MegaBeth: Librarian on Wheels

She's petite, she's middle-aged, she's bookish, and if she gets a chance, she'll knock you on your keister.

By day, she's Beth Hollis, a 53-year-old reference librarian in Akron, Ohio. By night, she's MegaBeth, an ageless dynamo on the roller derby rink.

"All my life, when I tell people I'm a librarian, they say, 'You don't look like a librarian,' " Hollis said. "And now that I'm a roller derby girl, they say, 'You don't look like a roller derby girl, either.' So I don't know where I fit in." Read full article »

Librarian Beth Hollis, second from left

20% Off Everything @ Half-Prce Books

Here in Illinois (and likely most of the rest if the U.S.) Half-Price Books announces its Labor Day weekend sale: 20% off EVERYTHING in their stores!!!

Used Book Store IS The Cat's Meow

{from "The Cat's Meow," Catster's cats & kittens blog}

17-year-old Calvin the Cat, namesake of the Branson, MO used book store he "manages," started out life as Jane, named after Jane Austen.

As a wee kitten, he was dumped in the bookstore parking lot, and store owner Heidi Sampson brought him inside and fed him. Sampson said said she “tried to get rid of him, but after about two weeks, all anyone wanted to know was where the cat was.” Somewhere along the way, his gender was ascertained and he was renamed Calvin.

Locals love to drop by the used book store and visit the gregarious tabby. “I love going in there to get some books and hang out with that cat,” Branson resident Leslie Gilmore said. “He is so friendly and cuddly.”

The bookstore is Calvin’s permanent residence, and he’s famous for leaping from the top of one shelf to another. He’s also an incorrigible lap cat.... (read more)

SS, DD (Same Story, Different Day)

Yes, another indie used-book store is shutting its doors, this one in Long Beach, CA.

"Neon-colored sales signs adorn the store’s front window, and once well-stocked shelves are now much less crowded with books. Lazy Days is the latest casualty among independent booksellers that once peppered the South Shore. Just as record-and-CD stores have been done in by iTunes, book stores have been undercut by the likes of Amazon.com...." {read more from the Long Beach, CA Herald Online}

READ! And support independent bookstore owners by shopping at your friendly neighborhood used book store!

"On The Waterfront" Author Budd Schulburg Dies

{from Feedblitz/Time to Write, 8-19-09}

Novelist Budd Schulberg (“What Makes Sammy Run?” and “On the Waterfront”) died recently. There’s a good video obit on the New York Times site, featuring an interview with Schulberg just a couple of years ago when he was already in his 90’s.

It includes the story of how he and F Scott Fitzgerald worked together—or, more accurately, how they got fired together.

You’ll find that video here (www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.html) --you’ll have to scroll down to the videos and find it, it doesn’t have its own url).

There’s a more comprehensive video bio on YouTube, in three parts. It covers how he was shunned in Hollywood after writing “What Makes Sammy Run?” and testifying against his former friends in the Communist Party. I don't buy his rationale for cooperating with the McCarthy witch hunt (one of the Hollywood Ten was my mentor) but there’s no denying Schulberg was a fascinating man. Here’s the link to the first part, it’s about 5 ½ minutes long: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6LfetSdcw

2009 National Book Award Entries Announced

The 2009 National Book Foundation Award Entries have been announced. Over 190 publishers submitted 1,132 books for the 2009 awards. To view a breakdown of how many books of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young people's literature were submitted and a list of the judges, visit www.nationalbook.org/nba2009.html

Finally! Good Bookstore News!

For the first time this year, bookstore sales rose in June by 3.4% compared to June 2008, to $1.10 billion, according to early predictions from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Although bookstore sales for the first six months of 2009 were down 2.7% compared to the first half of 2008 with sales falling to $7.41 billion, the book segment has outperformed the retail market in general. Sales for the entire retail sector fell 7.6% in June and 9.8% for the first six months of the year.

Sales are from stores that generate at least half of their revenue from books and include college bookstores.

DON'T PANIC (yet)

Powell's Closing South Loop Location

By Claire Kirch -- Publishers Weekly, 8/10/2009 3:10:00 PM

Powell’s, which has been a mainstay of the Chicago bookselling scene since 1970, is closing one of its three locations next month. The 8,000-square foot combination bookstore/warehouse, which has operated in the South Loop neighborhood for almost 30 years, will close its doors Sept. 1. Brad Jonas, Powell’s owner, called the action "a stabilization for the future." While the rent on the basement warehouse area has remained steady, the costs of leasing the ground floor retail space increased, as a previously seedy neighborhood became gentrified in recent years, driving up rents.

Jonas is consolidating his warehouse operations by closing an 80,000-square-foot warehouse on Chicago’s west side, as well as the South Loop space, and relocating all warehouse operations to a 120,000 square-foot space he and a business partner recently purchased near Midway Airport south of the city.

...Powell’s two retail locations, an 8,000-square-foot store in Lakeview, on Chicago’s north side, and its 4,000-square-foot flagship store in Hyde Park, on the city’s south side, remain unaffected by these changes.

Printed Treasures of the

New York Public Library

{from The Gothamist blog 8-11-09}

An illuminated woodcut map of the world from Ptolemy's Geographia. Dating from 1482, it's one of the earliest examples of printed material in the New York Public Library's collection.

Visit a used book store and, after about an hour, all the old books will start looking pretty much the same—the pages get yellowed, the edges become ragged, and the binding starts to disintegrate. What you end up with is shelf after shelf of cheap, trashy, tatters, but that's not so with the New York Public Library's collection of its old books. We went back to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Bryant Park last week to get a closer look at Rare Books Division, a 280,000 volume-strong collection filled with striking, unique works dating back hundreds of years into history, including everything from the first book published in North America to the book in which Ernest Hemingway jotted down his Nobel acceptance speech.

Books don't simply blend in to the shelves here in the Rare Books Division. Each one has its own special history, and Curator Michael Inman shared some of those stories with us Thursday in a behind-the-scenes look at the collection. We snapped a few photos so we can share these stories with you, too, but as the man said, you don't have to take our word for it. You can visit the Rare Books Division yourself—both online and in person!

Oak Park Friends Used Book Sale -- One of the BEST

Ever wonder what 100,000 used books all in two rooms look like? Like this!

Oak Park/River Forest High School hosted the Oak Park Friends' of the Library annual sale, in the school's gym and cafeteria, which for me made this use4d book sale one of the best I've attended. Besides the facxt that there were 100,000 books to choose from, in terms of open space, I was able to sit on the floor to sift through the boxes of used books under the tables, without other shoppers stepping on or getting annoyed with me! I usually miss (or at least assume I MUST be) a lot of used book finds because I get dizzy bending over to look at books for which there is no room on the table.

The wide aisles also allowed for people to bring in their personal carts, bookbags on wheels, etc. Had I known I surely would have brought my own; I am renowned for having "everything on wheels" from suitcases to tables and filing carts in my office.

And what is atypical at used book sales, the Friends this year for the first time accepted VISA and MasterCard charge cards, making it SO much easier to spend a little extra! Even though the printer wheezed and died last night, the charge check-out volunteer was able to email book buyers a receipt instead (greener, too!)

As you can see from the pile of boxes (the picture taken at about noon, just 3 hours after the sale opened) shoppers were fast-and-furiously grabbing used books by the armloads. and this was the only day of the sale open to the public free; Friday was $5 admission and only open 6-10pm, so a lot of books were sold very quickly. Even so, somehow I managed to find $102.50 worth, which I was happily able to purchase without a thought with birthday money from mom, husband and son.

I was there ALL day, from 10am to closing at 5pm. It takes a loooong time to pick out $100+ worth of used books at Friends' or AAUW book sales since the prices are all $2 or less. I had 20 hardbacks @ $2 each, 47 trade softcovers @ $1, and 31 paperbacks @ $.50 -- plus three records (on learning to speak French -- no, I don't have a turntable or even a child's record player but "I'll worry about that tomorrow" as Scarlett would say).

All the volunteers were friendly, helpful, and were actually keeping the sales floor neat and tidy without getting in the way. It was plesantly quiet but not tomb-like... save for one 2-year-old who whined for almost a full hour (when she wasn't screeching her displeasure about something her older sister had done/taken away from her/she was displeased with for whatever reason.

I am compelled to put in this 2 cents: Used book sale volunteers should NOT be afraid or hesitant to ask such children's keepers to either quiet the child or remove him/her from the room as it is ANNOYING and IRRITATING to shoppers, as well as, I am quite sure, sale volunteers!

It is amazing the number of parents who can drag their kids to used book sales and be completely oblivious to the brats' screams -- or else they're completely oblivious to the comfort of others, which is more likely the case given the level of rudeness and contempt for one's fellow human beings so prevelant today....

At the final bell, though, a nod to the Friends of the Oak Park Library -- I give your sale two thumbs up, five stars and an A+. It's on the calendar for next year: August 6 (6-10pm, $5 admission to get first crack at the stacks) and 7 (9am-5pm, bring 2010

Book Stores Open.... and Book Stores Close

Books Inc. to Open Twelfth Store
By Wendy Werris, PW Daily 8/6/09

Books Inc., the San Francisco-based locally owned and operated chain of independent bookstores, announced Wednesday that it will open a new location in Berkeley by mid-October, bringing to 12 the number of stores in the regional chain. The new location, in an shopping enclave known as the Fourth Street Shops, will carry an eclectic mix of new books that reflect the area’s population and help compensate for the loss of Cody’s Books, which closed earlier this year. “We’ll carry a lot of fiction,” said Books Inc. co-owner and CEO Michael Tucker, “and because there are so many restaurants in the area we’ll have a great stock of cookbooks to please the foodies. The children’s and YA sections will be robust, too.” but then....

Maple Street Children's Book Shop Closes After 34 Years
By Edward Nawotka, PW Daily 8/6/09

After 34 years in business New Orleans’s Maple Street Children’s Book Shop is closing. Cindy Dike, who has owned the book store since 1988, made the decision after “running out of cash and credit.” The factors that contributed to the store’s demise form a kind of perfect storm. Trouble started with Hurricane Katrina. The storm forced many of the middle-class families out of New Orleans. “Customers with young children moved on to places where they felt more secure,” Dike says, “and that population hasn’t bounced back. My customers grow older and graduate to buying books next door [at the Maple Street Book Shop]. They can keep a customer for the rest of their life...{but} I need my customers to replenish.”

The Art of Grandparenting

Yes, grandparenting IS an art, and there's MUCH more to it than pulling out your dog-eared copy of Dr. Spock's Baby Book, and Valerie Connelly, along with a dozen and a half other contributing grandparents.

You happily and successfully raised your children; so what else is there to know about grandparenting?

Plenty, as you'll soon learn from The Art of Grandparenting: Loving, Spoiling, Teaching and Playing with Your Grandkids (ISBN 978-1-933449-79-1; Nightengale Press $19.95) scheduled for release in time for Grandparents Day on Sunday, September 13.

Dr. Spock may have been our closest confidant, mentor and friend when our children came into the world, but he didn't give us any advice on grandparenting. Grandchildren – and their parents – require a vastly different set of “rules.”

Editor, author and Nightengale Press publisher Valerie Connelly – herself a brand-new grandmother ("wanna see some pictures?!") – has gathered stories for The Art of Grandparenting from professional authors who are also grandparents. Filled with humor and thoughtful insights, she shares 18 other stories from “new” and “old” grandparents alike, along with their tips and tricks for successful, happily-ever-after grandparenting.

"When I first heard I was going to be a grandmother," says Valerie, "I cried with joy—and then I panicked because I suddenly realized I had no immediate knowledge about how to be a grandmother. As a child, I didn't have living grandparents, and my own parents lived too far away to be helpful with my children.

“So, this collection of letters is a gift to all present and future newbie grandparents who need tips, tricks and real-life guidance as they first take on the role of grandparent."

The grandparents who share their stories in The Art of Grandparenting answer such questions as:
How do you offer help that your sons and daughters will happily accept? What will the new little person call you? How can you avoid some of the family relationship traps that lie ahead? How do you amicably “share” your grandchildren with the in-laws? How can you spoil your grandkids without spoiling your relationship with your own kids? What exactly is a “Go-To-Grandparent?” What is this new phrase, “SILENCE IS GOLDEN” all about? How the #*@! do you put on these new-fangled diapers? How do you talk with your kids now that they are parents? And much, much more sage advice and insight from those who experienced it all -- some within the first month of their new grandchild's life!

Donne Davis, founder of the GaGa Sisterhood says this: "You want to become a Go-to-Grandparent so you can develop a bond with your children and your grandchildren that will last a lifetime.... The most important thing I’ve learned is that getting time with your grandchildren requires building trust and respect with their parents. Trust is the foundation for having access to your grandchildren."

The Art of Grandparenting --- Loving, Spoiling, Teaching and Playing with Your Grandkids will be published in September 2009 by Nightengale Press and can be pre-ordered to arrive in time for Grandparents Day, September 13. Visit www.theartofgrandparenting.com or the publisher's website at www.nightengalepress.com to order. After the September release, it will be available on Amazon.com, B&N.com and all online bookstores as well.

Ahead of the September publication, all new and seasoned grandparents are invited now to join in the Art of Grandparenting conversation by visiting the book's website at www.theartofgrandparenting.com. Here you can register to connect with other grandparents all over the world and be active member of the “Babyboom Grayboom;” read and share tips, news and your own grandparenting stories and other information; ask questions and get advice from experienced grandparents; and, best of all: BRAG about your grandchildren and share ALL your new photos of them!

Valerie Connelly founded Nightengale Press in 2003. Today it is a leading independent publisher working with Lightning Source, Inc., the industry leader in high-speed, one-at-a-time digital book printing in the United States with facilities in the USA, Canada and the UK. Nightengale has published more than 85 titles to date. Nightengale President and Publisher and Editor of The Art of Grandparenting, Valerie Connelly can be reached at publisher@nightengalepress.com or 847-810-8498.

P.S. YOU KNOW YOU’RE A GRAYBOOM GRANDPARENT WHEN...
…You have a sudden urge to snap photos like a paparazzo!
…Everyone turns and runs when you say, “I have new pictures of my grand....”
…You don’t have a clue what a boppie is.
…You ask, “What the heck is Hypnobabies?”
… Your kids call you GRAMZILLA!

30 Beautiful Old Books

They're not "just" used books....

In February, AbeBooks ran a feature called 30 Novels Worth Buying for the Cover Alone in Fine Books & Collectibles online. It showcased contemporary fiction whose cover design was eye-catching enough to make us buy the book. It made us wonder how the art, trends and styles of designing a book cover have changed over the years.

So what constituted a beautiful book a century ago? We've now found 30 we think tell the story well. Highly decorated cloth over boards, ornate scrollwork, symmetrical patterns, floral patterns, gilt and more - these are the books we dream we'll find overlooked at a yard sale, whose covers make us want to touch them, own them and display them.They are unforgettable, collectible, and in many cases, though considered antiquarian and not simply "used books," surprisingly affordable.

30 Old Books Worth Buying for the Cover Alone

Praise for Used-Book Stores.... While Two More Close

Maple Street Children's Book Shop is closing The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com "I've been dabbling in used books since January," she said. "And this gives us a lot more room to expand. We'll have more room for readings and signings. ... See all stories on this topic

Seattle Times Epilogue Books in Ballard is closing mid-August Seattle Times Owner Nathan Heath recently sent an update saying that they still have over 40000 used books in stock that are now discounted to what amounts to 75 percent ... See all stories on this topic

In praise of… secondhand bookshops guardian.co.uk Both retailers of used books, their common enemy lies elsewhere. On the one hand, there are those homogenised chains, with their 3-for-2 offers and ... See all stories on this topic

Michigan's Bibliomaniac

A fabulous collection of used books! Read about Michigan's most renowned bibliomaniac, William L. Clements, courtesy of Fine Books & Collectibles online.

Will Oswego, IL Get a Used-Book Store?

(from the Aurora Beacon News online)

Movers from Midwest Moving and Storage transport Oswego Public Library books to Montgomery Public Library where they will be stored until renovations to Oswego's building are finished next year. (Marianne Mather/Staff Photographer)

July 31, 2009

By CHRISTINE S. MOYER cmoyer@scn1.com

OSWEGO -- Leah Condon-Guillemette envisions books filling Oswego's old village hall, which now sits vacant on Main Street. She'd like to sell new and used books. There would be mystery novels, best sellers and books for young adults.

Catherine "Lea" Condon-Guillemette holds her 11-month-old son, Billy, in front of the old village hall in downtown Oswego Thursday. Condon-Guillemette and her aunt hope to open a bookstore and tea shop in the building that now is vacant. If approved by the village, it would be Oswego's first bookstore.
(Heather Eidson/Staff Photographer)

In a village where chain restaurants and big-box stores open on a regular basis, there is only one bookstore -- a comic book store. Condon-Guillemette drives to Naperville and Plainfield to buy books. It's a problem, not just in Oswego, but throughout all of Kendall County.

Complicating matters in Oswego, the public library closed last week for renovations. Movers transported the shelves of books to the Montgomery Library at 1111 Reading Drive, just north of Route 30, where they will remain until spring 2010.

"The village has needed a bookstore for so long," Condon-Guillemette said. "Especially now, with the library closing for renovations. We're losing a community foothold."

Oswego leaders readily agree the village needs a bookstore. But the decision about leasing the old village hall to Condon-Guillemette ultimately comes down to money.

Among the factors being weighed are how much money the village would have to spend to repair roofing problems and other internal issues. Condon-Guillemette's ideas include creating a green roof and decorating the interior walls with local artists' work.

"It was our original police station and village hall for 50 years," she said. "We can turn it into a gem rather than a parking space."

Mystery Writers Contest

{courtesy of Hope Clark's inline "Funds for Writers" newsletter}

DISCOVERING NEW MYSTERIES CONTEST
http://www.newmysteries.org/submission_guidelines/
---


NO ENTRY FEE
Discovering New Mysteries is now accepting submissions of
original plays, screenplays, teleplays, and short stories
for both adult and youth audiences. Deadline for submissions
is August 30, 2009. A panel of professional readers will
blindly review the submissions and narrow the field to the
final mysteries, who- dunnits, cops-n-robbers, courtroom
dramas, thrillers, suspense or adventures. Nearly $20,000
in cash prizes for winners + prestigious Angie Awards.

Open Books Used-Book Store!

Drum Roll...
Announcing (at loooooooong last!)....
THE OPEN BOOKS STORE LOCATION:
213 W. Institute Place

The time has come, the lease is signed, and we're PROUD AND THRILLED to announce that the Open Books store will open later this year just two floors below our present office. If you've visited us before, you know how much we love our River North space in the 100-year-old former home of the Schwinn bicycle factory. So, with your help and the knowledge that there's no place like home, we'll be opening our flagship used bookstore and literacy community center right here in the fall of 2009. As we begin construction, we'll post frequent updates and sneak peeks. In the meantime, find out more about our plans and how you can help, and make sure to join the store mailing list! We can't wait to share what we've been doing with all of you and to welcome you to our newly expanded home.