I have to begin this letter with a big THANK YOU from all of us at The Book Stall. So many of you shopped with us this December—and many of you seemed to be truly concerned about the survival of our store and wanting to show your support for an independent business. It also felt good to see you buy books as the “perfect gift” for most everyone on your list. I think our selection of books this year was remarkable—we had great fiction to pick from, two or three exceptional biographies, gorgeous art and gift books, and an exciting array of “family” books from our children’s department—not to mention Twilight by Stephanie Meyers and the Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook. It was a rewarding year for those who walked into our store and saw such a feast of enticing books! It was a rewarding year for us as well. Thank you once again for shopping at The Book Stall.
We are looking forward to the New Year—in spite of the uncertainties that loom ahead. How will the world at large meet its many crises and how will our government meet all those challenges? How will the publishing world survive its cutbacks and all the anxieties of competing with the Internet? And, closer to home, how will The Book Stall be able to maintain its position of excellence in the bookselling world and continue to offer its customers and friends all the advantages of the past? Lots of unknowns! The only changes we are making immediately is that our winter closing hour on week days will be 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. We are still open in the evenings for author signings or special events. But our daily routine will be 9:30 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturdays (9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.) and Sundays (11 a.m. – 5 p.m.) remain the same.
I have been reading in jumps and starts this month. I reviewed The Little Book by Selden Edwards in the October newsletter and now he is about to appear at The Book Stall on December 20th.
Another book that I gave out reader’s copies of in November is being published at the end of January—Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It is a beautifully written and passionate love story that takes place in the Japanese internment camps of WWII.
I am halfway through a superb novel by Abraham Vergese called Cutting for Stone. It will come out February 1st. Ask me for a reader’s copy, if I still have them.
We will celebrate our 22st anniversary as The Book Stall at Chestnut Court—also our 27th anniversary as The Book Stall—over the week of February 9th – 15th. It is also a momentous week of celebration for Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin—both born 200 years ago on the same day, February 12th, 1809. There are rows of books on Abraham Lincoln and at least one gift book on Darwin, Charles Darwin on the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition by David Quammen. Our own celebration that week includes New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik with his new book Angels and Ages (the story of Lincoln and Darwin) on Wednesday, Feb. 11th, and Catherine Clinton at a lunch on Friday, Feb. 13th, with her new book Mrs. Lincoln. And on February 14th, Valentine’s Day, we will have our 20% off Anniversary Sale – with Valentine’s Day trimmings and extra special savings and gifts. I hope you will join us.
Happy New Year! May 2009 bring peace and good health to your family.
Roberta |
