An Essential Component of a Bookshop

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

The Best Books Of All Time

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

Booksellers Owe Their Customers The Postman’s Rings

Ever wonder what the The Postman Always Rings Twice means? It has nothing to do with character or plot within the classic crime novel. James Cain worked out a system with his mailman. If he rang once, this means the envelope was thick, probably full of a contract and advance from a publisher. If the … Read more

DEJA VIEW– Murder Gives a Lovely Light

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

Fabtastic! Sisters In Crime Rally Members: Buy From Independent Bookstores!

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

Malice Domestic–Make Your Reservations: April 29 – May 1, 2011 at the Hyatt, Bethesda, MD

“Established in 1989, Malice Domestic® is an annual “fun fan” convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery—books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.” The annual soft boiled mystery convention is taking reservations for this year’s extravaganza. For those not familiar with Malice, it’s a fan and mystery author based gathering that … Read more

A Snippet of Book News–Nominee's for the Dilys Awards

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