Upcoming Author Events

Posted by trav in Authors, Birmingham, Bookstores, Events      No comments

Apr
30

Here is a quick list of some author signings in the Birmingham-area over the next few days. Let me know if I missed anything cool. We’re lucky to have so many events around town.

Tuesday, May 2nd – Lisa Dahl at noon at Gus Mayer/Summit signing The Elixir of Life Cookbook

Saturday, May 5th – Bernice King at 2 PM at Books-A-Million/Brookwood Mall signing Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King

Saturday, May 5th – Charles D. Cole at 1 PM at Little Professor signing Strategies for Success in Law School & Beyond

Tuesday, May 8th – Dolores Hydock at 4 PM at The Alabama Booksmith signing In Her Own Fashion

Thursday, May 17th – Ron Tanner at 6 PM at Little Professor signing From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story

Friday, May 18th – Sarah Frances Hardy at 3:30 PM at Little Professor signing Puzzled by Pink

Saturday, May 19th – Jim Douglass at 11 AM at Little Professor signing Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment With Truth

Google Dumps Indie Booksellers

Posted by trav in Bookstores, Digital Publishing, E-Books, News, Publishing Industry News      No comments

Apr
5

I can not express how sad this makes me. Google has announced that they will pull all support for selling e-books, from independent booksellers. They seem to be playing the same game that Apple and Amazon are. I guess starting in January 2013, they will be no different.

I am guessing their plans like: giving away the Android operating system, supporting the ebook infrastructure for bookstores, etc. just wasn’t paying off fast enough. So they’re copying the iTunes/Amazon model, with the launch of Google Play.

No doubt someone like Copia or Kobo will step in to fill the void, but I’m betting many many booksellers will just throw in the towel. Who can blame them? Why sign on with another service, if they can just be bought by Google or Amazon who kick the bookseller back to the curb?

The capitalist in me says Google is a business and needs to do what’s right for their business, just like all these indie bookstore owners have the right and should do what’s in their best interest. But I remember the materials that went out when Google was courting the American Booksellers Association and indie stores. None of it was conditional. None of it said “Now remember one day we may pull the plug”. At a minimum Google could preserve their “Do No Evil” mantra by supporting their current roster and just say “we won’t be taking on any more shops, because it’s not working like we thought”. That would be honest and fair to those shops who jumped on board to support ePub, Google Books and serve their store’s customers.

This really is another indicator that indie bookstores need to stay indie. Totally. They need to develop in-house talent for delivering books and products to their customers. They need to undertand how websites, Twitter, Facebook and ebook reader devices work. And they need to stay as close to their customers as they can. Hopefully groups like the ABA can step in and offer strategic help as lots of bookstores’ e-book sections go dark next January.

Now that I think about it, publishers really should get involved. I mean they want these shops to sell their books. I wonder what publishers could do to make it easy for indie store owners to sell their e-books… widgets… iframes… hmmm…

Homewood Library Used-Book Store

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Book Collecting, Bookstores, library      2 comments

Mar
19

Here is a quick photo tour of the used-book store that is maintained by the Homewood Library’s Friends of the Library Group. It’s located downstairs at the Homewood Library and is open:

• Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Saturday 10:00 a.m.-2 p.m.

This is by far the best library bookstore to visit if you are looking for magazines. They have shelves and shelves of magazines that I’ve never heard of, plus all of the big popular ones. If magazines and journals are your thing – THIS is the shop you have to visit. Magazines cost ten cents each.

The whole used-bookstore is pretty big, divided among three rooms, with a so-so turnover in the Fiction shelves. Most everything is discarded library books. Though finding donated copies (with no library stickers or stamps) isn’t uncommon. I have seen First Edition books priced at $5 and they do keep a 50 cent table, which is always worth glancing through when you’re at the library.

The first thing to do when you arrive is look down just inside the door. There is a cardboard box there with Free Stuff in it. It’s usually just magazines, maps, photos, etc. but you may find something there. Also, in the magazine room, there is another bookshelf unit and another box with free books and magazines for the taking.

New CEO at Books-A-Million

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Bookstores, News      No comments

Mar
13

While overall revenue and sales are down, from the previous year, Books-A-Million’s CEO Clyde Anderson is stepping aside. Starting March 13, 2012, the CEO seat will be filled by Terry Finley. Finley will add the job to his current duties. So his title will now be CEO/President/COO. That’s quite a business card!

Books-A-Million is based in Birmingham. They closed 21 stores and opened 41 new stores in the past year, giving them a total of 256 stores in 31 states.

New Books Blog in Bham

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Bookstores, On the Web      No comments

Mar
8

Carrie Rollwagen (twitter), who owns Church Street Coffee & Books, is set to launch a new site Monday called PostScript Blog. Rollwagen is a proponent of shopping small and great book stores. Two things I like too. In a recent post on her Shop Small Blog she said the new site will:

“…I think books are so important, and because I think the battle of independents versus Amazon is such a great Small Shop case study, my new blog, PostScript Blog, will focus on books — kind of.

I say “kind of,” because it will really be about more that books. There will be book reviews, and I’ll talk about publishing (and Amazon) sometimes. But mostly, it’ll just be about interesting stuff — movies, music, shopping, community — and the way books intersect with those parts of our lives.”

She also says that Church Street Coffee & Books will ship and distribute all books and ebooks purchased through the new site. That’s a great step that all bookstore owners should take. A reader’s choice in format is not necessarily an “either/or” proposition, but “with”. I think that smart shop owners and their customers will be better served if they figure out how to live with both.

I hope Birmingham continues to gain book-friendly voices in 2012.

Vestavia Hills Library Used-Book Store

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Bookstores, library      2 comments

Feb
18

Here is a quick photo tour of the Vestavia Hills Friends of the Library used-book store. The Vestavia Hills Library has a new building and with it comes a new bookstore space. While this shop is about a third of the size of the original used-book store, the quality of books found is always high and the volunteers manning the desk are always up for a friendly chat.

One of the main reasons I really like this store is that it has a very high concentration of donated hardcovers. And they are all still $3! That means no library stickers to peel off, stamps, etc. I once found a signed first-edition (with verification crd from the Alabama Booksmith) of Brooks’ The People of the Book and all I had to fork over was $3. That’s the kind of thing that makes digging through bookstores so much fun.

Once you enter the library, the bookstore will be to your left. It’s worth stopping in to see if any other signed gems have slipped through the cracks and made it to the shelves. Their hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. They are closed Saturday and open on Sundays 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Used-Book Sale Downtown Birmingham

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Bookstores, Events, library      No comments

Feb
2

The book sale ends February 4th. So you have a few more days to get to the downtown branch of the Birmingham Library and scope out the books. The deal is you pay $6 and get an official library re-usable tote to stuff with as many books as you can. The only catch is that your selection is restricted to the “overstock” carts outside of the bookstore. So the books inside the shop (still priced only 50 cents to $2) are off limits.

You can expect lots of Clancy, King and Wouk out on the carts, but there are lots of other things too. Two carts are crammed with newer kids’ books.

Just inside the Friends of the Library shop is the new merch room with lots of branded shirts, mugs cups and bags. It’s worth checking out as well.

One Dollar books at Little Professor

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Book Talk, Bookstores      No comments

Jan
9

Little Professor in Homewood have set up a space for $1 books. I stopped in to see what was there so I could share. Most of the books are in used condition and from big name authors (Kind, Patterson, Steele, etc.). They are stocked on shelves below the table top. There are some ‘new’ books too though.

It’s certainly worth stopping by to see what they have. But then they always have used-books upstairs that are worth keeping up with as they rotate stock pretty regularly and there are always new finds to scan through. I’m not sure how long they plan on leaving the $1 offerings there, so you should check it out soon. It’s right in front of you, behind the first round table, as you walk in the main door.

Another Good Idea for Indie Bookstores

Posted by trav in Bookstore Ideas, Bookstores      No comments

Dec
30

I don’t think you can have a conversation about bookstores, in Birmingham, Alabama, without Jim Reed Books being mentioned within the first two minutes of the discussion. Reed has done many things “right” and the shop is a favorite destination for many bibliophiles around the Southeast. As a unique a place as his store is, it’s his newsletter (sign-up at the bottom of his site’s page) that bookstores could learn something from.

Reed is a creative writer and inspiring free-thinker and each edition of the email newsletter is peppered with his prose, but my favorite part is always the “What We Sold Last Week“. It’s like scanning someone’s bookshelf right from my InBox.

Of course, you never know who bought these books or even where the lucky book owner lives. But I have tripped over so many interesting titles and authors while skimming the newsletter that I never even would have even known to look for. His last email had 225+ items listed. Some are records. Some are gizmos. Most are books. Amazing. I am certain that 99% of them I have never heard of.

I’m not saying that your shop would have to be as consistant as Reed (though it helps) and you certainly wouldn’t have to publish lists as exhaustive as his, but it is fun for your customers (and potential customers) to see what others in their community are buying, outside of the “Best Sellers” and “Book Sellers Recommends” lists. Who knows what unknown titles (and sales) would surface.

Birmingham-Area Bookstores

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Bookstores      No comments

Oct
3

About 3 years ago, I started posting photo-tours of local independent bookstores. I keep the rundown on a Bookstores page here. Sadly, many stores have come and gone. But new ones keep getting added. We have a great indie bookstore scene. A few of the posts could probably use some sprucing, new photos, etc. but the information is accurate.

Today, I started adding photo tours of some of the used-bookstores in the Birmingham-area. We have some really great “Friends of the Library” stores where you can find some really good deals. Not everything has been culled from the library stacks either. Many have been donated. So you stand a good chance of finding a $2 hardback, in great condition, without stamps, card envelopes, etc.

I just added my recent BPL Used-Bookstore tour to the lineup, so you can check it out. And do sign-up for their emails. As promised they have come regularly with information about what’s new and even early-notice on special pricing deals. Plus, whatever you buy at these stores usually goes back into supporting your local library.