Books to Spur Impulse Buys at the Cashwrap

Jamie Robinson of Bestsellers Books & Coffee knows that the right "funny or cute books put near the cash counter" can bump up the bookstore's bottom line. The Mason, Michigan, bookseller recently shared some of her successes and asked fellow booksellers to share theirs in BookWeb's Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum. Robinson seeded the thread with Gallop (Rufus Butler Seder, Workman), Bad Cat (Jim Edgar, Workman), and Bird Songs (Les Beletsky, Ed., Chronicle). Booksellers from Maine to Montana answered the call with a range of titles that ran from very low- to very highbrow, with low often taking the lead. As Stephanie Anderson of Moravian Book Shop explained, "Poo books do really, really well."

Anderson reported that cashwrap books have a strong fan base at Moravian. "Our head buyer is particularly enamored of these types of books so we have many! We named the section 'Louise' after an older retired bookseller who did not like to leave the area behind the register, so I think of this sort of book as a 'Louise book.'"

Probably the bestselling recent "Louise books" at the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, bookstore, have been What's Your Poo Telling You? (Anish Sheth and Josh Richman) and its companion, The Poo Log (Anish Sheth, et. al, both Chronicle). "People love them!," said Anderson. Bestsellers of the year include: The Lexicon of Stupidity (Ross Petras and Kathryn Petras, Workman), Chinglish (Oliver Lutz Radtke, Gibbs Smith); the 1913 guides Don'ts for Husbands and Don'ts for Wives (both Blanche Ebbutt, A&C Black); Cat Yoga (Rick Tillotson, Clarkson Potter); Porn for Women and Porn for New Moms (both Susan Anderson, Chronicle); and Wabi-Sabi (Leonard Koren, Imperfect).

"They're not all super-new, but they all still sell very well," said Anderson. "The nice thing about these particular titles, too, is that people always comment on them, so you can have a fun conversation (which only adds further to how many we sell, as people often end up buying them after that!)."

At Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, Joe Foster observed that with cashwrap books, the "more twisted the humor, the better the sales." Their all-time bestseller is the Book of Bunny Suicides (Andy Riley, Plume). Foster added, "People would laugh and talk about how gross this book was... And then buy five copies."

Hilary Emerson Lay at Spirit of '76 bookstore in Marblehead, Massachusetts, gives her recommendations for funny cash register books with a caveat -- "I should forewarn you that for every 10 customers we made laugh, and for every 10 copies we'd sell of these books, one righteous person would complain as to their content (usually people that had children with them)." That said, her tips are: English as a Second F*cking Language (Sterling Johnson, St. Martin's Griffin); That's Queen Bitch to You (Ed Polish and Darren Wotz, Ten Speed); and Bitter With Baggage Seeks Same (Sloane Tanen, Bloomsbury).

Spellbinder Books in Bishop, California, has done well with The Official Karma Violation Ticket Book (Good Karma Factory), which co-owner Lynne Almeida described as a pad-style book with tickets to mark 'violations' on and tear off, like parking tickets. In a word "Funny!" Some sample violations: "Borrowing With Intent to Keep," "Hopelessly Spaced-Out and Dangerously Unaware."

"Well it's not funny or cute, but I've sold 124 copies of The Constitution of the United States, hardcover," said Andy Lacher of BookStacks in Bucksport, Maine. "People like it a LOT. Many say they'd like to send a copy to Washington." Lacher prescribed a stack on the counter for every bookstore and a copy for every household and high school graduate.

Gary Robson of Red Lodge Books in Red Lodge, Montana, said he also stocks pocket-sized copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence at the counter, which he was "happy to say" weren't far behind You Say I'm a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing (Ed Polish and Darren Wotz, Ten Speed) in sales. Also popular was a blank book entitled Everything Men Know About Women (Alan Francis, Andrews McMeel).

Susan Richmond at Inklings Bookshop in Yakima, Washington, seconded Robson's recommendation of Everything Men Know About Women -- "It is a sure sale." Other good ones: Shrinklits: Seventy of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size (Maurice Sagoff, Workman) and The Golden Rule: As Expressed by Cultures Around the World (Sandra Darling and Harold Darling, Eds., Laughing Elephant). "This little book is roughly the shape and size of a ruler -- really cute. Great at Christmas as it is perfect to stuff a stocking."

To share your top-selling titles at the cashwrap with other ABA member stores, visit the BookWeb's Bookseller-to-Bookseller Forum. --Karen Schechner