What Would You Do...

Lately there have been many inspiring stories about what a community would do to save their independent bookstore. I am wondering how far you would go to save yours. I don’t mean by pledging to purchase five more books this year , although in reality that is a great idea! I’m thinking more along the lines of the Klondike Bar commercials, only book or bookstore related.

So, let's see how creative you can be! 

Include the name of your favorite independent bookstore and/or book.

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If you love your man

as much as he loves the Packers,

we just received the perfect Valentine's Day gift!

Stop in and pick up a copy or order online while supplies last!

Fresh Start

In the final quarter of 2010 I slipped a bit on keeping up with the blog.  Now it is a new year with a chance to start fresh.  So, for 2011 my goal is to write humorous and witty blog posts about the things that interest you the most each and every Friday.  They will be so brilliant you will eagerly anticipate each new post and share with all of your friends.

Not today, of course.  Today I have piles of books to enter and displays to change, phone calls to make and customers to help.  Just too much to do today, but next Friday for sure.  Unless next Friday is the same as today and I just can’t find the time.  But the Friday after that for sure!

(Not so)Scientific Findings

This morning I came across this recent Harris Pole showing that mystery, crime and thriller novels are the genre most read. No surprise here. This did cause me to wonder how BayShore Books LLC
resembled what this pole reflects, so I thought I’d spend a few minutes looking at what sells here.

Granted, I will have to accept quite a large margin for error. For instance, the poll includes those who say they read at least one book in an average year while mine will include every book purchased in a year, although I did eliminate all local, event, and bulk order titles which would skew the results. Only the genres of the pole were included but that even leaves room for debate. Stephenie Meyer and Harry Potter are classified as young adult in my system, although I have sold just as many (if not more) to adult readers. We don’t have a separate “chick lit” category, so we just used a “fiction” category. Literature for us includes only classics, the rest are included in fiction.

By now you have probably figured out that my pole in no way, shape, or form reflects the Harris Pole.

Types of books read in the past year

Fiction

Notice just for fun we used our totals and then broke it down based on new or used

Total                       New                      Used

Mystery                  Fiction                    Mystery

Romance                Mystery                  Romance

Fiction                    Romance                Western

Science Fiction       Science Fiction        Fiction

Western                 Literature               Science Fiction

Graphic Novels      Graphic Novels       Graphic Novels

Literature               Westerns                 Literature

 

Mystery was no surprise. Romance is more popular here than reflected on the Harris Pole while Science Fiction is not. Could they have counted the young adult titles?

Probably the largest variable not yet mentioned is availability. If we do not have a certain author, title, or genre, we will order it for our customers. Most likely we would sell more of a title on the shelf, though. Of course we order what we sell so maybe that variable isn’t as great as first presumed. Moving on…

For non-fiction we just eliminated “other non-fiction”. What is “other non-fiction” exactly? Did they include cooking, gardening, pets, parenting, reference books, sports, travel? Who knows. Easier to just dump it.

Non-fiction

Total                     New                         Used
History                 History                     History
Biographies          Biographies               Biographies
Religion                Self Help                  Religion
Self Help              Religion                    Self Help
True Crime           Political                    True Crime
Business               True Crime               Business
Political                Business                   Political

What I found interesting is that in their poll the number of people who read fiction and those who read non-fiction are pretty even. Here it’s not even close. We sell a lot more fiction. Do we sell more fiction because we stock more fiction or do we stock more fiction because we sell more fiction? The number of non-fiction titles stocked has been reduced over the years based on sales so that answers that question.

The number one author on their poll is Stephen King, followed by James Patterson, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, and Tom Clancy. Remember, this is based on them asking “who is your favorite author” with no regard to what was picked up at a garage sale or borrowed from a friend. Once again taking out local favorites, bulk orders, special events, and my personal opinion; our list isn’t that different. Stephen King didn’t rate quite as high, but James Patterson and Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb did along with Fern Michaels, Nicholas Sparks, and Debbie Macomber.

So there you have it, my not so scientific findings thrown together in a few minutes for no other purpose other than my amusement. Enjoy!

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week is coming to an end. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. Think it doesn't happen where you live? Think again! Check out this map of challenges in the US from 2007-2010.

Out of 460 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2009 the 10 most challenged titles were:

ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: nudity, sexually explicit, offensive language, drugs, and unsuited to age group

And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: racism, offensive language, unsuited to age group

Twilight (series), by Stephanie Meyer
Reasons: sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: sexaully explicit, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: sexism, homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group, drugs, suicide, violence

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group

How many have you read? Have you celebrated your freedom to read this and every other week?

Guest Blogger

Today we have a special treat. We asked the author who will be visiting us tomorrow, Deb Baker aka Hannah Reed, if she would like to be a guest blogger .
Q. I haven't started my blog yet for today so if you have something written that you would like to send I would be happy to have you on as a "guest blogger".

A. I don't have time to do a guest post. I'm signing today in Oshkosh and doing store drop-ins.

So there you have it, our first ever guest blogger!

Maybe I should have given her more than a twenty minute notice.

Plan B – here is the press release for her visit tomorrow:

Meet Hannah Reed. Hannah Reed is the pen name Deb Baker uses to write her just released Queen Bee mystery series. Deb was born in Escanaba, moved to Wisconsin in the 60s, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in English at the age of 45, but she imagines Hannah younger, sassier, and much more daring.

BayShore Books LLC in Oconto will be hosting a visit with Deb Baker aka Hannah Reed on Saturday September 11th from noon until 2pm. Her first novel, Murder Passes the Buck, earned her the Authorlink International First Novelist Award. She went on to write two others in the same series, which is set in Michigan. The first in her newest series, Buzz Off, has just been released with a 4 star review:

"... a rollicking good time. The colorful family members and townspeople provide plenty of relationship drama and entertainment. The mystery is well plotted and this series promises to keep readers buzzing." ~ Romantic Times

It’s September—National Honey Month—in Moraine, Wisconsin, and things are looking up for Story Fischer. Her messy divorce is final; the honey from her beekeeping business has been harvested; and the Wild Clover, the market she owns, is thriving. Life seems pretty sweet until her mentor in the honey business is found stung to death in his apiary.

Story is still trying to explain to the panicked locals that Manny was killed by wasps, not honey bees, when another body is found floating in the Oconomowoc River. This time the evidence points to Story’s ex. Sure, Clay’s a womanizer and a buzz kill—but a murderer?
With the townsfolk stirred up against her honeybees, and a handsome cop—who also happens to be Story’s former high school sweetheart—putting Clay in cuffs, it’s up to Story to get them both out of a very sticky situation.

Find out how this story ends by stopping in at BayShore Books LLC 302 Collins Avenue in Oconto, meet the author and have your copy signed from noon-2pm on Saturday September 11th. For more information or to reserve your copy, call 920-834-3220 or visit online at http://www.bayshorebooksllc.com/.

Lights, Camera, Action!

We had an exciting week at BayShore Books! Let me tell you about how this all got started first. Months ago I received a phone call from Roger Rapoport, who published a book called Waterwalk by Steven Faulkner. He found my blog about the book and the author’s visit to BayShore Books about two years ago and wanted to know if he could use the information to market the movie version he was producing. I gave him permission and then went back to find the blog. To my horror it was this smart a** piece more about my parenting skills, or lack thereof, than about the book!

Months later Roger called to ask if they could film a scene outside the bookstore. Who am I to say no?? Weeks later he made a surprise visit to check out the store and we discussed what would be needed. He said filming would begin in the end of August and would take a total of 28 days throughout Michigan and Wisconsin. Tuesday he called to let me know they would be here the next day.

The cast and crew arrived around 7pm and there was a bustle of activity. This case needed to be moved, more books here, bring a chair out, print up a sign, everyone moving and talking at once, thanking us while barking out orders. Suddenly they were all gone. One minute the lot was filled with people, the next it was completely empty. It turns out the moon was in a perfect position for the river shots, so they quickly packed up and headed toward the city docks. The female extra from Milwaukee returned to the store a number of times for costume changes, other than that we just waited.

Shortly after 10pm the activity resumed and it was definitely worth the wait. It’s very interesting to be a spectator on the set, watching the actors run through their lines while the director makes suggestions, one camera man needs more light, the other needs less, sound is perfect, QUIET ON THE SET! Action! Of course that’s the moment a car speeds by and the process needs to start all over again. The scene, which will probably be about five minutes in the completed film, wrapped up just after 1am.

The beautiful woman on the left was browsing the bookstore after hours. They operate on the honor system, just choose a book and put the money in the slot. It is perfect for addicts like her; she actually met her husband in the fiction section. The gentleman in the white shirt is the sound guy getting ready for the shot. The man in the shorts is the talented Robert Cicchini playing Steven Faulkner and the one behind him is absolutely adorable eighteen year old Chase Maser playing Faulkner's son.

The entire cast and crew helped haul books, cases, and furniture back into the store even after working since 7am that morning. They were amazing! They signed autographs, thanked us, shook hands or gave out hugs and were on their way. A dark independent bookstore on a quiet street in a small town once again by 2am.

*Find out more about the movie at waterwalkthemovie.com