About Bookstores

Leaving careers in the disparate fields of high-energy physics and elementary music education, Bruce and Laura DeLaney opened Rediscovered Bookshop in Boise, Idaho. The store, which features 4,000 square feet of new and barely used books, opened on September 6, 2006.

Winter may only be half over, but booksellers in the Denver and Boulder, Colorado, regions have probably had enough snow and arctic temperatures for 10 winters. Since the week before Christmas, the area has been hit with nearly weekly snowstorms, interspersed with brutally cold temperatures, making it one of the toughest winters in recent memory for both residents and retailers.

Explore Booksellers and Bistro of Aspen, Colorado, founded in 1975 by the late Katharine Thalberg, is slated to be sold to longtime members of the Aspen community, Sam and Cheryl Wyly. The Wylys and Brooke Anderson, Thalberg's daughter and personal representative of the estate, announced in a joint press release on January 29 that the sale of the business was under contract.

Dennise Sleeper of Spellbound Books & Gifts in Homestead, Florida, described the store's soft opening on December 21 as "quiet." At the grand opening, however, which took place one month later, the 3,250-square-foot general bookstore was so packed "there was hardly room to turn around."

Whatever the weather outside in Palmer, Alaska, the coffee is always hot inside the five-year-old Fireside Books. And, despite the bookstore's web address --www.goodbooksbadcoffee.com -- Fireside Books sells both good books and good coffee, roasted locally.

When Book Sense announced the Book Sense 2006 Bestsellers, a special listing of last year's top-selling books at independent bookstores with Book Sense nationwide, staff at Nomad Bookhouse in Jackson, Michigan, recognized a great marketing opportunity.

If there is any truth to the old saw about the activities one engages in on New Year's Day setting the pattern for the year to come, at least several independent booksellers have something to smile about. Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona; Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California; and The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah, were among those that offered customers storewide sales on New Year's Day, and the results were profitable, to say the least.

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, Laura and Troy Weeks opened Lorelei Books in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The two had moved to Vicksburg from Virginia and purchased an 1870s building in the historic downtown in 2005.

In October, central New York State became home to a new bookstore with a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) focus, when The Lavender Inkwell Bookshoppe opened in Syracuse. Co-owners Scott Henni and John Besaw started the barely 700-square-foot store because they felt a need for one, especially in the city's Near Northeast historic district.

Next week, a group of self-published North Carolina writers will hold a "Getting Published" panel discussion at McIntyre's Fine Books & Bookends in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Author Stacey Cochran, panel organizer and moderator, hopes the January 20 event will be the first of many at independent bookstores.

The 2006 holiday season shone brightly for many booksellers. Among those contacted recently by Bookselling This Week, most reported that they saw sales increases for the holiday season over last year, or had matched 2005 results. While many pointed to a range of strong fall titles and the popularity of gift cards as strong contributing factors, there were still a number of unanswered questions about consumer behavior.

by Len Vlahos

From December 8 to December 10, Len Vlahos, ABA's education and BookSense.com director, joined the bookselling team at Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, for a weekend stint as a frontline bookseller. This is his account of magical car rides, a charming Colorado town, and hectic holiday sales days while working at a very successful independent bookstore.

Last Thursday and Friday, the Pacific Northwest was hit with one of the worst wind and rainstorms in more than a decade. In Washington and Oregon, wind gusts of up to 113 mph wiped out power to more than a million homes and businesses, closed schools, and were responsible for more than 14 deaths. And while many area residents and business owners spent the week recovering, reports are that another strong storm is set to hit the region this Thursday.

Nantucket Bookworks occupies a century-old, 1,500 square-foot building in the picturesque downtown shopping district of Massachusetts' 50-square-mile Nantucket Island. Founded in 1972, the store was purchased in 2000 by Wendy Hudson, a five-year employee of the general bookstore.