ShelfTalker: A Children's Bookseller's Blog

November 12, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

It's time to start selling books hand over fist! The holidays are descending on us far sooner than we think. Forget that it was 55 degrees in Vermont today, sooner or later there will be snow on the ground and folks will come in with lists. Lists of people who need presents. It's our job as booksellers to make sure no one on any list goes without a great book, or two (or three) this holiday season. Just how we do that is the fun of being a bookseller. I love the challenge of the holidays. I try to open the store early, by 8:30 if I can, to get the parents after they drop the kids off, and I go all day. Holiday shoppers are like a captive audience of folks needing recommendations. It's fun, it's challenging and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Being a great handseller is about listening and sharing. You listen to what the customer says they want, or who they're lo...Read More

November 9, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

We had a great author event on Saturday with Grace Lin, whose latest book is The Mountain Meets the Moon. The event drew a diverse crowd of happy children and parents. (One child had actually made a card for Grace, which was awfully sweet.) Three things contributed to the success of this event.

The first was our promotion. The event was listed on our website, our entire email list got an invitation to the event on Thursday morning, and we had our event posters up all over town. I saw some new faces at the event and asked how they heard of it. This leads to item number two: author websites.

Grace's website is fabulous. It's chock full of information without being overwhelming, and it's very easy to navigate. Sometimes authors get really cutesy with their websites and it can be infuriating. As much as I loved the Harry Potter books, I grew to h...Read More

November 5, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (39)

I'm curious what everyone is reading right now. Currently I'm reading two books: The Maze Runner and The Demon's Lexicon. I don't normally read this much fantasy, especially concurrently, but both of these are extremely compelling and I can't bear not to read a little of each every night; they speak to different audiences who I think will enjoy them as much as I am. My current challenge is to not leap ahead into the spring 2010 galleys, although they look very yummy. I'm trying to get ready for the holidays by reading some gems that I might have missed.

As we are approach the heart of the fourth quarter, I find myself eyeing my shelves thinking about what I can actively sell to all the various gift purchasers shopping in my store. I know what my favorites are: Wintergirls, The Lion & the Mouse, School of Fear, Once Was...Read More

November 4, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (7)

The season for charitable giving (and giving) is upon us. I have been keeping track of the number of times this fall I've been asked to make a donation. Every day someone has come in or called at least once a day for the last forty days. Really, every day someone has asked the store for something: a gift card, a book, several books, a whole gift basket, etc., and all for very good causes. 

As a small business owner in a small community, it's hard to say no to anyone who walks in with a simple request. But as some point you have to say no. Or do you?

I give gift cards almost exclusively. I like the gift card because the auction winner has to come back to the store to redee...Read More

November 2, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

I hope everyone had a splendid Halloween. I just wanted to report on two costumes I saw at the coffee shop across the street from the Flying Pig on Saturday.



I can safely say that I feel like I've now made it to the pinnacle of bookselling; someone made a costume from my store name! And aren't they adorable? Stephanie, the Flying Pig on the left, said she's been trying to be a flying pig since we moved to Shelburne three years ago. She kept waiting for someone else on staff to join her, and this year she finally got a co-flying pig, Emily, sort of like me and Elizabeth.

Here they are from the back. They insisted on this photo. They're very proud of their tails. And really, why shouldn't they be?
...Read More