http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/the-shelf-life/ Bookselling in the Finger Lakes en-us Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:54:35 GMT CakePHP http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/the-shelf-life/chapter-3-local-interest-reads/ What a gorgeous week we have had here in the Finger Lakes, a perfect start to the summer season! School is letting out next week, spring sports are coming to an end and our schedules are slowly freeing up thank goodness!! It is time to relax, enjoy the long summer evenings, swim, head out to the Drive-In in Auburn, and oh yeah, READ!! I finished up re-reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last week, and I am more worried for Harry’s fate than ever, but one of my fellow Harry readers soothed me a little bit the other night with her Harry prediction. She is thinking Harry will triumph and survive to later in life become Dumbledore’s successor as headmaster of Hogwarts. I hope she is right, I would like that ending! We are clicking right along with our Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release party plans and pre-orders. As of yesterday we had 54 copies already pre-ordered at the store !!!yea!!! The saga of the Bookstore Cat continued this week with an interesting twist. On Wednesday we opened the store to the sounds of a baby bird chirping insistently up in the ceiling. An hour later, after ladders, flashlights, broomsticks, and several popped out ceiling tiles we were looking into a fabric lined basket containing one tiny baby sparrow that was chirping and holding its little mouth open plaintively. Colleen fed our guest some tiny pieces of moistened bread while I drove us out the Beverly Animal Shelter in Waterloo, who had graciously agreed to accept and care for Joe the bird (yes we named the bird) until he was big enough to fly. While we were there dropping off Joe, we mentioned to the staff at the shelter that we were thinking of adopting a bookstore cat. They happily made some suggestions of cats they are caring for who they thought would make good additions to our bookstore setting. Then they took us to the kitten room and introduced us to a kitten they had named Charles Dickens. I am not making this up the kitten’s name is actually Charles Dickens. Well if that isn’t fate, I don’t know what is. We have redoubled our efforts to bring around our dissenter, so we will see what happens.I know when summer rolls around and the weather gets warmer our family hit’s the road and takes several day trips around the Finger Lakes. This is such a beautiful area with so much to do who could resist? It is always good to learn about the places you call home and the people who are your neighbors, so with that in mind I would love to recommend some great local interest books and books by local authors to add to your summer reading lists.Images of America: Finger Lakes Memories by Michael Leavy is brand new to our shelves. Published this spring Finger Lakes Memories takes a long and mesmerizing look back, at a land of 11 lakes, a land of monasteries and mansions, a U.S. president, abolitionists, women’s rights activists, Mark Twain, early aviation, and superb universities. Featuring the work of early 20th century photographer George Bentley Corby, the book reflects the remarkable scenic beauty of the area before commercial and residential development. I loved paging through this book and seeing old photographs of people enjoying some of the same places my family visits each summer, like Taughannock Falls, Buttermilk Falls and Watkins Glen.In his book The Belhurst Story, author David Sakmyster takes a closer look at one of Seneca Lake’s most special treasures, Belhurst Castle. A native of Rochester, David’s interest in the history and lore of Belhurst Castle was sparked while on an overnight there, when he had a personal brush with Belhurst’s famed “Lady in White”. That incident spurred the research for this book and revealed a story cloaked in legend for over a century. If tales of the supernatural intrigue you and you are interested in local supernatural connections we would suggest checking out any of author Mason Winfeild’s books. Haunted Places of Western New York takes readers on a haunted history tour of Western New York’s mansions, inns, churches, battlefields, and more. Shadows of the Western Door and Spirits of the Great Hill are great choices for anyone seeking the mysterious underside of the region including dozens of old-fashioned ghosts, burial mounds, giants, lake monsters and more.For people who like to be out and active, husband and wife authors Rich and Sue Freeman have written a series of books highlighting trails and routes for hiking, biking and paddling in the Finger Lakes. These include: Take A Hike: Family Walks in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, Take Your Bike: Family Rides in New York’s Finger Lake Region and Take Your Paddle: Western New York Quiet Water for Canoes and Kayaks.Seneca Falls Inheritance by Miriam Grace Monfredo is a historical mystery novel set in Seneca Falls at the time of the first Women’s Right Convention. When town librarian Glynis Tryon agreed to help organize the Women’s Rights Convention of 1848 she expected there would be controversy and opposition from the community. But she never expected murder. Monfredo is the author of many other titles set in the Finger Lakes region. Her books are intriguing and engaging with the added bonus of a local connection. Mon, Jun 18th 2007, 04:47 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/the-shelf-life/chapter-2-summer-reading/ Warmer weather begs for us to get out and enjoy it. What better way than to sit in the sun with a big glass of iced tea and a great book. I currently am re-reading book 6 of the Harry Potter series Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in preparation for the final book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows due for release July 21st. I needed to brush up, so I could contemplate questions with fellow Harry lovers like, Is Snape good or evil?, Will Hogwarts re-open?, Who will live and Who will die? I have to say I am very worried for Harry. L We are in the midst of a serious debate (argumentJ) at the book store this month. Some of us (all but 1L) want to adopt a little bookstore cat, but the one is being a stubborn holdout. The rest of us are leaving little hints around like print outs from the Beverly Animal Shelter of cats we think might make a good addition to our bookstore family. I think we will wear the dissenter down eventually and bring Webster (we already named the cat) home to us soon. We have been working hard at rearranging the store this spring. The children’s section has been moved, new carpet installed and the teachers section expanded. Very soon we will be able to open up our newest area The Stacks, a room devoted just to our non-fiction and antiquarian selections. We are hoping our customers will find the new layout more convenient and user friendly to browse through. We are constantly restocking our used book selections and always telling people to stop in and see what’s new. We have also gotten in some great new titles recently that you may want to check out for your next summer read. I hear the ice clinking in youriced teaglass now . . . JGhostwalk By Rebecca StottStott's remarkable historical thriller begins with the death of a female historian on the verge of completing a book on alchemy and Sir Isaac Newton, and it wonderfully evokes Cambridge through the centuries. From alchemy to glassblowing to the plague, the story combines the pressing plot of murder -- or suicide -- and the question of Newton: gravity and the grave. The Secret of Lost Things By Sheridan HayBased on actual letters from Herman Melville to Nathaniel Hawthorne, this literary adventure captures the excitement of discovering a long-lost manuscript by a towering American writer and offers an evocative portrait of life in a bookstore very reminiscent of the world-famous Strand.Cottage for Sale, Must be Moved - A Woman Moves a House to Make a Home By Kate WhouleyWhen Kate Whouley saw the classified ad for an abandoned vacation cottage, whe began to dream. Transport the cottage through four Cape Cod towns. Attach it to my three room house. Create more space for my work and life. Smart, single, and self-employed, Kate was used to fending for herself. But she wasn’t prepared for half the surprises, complications and self discoveries of her house moving adventure. (I just finished this book and I loved it! Non-fiction that reads like a novel, I routed for Kate throughout the story, then power-washed my deck, put my screens in and opened our pool by myself while my husband was out of townJ)The Book Thief By Markus ZusakNarrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Maminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist - books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found. (This is a Young Adult selection but it is getting a lot of buzz and sounds really interesting to me. It is on the top of my pile to be read next!)Keep reading!, and if you have any great recommendations let us know we are always looking for something good to read!! Fri, Jun 8th 2007, 05:54 GMT http://blogs.fingerlakes1.com/the-shelf-life/chapter-one/ book-storePronunciation: -"stor, function: noun: a place of business where books are the main item offered for sale -- called also bookshop Independent bookstore is a term used to identify bookstores that are primarily owned and operated by local people. They tend to have strong ties to the community and are frequently involved in non-profit community events as well as cultivating young writers. Independent bookstore selections tend to be more esoteric and less mainstream than chain bookstores. Independent bookstores are under considerable financial pressure due to competition from amazon.com and other online sellers, chain bookstores, mass market sellers (Wal-Mart, Wegmans, BJ Wholesale Club), and even publishers themselves. Thousands of bookstores have closed in the past decade. In some cases, the community has risen up to save an independent bookstore that threatened to close such as Kepler's Books in Menlo Park and Cover to Cover Books in San Francisco.The above definition refers to independent bookstores such as The Book Nook which we own and operate in Geneva, NY. It gives a wonderfully succinct idea of what Independent Bookstores are about and the huge challenges they face. Some articles claim our stores are a dying breed, soon to be gone from small towns, big cities and main streets of America. Many people saw the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie You've Got Mail,some of our customers have told us our store reminds them of Meg Ryan's bookstore The Shop Around the Corner. In the movie Meg's shop, opened by her mother, is run out of business after 40 years by a mega-bookstore chain that opens down the street from her in NYC. Though not what the romantic/comedy is about, sadly this same senario is replaying across the country. It is a modern day David vs. Goliath story, and a lot of people have odds on the giants.So what's a little guy like us left to do? Well we're not giving up yet! Independents have had to adjust and adapt to the new millennium of bookselling, getting creative with their marketing (shameless blogging :)), offering personal and knowledgeable service that online and mega stores can't, and creating a loyal customer base for themselves. In Geneva we offer special discounts and services to local Book Clubs, a teacher's discount card that offers any teacher 15% any product in our store, special ordering and free shipping for new books, and free book searches for out of print and hard to find books. We have had books shipped to us from as far away as Austrailia for customers. We have hosted many book signings for local authors, we even held one during a blizzard and were amazed at how many people fought the snow to buy a copy of Charlie Burrall's book Captured by the Russians. Additionally we have recently opened a new section of teachers products, so our area teachers no longer have to travel to Syracuse or Rochester to reach the nearest teachers store.We intend to use this blog to highlight great new titles as well as some old ones worth a read, talk about daily downtown shopkeeper stuff and any and all things books. Hope you enjoy it and visit frequently. :) Tue, May 29th 2007, 07:34 GMT