I’ve probably written about how much I love living in a small town before, but two things happened yesterday that thrilled me about small town life.
I was slammed, there was no doubt about it. I reached into my little fridge and pulled out what I needed: an iced coffee. I took a sip and almost gagged. The coffee was old and had turned. Henry and Mary observed the whole episode. And in a blink of an eye, they had gone across the street and gotten me a replacement coffee. And the funny thing is both Mary and I have our own drinks at the coffee shop, so they knew what to order without even asking. I thanked them profusely and offered to pay, and they refused. They were just happy to get me my caffeine for the long selling day.
At the end of the day I had the brilliant idea to zip to the post office to mail out one media mail package. I’m not really sure what I was thinking. There was a line 25 people deep. I was about to turn around and leave when the last person in line offered to mail it for me. I was incredulous. She said she had to mail her packages, and was happy to mail mine. I was thrilled. I was also without any cash or a check. “I’ll just bring the receipt by the store.” Wow! Forty minutes later Anna came by with a receipt for $2.82. I paid her, offered her some sugar plums and vowed to return the favor when I had the chance.
You know, during the season when retailers hit the ground running from the start of the day until well past closing, these little gestures can totally turn a day around and I’m grateful for them; tomorrow I will buy someone a coffee.

This past Saturday Amazon launched its assault on bricks and mortar stores with its promotion giving folks $5 back for using its price checker app and then ordering online. I was very curious how the day was going to go. Outside of a Harry Potter release day, we had never had a better day.
I attribute this to several reasons.  The first is some backlash against Amazon. I had many customers say that they were Occupying the Flying Pig and spending their money with us. I even had new customers to the store from a town about 45 minutes away. The teenage girl came up to me with her iPhone set on an Amazon page (with a burst in the corner: save $5 with the price checker app — oh, silly of me to think they weren’t actually going to do books with the promo) of a Brad Meltzer book. We didn’t have it, but I asked who she was shopping for. We talked and I showed her some good mysteries. We settled on ordering large-print Dennis Lehane. That the family stayed with me for the whole ordering process (we drop-shipped it to their house) and didn’t just go back to Amazon, was perhaps the most heartening thing of the whole day.
The second thing that contributed to the day was my appearance on our local public radio show, Vermont Edition, to discuss winter reading. The show was loads of fun and, while I know it was a popular show aired twice a day, I had no idea just how many people listen to it. All day Saturday I heard from person after person who said who much they loved the books discussed on the show. That show was one of the most successful by-products of reaching a larger audience. It was very funny when the producer of the show decided to shop with us and overheard three customers saying they wish the book show was once a month. I have never felt the love so much from any other public venture.
And, the last reason is us. Our customers genuinely love shopping with us and the holidays just mean that all of them come to the store. It’s a like one big love fest. Saturday we saw customers who shopped with us the very first day we opened and new customers we see almost weekly. These are the people who count on us to know them and make great gift suggestions. For instance, a mom and her teenage son came in looking for gifts for younger cousins. I showed them a book on learning to draw fashion designs, knowing that Steph, the sister, loves to design clothes. They bought it and were touched that I thought about what Steph might like. All over America, indie booksellers are doing this with their customers. Nothing makes us happier than matching people with the right books.
And it’s far better to be matched to a book you’ll love by someone who actually knows you, and not an algorithm. Plus, we have sugar plums.
 

I was having a lovely evening the other day until I read a Facebook post from a fellow bookseller about an Amazon promotion set to run on December 10th. The promotion: quite simply, to walk into any store, take a picture of the item with the price with your Amazon price checker app, and get $5 off on that item when you order it from Amazon. You’re allowed to do this three times on Saturday.
So, Jeff Bezos has decided or at least approved this scheme that all bricks and mortar stores should be visited, left empty-handed so folks can shop on Amazon while giving them price info from other stores. Wow. The thoughts I’m having about this promotion cannot be printed here. If I weren’t so riled up, I’d be despondent at such a horrible attack on stores. Perhaps folks will go to chain stores, and not arrive at small, independent stores, scan a QR code and leave.
The details of the promo (buried deep on Amazon’s home page) don’t mention bookstores, probably because Amazon doesn’t need to know about book prices, since they know we can’t compete with their books as loss-leader mentality. If I sound angry, it’s because I am. This feels like an underhanded business tactic. To encourage people to snoop at other stores and report back to Amazon so they “can keep their prices competitive” is pathetic.
Any independent bookstore has fought against Amazon since the day Amazon opened its website and started undercutting us on price. Some of us are tired of having to explain why our prices can’t be as low as Amazon’s. We’re tired of explaining why you can’t buy e-books from us if you have a Kindle. Honestly, I’m sick of Amazon. I’m tired of people saying, “But it’s so much cheaper than what you can offer.” Yes, it’s true, the new Steve Jobs book is 49% off at Amazon, and that’s 3 to 6% more than I can buy the book for from the publisher or a wholesaler. So, yes, I’m sick of Amazon acting as its own retail distribution center and getting a far better discount than I can. I’m tired of faithfully paying sales tax and having customers tell me how much they like saving money with Amazon.
Here’s what I do: I pay sales tax, I donate thousands of dollars to local schools, charities, Little Leagues, church pie suppers, school trips, Geobee prizes, etc. I support my community and that means going to local stores and buying things there. Price is not the only factor for me. I know there are lots of folks on budgets, and to them I say: lots of children’s books are not discounted at Amazon. And does Amazon bring authors to your children’s schools?  No.
I am not the only retailer who is mad. There has been a Facebook event started by Kim Gavin at Powell’s Books to rally around all indies. Occupy Amazon, on Saturday, Dec 12th, encourages folks to shop at any independent store this weekend. Folks are supporting the movement and it’s heartening to know that I’m not alone in my outrage, and there are lots of people who will go to a small business this weekend.
So, while it may seem Amazon has hit a new low, it’s had a galvanizing effect on folks, which is probably the last thing Jeff Bezos wanted. And that makes me very happy.

Okay, so I have to complain about two things. Maybe it’s just me, but why am I getting boxes of galleys now? I just got a small box, a large white box, and an envelope today, all full of galleys for books that aren’t coming out for months.
One book came with much raffia and a pack of microwave popcorn, but it’s not coming out until May 2012. I received more than 20 boxes from the various delivery trucks yesterday. One box, overflowing with raffia and containing one book, is not going to hold my attention for long in the book deluge that was my store today.
The irony is, the book looks really good, but now I can’t find it. And even if I could find it, I won’t really have time to read anything until December 26th,when I’m not exhausted anymore. I have often wondered why publishers and the ABA send out promotional materials for books that are months from pub date during December when most booksellers I know go home and collapse. And if fatigue weren’t an issue, the sheer volume of books in and out the store makes keeping track of these things even harder. Boxes of galleys during January, on the other hand, are a lovely welcome treat.
The other complaint is the due date of publicity grids. Why, oh why am I being asked to plan my spring requests by December 9th? I can’t even think past the next day — why am I being asked to contemplate my spring? Honestly, would it be such a hardship if the publishers waited three weeks before they asked for the grids back? The prospect of booking great authors is exciting, but asking bookstores, especially smaller ones, to write event proposals during the busiest time of the year is a little cruel.
Don’t misunderstand, I’m thrilled to get galleys, I love them, just not in December. Although, I must admit, we all loved the popcorn at 5 pm when we needed a snack.

Several weeks ago the Authors Guild contacted us about participating in a new program called Book Talk Nation, which brings authors to bookstores around the country with one phone call. Last week we hosted the inaugural call with Katherine Paterson, who was being interviewed Tanya Stone.
This program could be genius. Essentially, the sponsoring store, in this case, the Flying Pig, hosts the event, though no one from the store participates. It’s like a massive free conference call, with all the participants calling in from their own home, including the author and the interviewer. Listeners can then buy books from the Book Talk Nation web site designating how they’d like each book to be signed. Then, the bookstore orders the books and the author comes in and signs. The Authors Guild provides mailing labels and the sponsoring store mails out the books.
This deal gets even better, because there’s a chance for other bricks and mortar stores to participate as affiliates thereby earning a commission when one of their customers buys a book through the Book Talk Nation web site. So, picture if you will, 50 people (that’s how many there were for Katherine) from all over the country calling in to hear the author interview. Anyone listening can order a signed book to be mailed to their house; how convenient this is for book lovers and how potentially lucrative for the bookstores. 
Thursday’s event with Katherine sold just over 20 books. Now, this might not sound like a lot, but it’s 20 I wouldn’t have sold otherwise. And it’s an author event where I know exactly how many books to order because they’ve all been pre-ordered. So, imagine how big this could get. 
This is easier than a Skype visit, although a smidge less sexy, but listeners have a chance to ask questions via email. What I love about this program is it’s reminding people that Amazon offers nothing like this. Increasing contact with authors can only help drive business to stores. The fact that all participating stores get a fairly large cut of the purchase price of each book makes it a win-win for all involved.
The next event is tonight through RJ Julia Books and this link will get you there, ready to listen to Judy Blume and get books signed in time for the holidays.
 
 

Want my number-one pick for the sleeper tween novel of 2011? How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy by debut novelist Crystal Allen deserves a Bubba-sized readership. It’s fresh, extremely funny, and compulsively readable, with a huge heart and a comically mischievous spirit.
Remember the first time you read The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, and laughed out loud at the scene where Byron gets his lips stuck to the side-view car mirror kissing his reflection on a cold day? Or the first time you met Joey Pigza and were swept pell-mell into that Gantos narrative rush? That’s how I felt sinking in to Lamar’s Bad Prank —the delight of discovering a bright new voice with killer storytelling ability and a particularly buoyant sensibility.
I loved getting to know Lamar, the lively thirteen-year-old narrator of this book. Lamar is a great bowler, but—despite his big talk—has no game when it comes to girls. He’s also an asthma-inhaler-carrying prankster, and tends to act before he thinks. He’s got a basketball-superstar older brother whose trophies fill the family mantelpiece and a dad who loves both boys but doesn’t seem to see bowling as the equal of basketball. Lamar’s got a best friend, Sergio, with whom he trades lightning-quick repartee and secrets. And he’s got a new love interest who happens to be an old acquaintance; she knows all too well Lamar’s history as a brash boy who’s played one too many jokes on an unsuspecting girl and goes for the laugh when sometimes he shouldn’t.
When Lamar learns that his bowling idol, the great Bubba Sanders, will be coming to visit the local lanes, he is bursting with enthusiasm and grand dreams of impressing Bubba with his mad bowling skillz.
But all of these relationships and dreams collide and falter when Lamar, in need of cash, gets roped into some ill-advised bowling hustling by a local ne’er-do-well kid. One bad decision leads to another, and soon Lamar is in over his head. Things fall apart in a big way, part funny, part awful and inexorable, and Lamar ends up needing to clean up his act and make amends to, well, not only everyone in his immediate circle, but pretty much the entire town.
I love this book. The characters are memorable and real. Great lines abound. It’s wonderfully written, with enormous kid appeal.  It celebrates both community and individuality (reminding me of Because of Winn-Dixie in this regard). It’s bursting with personality and strikes a great balance between lauding the funny, charismatic qualities of Lamar’s brashness while chastening those aspects that aren’t as wonderful (some insensitivity to others, the impulsiveness that gets him in trouble). I had one small quibble with an aspect of his penance that seemed narratively tidy — but the book is such a feel-good story and I was rooting so hard for Lamar, I really didn’t care.
The Junior Library Guild selected How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy, but other than that kudo, I don’t think this novel has come near to reaching its potential audience. I hope you’ll all run out and read it immediately and recommend it to other readers. There’s a new author in town, and she’s written one heck of a great book. Give to fans of the authors mentioned here (Christopher Paul Curtis, Jack Gantos, and Kate DiCamillo), as well as Lisa Yee and Neal Shusterman.

Yesterday I got an envelope from Penguin. It was a one-page, full-color sheet designed for quick handselling. Usually, these sheets push the latest books from the publisher,  and are often not all that useful, but this list was surprisingly well rounded, making it a good resource.  Sometimes these “cheat sheets” come in very handy during the crazy times of the holidays. At the end of a long day there are times when my brain leaves me when someone asked, “What can you recommend for a kid who has read all the Twilight books?” I’ll admit that sometimes I just can’t think of anything, so having a quick reference of five titles per genre is a great device.
The hand-out has 14 categories ranging from the obvious: picture books, middle grade, babies and young adult. My favorite category is “Fans of the Paranormal.” The hand-out features current books as well as series books. This is especially helpful for families who know that their child likes a series, but doesn’t know what the next book might be.  The hand-out has covers which is a great way to help a bookseller, or parent, find the book.
As much as I really like this, and I will use it, one thing I didn’t like was the repeated breakdown of books by gender. I even got two sticker sheets that had ornament-type stickers that say: “Great book for a boy reader” and “Great book for a girl reader.” The stickers will never make it on a book in my store. A massive pet peeve of mine is the division of books along gender lines. Honestly, there’s no reason to categorize books along gender lines.
I see it every day when a customer says,”He won’t read about a girl,” when handed a book with a female protagonist. This infuriates me. Why won’t a boy read about a girl? Or a girl read about a boy? If kids are told at an early age that it’s not okay to read a book that feature the opposite sex, what are we telling them? That those books aren’t worth your time reading? That it’s not okay to read about boys or girls and that you must only read about your own gender? By limiting access or reacting in a such a way that no boy will risk reading about Ramona, and no girl will read The Great Brain? What a pity that would be.
Someone came in today and was buying Clementine and Ivy and Bean for her son and I was so taken aback that I realized it’s never happened before. The parent clearly got it. Her son found the reading level of those books to be exactly perfect for his reading level and he liked the stories. What this eight-year-old boy understands is it’s about the story, not whether or not they are male or female. Imagine if kids didn’t read about opposite genders: boys would have never read Little Women and girls might have passed on Harry Potter.
What kills me is the kids don’t start off feeling this way. It’s often the adults in a child’s life that subconsciously steer kids away from opposite gender books. Admittedly, not all boys are going to want to read princess books (although some might) but something like  A Girl Named Disaster is sure to appeal to both sexes. As a bookseller, the challenge, especially this time of year, is to just put great books in the hands of customers, whether or not they feature same gender protagonists. The way I like to do this is explain some of the plot without mentioning gender. Once the adult thinks the story sounds good, they’ll buy it, because like that one boy today knew: it’s about the story.

All booksellers are entering the season when sometimes our brains turn to mush. For me this usually happens towards the end of the day,  when I’m the most tired, and sadly this is often the time of day when folks getting off of work have time to shop. With 15 holiday seasons under my belt, I’ve found some great ways to help a tired brain that don’t involve caffeine and sugar.
– Know your store’s newsletter inside out. (I’ll be blogging about our newsletter later in the week.) The best way to help customers with recommendations is often your store’s own work.
– Read the trades online to know what’s going to be talked about in the media during the day. It’s amazing how quickly there can be a slew of requests for a book that was just on a radio show. Here’s why booksellers need to know this things: these books are often the titles that get completely muddled when a customer wants to order it. To be fair, most customers hear these stories while they’re driving and haven’t had time to write it down. I try to press people for the time they heard about the book in question. I know the public radio schedule well enough to know what show to look up to find the book.
– Know how to get your local public radio station’s websites. These are amazing founts of information. Also, looking something up at the computer can often give you a breather that might be enough time to help you remember the title.
– Try to know what the local paper might be recommending as this often makes the phone ring off the hook with requests. Our local paper is notorious for recommending books that are either out of print or not yet released. Sometimes, they come from tiny publishers and it’s in any bookseller’s interest to know how to get that book before too many call asking about it.
– Ask your colleagues for help when you get stuck. I find my fellow booksellers can really save me when I’m drowning. Our staff has been together for so many years that we know when someone might be struggling and need a little help.
– Don’t be afraid to use a lifeline. I’ve often called Elizabeth when I’m completely stumped by a title request. Customer don’t even seem to mind this, in fact they’re usually impressed by the extra effort. They’re thrilled when that call turns into a found title.
– Don’t forget to eat lunch at a reasonable hour. Lunch at 4 pm is not helpful to anyone. There’s nothing worse than a blood sugar crash in the middle of the after-school rush. If I eat lunch that late I’m cranky and my brain has lost its ability to recall any book I’ve ever read.
– Lastly, try to have fun, even your brain has turned to goo. The holidays are intense, but they should be fun. I’ve already made plans with other tenants in the building that I can run up to their office for a 10-minute break when we’ve got a lull and I need to refresh my brain. It helps they have a puppy to play with, too.

This past Saturday American Express sponsored Small Business Saturday for the second time. This is a day when the credit card company encourages people to shop at small businesses by offering a rebate on purchases made with their Amex card. Judging by a 100% increase in our American Express charges, I’d say folks knew about the promotion.
What was so lovely about Saturday was the glee in customers’ faces as I’d ring them up and they’d say, “I’m here for Small Business Saturday. You are my business.” I’d smile back and thank them. It was heartening to see so many new faces on Saturday. People actually thought about what small business to go to and were happy to let us know they’d chosen us.
I think slowly the message is starting to seep in that it’s vital to shop at small businesses. It’s a little sad that American Express doing this promotion has had more of an immediate and positive effect on business than the Shop Local campaign has had. This got me thinking about the power of the message and the size of the voice creating the message.
American Express has had an enormous social media campaign that seems to have reached every shopper in the country. Anyone on Facebook couldn’t have missed it. They made it sound fun and important at the same time. Plus, once you registered your card, there was the lovely rebate awaiting you. I’m not a huge Amex fan, I don’t have one personally and they are expensive for retailers to process, but I loved this promotion. It excited shoppers to spend money and do something good at the same time. This appeared to be a very winning combination on Saturday.
So, my question is: will the Small Business Saturday shoppers realize that everyday should be a Shop Small Business day, even without a rebate? I sure hope so.

It’s the morning of Black Friday. I’ve got my Santa hat on while I busily count the register drawers. It’s too early for customers. I looked back through my sales for the past three years  and the masses of customers don’t tend to arrive till the afternoon. While this pattern works well for getting the store ready, it also makes for a crazy afternoon.
I love this season of bookselling. The folks coming for recommendations, our ability to come up with interesting books that will make someone very happy, make me love my job. Of course, at the end of the busy days, I’m exhausted, but in an exhilarated kind of way. We also put a small dish of sugar plum candies at the register. I find there’s nothing as lovely as a tasty, holiday themed candy to make someone’s shopping go just a little better. Plus, enjoying a candy can take the sting out of a large purchase.
So, shoppers, enjoy yourselves this weekend. Shop locally and be kind to all the folks behind the counters, we’re working hard for you, and if you can, have a sugar plum, they’re divine.