We have a saying at the bookstore when summing up the retail day, “We worked hard for no money.” We sing this out like the Donna Summer tune we’ve borrowed it from. Oftentimes there are days where we feel like we offer help to everyone and show them books and they just don’t buy anything. Book talking, whether to folks intent of buying or just curious to learn more about books, takes just as much energy and focus. Sundays are usually the “I’m just browsing” crowd, so we’re used to that. But every bookseller has a fantasy of folks not needing a ton of help, and still buying heaps of books.  Well, this day was yesterday. Continue reading →

Something happens to people, parents, teachers and kids this time of year: the frenzy of the end of school winds people up in a blur of assemblies, graduations, cupcake parties, and getting teacher gifts. The slow slouch towards summer vacation sees a flurry of activity for most bookstores. This is a wonderful and slightly exasperating time. Here are some helpful things to make the the last few of school a little easier for your local bookstore. Continue reading →

With summer now visible on the horizon, and summer reading  on our minds, we are fortunate that Summer herself agreed to share some of her own reading list with ShelfTalker readers.
Kenny: I know how busy late Spring is for you. Many thanks for taking the time to speak with us.
Summer: I’m delighted to do so, Kenny.
Kenny: First off I have a question for you.
Summer: Why then, unburden yourself of it.
Kenny: Well, most readers refine their literary opinions, and make their book selections, at least in part, based on interactions with other readers. I know how well read you are but do you have the opportunity to discuss what you are reading with anyone, and if so who? Do you and the other three seasons have a reading group or anything like that?
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True confession: I had several pages of notes on itty-bitty paper with funny things authors said and quotes from award speeches I wanted to share with you, and those notes have vanished into the ether. I blame Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen. Because they don’t know me personally and so I can. So I may as well start off my Magical BEA Moments Part 2 with them.
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I had such a great time with so many authors and artists at BEA, and wanted to share some of the best moments with you all:

• The We Need Diverse Books panel, which you can watch here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?326181-1/bookexpo-discussion-diversity-publishing. And their panel at BookCon 2015 with I.W. Gregorio, Mike Jung, Matt de la Peña, Grace Lin and Jacqueline Woodson, which NPR covered here: http://www.npr.org/2015/05/29/410272351/a-year-later-weneeddiversebooks-has-left-its-mark-on-bookcon

• Rainbow Rowell being hilarious at the Children’s Breakfast, her delight at making Nathan Lane laugh, and her line about being surprised to be asked to speak in front of groups because she thought choosing a writing career meant she got to “eat cheese in a cave.” Lane, Oliver Jeffers, and James Patterson were no slouches themselves. This is Nathan Lane’s French bulldog, Mabel, who is featured in his fall picture book, Naughty Mabel:

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I walked into the Javits Center this morning in time for the adult author breakfast. The room was full and I had missed the crush of people usually waiting to get in. Mercifully, there were seats. Elizabeth and I had paid for the continental breakfast with fruit. We were told straight away by one of our funny tablemates that there was one strawberry and she ate it. Half a stale bagel later, I realized that I had had far too many cups of good coffee, which is actually a good way to start the day on the trade show floor. The breakfasts are always a window into how these writers came to become authors, and there journey is often unexpected, full of surprises and touching. The speakers were Lee Child, Diana Nyad, and Brandon Stanton.
The breakfast was hosted by Kunal Nayyar, an actor from The Big Bang Theory. I do not watch this show at all, but after he was done speaking I was certain I would order his book, My Accent Is Real and Other Things I Haven’t Told You, for the store. He was engaging and very funny about being an Indian in America.  His path to becoming an author was somewhat fraught as was his path to becoming an actor on the hit show. Lee Child was up next and he was also humorous. I loved hearing about how he became an author. He got fired from the job he’d had for 18 years and bought himself a pad of paper, a pencil and an eraser. The next thing he knew, he had finished the first of his 20 Jack Reacher mysteries. I still can’t believe he wrote a bestselling book with a pencil! And it was his first book!
Diana Nyad followed and she spoke  of her swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys that is the basis of her book that’s coming out in the fall, Find a Way. A wonderful storyteller, she roamed the stage and told the incredible story of her upbringing. She spoke about her Greek father showing her the word nyad in the dictionary when she was five, and it meant water nymph, will remain as one of my favorite BEA moments. When she turned 60 she was inspired by the Mary Oliver quote, “What are you going to with this wild and precious life?” Then she decided to try again to make that distance swim again. Part motivational speaker, part comedic storyteller, she was absolutely riveting.
Brandon Stanton, author of the wildly popular Humans of New York series, was so honest and engaging. He said Diana spoke with him backstage before the breakfast and said, “Being nervous shows respect for the audience.” He then told the audience, “I have so much respect for you.” His journey to the bestseller list was one of risk and following his passion. Like Lee Child, he too, had been fired from his job and decided to take photos everyday. Slowly, he got over his fear of talking to strangers and began asking questions of his subjects. He asked deeply personal questions aiming at getting folks to really open up. His talent for photography and for knowing what to ask made his blog grow slowly from hundreds of follows to over a million. When he said that he sobbed in the car for two hours when he found out he’d made the New York Times bestseller list, there was such an openness to him that many folks teared up.
The beauty of these meals is getting to know authors in a very personal way. They choose to share part of their lives with us and for that we are all enriched.

There are necessities for any successful trade show. Proper planning is always helpful. This year, I’ve been aided by Elizabeth’s zeal for organization. We arrived in NYC with a detailed itinerary for our days here. While that was very helpful, I have my own self to blame for the lack of appropriate, comfortable footwear. Why is it that every year I pack shoes that seem comfortable, and they never are? After two hours walking around the Javits Center my sandal-clad feet are festooned with blisters and my bag is full to bursting and my shoulders are throbbing from carrying it all over the show floor. 

Every year I say to myself that I will just forgo fashion and wear sneakers. And when I pack for the show I decide to leave the comfy shoes at home because I’m packing lightly to make room for the galleys and swag. In the space that comfy shoes take up in an airline approved carry-on, I can fit probably 10 galleys and all kinds of other fun things. So, I say yes to books and no to comfort. Luckily the show hotel is a stone’s throw from a drug store (honestly, isn’t anywhere in New York around the corner from a Duane Reade?) so I can get Band-Aids.
Advil is needed because, honestly, trade shows give me headaches. It’s the combination of a lack of fresh air, the endless aisles of books that are almost more than one person can take in, the dance of avoiding walking into people while looking at said books, and the carting around of more things than you need. But ultimately, trade shows are fun. Despite the throngs of people, the blisters, the headaches,  there is such enthusiasm for books here it’s hard to not feel hopeful about the state of industry, and that is a very, very good thing.

Last night hundreds gathered in the Manhattan Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel for the ABFE Art Auction to Benefit Free Speech in Children’s Books. The art, as always, was stellar. The selections were great, including a special tribute section to Judy Blume who was the evening’s honoree. This gathering has been fun through the years. Every year the children’s auction changes. In previous years it has been held in the Javits Center in a variety of rooms, some too big, some too small. Sometimes the food was stellar (the show in Los Angeles stands out in particular for great food) and sometimes, well, the food, was lacking.
But regardless of the nitpicky things (though I will always mourn the lack of the mashed potatoes in martini glasses), it’s really about the art for me. To see such a collection of art from kids’ books always makes me happy to be part of this rich world of books. Part of the fun for me with the auction was selling raffle tickets for ABFE. Last year I volunteered to help out and this year I did it again. Fun was had by all the raffle sellers. There was a subtle competition and honestly, ABFE was the richer for it. By the end of my selling time I clearly was tired and just said to Robie Harris, “Just buy some tickets, please.” And God bless her, she did. 

It’s that time of year again, when hordes of the publishing world descend on the Javits Center in New York City for the annual BookExpo America show. Booksellers, authors, illustrators, publishers and a host of others involved in the trade will flock to the west side of Manhattan in hopes of finding that one special sideline their store needs, or the book that will make the fourth quarter. This show is about possibility. And it’s virtually impossible to see the entire show floor with a discerning eye alone, let alone attend lunches or educational session. This year Elizabeth and I are heading down together, something staffing has not always allowed. We are eager for the show and look forward to reporting from NYC during the week.
How we buy books now is different than when I first started going to BEA. Eighteen years ago I went to my first BEA and I’m fairly certain it was held in Chicago. It was important to go to the trade show because access to the fall books wasn’t as abundant as it is now. Back in the day, I’d walk the aisles of the pleasantly crowded show floor with a notebook (no easy iPhone photos to help remember), making note of all the new books I thought I’d want to bring into the store. Now, by the time the show comes around, we’ve all seen, if not ordered, a lot of the books, especially the big books of the fall season.
The reasons for going to BEA are different in 2015. So much of BookExpo now is meeting people and less about seeing the books (and with the crush of people on the show floor, it’s almost impossible to actually see the books). Meeting with reps is always good, but it’s especially fun to see these folks off the show floor. The ABFE Art Auction to Benefit Free Speech in Children’s Books is a delightful way to get to know folks. There are a lot of chances to mingle with old friends and talk the retail year thus far, meeting favorite authors and illustrators, and of course, bidding on fabulous art.
I always try to have a goal or two (or five, but I try to keep it realistic these days) for BEA. This year I want to connect with publicists and make face-to-face contact. Sometimes being in northern Vermont can feel very far from the decision-makers in the publishing world. This year the ABA has made it easy by setting a Meet the Publicists Speed dating. In blocks of 12 minutes we get to meet five different publicists from different houses. This kind of access is wonderful. A chance to really convey the store’s enthusiasm for author events with the folks who create tours is a great opportunity.
So, off we go to the big city! What are your goals for this year’s BEA?
 
 

We’re closed for Memorial Day, and guess what that means? Pleasure reading!!
I’m just coming off Nova Ren Suma’s haunting and memorable The Walls Around Us, which is part Black Swan, part Orange Is the New Black. The story and its evocative telling linger. A terrific read.
Now I’m reading Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell, which came out last August but which I somehow missed. Her charming Rooftoppers was one of my favorite books of 2013, so when I noticed Cartwheeling on our shelves recently, I did a funny little hop and happy squeak. The first page alone assured me that I was not going to be disappointed, and by page 6, I was thoroughly enchanted. This book already reminds me of two of my very favorite books (which few people I know have read, so they may not be a helpful comparison): Olive Ann Schreiner’s adult novel The Story of an African Farm, with its cross-racial best-friendship and beautiful African setting; and Maria Gripe’s Hugo and Josephine, a story of two best friends, a boy and a girl, where one of the characters refuses to be bound by conventional expectations.
In Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, young Wilhemina (known as Will) is a funny, fiercely independent scrap of a girl with free reign of lots of Zimbabwean farm land as the daughter of the farm’s caretaker.  And Simon, well,

“Simon was Will’s best friend. He was everything that she wasn’t—a tall, fluid black boy to her waiflike, angular white girl. It had not been love at first sight. When Simon had arrived to train as a farmhand, Will had taken one single look and with six-year-old certainty announced that, no, she did not like him. He was flimsy. [….] But it hadn’t taken long for Will to see that Simon was breathing, leaping, brilliant proof that appearances are deceptive. In fact, she knew now, Si was a stretched-catapult of a boy, the scourge of the stables, with a hoarse laugh much too deep for him, and arms and legs that jerked and broke any passing cup or plate. [….] He smelled to the young Will of dust and sap and salt beef.

Will had smelled to Simon of earth and sap and mint.

So with such essential aspects in common—the sap, most obviously, but also the large eyes and the haphazard limbs—it was inevitable that the two fell in sort-of-love by the time they were seven, and by the time their ages were in double digits, they were friends of the firmest, stickiest, and eternal sort.”

In addition to a lively, spritely writing and terrific characters, Katherine Rundell has a gift for getting inside her character’s heads and articulating the kinds of things we all think but rarely express. I’ll indulge myself with one more example:

“…Will stayed in the sun, trying not to smile. Because Will didn’t take orders from anyone. She crouched down, making her most aggravating proud-face, and began scratching a W in the dirt with a long stick. A beetle lumbered up it and onto her arm, and she stilled herself, enjoying the tickling feeling of its thread-thin feet. It was deep green with shimmers of blue and turquoise, with pitch-black legs. She kissed it very softly. If happiness were a color, it would be the color of this beetle, thought Will.”

Isn’t that just lovely? And all by page 9.
I can’t wait to read the rest of this novel! I suspect that by the time it’s over, I might also be likening it to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, because I accidentally read the flap copy and discovered that Will is going to be torn away from her beloved Zimbabwe and plunked into a London boarding school.
What will you be reading over the long weekend?