Books as we have known them since Gutenberg printed the first bible; paper, glue, boards, cover artwork, all the physical attributes will soon disappear the way the dodo did. The latest news of the Borders bookstore chain losing their fight to stay alive, hammers one more nail in the coffin filled to the brim with hardcovers, … Read more
Have you ever had a particularly crappy day and needed something to read that would be familiar, give a cozy feeling, a sense of comfort to you? If sick, in bed or the hospital, are the books you crave of a nature to cheer you up? These are called ‘comfort’ reads. Where the phrase comes … Read more
Liking your customers. OK, if not entirely in love, then at least tolerating their reading habits and purchases, and doing it while seeming to like the customers. Why is this simple thing so essential, and for some, so hard to accomplish? It’s essential for economic reasons. You buy books for the store. You need to … Read more
I asked myself, what does that mean? The best books of all time? Best fiction? Best nonfiction? Both? From what time frame–the beginning of time–do cave drawings count? Books–are plays included, how about poems, religious tomes, children’s books, what languages, the questions were endless, with no definitive answer. The lists I saw ranged from strict … Read more
Deja View A new section on the blog–Reviews of old titles, many from the Golden Age Of Crime Fiction.To find a copy of this or any other of the Deja View books–your local used bookstore is a great place to start. (The Murder In Retrospect is the icon for this group of posts) Murder Gives a Lovely … Read more
Sisters In Crime: “Our Mission: To promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry.” The group and crime fiction author Dana Stabenow have issued the cry–Buy Indie, Pass it On. They ask their members to buy just one book on one day, from an independent bookstore in their neighborhood. The … Read more
Recently, the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s Association, or IMBA, announced the nominees for their annual award. The Dilys is named after Dilys Winn, the founder of the first crime fiction bookstore in the US–Murder Ink. There are zillions of awards out there but what makes this particularly interesting to booksellers is the award is given to … Read more
Hello! I’m pleased your founder, Bruce Hollingdrake, asked me to join him and The Bookshop Blog and to host such a fine source for those who love and or collect books, own a bookstore, or want to open one. Although I’ve not owned a shop, I have worked in independent bookstores supporting so-called other professions … Read more
