Independent spirit continues…

My husband cringed at my last blog post. He said it made me sound bitter and angry. I almost said: “Your point being…?” Because I felt I was justifiably “bitter and angry”. I’ve calmed down since, folks. My mom always told me I have my paternal grandmother’s temperament: I am incapable of staying angry for long. And she’s right. I’ll rant and rave and scream and stomp and once the steam dissipates, I’m ready to move on. In this case, instead of dwelling on the practices of big box stores that I cannot change, I’m ready to further improve our products and services and serve our customers the best we can. I’d like to share some of the items already on my agenda:

FOOD & FRIENDS CLUB – This has been my baby from day one. I’ve had it on my to-do list before the store even opened! Yet the timing never seemed right and it was constantly simmering in the back burner with a threat of fizzing out in the bottom of the pan. I’m proud to say we finally rolled it out last month and to date has signed up 15 members. We will be having our first get-together this month. Woo-hoo!!!

KIDS’ BIRTHDAY CLUB – Some of you may remember us recording the birth date of your children during our first several months of business with the intention of enrolling them into our Birthday Club. Well, the intention was there alright, but hind sight tells us that we should have waited until we got our feet wet with the day-to-day operations of the store. The learning curve was so steep during our first year that the Birthday Club was pushed aside. But now we’re ready! Kids’ ages twelve and under are welcome to enroll, and we will send out a birthday postcard with a special offer just for them!

HOLIDAY BOOK FAIR – We are hosting our first ever Holiday Book Fair at the Scinto Towers on December 2nd and 3rd. The idea is to help make holiday gift-giving easier for the hundreds (thousands?) of folks who work at the corporate park by bringing books and gifts to them. 10% of the proceeds from full-priced books sold will benefit a local charity of Mr. Scinto’s choice. We hope to host book fairs and offer the same services at other locations next year.

SUPPORT FELLOW INDEPENDENTS – I plan to step up our efforts on supporting fellow independent businesses by doing cross-promotions and bringing them to the attention of our customers. (I will be highlighting some of them on the next blog entry.)

KIDS’ BOOK REVIEWS – A fellow independent bookseller in Maine has been very successful implementing this fabulous idea: provide kids the opportunity to submit book reviews. How simple and brilliant is that? Not only would that motivate kids to read, it will also get them excited about writing a review and having their peers see it. I’ve put the bug in the ears of some of the local teachers and hope to roll it out the beginning of the new year.

GIFT ITEMS – I plan to source out more quality and value gift items to add to the store’s inventory in order to continue to make the store a one-stop gift shopping destination.

Other ideas and plans are in the works. In the mean time, I have reinstated some of my staff’s hours as we’re hurled towards the holiday season at warp speed. (At least it feels that way!) More holiday items will be arriving in the next few weeks so stop by and see us! We’re always happy to see you.

Love, Dorothy

Catching up

Hi, all! Sincere apologies for the absence of a month and a half. If you’ve been to the store lately, you may have noticed yours truly has been the only one manning the store 98% of the time. That’s due to the difficult decision of reducing my staff’s hours to cut costs. As a result, back room work gets piled up and everything else takes to the back burner, at least for now.

I don’t have to remind you that it has been an extremely challenging year for the majority of us. Lost jobs, cut wages, reduced sales. I’m certainly not going to whip out my violin and tell you how hard it has been for our store. But I would like to speak up about the latest atrocity that is making me sick to my stomach: the price war of the behemoths.

Unless you have chosen to bypass some of the major news sources lately, you must have heard about the ridiculous price war between Wal Mart, Amazon, Target and now Sears. They have decided to take a steep loss on some of the hottest books coming out in November, sell them at rock bottom prices online, just to lure consumers to their sites hoping that they would buy more expensive items. (Apparently they are so BIG, they can afford the loss.) What disgusts me is that none of these companies sell books as their primary source of profit. Yet, the negative impact this act is going to have on independent booksellers who cannot afford to match the same markdown is detrimental.

Not only that, they have seriously devalued the art of writing and publishing in general. We are speaking of works by giants such as Barbara Kingsolver, Stephen King and John Grisham, to name just a few. The authors are just as disgusted and the publishers are laughing all the way to the bank.

In our short two and a half years of existence, we’ve had a number of people walked through our door and asked us point blank to match Barnes & Noble or Amazon’s prices. And every single time I have graciously smiled and apologized, but no, I cannot. And that is the truth. They then turned around and walked away.  Not once did I in turn ask them: Would someone at one of the other stores have spent as much time researching what they’re looking for? Is Amazon going to host a community event/author signing in their neighborhood anytime soon? Do they provide a cozy corner for you to sit and linger? Do the people who work at any of the other places know your family, your children, your book needs as much as I do? Do they even care? Would they walk into a Wal Mart and ask them to match Amazon’s prices?

Speaking of Wal Mart, have you heard of Walmart’s Project Impact? If your neighborhood Walmart has yet to upgrade, it will be soon. It’s part of Project Impact. Their goal is to make themselves bigger, better, and yes, according to the news article, to crush their competition. If you are content with getting all your things from very narrow sources, then so be it. But I dread the time when all the independents are gone and the few remaining giants start to dictate higher prices and limit choices.

In light of the current economic situation, we are all trying to be  frugal and exercise caution with our expenditures. I cannot fault anyone for trying to get the best prices possible. While we may not be able to offer the same discounts, there are far more things we can offer that a big box store can’t. We are live, in person, ready and willing to help. We are all ears when you can’t wait to discuss the life-altering book you just finished between laundry and car-pooling. We are poised to take on the challenge when all you could remember about the book you’re looking for is the magnificent shade of blue on the cover. We will carefully help give thought to what’s appropriate for that newborn/pre-schooler/tween/young adult/retiree you’re shopping for. Asking us to match big box store prices is essentially another way of telling us what makes an independent business special has no value.

I’m a local resident with a local business, I pay local (and federal) taxes, and most of my money are spent locally as well. I’m thankful for the customers who believe in the independent spirit as much as I do. Not a day goes by without one of them thanking us for being here, encouraging us to hang on. And we plan to. But with such an unlevel playing field, our future is uncertain. In the mean time, when you walk through our doors, we will still greet you with a warm smile and talk to you about the latest reads. And yes, about junior’s ball game, grandma’s surgery, Fido’s flea treatment, and your brand new haircut. Simply because we care.

Dorothy

Catching My Breath after “Catching Fire”

Title: The Hunger Games & Catching Fire (Book 1 and 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young Adult and up

Reviewed by: Dorothy

There I was at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston among fellow independent booksellers exactly a year ago, shaking hands with Dennis Lehane, chatting with Irene Pepperberg, laughing at Jeanne Birdsall’s jokes…but the big buzz among the crowd at the weekend convention had nothing to do with the many award-winning authors who were present, and everything to do with a new young adult book called “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins.

“I couldn’t stop reading it!” Piped one bookseller. “I stayed up all night to finish it!” Chimed another. “I made sure I got the audio version so I could listen to it on the drive here!” Added a third excitedly. And it went on. Yes, I have heard of Suzanne Collins, most notably for her pre-teen series, The Underland Chronicles; and yes, I knew she has a new book coming out, but I’ll be darn if I knew anything about it. “So……what’s The Hunger Games all about?” I asked sheepishly at the lunch banquet, trying not to sound too much like the only ignorant fool who hadn’t touched what’s apparently the hottest book to surface in a long time. “It’s about a dystopian society where kids are sent to participate in The Hunger Games every year and only one survives!” Offered someone at the table. “Isn’t that Battle Royale?” I asked, trying hard not to roll my eyes at the idea of yet another recycled plot. “Sort of, but not really…” Someone else tried to explain, but I’ve already tuned her out. I set my standards higher than usual when it comes to a rehashed idea, and I wasn’t ready to be convinced. Until Suzanne Collins took to the speaker stand.

Suzanne eloquently spoke of the book and where the idea came about (not from Battle Royale but from picturing gladiators at a coliseum). By the time she was finished, I was willing to give the book a shot. And when I did, boy was I hooked. Stephenie Meyers said: “I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn’t have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it…The Hunger Games is amazing.” That was EXACTLY how I felt.

In the dystopian society of Panem, a shining Capitol is surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. The protagonist is sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who ends up in the games and has to use her wits and will to survive.

Is it a new idea? No. But it’s well written, fast paced, and extremely engaging. Do I care for the hint of romance within the plot? No. But it does its part and not overwhelming enough to turn off an anti-romance novel critic like me. Many parents cringed at the plot when I tried to hand sell the book to their teens, and I had to assure them that it’s not a book of gore.

Here we are, a year later, and “Catching Fire”, book 2 of the trilogy was just released this month with much anticipation. I picked it up with reservation, for fear that the second book will not be able to match the thrill of the first book. I’m happy to report: Oh baby! It was just as good!! If you had been in the store last week, you would have most likely seen me standing at the counter reading, unable to put the book down!

From what I understand, a movie is already in the works. If you or your teen has yet to read this series, don’t wait. As my fellow booksellers knew long before I did: it’s awesome!!!

Dorothy

Love Us Just The Way We Are

Had you come by the store this past Monday (08/17/09), you would have been shocked to see that we were closed. It wasn’t a major holiday, and a crippling blizzard is still months away (we hope), so what was the occasion, you ask?

Well, my staff and I decided to take a road trip to visit a handful of fellow independent bookstores in Connecticut. Being two-years young, we wanted to check out what the seasoned pros are doing, what their stores look like, and what we could learn from them. What an eye-opening experience it was!

From a 50-year-old oldie but goodie that’s still going strong at Washington Depot, to the industry favorite with beautiful custom shelving in Madison, we drove miles, observed, and compared notes. How are the books merchandised? What gift items do they carry? Are the booksellers friendly and knowledgeable? Do they have ample parking? We left no stones unturned.

A scrumptious lunch at G.W. Restaurant (amazing food!) and ten hours later, we arrived back in Shelton exhausted but…..how shall I describe it….”comforted”, perhaps? After hours of discussing, debating, and analyzing of copious notes, we came to the realization that all independent stores bring something different to the table. One isn’t necessarily “better” than another. We’re all just, well, different.

When we got out of the vehicle, we couldn’t help but go up to the windows of our store and peered in, looking at it as if we’re seeing it for the first time. And what a beautiful store it was. Our store is spacious, bright, cozy, well laid out, tastefully decorated, and staffed with a wonderful crew. Certain things will always be improved upon as time  goes on, but we don’t need to be like someone else. We are proud to be who we are and we hope you love us just the way we are. (Someone cue the Billy Joel song, please!)

Dorothy

Something Missing by Matthew Dicks

Title: “Something Missing”

Author: Matthew Dicks

Reviewed by: Dorothy Sim-Broder

A thief with OCD tendencies, what’s not to like? Martin Railsback is just such a character in Matthew Dicks’ debut novel, “Something Missing.”

Martin considers himself a successful thief for taking only items that will go unnoticed by the homeowners: a roll of toilet paper, a bottle of ketchup, an extra bottle of wine. Sure, there’s also the occasional piece of china or earring (always singular), but only after months of meticulous observations and documentation to make sure that the items will not be missed.

All goes well until one day while at a client’s house, Martin comes across potential trouble for the homeowners that he alone could avert. Martin decides to intervene, even if that means breaking many of his neurotic rules.

A perfect summer read, the first half of the book is spent introducing readers to Martin and his quirky ways, which drags a little and could be redundant at times. But once the character is established and his adventures begin, it’s all rollicking good fun from there.

Martin is likable and you can’t help but root for him. The plot is clever and refreshing, it’s no wonder film rights have already been optioned.

Author Matthew Dicks made an appearance at the bookstore on Sunday, August 2nd. We have a couple of autographed copies of the book left in the store, so pick one up while you can!

Dorothy

“Crazy Love” by Leslie Morgan Steiner

Title: “Crazy Love”, a memoir

Author: Leslie Morgan Steiner

Reviewed by: Dorothy

Remember the scene in a movie where the character on screen was walking down a dark, deserted alley, and you just know something bad was going to happen? How many times have you either yelled out: “Don’t go there, you moron!” or sighed at the oh-so-obvious impending doom? Or if it was a beloved character, cringed and even looked away? All from the safety and comfort of our sofa/seat.

More often than not, the same rings true in real life. Some scenarios just seem oh-so-obvious, at least to bystanders. But try being the one immersed in that particular scenario or predicament, and suddenly it’s not so obvious anymore.

Leslie Morgan Steiner was only 22 when she met a handsome and charming Ivy League graduate on the subway and fell in love. Little did she know that she was about to embark on a terrifying chapter of her life: She married him and was violently abused for four devastating years.

In her memoir, “Crazy Love,” Leslie takes us into her head as she reveals her inner thoughts, of how an intelligent, well educated young woman ended up being the one to walk down the dark, deserted alley. (Cue the eerie background music.)

Even while reading it, I found myself wanting to shout at the book: “No!!!! Don’t go back!! Why aren’t you leaving him?!!” As if it were that easy. Leslie does a good job describing her thoughts, her rationale at the time of why she stayed, her justifications of his violence.

Born and raised in a prominent and well-to-do family, Leslie made no apologies in appreciating the good life. Judging by some of the reviews posted on the internet, some readers scoffed at her rich girl upbringing, as if one must be poor to be a true victim. I tend to think that if anything, her background drives home the fact that domestic violence does not discriminate.

Leslie will be at the bookstore this Sunday, July 12th, at 2:00pm for a reading and discussion. Her story will help us all understand that even when escape seemed the obvious solution to outsiders, the reality was more a life and death struggle for survival.

Dorothy

“The Unit” by Ninni Holmqvist

Reviewed by: Dorothy Sim-Broder

Title: The Unit

Author: Ninni Holmqvist

Many of my customers know by now that I seldom pick up a mainstream book. I gravitate towards the slightly off-beat, seldom explored territories. Not only that, I tend to frown on formulaic plots and I have not touched a romance novel since grade school (yes, I was sneak-reading my mom’s romance collection). So I was rather intrigued when I saw “The Unit” by Swedish author Ninni Holmqvist.

In Ninni’s near-future society, women over fifty and men over sixty who are “single, childless and without jobs in progressive industries” are confined in comfort in The Unit, where they undergo humane experiments (for the greater good of the society) AND donate their organs, little by little, until their final donation.

Dorrit Weger is resigned to her fate as a “dispensable” in The Unit until she unexpectedly falls in love and finds a new reason to live. What now? Oooh, there are a million ways to explore this and I couldn’t wait to find out. But as  I turned the last page, I was ultimately disappointed.

The tone of the novel was flat and the characters two-dimensional. I couldn’t bring myself to feel for Dorrit and towards the end I was practically begging for her to make her final donation. Many questions that popped up in my mind while reading were left unanswered. I could have also done without  the mention of incessant sex the new lovers seem to have everytime they’re together.

I was envisioning a novel along the lines of “The Lathe of Heaven” by Ursula Le Guin, a sci-fi crossover, but alas, it didn’t even come close. The promising plot created many delicious areas to be explored and expanded on but failed to do so. I could just imagine other writers salivating over the potential threads. This may be one of a few rare instances that it might serve better as a summer blockbuster movie in the hands of a talented director who could pump some much needed drama into it.

Judging by other reviews already posted on the internet, I’m in the minority. Wait ’til you hear what I have to say about “My Sister’s Keeper”. Heh heh heh. I’ll save that for another day.  

Dorothy

“Bit of a Blur” by Alex James

Reviewed by: Doug Liggins

Book:  Bit of a Blur

Author:  Alex James

 

            Alex James has lived an exciting life.  He played bass for Britain ’s biggest band in the 90’s, traveled the world multiple times, met dozens of his idols, and partied at the most exclusive clubs.  In his tell-all autobiography, Bit of a Blur, James puts readers in the passenger seat and takes them on a ride through the highs and lows of being a rock star.  Told through stories in a very conversational manner, this book is both charming and hilarious.  James has a way with words and every page has something that will make you laugh.

            For those expecting to learn about the recording of Blur’s albums, or technical information as to who wrote what, you won’t find much here.  In fact, most of the book stays away from Blur entirely, but when music is brought up, it is done so with love.  He has a deep appreciation for music, and he loves what he does for a living.  What you will read about is where to get a good drink in Iceland , how to fly an airplane, and that if you’re only staying the weekend in New York City , you don’t need a hotel room.  Bit of a Blur is made up of stories about rock ‘n’ roll excess and crazy nights that doesn’t get old.  This isn’t your run-of-the-mill rock star story about drugs and rehab, but a story about being young, crazy, and sometimes stupid. 

            From the rise of his band in the early 90’s, to moving out to the country with his wife to start a family, Bit of a Blur is a must read for those who want something more than the average rock star tale.  Sure, those elements are there, but his love of cheese, astronomy, and flying airplanes is also present.  Alex James has a certain wit and character to his writing that is sure to keep the pages turning, and a smile on your face. 

 

-Doug Liggins

“Crabwalk” by Gunter Grass

Though known only to a select group of American readers, Nobel Prize winning author Gunter Grass is a literary giant in Europe.  He is widely acclaimed as the greatest European author since the end of WWII.  Grass’ writing is not frivolous.  Each one of his novels, plays or books of poetry has something to say about the human condition particularly that of the European soul and mind since the end of the 2^nd World War.

Gunter Grass writes in a style that is somewhat surrealistic.  He is challenging to read as his style is very European, but given the chance, Grass is illuminating, provocative, and intelligent. 

 While Gunter Grass is known for over two dozen books he is best known for his first three:  THE TIN DRUM, CAT AND MOUSE, and DOG YEARS.  These three books are known as the Danzig Trilogy.  They take place in the city state of Danzig, (Grass’ birthplace) before, during and after the war.  His colorful and idiosyncratic characters are carried through each novel; major characters from one showing up as minor characters or walk ons in another.

 Grass’ most recent novel, CRABWALK, follows this stylistic tradition.

 In 1945 a Soviet submarine attacked the Wilhelm Gustlaff, a refugee carrier with approximately ten thousand people aboard.  This was in fact history’s greatest sea tragedy, though most people, except the most ardent historians aren’t aware of it.

 CRABWALK is the story of a middle aged journalist, who was born to an unwed mother the night of the attack, as he tries to piece together the tragic event and his relationship to it.  His mother Tulla (a major character as a child in the much earlier novel, DOG YEARS), is now a senior citizen and sees her life only in terms of that event.  It has become the sum total of her whole existence. Both she and his ex-wife view the journalist as a failure for not being a great internationally known writer.  Our hero becomes increasingly interested in the outcome of the sinking and its protagonists and victims and begins writing a report of the events of January 1945.

 As he tries to come to terms with his ex wife and his mother over his failure as a writer and a husband as well as the event of his birth and the sinking of the Wilhem Gustlaff, Konrad, the journalist’s son has joined a neo Nazi skin head group and is being tried for the murder of a Jew.

CRABWALK shows us that we can never outrun the past, that it has a profound and inescapable influence over our present, even for those who were not there to experience it.

Reviewed by: David Broder

“The End of the Alphabet”

I just finished a very quiet, unassuming novella by C. S. Richardson called “The End of the Alphabet.” At barely 120 pages, it’s considered a “quick read;” yet it’s a book you won’t want to read quickly.

50-year-old Ambrose was diagnosed with a terminal condition and one month left to live. Before you cringe and grunt: “Not another depressing, doom-and-gloom book!” Hold it. It’s not like that. In fact, the book doesn’t have enough pages to drag things out. Even the main character’s medical condition was not identified or explored, because it’s not about it either. It’s about the love between Ambrose and his wife, Zappora (Zippy).

Upon learning his diagnosis, Ambrose set out with Zippy to places he loved or had always wanted to visit – alphabetically, beginning with Amsterdam. Through short chapters, minimal dialogue, uncluttered sentences, and tender prose, readers follow the couple from the doctor’s office to their whirlwind travels with Ambrose taking everything in stride, and Zippy trying to come to terms with the impending.

The lack of quotation marks may throw some readers off at first, but the dialogues are easy to follow, and in time readers will even appreciate the clean and simplistic format.

This is one to curl up with on an easy chair, sipping a piping cup of chamomile (or chilled chardonnay), on a rainy afternoon. In the end, you’ll find that there is no emotional upheavals, just a sigh – for Zippy, for love lost, for the continuation of life.

Dorothy