Cat haters need not read this post.

Seriously. The weather outside is so GROSS that all I want to do is go home, get into bed with a cup of tea and a glass of whiskey, pile the cats around me and read. Above is the scene on my bed when I left the house yesterday. Very cozy and my inspiration for this non-book related post. My office has no windows, which on days like this spares me from looking too forlornly at the torrents of rain coming down. But when I head out onto the sales floor, I can see that while it may actually be two in the afternoon, outside it looks like it is seven in the evening. Sigh.

Just a few articles of interest.

I actually meant to post one of these links last week. Here, you can read an article from the Boston Review that talks about what happens when a commodity (like books) become available through only one source (like Amazon). It is a very long article, but thoughtfully written and contains many valid points. The comments are almost as interesting as the article!

And then here, is a piece from today's New York Times about Google entering the ebook market. This is actually a good thing. When we start selling ebooks online (look for a complete website overhaul in mid-2011), we will be partnering with Google to do so. We are excited about these possibilities and look forward to being able to provide you, our loyal customers, with an independent ebook purchasing option!

Cool stuff!

Look at these cool new shirts we just got in! Beth is modeling The Catcher in the Rye for you. These tees have covers of great books printed on them. Out of Print Clothing makes these and we are proud to carry them in the store. Come down and see our selection!


Other neat gift items - small sachets and zipper pouches from Moontea Artwork. These lovelies are crafted in Grand Ronde, OR - so just down the road!

We also have some new votive holders. These tall mercury glass bottles from ROOST are not only beautiful, but functional as well since they double as a hanging candle holder. The shorter colored glass votive holders would look lovely on any holiday table!

Come down and see what else we have!

The holidays are here!

With my favorite holiday out of the way, (who doesn't like to cook and eat all day with family and friends!) I can now concentrate on important stuff like: do we have enough mustache mugs in the store? What is a mustache mug you ask? Why it is a mug that depicts the hirsute upper lip of famous people. It is actually cooler than it sounds, and if my camera were working I would share a photo of it!

Questions about facebook. We are always wondering how many people get their news about the store from facebook. We seem to have about 390 friends (we'd always like more, nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Sometimes, people in the store make comments to us about our facebook postings, so I know that someone is reading it! What are your thoughts?

I shall endeavor to post some photos later this week...

-Sylla

Literary Tattoos

This is not a post about encouraging tattoos (although anyone who knows me knows that I have no problem with them). It is just a reminder that some body art can be beautiful, especially when it combines ink with passion. In this story here on the Huffington Post, there is a lovely display of these tattoos, and a telling comment. "There are many personal anecdotes shared in "The Word Made Flesh," but not a single tattoo's origin story mentions words first read on a Kindle, iPhone or Nook -- at least none we've seen yet." writes the authors. I think that these tattoos are another way to promote the written word.
-Sylla

Banned Books

Read a banned book this week! Seems strange to celebrate something like Banned Books Week (September 25th - October 2nd). I like to think of it more as a reminder that there are still places in America where books like Harry Potter and The Lorax are banned. At Third Street Books, as long as we can get the book, we will order it for you. No censorship here! If you are interested in more information about Banned Books Week, I recommend you visit this website here. It belongs to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, a truly noble cause.

-Sylla

Question - will the value of collectible books increase with the advent of e-books?

Don't know. My husband and I were pondering this the other day. It seems possible. As fewer hardback books are being printed and sold, and their availability becomes less accessible to people, their value should increase. I am thinking about this from the perspective of a collector. There are some authors and titles that I like to own in hardcover. Partially because of a love that I have for the book, and partially because of the investment in a "first edition". It is true that not all first editions have or gain value over time, but that is part of the fun.

So back to my thoughts. Say Jonathan Franzen's next book isn't published for ten years. At that point, publishers only do an initial print run of say, 5000 hardcovers for the most popular authors. Do those 5000 automatically become collectible? Does the price of a new hardcover increase so much that the cost of a paper edition is so significantly higher than an electronic edition only hardcore fans can afford it?

People always ask me how the store is doing with e-books lapping up a bit more of our sales every year. The store is doing fine. We just expanded so that we can stock more sale books and gift items. We are always evolving to keep ahead of the curve (at least we try). It is not a business anyone gets into for the money. I believe that there will always be a place for brick and mortar stores, just as I believe there will always be a place for technological advancements. E-books are not going away. In some fields, (especially academia), I can appreciate how electronic books mobilize information in a way that increases its accessibility. However, for most casual readers, traditional books are sufficient. The browser's experience in a store influences their purchases, and our job is to make that experience positive and educational. Stores that are able to do this well will thrive. Especially smaller, independent stores that have staff who are experienced and life-long readers. Generally, the big box retailers are not hiring "booksellers", they are hiring bodies. If you can push some buttons on a keyboard and point to a sign in the store and tell the customer "Mysteries are over there", you are hired. Smaller stores often offer more training and almost always offer better customer service; their livelihood depends on it. But I digress.

Some books will never translate well to electronic media. Art monographs, children's picture books, some poetry (I wonder what an e.e.cummings poem looks like on an iPad?). I would be nervous cooking while using a Kindle (plus, you cannot notate the recipes!). So perhaps paper books, or at least hardcover books will become a more collectible item in the future. Maybe in ten years we will all wish we had held onto some "classics" in hardcover. Who knows.

-Sylla