This Saturday, here at Colette’s:
Good Food + Hungry Minds, we’re attempting to set
a Guinness World Record for ‘the most romances
sold in one business day by a brick and mortar
independent bookstore.’ And we don’t even sell
romances. This all came about when we purchased
another used bookstore which served as the seed
for our endeavor. My brother came back from one
of the packing trips and said that we had ‘more
than a cord’ (4′x4′x8′for those who don’t know).
Initially, we offered to sell them to two other
booksellers but they only wanted to give us
pennies a book (in trade). No thanks. My partner
was looking at the stack and said, “There must be
some kind of record here.” Voila, we contacted
Guinness, filled out the paperwork and received a
claim number and permission to proceed. (You
can’t even legally say you are attempting to set
a Guinness record without their written
permission.) The truth is, I just wanted
permission to say we were planning beat or set
the record for the PR value. Setting a record is
gravy. We attempt to maximize every event we do
here at the store. For ‘Hearts in A(c)Cord’
(yes, we know it’s cheesy), we’ve stacked the
books into a cord and a half. Great Visual.
They’ve been up for one week. Paperbacks are $1
each and HB are $2 each. We’ve added some first
edition hardbacks that worth $25-$35 on the net.

Here are the parts of the event:
1) There is a prize for the person who guesses
closest as to how many books are in the stack
without going over. Runs until opening on
sale day.
2) We’ve put out a Call to Artists to create a
piece of art in any medium that incorporates at
least one romance novel. These are due 3/31. They
will be juried and hung for the April Artwalk
(more PR) where the People’s Choice will be
awarded.
3)The three records we are attempting are…
the most romances sold in one day….the most
romances sold in one minute …and the most
romances sold to one man in one
transaction…(this is the one people are having
the most fun with.)
4) Half of all proceeds are being divided between
two local charities serving women/children in
abusive situations and the local food bank.
With two days to go we’ve got lots of media
attention,our charities are spreading the word
through their lists. Our vendors and our bank, as
well as the local chamber of commerce are helping
spread the word. We have to have ‘witnesses’ for
Guinness, so we chose from the media, the chamber
and the local police department.
We’ll let you know how we do after Saturday.

The Results are in! Guinness Record attempt for Bookselling update

Keep reading,

Jessica L. Lloyd-Rogers
co-owner/business manager
Colette’s: Good Food + Hungry Minds
3229 Broadway, Suites H & I
North Bend, OR 97459
541-751-1475
fax: 541-751-1475
www.goodfoodhungryminds.com