Written in the Stars

It’s the middle of December and there are some number of days until Christmas, which I refuse to count. Business is steady and picking up daily, and we’re busy filling orders for special holiday gifts. From time to time, there’s a lull in which to collect thoughts and take time to enjoy our customers and the wealth of books around us. [BOOK PLUG: This afternoon, I had a chance to pick up an advance copy of Lori Lansen's new novel (out in February), The Wife's Tale. I enjoyed her first novel, The Girls, and after reading the first couple of pages, I'm pretty sure this is the book that's going to save me from a reading dry spell.]

When we’ve remembered to do so, we’ve tried to capture some of the fun moments happening around the store. Here’s a peek at what’s been going on at The Galaxy Bookshop:

Perusing books with the help of a Bookseller Cat

The lovely and delightful Judith Jones

We had a fantastic crowd turn out for Judith's reading and book signing

Stardust bookseller Sam Z. got a chance to chat with Judith after having his book signed

Enjoying some of the year's best picture books.

Kitten-approved reading

For those curious about our Name the Kitties vote: Meet Cassiopeia Juniper Scout and Comet Jem! (And if you're choice didn't win, feel free to nickname them.)

I don’t know what it’s like to deal with overstock in other types of retail, but the business of returns in bookselling is, quite frankly, a huge pain. Figuring out which books get shipped where, pulling them from the shelves, and then packing them up can be a hassle. More painful is acknowledging that you bought too many copies of that presidential biography, that no one but you liked the picture book about ducks on a camping trip, and that you should have let your instincts overcome the sales rep’s enthusiasm when you hesitated over buying that very heavy $60 illustrated history of American quilts. In other words, it’s a time for owning up to your mistakes.

While looking over all of the inventory that hasn’t “turned” (sold and been re-ordered) within the past 6 months or more, you have to remind yourself to be ruthless–these books aren’t earning their keep, so it’s time to give ‘em the boot. So long,  celebrity memoir! Sayonara, Harry Potter wannabe! Nice knowing ya, Best American Essays of 2008–time to make room for a new year. It’s all going great…until you come across the book that stares up at you with sad puppy dog eyes. How is it that no one wanted to take home this picture book about a girl and her horse? Is it possible that not one person was interested in reading about the authors behind the Nancy Drew series? This is when I turn to Linda (or vice versa) and insist, “We can’t send that one back!” We’re so sure that there’s someone out there who will love this book that we won’t give up on it–not yet.

Some of these books have lived on our shelves for years–these are what we call our “pet books.” Season after season, they are saved from the returns box in hopes that just the right readers will discover them, take them home, and love them. The attachment may be irrational–we haven’t even read some of these books, but they still speak to us somehow–it’s a part of our book loving natures. Sometimes, emotion overrules business sense. Though our pet books aren’t “earning” a spot on the shelves, they become good friends. While the covers around them change with the seasons, these old reliables remain comfortingly familiar. When, at last, someone does take one of our pet books home, we gladly send it off into its new life where it will be read and cherished, satisfied in the knowledge that we were right about that book all along.

Today, as I went about my regular bookstore business, I was also keeping an eye out for my own shopping. In a few weeks, I’m going to be an aunt for the first time, and that means that I get to buy lots of picture books for my brand new niece!! It’s so exciting to think about all of the stories that are waiting for her to discover, and it’s something I’ve been looking forward to, every time I’ve helped a customer select baby gifts.  Of course, I’m happy to give recommendations to other people, but how will I choose books myself?!

Do I go for the classics? Do I steer clear of those, since she’s likely to end up with duplicates, and pick out some lesser known gems? Most importantly, how do I stop piling up the books? There are so many good ones, and it’s hard to stop at two, or five, or ten…

One that I have already set aside is Bear’s Day Out. This book by Michael Rosen just came out in board book format, and the  bouncy call and response rhyming tale is perfect for read aloud time.

I already gave my sister-in-law a copy of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. This is another new book that’s destined to be a classic. Mem Fox’s rhyming story about babies all over the world is perfectly illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, who created a lovely multi-cultural portrait of babies doing the things babies do, no matter where they are from. Oh, an additional endorsement came from my friend, whose 4 month old got excited every time she pulled out this particular book!

Dwell Studio (which is apparently a home furnishings company and not the likeliest of candidates for producing a good book) has, in fact, developed a nice little line of beginning board books. My favorite is LOOK, which is wordless and features a single image per page, simple, bright, and sharply contrasting with its background.

So, these are some of my favorite new books, but there are so very many classics–some of my favorites growing up–that my niece has to have. Where do I start? Which ones should wait for later? I can’t wait to pass along Pippi Longstocking and Anne of Green Gables (apparently, I had a weakness for red-headed orphans), but those might be better gifts when she’s old enough to read them herself. But what about Winnie the Pooh? What about Beatrix Potter and Richard Scarry? She might not be able to understand the stories yet, but she’ll grow into them.

One of my biggest challenges is finding the very best book of bedtime stories–I had a bunch of books full of stories and poems when I was a kid, and I think almost all of those are out of print. It’s time to find something new for this new baby girl to love and ask for, night after night.

[Early morning additions] Obviously, I missed many wonderful books, but I woke up this morning and realized there were a few I couldn’t leave off: Madeline, Ferdinand, The Poky Little Puppy and The Tawny Scrawny Lion (for that matter, just about any book in the Golden Books collection), Green Eggs and Ham, Corduroy, From Dusk Till Dawn, Strega Nona, Jamberry, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Tacky the Penguin, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, and The Belly Button Book are just a few of the books that I couldn’t let my niece grow up without.

Thank goodness I have years of being a book-giving aunt to look forward to!

What are your favorite books to give as baby gifts? What did I miss? What book should no baby’s library be without?

Possibly the most fun literary ghost story I’ve come across: AbeBooks lists the top 10 ghostwritten books. You might be surprised by the names of some of the ghostwriters!

There are now four “episodes” available in the Library of Congress’s Exquisite Corpse Adventure–part 1 by Jon Scieszka, part 2 by Katherine Paterson, part 3 by Kate DiCamillo, and part 4 by Susan Cooper. Check in every two weeks for more exciting installments!

If you’re like me and far behind on all sorts of reading, you may not have had a chance to read the New Yorker excerpt from Wild Things, Dave Eggers’ novelization of Where the Wild Things Are.

Not really literary, and also an older article, but it seems like a good time to pull out this story about a scientific study of the odds of humanity surviving a zombie attack. Remember–aim for the head.

DON’T FORGET: For a Spooktacular time tonight (Friday, October 30) – head to Stardust Books for their POE-try Slam. It begins at 7:00, the suggested donation is $1 (all donations go into a pot that will be awarded to the best poet of the evening by specially selected judges) and costumes are encouraged!

Poets: Bring one spooky or seasonal poem and one poem on a subject of your choice to perform for the audience.

We’ll start the Slam off with a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” It’s guaranteed to be a Fangtastic evening!

Happy Halloween!!

It’s hard to focus on much when it’s less than 24 hours before our 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, so enjoy these sleeping kitties until I’m able to write more! Stop by the store this weekend to check out our Read-a-Thoners; I’ll try to post stories and photos from the event next week. ~ Sandy

IT’S TIME FOR READ-A-THON 2009!

The Galaxy Bookshop’s Second Annual 24 Hour Read-a-Thon is set to kick off Friday, October 16 at 4 p.m. and run through Saturday, October 17 at 4 p.m. The Read-a-Thon is a fundraiser for Hardwick Head Start and Early Head Start and promotes the importance and the enjoyment of reading at all ages. Hardwick Head Start and Early Head Start provide education, nutrition, health, community, and social services to low-income children.

Read-a-Thon participants collect pledges–all of which will be donated to Head Start–and can spend up to 24 hours at The Galaxy Bookshop reading and enjoying a variety of activities. Last year, thirty-eight readers participated in the Read-a-Thon, raising just over $800 for Head Start and collectively reading over 10,000 pages and dozens of books! Head Start used the money raised by our readers to purchase furniture for a reading area and books for the program’s students.

Admittedly, Read-a-Thonning is tiring work, but lots of fun! You’re welcome to stay for the entire 24 hours (as Morgan, above, did last year) or come join us for a short time. We also invite you to stop in during the day on Saturday–the store will be open for normal hours–to cheer on our readers and make a donation to Head Start.

Written by Sandy

For a lot of people–and I’m one of them–books and cats fit together. That, and a good cup of tea. It’s not unusual to find a kitty curled up in some cozy spot in a bookstore; even a library might become a home for a cat. So, when Linda agreed to take in two kittens, there was some excitement at The Galaxy Bookshop about the possibility of adopting a bookstore cat. For a little while, at least, they’ve found a home in our bank vault, and they are the most adorable things you’d want to see.

The benefits are obvious (at least, to a cat lover): Cats are good company and, on a bad day, can be therapeutic; they attract other cat lovers; a cat would catch any stray rodents or flies that might find their way in; cats are good lap warmers (and it does get chilly in here during the winter.)

Of course, there are also draw-backs, the most obvious of which is that there are  plenty of people who are allergic to cats. We certainly don’t want to make those people uncomfortable about visiting the bookstore. We really don’t want to cause an unsuspecting customer to have a serious reaction, such as an asthma attack.

I have to admit, it’s a bit hard to be objective when the matter at hand is a kitten–they’re just SO CUTE! Just look at those tiny faces!

Despite the overwhelming cuteness, our goal is to provide a welcoming place for people to spend time browsing and buying books, and that gives a lot of weight to the “con” side of the debate. Still, I keep hoping to discover the secret to having a cat that won’t irritate allergic customers. How do other stores handle that? (Besides adopting a hairless cat, that is. I have a feeling those wouldn’t do well here during the winter.)

We had a number of responses to our polls about a bookstore cat, both at the store and on Facebook. If you’d like to weigh in, or have any suggestions as to how we might be able to have a cat and give all of our customers a happy bookstore experience, please share!