Browsable -- Some quick links worth clicking...

Posted at 06:23PM Jul 01, 2008 by Dan Cullen in General  |  Comments[0]

The Kids Are Alright...

There are many threads to the IndieBound movement -- lots of tools and resources. And the focus is very much on flexibility and adaptability -- so that bookstores can make it their own and get the most out of IndieBound. But have you wondered what the best next step to take might be?...

There's an absolutely stupendous post on the Association of Booksellers for Children blog that I hope you will bookmark as an essential part of your online toolkit -- "Making the Most Out of IndieBound."

Combining a round-up of essential online links (for info, tools, and contacts) with great suggestions for introducing IndieBound in your store, the ABC IndieBound update will spark a wealth of ideas and set you off in unexpected (and very cool) directions. (No, I had not thought of IndieBound temporary tattoos or IndieBound Post-it notes!

A major tip of the hat to ABC! (And for more on IndieBound...)

Posted at 04:48PM Jun 30, 2008 by Dan Cullen in General  |  Comments[1]

Pedal Power...

Stat of the day:

In 1964, 50% of kids rode to school and the obesity rate was 12%. In 2004, 3% rode to school and the obesity rate was 45%.

That's the update from the 1 World 2 Wheels website, a site from Trek bikes and its dealers to encourage rusty or newbie bikers to get behind the handle bars, especially for short trips.

I saw the link to the site from a great Westchester New York bike shop, Danny's Cycles. The National Bicycle Dealers Association, the trade association for bike dealers, has been very active with ABA in fighting for online sales tax equity, and indie bike shops are key retail establishments for many Main Streets.

I know a movement they might be interested in hearing about. Have you dropped by the bike shop near you with a "We're IndieBound" logo for their window to talk about IndieBound?

Posted at 03:37PM Jun 30, 2008 by Dan Cullen in General  |  Comments[0]

Social media and the future of bookselling

This has been a week for people sharing their thoughts on how bookselling should work and how people should shop. (Note: to read Cory Doctorow's vision of bookselling 150 years from now, follow commenter #12's link to avoid the obnoxious Flash reader.) Some are worth pursuing, others - well, I'm trying not to scream too much today. Personally, I think cross-marketing concepts like this one have potential (it's not just that I want the dress, really).

This is the first blog-to-book news I've really been excited about: Lizzie Skurnick is publishing a collection of her nostalgia-filled Fine Lines columns.

Need instructions on taking a booknap? Looking for a place that needs book donations? Wondering what J.M. Coetzee thinks about censorship? Wonder where Calamus Bookstore got its name? We've got you covered.

It's also been a week for bookselling-meets-social-media news. Harry W. Schwartz has created a Ning community for its customers. Norton got a boost from a cameo appearance on Flickr.

And ABA is now on Twitter. Both Paige and I gave in and set up accounts, joining The King's English, Vroman's, Brian Cassidy, and Book Passage.

Posted at 12:07PM Jun 27, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  |  Comments[0]

Fluff and substance (not necessarily in equal quantities)

Despite the WSJ's complete omission of the role of independent bookstores in nurturing new titles, at least one writer learned to love his indie this week: Rob Walker realized that non-Richmond customers can order signed copies of his new book through the Fountain Bookstore's website.

Just in case anyone missed Leon Neyfakh's ARCs-as-pickup-lines piece from earlier this week, here it is. (Just a couple days before I read this article, I was in New York, and I admit I was checking out other people's ARCs on the subway. None of interest, unfortunately.)

Curious about how the Beacon Street Girls became so big? YPulse looks at the series for a case study.

I want to see this movie when it comes out. Anyone else?

Charlesbridge staff did their part to clean up the first half of their name this week.

The reason for serialized fiction: "And then I realize: it's seduction."

The secret dreams of retail workers: "I've always wanted to run down the street to catch a shoplifter."

Posted at 01:34PM Jun 20, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  |  Comments[0]

Should I call them IndieQuotes?

Before we get to this week's quotes, I want to point out two things:
1. Check out the ever-growing blogroll. I've added a lot of new store blogs this week.
2. Before I left for BEA, I checked Google to see how well we'd kept IndieBound under wraps. There were two results, IndieBound.org and an unrelated MySpace page belonging to someone who grabbed the name before us. This morning, there are more than 16,000 hits. Not bad.

Procrastination tool. Don't say I didn't warn you: "I don't seem to be famous enough to be on here, but I LOVE IT ANYHOW." (via E. Lockhart)

This is what I have to put up with living in Connecticut: "Note to self: If dinner conversation might get heated, make sure to have a kitchen staff." (original story)

Reason #10,590 to get over book snobbery: "Reading is treated like harsh task rather than simple pleasure. Reading is the only form of entertainment that kids equate with homework."

Do as I say...: "That still leaves 58%, or well over half, of all parents wishing that their children would read more avidly than they do themselves."

Best disclaimer I've seen in a while: "Random Thoughts is not a subsidiary of Random House or its affiliates. They are just... well, random thoughts."

Posted at 02:04PM Jun 13, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  | 

Seeing Business Through the Skylight...

This is the day that I worry about Time Zone Crunch -- my watch has been set to Pacific time for just about 24 hours, but the brain?... So far, so good. And the sting of the hotel wake-up call was completely erased when the radio alarm went off 2 minutes later. (Double alarms are standard operating procedure on the road, no?...) 

The radio waves definitely blew away the mental cobwebs today. The broadcast of public radio's Marketplace Morning Edition concluded with a hometown voice: "commentator and independent bookseller" Kerry Slattery of L.A.'s Skylight Books, which is currently undergoing renovation. Kerry's piece examines just why, in the face of some pretty challenging times for indies, she and her colleagues at Skylight are seeing such great community support and store growth.

Her bottom line conclusion: "More than any other time in recent years, there is a growing national consumer awareness that big may not be better -- both in small towns as well as large cities." Customers are realizing that locally owned, independent businesses give back more economically to their communities, are greener, and help keep vibrant, diverse communities just that -- vibrant and unique!

But, guess what, Kerry says it way better than I do!

And, if you're here at the show, you can visit Skylight tonight. Here's the update:

Skylight Books and City Lights Publishers invite booksellers to a Celebration of Los Angeles Literary Life at Skylight Books in Los Feliz (1818 N. Vermont Ave), from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. City Lights authors David Ulin, Kamau Daaood, Sesshu Foster, Alan Rifkin, Terry Wolverton, and others will join in the celebration.

Directions to Skylight Books from the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel: 10 minutes by car: North one block on Highland to Franklin Avenue; right on Franklin, 2.6 miles; right on Vermont, one block (limited street parking or lot behind store; valet parking 1/2 block south on Melbourne).

Three stops (six minutes) by subway: Take the Hollywood and Highland Metro to the Sunset and Vermont Station; walk four-and-half blocks north to the store.

Posted at 09:41AM May 29, 2008 by Dan Cullen in General  |  Comments[1]

We Love L.A.!...

Given that three colleagues and I set off for JFK at 6:00 a.m. Eastern and it's now about 4:00 p.m. Pacific (yes! I have to count on my fingers to figure out that what time it is at home, but I'm living on L.A. time now...), we all looked pretty much OK when we checked into the Renaissance Hollywood, aka Indie Booksellers Central for BEA.

And, yes, I can see the Hollywood sign from my window on the 18th floor. It's simultaneously familiar and exotic, sort of like hearing Sheryl Crow when the cab crossed Santa Monica Blvd., or hearing Johnny Carson's voice in my head when we got off the highway at La Brea. (You have to be a certain age to recall all the tar pit jokes... )From the window you can also see humongous posters for the release of Sex in the City and Kung Fu Panda, as well a group of rose, stucco apartments with Spanish tile roofs that look like they should be in a Raymond Chandler novel and sad, flat-roofed concrete apartments that look like something out of Ray Carver.

Driving in from LAX in the cab, was a great visual intro to the city: A motorcycle cop in high boots and helmet and lights flashing on the bike ticketing a guy in a huge pickup; a 24-hour drive-through Mexican food stop; a florist with an arcade sign that said, "Congratulations Gay Nuptials, Order Your Flowers at ritaflora.com";and a very nondescript, older building with a sign that announced it was the Bob Hope Health Center. Hmmm...

Tonight is the "Welcome to Hollywood" Author Reception, hosted by ABA and the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association, at the Egyptian Theatre. And tomorrow the Day of Education starts bright and early at 8:30 a.m. with Ed Begley, Jr. giving the keynote address about the day-to-day realities of living green. If you're in L.A. for the show, I hope we get a chance to say hello. (I'll be spending a lot of time at the ABA Lounge -- come by!...)

Posted at 07:33PM May 28, 2008 by Dan Cullen in General  | 

BEA next week; insights to follow

As everyone knows, BookExpo America is happening next week. Of course, there'll be lots of hot new titles, musings on the state of the industry, and major announcements - including one from ABA.

We here at Omnibus are sticking to the lighter side of bookselling this week, and saving the analysis for BEA. Specifically, we've been enjoying the conjunction of books and gossip items:

- Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban shopped at Davis-Kidd
- Chelsea Clinton put in an appearance at Joseph-Beth
- Barack Obama marked his place in a copy of The Post-American World
- Jennifer Aniston tries out the Kindle (no link here - you all know how to get to the-site-that-shall-not-be-named)

If you're going to BEA, this week's post also gives you a chance to win some chocolate: I've figured out that I'm three degrees of separation from three of the people above, and four degrees from the other one. Which number goes with which celeb? First person to find me in the ABA Lounge and guess correctly wins.

Posted at 06:46PM May 23, 2008 by Sarah Rettger in General  |