Auld Lang Sign of the Times

by Jas Faulkner The last meeting of the Central Avenue Readers Group did not happen in the usual place. There was no collection of chairs gathered from throughout the store and placed in a circle near the big front window of Central Avenue Books. There was no dimming of the lights throughout the stacks, a … Read more

Beyond the Book Club

I have a confession to make – I never participated in a book club before becoming a bookseller. I wasn’t opposed to them but I didn’t see the point of being part of an organized group created with the sole purpose of discussing books.  Book discussions should just happen organically, shouldn’t they? I also felt … Read more

Working with Book Clubs

bookgroup

Book clubs are a great constant source of clientele for a bookstore.  I chatted with Julie Robinson of Literary Affairs about  hints for how bookstores can better serve book club members and tap into that book loving audience.  Julie is a professional book group facilitator who runs dozens of monthly book groups, in addition to hosting luncheons with literature professors and literary themed trips around the world.  For many of her events, she works with Book Soup of Los Angeles – Julie provides the event and Book Soup provides the books, a perfect match.

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