have a tradition that authors get to pick a book for themselves after events. Victoria refused. She said, “You’re an indie bookstore. You need to save all you can.” She choose a card instead. Lovely.

Two lovely Valentines from yesterday:
First, I was invited to share my books with families at a special school fundraising event in a town about an hour away. Two of the children at the school are facing expensive medical challenges, and so an enterprising group of parents created a raffle and author storytime to raise some money to help. There were baskets of toys and books donated by local businesses, parents, and community members, and other raffle prizes. There were tables filled with Valentine-y treats for children to decorate and eat. There was an adorable little girl, age five or six, who earnestly counted out the exact right number of raffle tickets to give to each purchaser. And there were families. The reading was really fun, the kids were hilarious, and I got to judge, impromptu, which of several children had the greenest-dyed teeth from his Fun-Dip packet. I donated my visit, of course, and slipped signed books into the book gift basket, and bought raffle tickets I had no intention of redeeming. The two young children in whose honor the fundraiser was held were there, and it was great to see that there was no big deal made of the reason for the fundraiser. All the kids were just playing and having fun. I don’t know how much money was raised, overall, but the little baggie in the raffle ticket box was bulging with bills. I hope it was a bundle!
Second, we have been running a little fundraiser of our own, our annual book drive for a fantastic program started by the Lund Family Center. The Lund’s Kids-A-Part Program aims to keep families connected when a parent is incarcerated and works to lessen the negative effects of separation during a very challenging time in a family’s life.
See those red paper hearts hanging from the ceiling in the photo? Each heart has a picture book title on the back. Customers buy one of the books (at a discount), and we collect the donated books and give them to the Lund folks, who get them to the parents. The parents record themselves reading the book, then the children get both the book and their parent’s recordings of it. That way, they can have the comfort of hearing their parent’s voice reading them a story at bedtime – or, really, any time. Isn’t that a lovely idea?!
We are so happy to support this creative and meaningful program!
I hope you all had as lovely a Valentine’s Day as we did.

On Wednesday, I wrote about what makes a good sales rep. Today, I turn my attention to what makes a good book buyer. Buying books is part art, part budget balancing, part good preparation, and part listening to your gut and your sales rep.
– Good book buyers are prepared. They’ve read through and marked up the catalogs before the meeting. If they are lucky enough to get a sales kit ahead of time, they’ve looked at all the materials. Obviously, all the galleys can’t be read, but they can be looked at and shared with staff. Picture books can be read ahead of the meeting. One trick I learned from a fellow bookseller is to read through the picture books and then go through the catalog (or computer) two days later and what you remember is what you should buy.
– Being a good buyer is more challenging in this computer-ordering age. I find it much harder to buy books on the computer, so I really have to focus and set aside the time after work (there seems to be no way to order books at the store without getting continually interrupted). I have yet to develop a good strategy that works as well as dog-earing catalog pages with a note of the number of books to order online. This is my challenge for 2013.
– Buyers should know their store and their customers. A good buyer is one who will order one or two of a seemingly bizarre title because they know a specific customer will love it. Be true to your store. Sometimes this can mean passing on a lot of books. Be firm. Nothing is worse than buyer’s remorse, especially when it turns into a mass of returns six months later.
– Listen to your rep, or read through their Edelweiss notes. No one knows the frontlist better than the rep. They know if someone is a regional author and that knowledge can help sell books. Their notes are chock full of great information.
– Take your rep out for a meal or coffee. Get to know them as more than a rep, but as a person. Often this helps make buying sessions more fun. Be mindful that commission reps often don’t have the expense accounts of publisher reps, so offer to pay for your meal, or better yet, take the rep out.
-I spoke with Nikki Mutch, my Scholastic rep, and she said there are two things she likes to see in a buyer. The first is to be prepared for the meeting. “Know what I sell,” was how she put it. This makes sense. I can imagine nothing more frustrating than a buyer who really has no idea what the kinds of books the publisher is offering. The other thing she said was, “Be conversational when talking about books.” This harkens back to be getting to know your rep. A lively conversation about books can be really fun and certainly makes a meeting more entertaining.
– One other thing to add is, be kind. Book buys can be tense affairs if people are mean or judgmental about the books they’re passing on. Gently say no, if you can. Be firm in your answer, but just as you wouldn’t say ick when hearing the specials at a restaurant, you may think it, but you don’t say it.
– Make a good order. Returning more than 50% of your order six months later is bad for the rep and expensive for you. Really think about what you’ll need, knowing you can reorder as you need it.
– Be thankful for the galleys. They are a treasure.

In this day of computer ordering, it’s sometimes hard for booksellers to have a relationship with a sales rep. But there are so many good reps out there, I wanted to make a list of what makes a good one, and why all booksellers should push to have one.
– A good rep stays in touch, even when it’s not buying season. They communicate backlist offers, share interesting book-related tidbits when they come across something they think is interesting. Getting to know your rep is the best way to have a relationship, not just with the rep, but with the publishing company as well.
– Reps are understanding about life getting in the way of business. The last few months have been very distracting for me at the bookstore and my reps have been wonderful about my lack of focus. With the rescheduling I’m doing, no one is making me feel bad, they’ve all been wonderfully understanding.
– Reps can save you. Sometimes, event books don’t arrive when expected. We are having an event with Victoria Kann, the author of the wildly popular Pinkalicious series on Saturday. I noticed that we were missing the newest book that I know I ordered in the fall on Edelweiss. Well, my rep tracked down the problem to an incorrect setting for canceling back orders and the books are on the way, for today. I thought I had done the order, and with Elizabeth’s move it’s been hard to keep all the balls in the air, so I assumed everything was done.
– Reps are your friend. If you take the time to get to know your rep you’ll find they not only are interesting book lovers with strong opinions about titles, they are people who might love the same music as you or share the same hobby. Yesterday, I had an interesting email exchange with a rep about my life changes and her cat’s brain surgery. We both wished each other the best and have followed with each other. I’m actually Facebook friends with several of my reps and I love that. It’s a great way to get to know them as people and they’re such fun.
– Reps can help you not make ordering mistakes. This is a huge one for me. As more and more work gets shifted to computer-ordering only, I find that I miss titles as I scroll through pages and pages of books on the computer at night after work. My reps have often called or emailed and said things like, “Did you mean to skip the new Rick Riordan?” Um, no! Thanks for catching that.
– Reps can lobby for you with the publicity department. This is HUGE. To have an advocate inside the publishing house telling the people booking the tour of the author you’ve been trying to get for years, can be extremely helpful.  While it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the author, it does mean that you’re now on the publicity radar and that’s an enormous boon.
– Reps can also help you with the credit department. Sometimes, just getting the right name of who to speak to can be enough to clear up any snafu that might be happening.
– Good reps read most as much of their list as they can. Their opinions on the frontlist titles is invaluable. Listening to them can help make you a better buyer.
Thursday’s blog will be about how to be a better buyer, because the rep/buyer relationship really only works if both sides are prepared and ready.

Moving house is a big undertaking. The new place isn’t quite finished yet, so all of the bookcases aren’t along the walls; in fact, most of the books haven’t even been packed up and moved. Even so, the first thing I did after the major furniture was set in place and the movers had gone, was to unpack a few books to make me feel at home. Those books — the few I packed first — all happened to be children’s books, or books about them. This isn’t because I don’t love and appreciate books for adults, of course. I will have bookcases filled with the Gerald Durrells and Pablo Nerudas, the Louise Erdrichs and Nabokovs, etcetera. But those were not the books unpacked first.
In the office, I put up my books on writing and children’s literature, treasures like Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom ed. by Leonard Marcus, The Pleasures of Children’s Literature by Perry Nodelman, The Invisible Child by Katherine Paterson, TalkTalk by E.L. Konigsburg, A Child’s Delight by Noel Perrin, and The Openhearted Audience ed. by Virginia Haviland.
For the bedroom bookcase, I had only packed a very few comfort books, mostly books from childhood. Ones that make me feel cozy, or call up a memorable time and place. Many, many books are missing from this little shelf; my coveted signed Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie (Andrews) Edwards was actually packed first and separately of all the books, but ended up in a box that is still at the other house. And favorites like Anne of Green Gables and Little Women and Jo’s Boys and Ronia the Robber’s Daughter and The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit and The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes and Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright and scores of others — including Runaway Alice by Frances Salomon Murphy and a Gary Paulsen-esque adventure book I loved but no one else seems to know, White Water, Still Water by Allan J. Bosworth — will find their way here. But for some reason, these books below were the ones I gravitated toward to make me feel totally at home. I especially adore how shabby some of these are from childhood re-reading.

Here’s the list of what’s on this shelf. What would be on yours? (See below the list for a more refined version of that question.)
Our Peaceable Kingdom by John Drysdale (if these photos of unlikely animal and animal-human friendships don’t make you feel warm and fuzzy, nothing will)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (the original translation by Katherine Woods, which I still rebelliously prefer, possibly in part because it’s the one my mother read to me)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (interestingly, the one book that doesn’t maybe belong on this shelf. I loved it, but I only read it a few times.)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer (So brilliant, so full of wit! I have two versions here, my childhood copy and a newer copy, both autographed. Ahhhh.)
The Complete Adventures of the Borrowers, by Mary Norton (the first “omnibus” I ever encountered, and well-worn from re-reading)
All the small poems and fourteen more, by Valerie Worth, illus. by Natalie Babbitt (these weren’t from my own childhood, but I just love these poems and Natalie Babbitt’s pencil illustrations. I used them when I was a schoolteacher, so I suppose this is a comfort book from another part of my life.)
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, illus. by Garth Williams (the perfect novel; my childhood copy plus a more recent copy)
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (i think this is another perfect novel, and even though there are other Katherine Paterson books that are equally brilliant and fantastic, this one has a special place in my heart)
The Smith of Wootton Major by J.R.R. Tolkien (magical!!! another one my mother read to us, and many times over)
The Teddy Bear Habit by James Lincoln Collier (New York City in the 70s – so far from my Phoenix, Arizona childhood and therefore wildly compelling!)
Gray Magic by Andre Norton (this simple fantasy haunted me; I read it a zillion times)
I Was a 98-Lb. Duckling, by Jean van Leeuwen (so charming! This one stands up to the re-reading test and is perfect for tweens)
Mr. Pudgins by Ruth Carlsen (a book I have proselytized for bringing back into print — full of imagination and delight for young readers!)
The Moonball by Ursula Moray Williams (I was mostly fascinated by the idea of the kids discovering a ball made of a color they’d never seen before and used to twist my mind into a pretzel trying to visualize such a thing)
Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories by I.G. Edmonds (these classic, clever Judge Ooka stories from Japan would still captivate 7-10-year-olds)
She Was Nice to Mice: The Other Side of Elizabeth I’s Character Never Before Revealed by Previous Historians by Alexandra Elizabeth (Ally) Sheedy, illus. by Jessica Ann Levy (a marvelous book written by the future actress Ally Sheedy as a child and beautifully illustrated by her thirteen-year-old friend, this is still my favorite book about Queen Elizabeth I)
The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart (little witch boarding school! What wasn’t to love?!)
Twenty-Five Dragons by Eleanor Coerr (one of my earliest introductions to Chinese culture and art; a lovely story)
Magic in the Park and The Witch’s Buttons by Ruth Chew (great young magic books; I’ll be blogging about these books very soon!)
The Wicked, Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House by Mary Chase (soooo good, so creepy)
The Silver Crown by Robert C. O’Brien (a wonderful, complex fantasy for fans of A Wrinkle in Time)
Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh (funny, sarcastic, unflinchingly honest about families and foibles; one of my all-time favorite books)
The Three Toymakers by Ursula Moray Williams (loved the forest village setting, the wolves, the toymaking, the suspense and just enough danger to have me mesmerized again and again. And Marta, the tempestuous, impulsive, spoiled talking doll!)
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (with Gilly, all the small poems, and Our Peaceable Kingdom, the only one(s) not from my childhood. I love this beautiful, gloriously written and felt book.)
I love all of these books below, and I’m sure some wouldn’t pass literary muster today. But they ignited my childhood imagination and fed me in a myriad of ways.
Dear Readers, if you were to move, and pack up just one shelf of favorite children’s books, what would you include? Especially, what would you include that aren’t considered classics?

This is not a question many non-food businesses want to answer. A bookstore should smell crisp, like brand new books. There shouldn’t be a smell that makes people ask you to identify it. Sadly, this week we battled this kind of smell. It assaulted you when you first came in and only grew stronger the farther into the store you went.
Monday found me almost gasping by the end of the morning. I spent much of the day on my knees sniffing corners and air ducts to search for the offending odor. After a half hour of sniffing, I was certain that the smell was a dead animal, probably a mouse. Sadly, the mouse seemed to be in the heating duct. So, picture this: every time the heat turned on, the dead mouse smell intensified. We tried turning the heat off, but then got too cold. We turned the heat up and then opened a window.
Finally, we contacted our property manager who couldn’t get anyone here until Tuesday. My brave staff endured the odor while I found a sudden and urgent need to run errands. Tuesday found staffers placing dryer sheets in heating vents. So now, we’ve got eau de dead mousie with a touch of Bounce. Everyone left the day with a massive headache. The exterminator came and within minutes had identified the source of the smell. Sadly, it was in a wall, so there was little to do. He did have a magic bag of minerals that he placed above the bookcase that should absorb some of the odors.
To diffuse the nastiness of the smell we’ve created a game for customers: if you can correctly identify the source and location of the odor, then you get an extra discount. Most who have played along can guess the source (one of the hazards of country life is the occasional dead creature in a wall) but none has correctly guessed the location. I feel like meeting the odor with good humor is the only way to make it better.
I decided to write the rest of this from home. My eyes were burning.
 

I have been following the recent news of B&N’s plan to close 20 stores a year for the next decade and what that could mean to the book business. There will be fall-out for the 20 communities those stores are in, for sure. But in a bigger business sense, there will still be hundreds of bookstores that remain open beyond the next decade.
I’m a small business person. So to me, to hear of a 10-year plan to close stores seems like a company is streamlining itself and closing stores that are not as profitable as they need to be. To even have a 10-year plan seems to be coming from a place of confidence, to say that in 11 years they will still be in business. I’ve read that many writers are already lamenting what these closures, or the eventual closure on B&N might mean to the literary world.
Yes, the loss of a chain with so many stores would be a blow. But: their 10-year plan can be someone else’s boon. It’s silly to say, “Oh, no, if they can’t make it, indies surely can’t.”  Maybe the Nook and trying to go head to head with Amazon is what is making things tough for B&N. Yes, e-books are great fun and, let’s face it, the indies have been left behind on that one. We came to the e-book dance party far too late to have e-books help any of us in a substantive way. So, this can be a golden opportunity for all indies to do what we do best: customer service.
As much as people seem to love their Barnes and Nobles, I have customers every week tell me how much more they like shopping with us. Personal service is what distinguishes us from the chains. While there are many talented booksellers at chain stores, the stores are often understaffed and too large to provide individual help. While some people shop at B&N for the privacy, others would like a little more guidance in finding a good book. This is where indies shine. Our stores are smaller and therefore our selection of books is more curated and thoughtful. This lends itself to discussions about books more easily. I love it when a customer says, “I can’t believe you carry this.” There is real pride in what we carry. Our store is not 100,000 square feet, so I every book needs to have a reason to be on the shelf.
So, indies, once again, as with the closure of Borders, this news is actually good news for us. Let’s just keep doing what we do best and let the bigger chips fall where they may. And here’s hoping some new stores open to fill the voids left by the twe20nty closures a year.