I'm an AVID reader

We Are OPEN!!

2011-10-16T11:05:00.001-04:00

By now you've probably noticed that we're really, really bad at updating our Avid blog. But we're pros at updating Facebook and Twitter, and we are doing pretty well at actually running a brick & mortar bookshop.

That's right: after four years of planning and education and preparation and money-gathering, Avid Bookshop has opened at 493 Prince Ave. in in-town Athens. Please drop by!

This week we are open Sunday from 10:30-5:30 and again Tuesday &Wednesday from 10:30-5:30. We will be closed on Monday, Oct. 17 so that we can run lots and lots of errands to prepare for the grand opening weekend.

On Thursday we have our first-ever poetry reading--local poet Ida Stewart will be here to celebrate the release of her new book, Gloss.

On Friday, 10/21 we'll be open from 10:30 AM until late, because Friday the 21st is our Grand Opening Party Part I! And on Saturday the 22nd we're having the Grand Opening Part II, which is a kids' party. Come on down!

We're beyond thrilled to be here at last. Can't wait to see you.

Bookshop lease now firmly in hand (via the Bookshop Blog)

2011-08-23T20:43:00.000-04:00

I recently started contributing to a website called The Bookshop Blog. My first post there is entitled "Lease Now Firmly In Hand" and talks about the odd timing of the last few weeks--I delivered my signed store lease the same day the Borders news was all over the national radio and TV programming. Check it out here: http://bookshopblog.com/2011/07/26/the-bookshop-lease-now-firmly-in-hand/

Storytimes!

2011-07-31T19:57:00.000-04:00

Janet Geddis, Avid's owner, conducts monthly storytimes at Full Bloom Pregnancy & Young Parenting Center as well as at Arrow Space for Families.

Full Bloom Storytimes:
Every Wednesday at 4, Full Bloom hosts storytime. Avid Bookshop helps out the second Wednesday of each month. Come see us! This storytime is especially geared toward babies & their caregivers, but kids up to 7 will be entertained.

Full Bloom
220 N. Milledge Ave
Athens, GA 30601
http://fullbloomparent.com/

Arrow Storytimes:
The first Wednesday of each month at 11:00 AM, Janet visits Arrow Space for Families (adjacent to Big City Bread Cafe) to read stories with the little ones. The reading is especially geared toward infants & toddlers, but all kids and their caregivers are welcome.

Arrow
393 N. Finley St., Studio D
Athens, GA 30601
http://www.ourarrow.blogspot.com

Borders closing ALL its doors after 40 years.

2011-07-20T10:43:00.000-04:00

Well, it's really happening: Borders Books & Music is shuttering its 399 remaining stores, including the one here in Athens in Beechwood Shopping Center on Alps Rd.

The Athens Banner-Herald posted this article today, and of course I decided to formally respond. Here's what I wrote in the comments section. Let me know what you think:

Some may be surprised to hear that even though I am a local, independent bookseller, I am saddened by our community's loss. When Borders closes their 399 stores, approximately 10,700 booksellers will be jobless. This is heartbreaking for them and for the industry at large. Many of my friends and acquaintances here list our Alps Rd. Borders as one of their favorite places to hang out, and I feel sympathetic to them--it's hard to lose that "third place."

When Borders' woes were first made very public months ago, I wrote a piece for Beyond the Trestle about what it would mean if Borders were to go under--you can read it here if you're interested: http://beyondthetrestle.com/content/well-be-better-borders

To answer to a few of the commenters above: Athens will now be home to just two independent bookstores. Jackson Street Books downtown sells used books, DVDs, and more. They have a great collection of competitively priced used materials and antiquarian books. Avid Bookshop, my store, is currently online and events-based only, but we are moving into a retail storefront on Prince Avenue in the coming months. We sell both new and used books as well as cards, gifts, and locally-made gift items.

There's a lot of talk out there about the demise of books and reading, but the amount of hours people spend reading has actually remained relatively constant over the last many decades. When the big box stores began to open all over the country in the early- to mid-1990s, many independent shops lost their customer base and went out of business. But, time and time again in recent years, we are seeing that the big box stores are having a hard time getting a handle on the rapidly-changing industry. Some--not all!--independent stores that are willing to alter their business plans and approaches to bookselling are actually thriving, and MANY independent bookstores have been opening in the last couple of years--the number of new indie stores rivals that of the number of new stores per year in the pre-big box days. This is great news for small business, local economies, and, most of all, people who love to read.

All this is to say that I am sad about the closing of Borders and the loss of jobs, but I don't think bookstores are dead. If you value reading, it behooves you to go to a store you know and love, where you trust the booksellers' recommendations and feel comfortable. For some people, that place will be Barnes & Noble. For others, that was Borders. And for many others (like me), I feel most at home in many of the locally-owned bookstores. Not all are fabulous, but the ones worth your time are.

Thanks for reading this long-winded comment!

Sincerely,

Janet Geddis

Avid Bookshop LLC

Athens, GA

Borders bankrupt; Athens location is safe (for now)

2011-02-16T19:55:00.002-05:00

A few weeks back I wrote a short piece over at Beyond the Trestle about why I didn't want the Borders chain to fail. For many moons now, Borders Group has been facing seemingly insurmountable troubles, and today they declared bankruptcy. They have an action plan, though, and hope by shuttering about one-third of their stores (the 200 that are reportedly causing them to lose MILLIONS of dollars) they can save the company at large as they restructure.

I'm not very hopeful that they'll be able to hold on much longer.

The Athens store is a busy, bustling one, though it's never easy from the outside to know if even the busiest-looking retail outlets are indeed profitable. For now, I'm grateful that the acquaintances and strangers at our local Borders have not lost their jobs, benefits, and insurance. That's right: the Athens location is NOT on the list of closing stores. Goodness knows Athens doesn't need any more unemployment.

What consumers must keep in mind is that the death of some bookstores does not at all predict the death of all. Borders' business model is COMPLETELY different from independent bookstores' business models. The buy local initiatives in our country are increasing rapidly, bringing more dollars to our locally-owned businesses (and therefore funneling more money into the local economy). The sheer number of books out there can be overwhelming; it's comforting and necessary to have a book expert at your local store who can help you find the book YOU want to read, not the book all the chains are pushing that week or the book that Amazon's mystical logarithm thinks you want. And you know nothing beats browsing the aisles of a funky, unique bookstore!

Today the American Booksellers Association, the trade association for independently-owned bookstores, released a statement that pretty much sums up how I feel about the situation. They also talk about the successes of most indie booksellers as well as the growing number of us out there. Please read it here.

Note: This piece also appears at Beyond the Trestle.

A reflection on the Unchained Tour...and some news!

2011-01-25T13:04:00.000-05:00

Writer Lila Allen had this to say about getting on board with the Unchained Tour this past October. I echo many of her sentiments. I didn't get to tour with the group, but I was able to play a major role in the planning of the tour (and of course helped coordinate the fabulous events in Athens on October 20th!).

Here is Lila's piece.

And here's a little teaser for you, too: the Unchained Tour might be rollin' back through in a few months. I know all those who attended round one will be back along with the hoards of people who weren't able to make it to the first show. I'm very much looking forward to this!

We Are Athens Discussion Group meets 3/9/11 @ Hendershot's

2011-01-18T08:04:00.000-05:00

Next book selection for March 9 We Are Athens discussion group: The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition by Michael H. Shuman

"Defenders of globalization, free markets, and free trade insist there's no alternative to mega-stores like Wal-Mart; Michael Shuman begs to differ. In The Small-Mart Revolution, Shuman makes a compelling case for his alternative business model, one in which communities reap the benefits of 'going local' in four key spending categories: goods, services, energy, and finance. He argues that despite the endless media coverage of multinational conglomerates, local businesses give more to charity, adapt more easily to rising labor and environmental standards, and produce more wealth for a community. They also spend more locally, thereby increasing community income and creating wealth and jobs. The Small-Mart Revolution presents a visionary yet practical roadmap for everyone concerned with mitigating the worst of globalization." -Goodreads.com

Search for it on our full-service website, where you can find virtually any book in print (as well as DVDs and music!).

Discussion Group Meeting Will Be Wed., March 9 @ 7PM
All are welcome to attend the We Are Athens discussion group Wednesday, March 9, 2011 from 7-8:30 PM. We will meet at Hendershot's Coffee & Bar, 1560 Oglethorpe Ave (at the Loop).
Reading the book is NOT required!
While we encourage you to at least be familiar with the concepts presented in this book, reading the book is not a prerequisite. Come ready to discuss the themes and ideas presented in Small-Mart Revolution (& listen to what others have to say). Our meetings are open to any attendees, a space for free speech and healthy exchange. Discussion is always lively. Please join us!
YES, YOU CAN BUY THIS BOOK CLUB TITLE (& MANY MORE) FROM AVID BOOKSHOP!
Visit http://www.avidbookshop.com for links to our new & used online stores.

We have lots of copies of Small-Mart Revolution at our webstore (http://avidbookshop.theretailerplace.com), and we'd be most appreciative if you bought from us or checked your book out of thelibrary.

My favorite novels by female writers - 2010

2011-01-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

A belated happy new year!

The Athens Banner-Herald asked me to create an article featuring my Top 10 Reads of 2010. I shared this link via Facebook and Beyond the Trestle already, but a few customers told me they hadn't seen it yet. I thought it best to cover all my bases by posting on the bookstore blog! Here's the link to the ABH article: http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/010211/liv_764268028.shtml

What books were your favorites of 2010?

Why I don't want Borders to close...

2011-01-14T08:27:00.002-05:00

Here's my latest post at Beyond the Trestle. It's a couple days late so sort of a rush-write, but I trust it will make sense.

http://www.beyondthetrestle.com/content/well-be-better-borders

The question you might have on your mind: why is there no storefront yet?

2011-01-11T16:43:00.000-05:00

(File this under FAQs you've yet to utter.)

If you keep your ear to the ground in Athens and/or in the bookselling world, you know that I've been working towards opening Avid Bookshop for years now. Perhaps I'm a touch paranoid, but I think it's not too crazy to assume that some of you are thinking, "WHY IN THE WORLD ISN'T THIS BOOKSTORE OPEN YET?"

Here, in a nutshell, are a few reasons why we have yet to move into a retail space:

1. Adieu, business partner. After working together for months, my business partner (and close friend) reevaluated things and decided that starting the bookstore business was not the best move for her just yet. I spent a couple months figuring out a, if I wanted to open the store on my own, b, if I COULD open it on my own, and c, how her absence would change the bookstore plans (it changed a lot).

2. The economic crisis/slump/catastrophe/nightmare/problem-period. This affected my own income (which I'm using to float myself during the first few years of business), my spending habits, and more. On a less personal level, the crisis caused banks to completely rework their lending requirements, resulting in my being totally prepared for loans that no longer existed. More on that at the end of this post.

3. Personal stuff. I could go into more detail here, but suffice it to say that we were dealing with a lot at home in 2010. Things are going well now and everyone is healthy, but for awhile there I had to totally hold off on finding a storefront because of a need to put my family first.

4. The introduction of new, friendly competition. When a new bookstore moved to Athens in October, I was forced to look at my business plan in a different way, wanting to make sure that my plans & services complemented the city's other bookstores--I want each of our shops to be different enough that you want to spend time in all three indie stores. Non-chain bookstores are as unique as their owners, after all. As someone who rearranges the furniture at least once a month, shifting my plans was a fun experiment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results.

5. The limited suitable retail space in my target neighborhood. After a veritable drought, there may finally be some options along the Prince Avenue corridor, and I'm looking forward to opening up shop in a space that's accessible to all you Avid readers in Boulevard/Normaltown and the surrounding neighborhoods. I don't want to jinx anything by saying much more. As many retail store owners have told me time and time again, location is of the utmost importance, and waiting for the perfect (or near-perfect) spot is far better than opening in a place that won't suit my business.

6. I haven't exactly been twiddling my thumbs. Because I am addicted to biting off more than I can chew, and because I'm a sucker for anything related to Athens, books, community building, neighborhoods, and more, I've been keeping myself very busy with other projects as I wait for the perfect time to open the Avid Bookshop storefront. I've been running a successful bookstore business online (http://www.avidbookshop.com), organizing events (including my favorite one from October 2010!), hosting book clubs, and more. I'm also on the board for We Are Athens (Buy Local), the Athens Regional Library, the Boulevard Neighborhood Association, and my condominium association. I have a few non-bookstore jobs, too: I'm a regular contributor (writing about books and reading) to local publications Beyond the Trestle, the Athens Banner-Herald, and Athens Magazine. I also have two other part-time jobs editing & writing, so those keep me occupied in the hours I'm not working on bookstore duties.

Hope that answers your burning questions!

In the meantime, I'm so grateful to those of you who've been shopping with me online (or at special sales, events, and markets). I'm always here to give you book recommendations (it's my job, after all).

Please know I'm working hard to make sure that I bring to Athens a neighborhood, community-focused bookstore that suits YOUR needs. Your patience and support mean so much to me as I continue on this journey.

-Janet Geddis
1/11/11

****
And, as promised above, here are some boring details about the economics of this, just in case you want to read my ramblings:

Turns out 2008 was one of the worst and best years to decide to launch a brand-new business.

The Good News about these last few years, economically speaking:
For many of us, the economic crisis led us to reevaluate our spending habits, our homes, and our communities. The buy local movement is growing rapidly (locally, the We Are Athens initiative, an organization I am on the founding board of, is ramping up for a big year!), and people are spending their precious disposable income more carefully. As megacorporations and big-box stores continually under-serve shoppers, well-run, independent businesses are taking the reins.

The Bad News about these last few years, economically speaking:
Starting a business from scratch in the best of economic times is hard enough; small business loans are hard to get, but banks have historically been willing to take a chance on young entrepreneurs. This changed over the last couple of years, however. As you're well aware, many banks have failed. Those that remain have more stringent lending policies, especially as many of the loans they've granted are going unpaid by struggling or unprepared business owners or homeowners. As much as they want to help out local entrepreneurs, local banks cannot usually take the risk. Which means those "surefire" loans I'd planned to get a few years ago all but dried up. No need to cry, though--I'm an inventive entrepreneur with a strong support system and a willingness to quickly accommodate to changes in the book industry and our town.

personalized book club services

2011-01-10T13:13:00.000-05:00

The new year is here, and with it myriad resolutions about taking better care of ourselves, taking time out for friends, and—for many—vows to read more books. January is a popular month for starting book clubs, and I (Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop founder) am here to help.

Lots of people want to start brand new book clubs; others want to revive their groups and find more interesting reads that will encourage better attendance. I work with local book clubs to help moderators find a good selection for their particular clubs.

For no fee, I will talk with you (in person, via telephone, or via email) to discuss your book club’s tastes, goals, interests, and meeting schedule. At minimum, I can provide you with a list of books catered to your group so that you can choose book club reads for 2011. On the other end of the spectrum, I can meet with club founders in person, find other members to join, generate discussion questions, help you find meeting space, and more.

If you’d like to learn more about Avid Bookshop, including personalized book club guidance, please contact me at avid.athens@gmail.com.

Avid is a locally-owned bookstore business with a strong community focus. You can find virtually any book in print at http://www.avidbookshop.com.

SHOP ONLINE! Used books, new books, CDs, and movies!

2010-12-13T14:23:00.000-05:00

Hey all:

Looking for information on Avid Bookshop? Visit our website: http://www.avidbookshop.com

We sell new and used books; links available at our home page.

Remember that when you buy from our new book webstore through Dec. 31, you get FREE SHIPPING on orders of $30 or more when you use the code FREEAVIDSHIP at checkout. (Plus all hardcovers are 10% off.)

You may have noticed we don't post here very often--that's 'cause we write weekly about books, reading, and community at Athens publication Beyond the Trestle (search for entries by Janet Geddis). We also update our Facebook & Twitter pages pretty frequently.

Email Avid owner Janet Geddis if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you!

It's not too late to get your Unchained Tour books!

2010-11-11T22:20:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you're pretty bummed that the Unchained Tour of Georgia is over (for now, at least!). Why not curl up with one of the storytellers' books and relive the magic, humor, and poignancy of that Moth-style storytelling tour?

There's been a lot of good press about this phenomenal tour, but author (and Moth podcast host) Dan Kennedy probably summed it up most beautifully here.

We ordered a lot of books to sell at the October 20th Athens event, but there are limited copies of some titles left. Before we return these books to the publisher, we want to give you a chance to buy them from Avid Bookshop, Athens's independent, neighborhood bookstore.

1. Baby of the Family by Tina McElroy Ansa: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648683.html
2. You Know Better by Tina McElroy Ansa: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648687.html
3. Loser Goes First by Dan Kennedy: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648686.html
4. The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648685.html
5. Ravens by George Dawes Green: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648688.html
6. The Border Will Be Soon by Chad Faries: http://www.biblio.com/books/367648684.html

If you're reading this after our quantities have sold out, worry not! You can search for all these titles (and more) at our new books website: http://avidbookshop.theretailerplace.com

Thanks!

I'm still blogging, I promise!

2010-08-13T11:03:00.000-04:00

Hello there, avid Avid supporters. At least 30 times in the last couple of months, I've thought, "Eek! I have to update the Avid Blogger.com account so people know I've not fallen off the face of the earth."

And then I promptly forget to update the blog.

Things are still progressing rather swimmingly, if I do say so myself. I have been updating the Facebook fan page and the store's Twitter account frequently, and I've been work-work-working on getting more startup capital, doing bookstore internships, having meetings with folks from Athens-area nonprofits, chatting with local bankers, and more.

I've also been blogging about literature and reading on an Athens website called Beyond the Trestle. So far people have left encouraging and thought-provoking comments. Check out my weekly entries here: http://beyondthetrestle.com/blogs/janet-geddis

Of course I'll update you with any and all major developments. For now, rest assured that things are still moving along and we're on track toward opening in a few months' time. As always, you can email me with any questions or comments.

Take care, and happy reading!

summer's sweltering heat is here...

2010-06-16T13:26:00.000-04:00

...and it's not even summer yet!

Ah, Georgia. I love you and your too-cozy, energy-zapping humidity, languid evenings on the porch, and early mornings walking as the sun burns the last of the cool air away.

Things have been busy as usual around here. That 2-week turnaround time it takes to get one's sales and use tax certificate isn't exactly...um...accurate. It's been 9 weeks for me, so I'm alternating between pestering the state of Georgia and trying to exercise patience.

I'm honored to be a regular contributor to the popular Athens website Beyond the Trestle. Today the site published my inaugural post; look for me on Wednesdays to talk about literature and reading. This week's entry is called "A Literary Love Affair." Please use the comments section to let me know what you think!

What I've been up to (or, Over the Moon Bookstore & Artisan Gallery opens soon in Crozet, VA)

2010-05-21T10:05:00.000-04:00

Last week I flew to D.C., where my friend Anne DeVault picked me up and drove me back to her hometown of Charlottesville. I'd met Anne and her sister Laura at Paz & Associates workshop retreat this past September ("How to Open a Bookstore: The Business Essentials"), and we'd really hit it off. Many emails and bookselling events later, here I was on their doorstep hoping to help them in any way they'd let me. Sure, I sound very kind and good here--but consider what they were giving me. The hands-on experience of preparing to open a bookstore is very different from reading about the same experience. This week was invaluable, and I'm very grateful that these friends took me into their homes and bookstore.

The proprietors of Over the Moon Bookstore & Artisan Gallery (opening next month in Crozet, Virginia) are these wonderfully smart, funny, clever women who are really going to do well. They've been kind enough to let me look at their business plan, their bookstore layout plans, and more--I've been impressed with how well they already know their target market and how many connections they're making to the book and art worlds of their region. On my end, I was pretty pleased to become more familiar with a bookstore point of sale (POS) system, the long spreadsheets of recommended opening store inventory, how many choices must be made before bookshelves and fixtures can be built, and more. Living the professional lives of these enterprising sisters for just a week was really enlightening (and lots and lots of fun).

On the Saturday I arrived, May 15th, Laura & Anne invited some folks over to their freshly-painted-but-bookshelfless space in Crozet, a beautiful and hilly town about twenty miles from Charlottesville. Over and over I heard people expressing their excitement about the store, their happiness that someone had the guts to do this, and their belief that this place is going to be a hit.

Congratulations to my friends! Can't wait to visit the store once its doors are open.

Avid earned another shot to win $50K!

2010-05-04T19:53:00.000-04:00

Hi, you wonderful people.

Thanks to you guys, Avid has another chance to win a $50,000 grant. We made it among the top 100 runners-up for April in Pepsi's Refresh Everything! competition, which means we've earned a place in the May competition! Now if we want to win, we'll have to push push push to get in the top ten and stay there. Please be as obnoxious with this as is comfortable for you. :) Send the Pepsi link to friends and family. Know someone famous who likes to read? Ask them to tweet about it, share it on their website, or create a Facebook post encouraging fans to vote. My tip is to sign in first, THEN vote. When the "vote" button disappears, you know your vote has been counted. (At the end of April I found out that lots of people *thought* they were voting, but it turned out that for most of the month their votes weren't being counted due to the site's confusing nature.)
www.refresheverything.com/AvidforAthens

Take care, and thank you!

-Janet G.

(Donate in any amount here: http://indiegogo.com/AvidBookshop)

Nuci's Space Community Read: focus on depression & suicide

2010-04-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended the book club meeting for the Nuci's Space Community Read. (Not familiar with Nuci's Space? You should be--it's an amazing, amazing place.) Held upstairs at the Globe (where we met for our We Are Athens book club last month!), the meeting was well-attended and lively.

Why did I resist book clubs for the first 28 years of my life? Along with some friends I began a book club a couple of years ago, and it's brought me such joy and fulfillment to discuss books with smart people. Since beginning that personal book club, I've taken part in several others (and even organized one). I feel hooked! By now you probably realize I'm quite the reader, and for years I thought that I wouldn't want to hash apart a book with others (especially strangers, and especially after having done so in school for four years). But having begun taking part in book clubs recently, I can't imagine what my old self was thinking!

I'm exposed to so many different points of view, so many interpretations that hadn't occurred to me. Each reader comes from a background totally separate from everyone else, and that means each reading is unique. When readers get together to share these perspectives, you can watch the faces of the group as they begin to understand the book and one another in unexpected ways.

The next Avid-hosted book club will meet Thursday, April 29th at 6 PM downtown (specific location TBD). We're reading The Better World Handbook. Hope you can join even if you don't get a chance to read the book.

SIBA Book Award finalists

2010-04-13T18:12:00.001-04:00

Today, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance announced the finalists in this year's SIBA Book Awards. I've read a handful of these and am pleased to see that some of ones I voted for (ahem...Eli the Good by Silas House!) made it to the final round.

Winners will be chosen by a jury of SIBA booksellers and announced at the fall trade show in September.

In Which We Humbly Ask You to Help Avid in less than 5 minutes!

2010-04-01T09:24:00.004-04:00

4 Quick Things to Help Avid

Through free clicks, small donations, and formal investments, you'll help us get this project moving forward!

I humbly ask you to take a few minutes to explore the following ways to support Avid:
1. Vote for us in the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project grant contest
...& then SPREAD THE WORD!

Time: 2 minutes/day throughout April; Cost: $0

Pepsi is giving grants to individuals, businesses, and nonprofits once a month--we're up for a $50,000 grant that would (obviously) help us immensely! Throughout April, you can vote once a day. If our Facebook fans voted once a day all month, we'd exceed 16,000 votes! There's strength in numbers, and every little bit counts.

Don't feel like signing up through the Pepsi site? No problem. You can log in through your Facebook page by using this application: http://apps.facebook.com/pepsirefresh/

2. Say something nice about Avid Bookshop on Intuit's "Love a Local Business Page"
...& then SPREAD THE WORD!

Time: 3 minutes; Cost: $0

Intuit is choosing 5 small businesses per month to receive grants; the grand-prize winner will win a $30,000 grant! The more folks who nominate Avid by saying a couple of nice things, the more chances we have to win a grant. For details, visit the Intuit site at http://lovealocalbusiness.intuit.com/fan?b_id=17114. (You can log in via Facebook by exploring the links in the bottom, right-hand corner of the Intuit page.)

3. Make a donation to us on IndieGoGo.com
...& then SPREAD THE WORD!

Time: 2 minutes; Cost: $1 - ? (any amount appreciated!)

IndieGoGo is a site where creators and entrepreneurs make project profiles explaining their vision, set a fundraising goal, and then raise money to help reach that goal. There is no minimum donation! Visit http://www.indiegogo.com/AvidBookshop and check out our amazing VIP perks. Thanks to numerous friends and Athens businesses who've contributed great prizes for our donors at every level!

4. Let me know if you're interested in making a formal investment rather than (or in addition to) a donation.

Time to email: 2 minutes; Cost: TBD

I'm working with a local bank to create a community lending program whereby individuals can lend money to Avid Bookshop with the bank's help. (Entrepreneurs from Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn did this and I'm hoping to emulate them.) If you're interested in learning more, send me an email.

As always, THANK YOU. It's not the most comfortable thing to ask for assistance and money, but, as my writer friend Laurel Snyder says, "Everyone here wants to see new indies succeed. We understand you gotta work it." Here's hoping you understand.

Have a lovely month of April--I hope that 30 days from now we'll be able to announce some very good news.

patience pays (we hope)

2010-03-30T12:04:00.001-04:00

Hello all! March has been a very busy month for me so far, bookstore- and life-wise. My lovely mother and sister came to town for a nice visit, I hosted the first-ever Avid-affiliated book club, I cancelled two lunches with two author friends due to busy-ness or sickness (blargh--sorry Laurel & Jessica!), and I reestablished myself as a self-proclaimed iMovie guru. It's true.

The month kicked off with an hour of utter frustration. In the two years I've been planning this business, I've encountered many a setback, and I know there'll be many more. So far I've proven to be resilient, so I'm not too daunted. But man--if you had seen me at 12:22 AM on March 1, 2010, you would have encountered an angry, teary-eyed, unable-to-sleep entrepreneur. Due to website issues, the Pepsi Refresh Project application grant I'd been working on for days simply disappeared the moment I logged into submit it for a grant. Boo.

But guess what? Pepsi has graciously fixed the situation, and I'm pretty happy with the solution: they apologized for the system having lost my application and said that if I'd be willing to start the process all over again, they'd submit my project on April 1 at midnight. (May I also say I was super-impressed with the customer service I received during my multiple troubleshooting calls? I don't drink much soda these days and of course am a born-and-bred Coca-Cola girl, but Pepsi's making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside of late. Heresy, I know!)

Yippee. I hesitate to celebrate too much over this small victory, but I'm pretty confident I'll start harrassing you for vote-clicks starting on April Fools Day. SERIOUSLY.

I've also created a fundraising page on IndieGoGo.com! I'll make the big push for that starting April 1st, too, but thought I'd plug it here first (which gives YOU the chance to be our official first donor!). Due to sheer inventiveness and kindness from Avid supporters, we have a bevy of awesome "VIP perks" at every donation level. Signed books, handcrafted stationery, free coffee for a year, original artwork, bookmarks, autographed CDs, and more, more, more are yours for the taking once you donate. I've looked at other IndieGoGo project pages and, while some VIP perks are certainly exciting, NOTHING beats the lineup Avid has for you. (There is no minimum donation, though, so even pitching in a buck would be great! Perks start at the $10 donation level.) Check out the page here: http://www.indiegogo.com/avidbookshop

Back to work now. Thanks as always for reading, and stay tuned for specific information on how to employ free mouse clicks, small donations, and even big investments to help Avid open its doors.

a diverse group at our first book club meeting!

2010-03-20T09:34:00.001-04:00

As you may suspect, Avid will eventually play host to a variety of book clubs (and will aim to have a space set aside for any area book clubs to meet, even if an Avid bookseller is not involved in the discussion). For now we're starting modestly, with just one book club I've talked a lot about on this blog.

The inaugural meeting of our Buy Local Book Club/We Are Athens Book Club/Insert-More-Clever-Name-Here-About-Localism-&-Sustainability-&-Community-Book-Club Here went really well. We met at the Globe, a longtime downtown Athens pub and restaurant and had a couple of hours of good discussion, meeting new friends, and even a little bit of networking.

Catrina Cook (J House Media) and I were there to informally and unofficially represent We Are Athens. The rest of the 13-person group was made up of people with a variety of backgrounds. We had a couple of folks who are new to Athens as well as 20+ year veterans; we had one out of towner who wanted to learn about the club and a handful of small business owners who want to see some changes in the Athens community landscape. We had one neighborhood-conscious fellow who's spearheading the new Barber Street Park Project--surely something the Project for Public Spaces would be excited about. The variety of attendees was refreshing and people gave me perspective on things I hadn't thought about before.

In the interest of brevity, I'll mention a few things here that we mentioned LOVING about Athens.
1. music
2. approachability/friendliness of citizens and local government
3. open-mindedness
4. dynamic, ever-changing nature of the city
5. all the green space
6. gardens (personal, community, and even large-scale ones)
7. our thriving downtown
8. the sense of hope & optimism among many citizens
9. people's willingness to change
10. architecture
11. vibrant arts scene
12. creative enclave that is Athens
13. tourism is always improving

And here are a handful of things we'd like to see for Athens. Ones with asterisks (*) are already in the works, as far as I know!
1. edible schoolyards*
2. music programming in schools (Athfest InSchool, for example)*
3. more family-oriented activities*
4. free public transportation
5. more frequent bus service/more extensive transit area
6. pedestrian-only areas of downtown
7. trolley/streetcar on Boulevard
8. require students to live on campus for at least a year
9. a UGA campus that is open to the downtown rather than closed off and separated
10. more bike-friendly routes & amenities*
11. We Are Athens (Buy Local Athens)*
12. a "playborhood"

Your turn: what would YOU add to this list?

We've selected our next book, and I hope to see you at the next meeting (date & time TBA) so we can discuss The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make a Big Difference.

Buy Local Book Club is tomorrow!

2010-03-17T10:19:00.000-04:00

(...and we need a more fitting name. We'll discuss this at our meeting tomorrow!)

BUY LOCAL BOOK CLUB MEETING

When: Thursday, March 18th from 6 PM - 9 PMish

Where: UPSTAIRS at The Globe(199 N. Lumpkin St., 30601 - downtown Athens, GA)

Why: To discuss Athens and ways to nurture it; to talk about localism, sustainability, "place-making," and community enrichment.

The Book: The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper

(As of 3/17, our local library branch has one copy in!)

Walljasper's book focuses heavily on the concept of place-making as envisioned by the Project for Public Spaces. If you haven't acquired a copy of the book, no worries--your comments and insights will still be quite valuable! For a crash course in place-making, check out PPS's website.

At the meeting, we'll select what our next book club choice will be--the next meeting will be in about three months, as the club aims to meet quarterly.

Thanks for your time, and I really hope to see you there tomorrow evening. Email me with any questions, and contact The Globe at (706) 353-4721 if you need specific directions.

website update

2010-03-05T09:55:00.000-05:00

Remember all that talk about my wanting to start a website months before the store opened? A site where you could buy lots and lots of in-print titles through me and have them shipped to you directly from the wholesaler? Well, I'm having second thoughts about when I'll establish the website.

I'm going to create this type of site no matter what, but now I'm rethinking the timeline--think it'll probably be best to launch the site 1-3 months before opening instead of 6+ months before opening.

I had a phone meeting with ABA IndieCommerce web guru Matt Supko this afternoon, and he gave me a lot of good, 100% solicited advice. I'll still use funds generated from the photo show to go toward the website--I'll just launch the website a little later than planned. (My reasons for this are myriad--if you want to know more details or want to argue with me about it, I welcome your thoughts.)

Will anyone out there raise a fuss or be mad at me for delaying the site launch? Bring it! Please let me know what you're thinking.

One of my alternative plans is to let you contact me with a list of books you want; I'd get them from a publisher or wholesaler & then send them to you--heck, I'll even hand-deliver if you're in Athens. The shipping time would be longer than if you were to buy them through another website (ahhemm...non-sales-tax-paying Amazon), but you'd be buying locally and getting some good books!

some ideas for spring - please share your feedback!

2010-03-03T08:18:00.001-05:00

I have a few ideas (and some official plans) for spring 2010. Now that it's snowed twice (!) in Athens in 2010, I'm definitely ready for warmer temperatures to hit!

1. Thursday, March 18th at 6PM at The Globe: Buy Local Book Club
I've written extensively about this already, but if you've missed details, check out our Facebook invitation and this blog post on We Are Athens (the Buy Local Athens initiative).

2. Saturday, April 17th all over the US (and in ATHENS, if you join me!): "E-Free Day"

I'll be at a wedding most of the day, so I am unable to organize any in-person, formal event on this day. But we have a Facebook event where you can pledge to be e-free on 4/17, no matter where you live. I hope the weather is beautiful so that it makes it easier for us technology addicts to take a complete break from everything electronic. That's right: no TV, no computer, no cell phones, no e-readers! Read more here.

3. A Saturday or Sunday, sometime in April or early May: SCRABBLE TOURNAMENT!
This event, another in the series of community-focused fundraisers for Avid, will be held at a locally-owned venue large enough to accommodate however many people sign up! To make the tournament more fun, we'll (perhaps) be looking for food and/or drink donations and a place that will host us out of the goodness of their hearts (fingers crossed). We also need folks to lend us their Scrabble game sets (complete with a board and all the tiles!) for the day. As I'm a word nerd, you probably won't be surprised to learn that there are 3 Scrabble sets in my house as we speak. Please contact me if you have venue ideas, a Scrabble game to lend, some swag to throw into the prize packages, or any other thoughts on the matter.

Most likely the tournament sign-up fee would be between $5 & $15. Top 3 or 5 winners would receive some good prizes!

4. Another book sale, date & place TBD. Several of you made it out to our holiday book sale in December 2009. I sold a lot that day, but as more and more folks have dropped off boxes of wonderful books, my shelves are filling up again and I've got to sell these before my house collapses under their weight! :) If you have any ideas regarding a book sale date, venue, etc., please email me.

Thanks, and let me hear from you!

-Janet G.

GA Historical Society could use your used books!

2010-03-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

(Thanks to Christa from primo Atlanta blog pecannelog for the heads-up. I've cut and pasted the Georgia Historical Society's email below.)

Georgia Historical Society Book Sale in Jeopardy!

The Georgia Historical Society needs your used books for its Annual Book Sale to be held April 23-24, 2010. Based on the current level of donations, this year's sale will be cancelled due to the low volume of books. Clean out your closets and clear away your clutter to support this annual fund-raising event!

This popular annual event raises greatly-needed funds for GHS's library and archives. Faced with more budget cuts from the State, the revenue from the Book Sale is needed more than ever. Proceeds from the sale are used to purchase new library materials and to care for the oldest collection of Georgia history in existence.

Donations, of all sizes, can include rare and non-rare: fiction, poetry, children's, and all non-fiction subjects including history, biography, current events, how-to, religion, business, self-help, cooking, gardening, etc.

Magazines/journals, obsolete audio/video, and games donations will not be accepted.

Donations to the Book Sale are tax deductible. For more information or to volunteer, contact GHS at 912-651-2128 or email us at library@georgiahistory.com.

The Georgia Historical Society, headquartered in Savannah with offices in Atlanta and Affiliate Chapters in 80 counties, is the oldest cultural institution in the state and one of the oldest historical organizations in the nation. It is the first and only statewide historical society in Georgia. For nearly 175 years, GHS has collected, preserved, and shared Georgia and American history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services. For more information visit: www.georgiahistory.com.

We Are Athens (Buy Local Athens) update (& more links than you'll know what to do with!)

2010-03-02T13:00:00.001-05:00

I've mentioned the Buy Local Athens initiative a couple of times on this blog (here and here, for example) but haven't given too much away yet, as we're hoping to stage a fun launch event where we'll spill all the beans. So many people (Athens residents, business owners, and more) are interested in being a part of the movement--it's quite inspiring, and we on the board are happy to be working for such a great cause. For now I'll encourage you to visit our Facebook page and become a fan there. Once our website is ready to launch, believe you me: you'll hear about it on this blog, on Facebook, in the local newspapers, and more!

Let me outline a few details about the project so far, just to let you get your bearings.

1. After toying with several ideas, we the board voted on the name We Are Athens. (Special thanks to Alicia Nickles of Flagpole Magazine, Satisfactory Printing, and others for that idea.)

2. We established a Facebook page not long ago and have already surpassed ONE THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED FANS. As I suggested above, the response has been phenomenal.

3. We're gathering funds so we can formally affiliate with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and become an independent business alliance.

4. Once we affiliate with AMIBA, we'll register our organization as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Once we're registered as a nonprofit with the state of Georgia and once we have formally announced the project, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals will be able to become members of We Are Athens.

5. And once we're off the ground, we'll be able to provide lots of services to the community. Later we'll make a formal announcement of the ways in which We Are Athens aims to help Athens, but you can expect to see a directory of locally-owned businesses, resources for buying locally, lists of benefits for buying locally, and some members-only perks (to name just a few things!).

Now let me introduce to you the Buy Local Athens/We Are Athens Board.

Officers:

Catrina Cook (J House Media), Chair
Angi Harben (Classic Center), Co-Chair
Janet Geddis (Avid Bookshop), Secretary
Fausto Sarmiento (Banco de la Oportunidad/First American Bank & Trust), Treasurer
Chris Blackmon (ATLAS Real Estate Advisors) and Sam Drennen (First American Bank & Trust), Planning Committee
Alicia Nickles (Flagpole), Marketing Chair
Candice Courcey (Urban Sanctuary Day Spa), Membership Chair

Whether or not you're in Athens, I encourage you to look around and discover (or rediscover) the true gems of your town: locally-owned, independent businesses that enhance your community.

If you're new to the "buy local" movement, look around at these resources that explain the ways your community can be enhanced through a focus on local businesses:

Good place to start: Why Buy Local?
"New Study Shows Power of "Buy Local" campaigns
IndieBound.org
Chris Wyrick's article in the ABH about why buying local makes sense
Buying Local is a Growing Trend (Bookselling This Week article)

Our Buy Local Book Club is getting some good attention. Please consider stopping by! The book we chose is really great, but if you can't get your hands on a copy before the meeting, that's okay--we'll be able to have a good conversation all the same. I hope you'll j oin us.

Have a lovely (snowy) day!

the grant that almost was...

2010-03-01T01:00:00.001-05:00

For quite awhile now, I've been gearing up to submit a grant application to Pepsi's Refresh Everything program. To make a long story short, Pepsi is giving away lots of monthly grants in various amounts (smallest grant is $5,000; biggest one is $250,000). I was pretty proud of the application I put together, complete with my second-ever iMovie.

12:01 AM EST today, March 1st, the voting opened. And I could not log in correctly. I kept getting a welcome screen for a 50-year-old named Stacey. (I'm not Stacey, and I'm not 50. I'm Janet, and I'm 30.) When they finally did recognize me as Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop, they had no application on file for me. Frustrating to say the least!

As of 12:22 AM, 1000 ideas had been submitted and the submission process was closed. Alas. Sorry, Avid wallet.

It's not much of a consolation to know that hundreds of others had similar difficulties. I applaud Pepsi's willingness to donate grant money to causes that will effect positive change in the world, but I do wish they'd anticipated the turnout a bit more and been able to handle the traffic.

Because you are an Avid blog reader, you get to watch the video that was part of my seemingly lost application! Lucky, lucky you.

I can't embed the video because it's wide-screen, so click here to view it.

Photo show & informal Avid fundraiser this Monday, Feb. 1st

2010-01-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

Throughout February, some of my photographs will be on display at the Flicker Theatre & Bar. This photo show opening night get-together will also serve as a casual fundraiser for Avid Bookshop, as all proceeds from photo sales will go directly to our online bookstore funds.

DONATIONS* will be gratefully accepted whether or not you choose to buy a photograph. I'm currently saving up some money so that I may open an online store that will allow customers worldwide to have access to over 1.1 million titles. It is my hope that money I make from this photo show will allow me to establish the full-service Avid website sooner than later. (We'll keep our already-established book inventory through Biblio.com as well.)

On Facebook? RSVP here!

Thank you, and please spread the word if you feel so inclined!

*Avid Bookshop is not a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit, so donations made to the bookstore cannot be used as tax write-offs. All donations will be given and gratefully accepted in good faith to support this community-focused center.

Inaugural Buy Local Athens book club book chosen!

2010-01-16T16:11:00.000-05:00

The results are in! For our first-ever Buy Local Athens book club, we'll be reading The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper. Athens-Clarke County Library 's website shows 10 copies available in Georgia, none checked out. (You can put any of these ten copies on hold and they'll be sent to our local branch within days!) If you'd like to own a copy of the book, use Indiebound.org to find an independent bookstore to buy it from. We'll meet in mid-March 2010--details on when and where exactly will be forthcoming.

Find at a Georgia LIBRARY
Buy a copy from an independent store using INDIEBOUND

We're on Facebook!

2010-01-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

Most of you already know this, but I'll say it here for good measure: Avid now has a Facebook fan page! Please consider becoming a fan, and if your business has a Facebook page, please spread the word so that I may check it out!

Buy Local Book Club

2010-01-07T11:36:00.001-05:00

As some of you already know, some of us Athenians are working together to create an Athens Buy Local initiative. Our Facebook page already has well over one thousand fans, which bodes very well for our city's future. There will be a formal launch of the program this year. As a new small business owner (and child of parents who've had a small business for over 30 years), it's both invigorating and heartwarming to see so much support for our independent-minded, eclectic community.

Recently I posted a link (on Facebook) to the American Booksellers Association's Indie Local First Reading List, a collection of books about "making and keeping local communities vibrant." I asked fans of Avid Bookshop and fans of Buy Local Athens if they'd be interested in participating in a book club focused on buying and sourcing locally. The response was immediate and strong, so here I am to share with you a few books for us to choose from. Vote below in the comments section or via email. (I'm sure there'll be some debate and discussion on the Buy Local Facebook page and the Avid Bookshop Facebook page as well. Worry not--I'll find a way to combine all this feedback in order to pick the book most people wanted to read.)

We'll plan to meet in mid-March to discuss the book together at some locally-owned, independent business (to be chosen later).

Here are three books to choose from. Click on the titles for more information, courtesy of Indiebound.org. Let me know which one you're most interested in! Voting deadline is Friday, January 15th.

1. The Better World Handbook (2007 edition) by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, and Brett Johnson
2. The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walljasper and Benjamin Fried
3. Deep Economy: The Wealth of Economies and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben

5 of my favorite reads of 2009

2009-12-30T23:13:00.000-05:00

I've read a little more than 60 books this year, and there wasn't a truly bad one in the bunch. (My adoration for Mary Tyler Moore prevents me from talking too negatively about her most recent autobiographical adventure, a book I really wanted to love.)

Despite having liked the vast majority of books I read in 2009, there are a handful that definitely stand out. Below, in no particular order, are some favorite 2009 reads. (Note: just because I read them in '09 doesn't necessarily mean they were published in '09.) Click on any title for a full synopsis of the book, courtesy of Indiebound.org.

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

I found this book profoundly moving and very well-written. Jordan does an excellent job of showing us how circumstances shape us (and how sometimes we turn into versions of ourselves we'd never, ever suspect). I highly recommend this to anyone 16+.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

At this year's Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance trade show, I went to a panel called "Got Us Shaking in Our Boots" to hear a handful of authors speak about their haunting fictional creations. As someone who reads very little mystery and horror, I thought it important to attend this session--I wanted to become more educated for my own benefit but also to better work with Avid customers who like this genre. To my pleasant surprise, I was blown away by Carrie Ryan's work. I recommend it for people 13+ who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and (dare I say it?) Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.

Oh!: A Mystery of "Mono No Aware" by Todd Shimoda

While at the Chin Music Press booth at Book Expo America this year, my partner in crime and I had the opportunity to meet the intelligent and amiable Todd Shimoda. Jim and he got along swimmingly, and before I knew it we both had autographed copies of Shimoda's book in our hands. And what a beautiful book it is! The people of Chin Music Press pride themselves on high-quality, appealing design. (Check out their site for more examples of their work.) The content is as compelling as the book's look. Shimoda's story is sparse in some places, rich with detail and emotion in others. I could say I recommend it to those interested in Japanese culture and those moved by the beauty of sadness. But if I were to say that, I'd sound more than a bit silly and maybe even pretty snobby--but I'd be telling the truth. This is a book I might never have read had I encountered it in any other way--but I'm so glad I met the author and decided to give it a chance. I just loved it.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
I picked this up for a friend while shopping at Bound to Be Read Books and ended up reading it myself first. (That's excusable, right? I mean, I don't dog-ear pages or crack the spines open more than two inches!) Months later, I had the pleasure of sitting in at Bound to Be Read's monthly book club meeting and had a fun time discussing this novel with other readers. It's very funny in parts, but there exists also a nearly overwhelming sadness to the plotline. There are hand-drawnsketches throughout the book, and these bring levity to some of the seriousness of the story. I recommend it for mature kids and adults (14+).

The Great Neighborhood Book by Jay Walliasper

I picked this up while browsing the shelves at Urban Think! Bookstore in Orlando, Florida earlier this month. As someone really interested in my own neighborhood's well-being (and as the secretary of Athens's new-ish Buy Local initiative), I thought that this book would make a useful purchase. To my surprise, I gobbled it up within a day, scribbling feverishly in the margins and underlining ideas that would work well in Athens. If you're wanting to learn ways to make your neighborhood feel more homey, to make your neighborhood safe, to make your neighborhood more of the place you dream of, this is the book for you. I've already recommended it to several like-minded friends in town--won't you give it a shot as well?

Many of you already shared your favorite 2009 reads on our Facebook page, but I know there are more of you out there! Feel free to use the comments section below to tell us what you loved best this year.

Lots of great gift ideas!

2009-12-22T17:03:00.001-05:00

If you live in Athens, I can deliver books to you up until mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve (this coming Thursday). Free home delivery just in time for Christmas? Yep. It's true.

Here are a few last-minute gift ideas. There's only one copy of each of the following books, so hurry and reserve your copy first!

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck (NEW & AUTOGRAPHED!)

Book description: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2009. First edition. Hardcover. New/new. Review"...one of Peck's best novels yet - and that's saying something." --Kirkus, starred review
"Irascible, independent, and unorthodox as ever, Grandma Dowdel makes a welcome return...she's entered that rare pantheon of unforgettably great characters." --Horn Book
"Peck has once again created a whole world in one small Illinois town, a place where the folksy wisdom and generosity of one gruff old woman can change lives." --School Library Journal

Signed copy of this brand new book from this legendary writer. $2 off list price!

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Book description: Broadway Books, 2002. Paperback. As New. 208 pp. Review"This is a sweet book of a man's love for his mentor. It has a stubborn honesty that nourishes the living."--Robert Bly, author of Iron John
"A deeply moving account of courage and wisdom, shared by an inveterate mentor looking into the multitextured face of his own death. There is much to be learned by sitting in on this final class."--Jon Kabat-Zinn, coauthor of Everyday Blessings and Wherever You Go, There You Are
"All of the saints and Buddhas have taught us that wisdom and compassion are one. Now along comes Morrie, who makes it perfectly plain. His living and dying show us the way."--Joanna Bull, Founder and Executive Director of Gilda's Club

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Book description: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2005. Paperback. As New. 218 pp. From Publishers Weekly: Featuring soap made from human fat, waiters at high-class restaurants who do unmentionable things to soup and an underground organization dedicated to inflicting a violent anarchy upon the land, Palahniuk's apocalyptic first novel is clearly not for the faint of heart. The unnamed (and extremely unreliable) narrator, who makes his living investigating accidents for a car company in order to assess their liability, is combating insomnia and a general sense of anomie by attending a steady series of support-group meetings for the grievously ill, at one of which (testicular cancer) he meets a young woman named Marla. She and the narrator get into a love triangle of sorts with Tyler Durden, a mysterious and gleefully destructive young man with whom the narrator starts a fight club, a secret society that offers young professionals the chance to beat one another to a bloody pulp. Mayhem ensues, beginning with the narrator's condo exploding and culminating with a terrorist attack on the world's tallest building. Writing in an ironic deadpan and including something to offend everyone, Palahniuk is a risky writer who takes chances galore, especially with a particularly bizarre plot twist he throws in late in the book. Caustic, outrageous, bleakly funny, violent and always unsettling, Palahniuk's utterly original creation will make even the most jaded reader sit up and take notice. Movie rights to Fox 2000. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This book is in never-read condition, featuring an arresting, attention-grabbing cover.

Rabbit is Rich by John Updike (one of my favorite books!)

Book description: Ballantine Books, 1996. Paperback. Near Fine. Winner of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.Ten years after Rabbit Redux, Harry Angstrom has come to enjoy prosperity as the Chief Sales Representative of Springer Motors. The rest of the world may be falling to pieces, but Harrry's doing all right. That is, until his son returns from the West, and the image of an old love pays a visit to his lot....

Our first public book sale!

2009-12-21T16:52:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday, Jim helped me pack up much of my Avid inventory. We got to the Flicker Theatre & Bar just in time to grab one of the last available selling spaces--the other merchants had definitely beat us there. Turns out it took longer than I'd expected to stow 200+ books, tables, and a bookshelf in a '96 Maxima. That being said, we got a prime spot alongside that trademark, two-toned wall and got to work.

Throughout the day, we met lots of new folks, encountered some people whose names we knew via the Internet but had never met in person, and of course chatted with many well-known friends and locals. I'm happy to report that the sale was a smashing success: even those who chose not to buy a book were thrilled to learn more about Athens's own community bookstore. We passed out promotional postcards, got people to sign up for our newsletter, and sold a lot of books!

Here are a handful of photographs from the Flicker Holiday Market. As usual, Blogger isn't cooperating with me as I try to add captions to the pictures, so I'll just tell you what's what here. The first couple of shots are of our display. Then you'll find photos of me with Jim (my #1 Avid sidekick/helper/coworker/beau) and one of my talented friend Lauren Gallaspy with her husband Andy. I'll close out the collection with a snapshot of Baby Kringle & Ma and one of a half-hidden Kate Mikulka with Don Chambers in the foreground. We were so busy talking to folks that we didn't get much of a chance to photograph the other vendors! From what I hear, everyone was pleased with his or her sales and we may have another market in the spring. Special thanks to Kate Mikulka (of Mikulka Polish Foods) and the Flicker.

our setup

without further ado...our official logo!

2009-12-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

A very talented and generous friend of mine, Brandi Price, is one of many reputable graphic designers interested in helping with logo and sign designs for Avid Bookshop. I cannot thank her enough for dedicating her time to the project and taking this on as a pro bono assignment. (And another very special thanks to Kristyn Lilley, who was also up for the task.)

I showed Brandi a photo of my favorite typewriter (purchased at my friend Courtnie's moving sale last year) and told her I'd like the color and style of the typewriter to be reflected in the logo. I explained my vision for the store's atmosphere: I want an organized, clean look that also feels homey and comfortable for every customer. A tall order for a store, let alone its accompanying logo. But Brandi took my words and ran with them.

During a video conference a couple of months back, she unveiled the two designs she'd created. After evaluating the designs myself and asking for several trusted friends' and colleagues' feedback, I decided on Brandi's first design. Brandi tweaked a couple of details and emailed me the final logo.

I LOVE IT. I hope you do, too. When you look at this logo, what sort of bookstore do you expect to encounter? What other businesses' logos do you strongly respond to, and why? I'd love to see what designs speak to you--and which ones do NOT.

Another book giveaway!

2009-12-11T23:14:00.000-05:00

Between now and December 17th, anyone who buys a book from our online storefront will receive a FREE advanced reading copy (ARC) I have in stock (and I have lots!). Once you make your online order, I'll email you and give you a list of free books to choose from.

Free book with any purchase + free shipping 'til 2010 = how can you lose?

Thanks for supporting Avid Bookshop.

Books & crafts & food & friends!

2009-12-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

On the Saturday before Christmas, don't join the crazy crowds at Walmart or at the mall. Instead, drop by a locally-owned, independent business that is hosting one of Athens's many annual holiday markets. The Flicker Holiday Market will be held December 19, 2009 from 11:00 AM - 5 PM. Never been to the Flicker Theatre & Bar? It's a lovely spot at 263 W. Washington Street in downtown Athens.

The items offered this year are especially varied. Jim Wilson & Don Chambers will have their famous pies for sale. Kate Mikulka will be offering up her well-reviewed Mikulka Polish Foods. There'll be bath and beauty products, Christmas ornaments, and more. For more details, please refer to the official event invitation. We're pretty lucky to live in a town where local folks can share their passions with us--let's take advantage of this opportunity to support the arts (and our tummies).

I'll be at the market selling however many books I can fit into my allotted space. I'll have new and used books and will be able to point you in the right direction if you're looking for gifts for yourself or for friends. For a sneak preview of what I'll be selling (or to order online before someone can buy up your favorite picks!), take a look at the website: http://tinyurl.com/AvidBookshop

Thanks, and happy holidays!

Bookstore visit: Bound to Be Read Books, East Atlanta Village

2009-11-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

Jef Blocker, manager of the store, poses in front of the blackboard that hangs behind the register.

Jessica Handler & Jef Blocker pose at Bound to Be Read Books;

Jessica is holding her book, Invisible Sisters.

Last week I spent a couple of days at Bound to Be Read Books in East Atlanta Village. My buddies Jef and Jeff were kind enough to let me get a behind-the-scenes look at their bookstore lives, and I had a blast.

Several people have asked me if what I'd do if I did a mini-internship at a bookstore and hated it. I was warned numerous times about everything possible. Oh, those window displays can be a pain! If you're busy, you'll be having conversations with people all day--ALL DAY! There are lots of mundane details! You have to alphabetize the books frequently! You've got to stay organized!

I find none of this daunting. Probably the scariest part of the day-to-day bookstore operations is the finance aspect, but luckily I already have an awesome accountant, a wonderful SBDC counselor, and several others on board to help me as I better learn the retail ropes. Here's a little secret about me, one my family and close friends already know: I LOVE ORGANIZING, and when I was a kid my neighbor and I would play "office" for hours in lieu of playing house. I love (and collect) office supplies, and I have been alphabetizing other people's (and other bookstores') bookshelves since early elementary school. Making window displays sounds like a dream job, and chatting all day about books sounds like heaven. So yeah: I'm ready for this, and I can't wait. There's not one aspect of the business that makes me feel like running for the door and never looking back.

Bound to Be Read Books is a neighborhood bookstore on Flat Shoals Avenue in Atlanta, right across from the Earl (a music club and bar/restaurant many Athens musicians know well). The founders opened the bookstore just over four years ago, aiming at first to sell only used books. As time went on, they added lots of new books to the mix, responding appropriately and professionally to their customers' wants. Now this store, complete with red accents, hand-painted library stools, and a newsletter-writing cat (who is also the Director of Public Relations), boasts an impressive collection of new, used, and collectible books.

East Atlanta Village is a hip little city unto itself. While having lunch at Holy Taco with two new author friends, Laurel Snyder and Marc Fitten, I ran into a UGA professor's daughter, a woman I met in Athens years ago who is now married to a guy I was in eighth grade band with. A few hours later, I set up shop at Joe's Coffee and ran into a guy named Joel, who used to own a delicious BBQ joint in Athens (where White Tiger Gourmet now makes its home). After my coffee and deep-dish apple pie fix (yum), I headed across the street to the bookstore to spend another day with Jef and Jeff. To my happiness, my Twitter friend (and acclaimed author) Jessica Handler was there to greet me. Running into so many familiar faces and names made me feel as if I was having just another day in Athens. It felt homey and comfortable.

It's hard to imagine my being even more excited about Avid than I was earlier this month, but it's true: visiting other bookstores invigorates me and calls me to action. Speaking of, there's work to be done...

GREAT NEWS: I'm heading to Winter Institute!

2009-11-23T17:51:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a generous scholarship, I'll be attending ABA's Winter Institute 5 in San Jose, California in early February 2010. The ABA Emerging Leaders Program paired with Ingram Book Company to present eight scholarships to various "emerging leaders" in the bookselling world.

Though there are lots of education opportunities for booksellers throughout the year (Book Expo America and regional trade shows, such as the one I attended in September, come to mind), Winter Institute is more focused on bookseller education and networking. I'm eager to meet many of the folks I've communicated with online and to reunite with some friends I've met over the past many months.

Rest assured I'll report back to you about Wi5, my impressions of San Jose, and more.

Thanks to the friends who've already congratulated me on this scholarship--I'm humbled and quite elated.

You can start buying books from us NOW!

2009-11-16T22:37:00.003-05:00

In an effort to raise some start-up capital and to make sure our future brick & mortar store customers can find some cool holiday gifts for friends and family, I decided to launch a Biblio.com account for Avid Bookshop. Biblio is a company dedicated to helping ONLY independent bookstores, which is a mission I certainly admire.

As more and more people donate books to our project, the collection of for-sale books grows and changes. Please check back weekly to find out what books we've added to our collection.

For a limited time, I am offering FREE SHIPPING TO ANYWHERE IN THE U.S.! This saves you approximately $3.50 if you buy one book. (If you live in Athens, you can also ask me for personal delivery, which some customers have found convenient and faster than USPS delivery.)

So, without further ado, I now reveal to you the way you can buy books and support Athens's independent bookstore, Avid Bookshop!

1. Visit Avid Bookshop HERE. This will allow you to view our current books in stock, as arranged by author last name. You can use the drop-down menu or the menu on the left-hand margin to rearrange or filter the list of books.

2. Shop 'til you drop and then check out! The free shipping is on me.

IF YOU ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE SOMETIMES-CONFUSING BIBLIO.COM LAYOUT, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Visit Avid Bookshop's online bookstore here.

2. The homepage will look like this (see below). To see Avid Bookshop's collection (which is ever-changing!), click the "search" button (see red arrow in picture below) without entering any search terms.

3. You can organize the bookstore's selections by author name, date added to the bookstore listings, title, and price by choosing from the drop down menu (see red arrow in screenshot below).

You can also filter the books by using the links on the left-hand side of the page (see blue arrow in screenshot below). This search function allows you to search for only new books, only first editions, books in a certain price range, etc.

After making your selections, check out by paying using Biblio.com's secure online payment system. As soon as your order is processed, Biblio sends me an email and lets me know which books you've requested. I'll pack them up and get them to you quickly, and soon you'll have more great books to read.

Thank you for your time, and I hope to see your name on my Biblio order email soon!

If you're interested in donating books, please contact me via email.

Happy 35th Anniversary, Charis Books!

2009-11-08T15:18:00.001-05:00

On Friday, November 6, drove to Atlanta for one of the many events organized to celebrate Charis Books' 35th anniversary. Charis is an independent feminist bookstore that has an amazing reputation for building community, creating stimulating conversation, and stocking wonderful books. For this landmark anniversary, many well-known people came together as special guests to help celebrate.

It would have been pretty great to have been able to attend every event, but Friday was the only evening I had available. And what an evening it was! Entitled "Artists & Revolutionaries," Friday night's gathering at the Hillside International Truth Center in southwest Atlanta was quite phenomenal. The camaraderie, good will, and spirit was nearly tangible--it's quite empowering to be in a room of book-loving feminists, that I must say.

Though I would have been interested in the event without any musical guests, it sure did help that my longtime favorite duo Indigo Girls played a short set of songs in the middle of the program. I also learned more about the inimitable Pearl Cleage (who had some of the best stage presence of any writer I've ever heard read) and got to hear Alice Walker (Alice Walker!!) read just 20 feet from me.

Here are some photos from the event. I'm sorry they're not formatted with captions--Blogger and I aren't working together so well at the moment, so I'm not able to move the photos around or edit captions. From top to bottom, here's what you're seeing:

1. The Rev. Dr. Barbara King of Hillside International Truth Center welcomes everyone to her place and makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy inside (truly).
2. Owners of Charis Books, Sara & Angela, welcoming the enthusiastic crowd.
3. Founder Linda introduces Alice Walker.
4. Pearl Cleage entertains us and wakes us up a bit, throwing out a call to action.
5 & 6. Indigo Girls play a short set in this intimate environment (a true fan's dream come true!).
7. Alice Walker reads us many poems (and simply glows in person).

Were you there? What did you think of the evening?

Join the IndieBound movement & get a prize!

2009-11-04T12:07:00.001-05:00

You've heard me talk about IndieBound before. It's a way for independent businesses (notably bookstores) to network with one another. It's a way for traveling customers to easily search for indie stores wherever they may roam. But did you know it's also a great tool for communicating with other community members? Learn about friends' recommendations, events at your local bookstore(s), what the bestselling titles are at independent bookstores, and more, more, more.

Here's a bonus for those of you reading the blog. Join the IndieBound movement (it's cost- and spam-free!), befriend Avid Bookshop, and get a prize! Three of you will be randomly chosen to receive a free ARC (advanced reading copy) of a book I have in stock, and every person that enters will get a wee treat.

After you befriend Avid Bookshop on IndieBound, leave a quick comment here to let me know you've done so--then you'll be entered in the contest. And if you're on Facebook or Twitter and share this message, you get an extra entry!

So what are you waiting for? Since this blog doesn't have a huge readership (yet!), you have a very good chance of winning a free book--as if the wee treat and an IndieBound profile weren't enough!

Here's just a handful of Athens businesses that are already on IndieBound & need more fans.
1000Faces Coffee
Jackson Street Books
Bizarro-Wuxtry record store
The National restaurant
Athens Cine bar, cafe, & arthouse theatre
Schoolkids Records
Harry's Pig Shop restaurant
Vision Video (Homewood Hills location)
Kingpins Bowl & Brew

~~Winners will be picked on Sunday, November 8, so please don't hesitate!~~

The randomly chosen winners are as follows:
Margo (randomwalk), Lindsay (lindzsmile), & Lauren (laurengallaspy). A few of you participated without leaving a formal comment, but don't worry--I made sure to include everyone! Thanks so much.

it's oh so quiet... (or, a behind-the-scenes glimpse)

2009-11-03T22:06:00.005-05:00

Things have been quiet on the blog for the last week or so, I know--here's hoping you've not checked this page and worried about my slacking! Rest assured, my friends: I've been working like crazy on some cool developments.

Here are some things I've been up to:

1. I bought a CueCat. Now I'm able to scan the ISBNs off the used books I have for sale. As we speak, Biblio.com is deciding whether or not I'm worthy of an online "storefront." As soon as they give me the go ahead, I'll be able to send you a link to my 200 or so used books for sale. (I'm trying to generate some capital so I can get a website that will allow me to sell new books to you--books will go directly from the wholesaler's warehouse to your door!)

2. I've been meeting with folks who are interested in learning more about Avid Bookshop, including some who might eventually be formally involved with the store. Good news there!

3. My amazing designer friend Brandi created some logos for Avid! I've sent them out to a few folks and am getting wonderfully constructive feedback on them (and all the feedback is positive--Brandi's gifted, I tell you). Soon I'll get back to Brandi and she will create the final version of our sure-to-be-hip logo. (I promise you'll like it.)

4. Research, research, research.... I've been learning about other successful bookstores' inventive ideas; I've been working on version 542 of my business plan; I've been researching legal structures.

5. I've scheduled appointments to meet with business and accounting experts who will help me make some final decisions about Avid's business structure. I'll be filing for my formal business license with the Secretary of State as soon as next week! (Very exciting.)

6. Avid was mentioned in the Flagpole again (link forthcoming--as of this evening they haven't posted this week's news articles).

7. And of course there are tons of menial tasks I've been up to--adding to the soon-to-exist newsletter mailing list, trying to catch up on email, working with other booksellers, setting up an internship at another indie bookstore, and more, more, more.

8. Last but not least, I spent two days last weekend assuming different personalities.

So that's what's been going on behind the scenes here at Avid headquarters. Of course I've set aside time to read. Right now I'm reading the 1950s classic Betsy and the Great World & Betsy's Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace--delightful! Before that I finished Michael Greenberg's Hurry Down Sunshine, a memoir about his teenaged daughter's mental breakdown.

continuing the conversation about how we can make Athens better

2009-10-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I learned about Elaine Ely, a woman who recently returned to Athens after living far away for awhile. She and I exchanged a few emails about the downtown Athens scene as well as my take on what Avid Bookshop's role will be in town. Today, her first installment in a series called "Athens Impressions" was in Flagpole magazine.

Perhaps her most salient point, bookstore-wise, is that Athens lacks a cultural center. Sure, we have an arthouse cinema, music venues, a gigantic university, a nationally-recognized literary magazine (Georgia Review), and tons of artists and writers, but where do all these factors combine? And why the heck don't we have a new bookstore to help bring these people and cultural elements together? Ely gives a quick shout-out to Avid Bookshop (for which I'm grateful). Please read the article and let me know what you think. Do you agree with Elaine's view of Athens? What do you think we can do to bring people together in more meaningful ways?

Cheap books could lead to fewer books - the book price war

2009-10-20T15:39:00.000-04:00

If you keep up with big retail news stories (or even book industry news briefs), you probably have heard about the recent price-gauging fight among Wal-Mart, Amazon, Target, and now Sears. The New York Times had a feature on this battle today. In an attempt to control bestseller market share and bring more folks to their superstores (where, inevitably, more items will be purchased), these retailers are cutting down prices on books to the point where they're taking a hit.

Perhaps you read bestsellers exclusively and drool at the thought of a new hardback book that's less than half the cost it'd be if you bought it at a brick and mortar store (chain or indie)--but think again before you rush off to Wal-Mart with your $10 bill in hand. There's something afoot here, and it has nothing to do with the love of books, the love of reading, or the love of you--the customer.

The folks at WORD Brooklyn sent out a link to this piece about this week's price war and what it could mean for readers. This price-gauging should frighten you and make you think again about where you buy books and the effect of your shopping choices. Here's a quote from the above-mentioned New York Times article:

It’s a contest “that has no end in sight,” said Michael Norris, a consultant with Simba Information, which provides research and advice to publishers. Mr. Norris said the price war could be particularly damaging to the publishing industry and booksellers because the retailers who were currently slashing prices “don’t need to sell books in order to stay in business” and therefore can sell the books at a loss.

Please do take the time to read up on the issue, and feel free to leave any feedback here on the blog.

Thanks!

more behind the scenes info: getting finances organized with help from a new book

2009-10-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

It goes without saying I don't have enough cash in my account to open and fund Avid--I'll be applying for several loans, grants, and investments to add on to the savings I've already accumulated. But before I could even think about acquiring a loan, I needed to get a better handle on my personal budget.

That's where this book comes in: I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. I don't know that I should be recommending the book just yet, as I'm only done with a couple of chapters and have many pages to go. But hey--I can at least wholeheartedly recommend the first two chapters, right?

Let's get this out on the table right away: I am not someone who's fixated on money or even particularly amazing at managing finances. Yes, I pay off my credit card every month. Yes, I have a job with a salary. Yes, I am good at math. But no, I don't ever look more deeply to find out what my exact credit situation is and how this could affect my personal and professional projects.

Until today.

I read this book and immediately felt called to action. This is pretty special for me, as most books I read that are billed as self-help don't make me get up and move. (I especially like reading about yoga, exercise, and meditation while lying in bed doing none of those three things.) Something about Sethi's tone (which can be obnoxious but is, in general, encouraging and genuine) drives me to work. He said I'd feel empowered if I started working on my finances one little bit at a time instead of having the big bulk of them looming over my head forever in one scary thunderhead. So today I found out my credit score (good), composed a letter to the credit reporting agency asking that some erroneous information be fixed (which will help improve my score), paid off this month's credit card bill, set up some autopay bills (which helps keep your accounts active, something that's very important), and applied for another part-time job. KAPOW!

My true inspiration for all this movement is my goal of opening Avid Bookshop as soon as possible, first as an online store, then as a book fair operation, and finally as a brick and mortar storefront.

What have you done in recent months to jump-start your professional or personal life?

(Thanks to someone at Workman Publishing who was kind enough to send me a complimentary copy of this book the moment I mentioned on Twitter that I wanted to read it! Now THAT's service.)

Book Recommendation & Giveaway! ELI THE GOOD by Silas House

2009-10-11T13:05:00.001-04:00

What were you like as a child? I'd like to think I'm now pretty similar to the person I used to be, but of course I can't be sure--memories are constantly being recreated and there's no telling how many Whiny Baby Janet memories I've blocked out in favor of the ones wherein I'm being smart and charming.

As a kid, I spent hours of every day outside. My sister, neighbors, and I had every square foot of our wooded neighborhood memorized by heart. We knew all the secret passages, all the best climbing trees, all the best places to play in the creek without chancing a spill into the creek--because of course a stumble into the water would mean wet pants, a dead giveaway to our mothers that we were, once again, playing in the forbidden stream. (Sorry, Mom--but I'm sure you knew we played back there, right?)

It seems that many older (e.g., non-kids) folks have been complaining over the years about how The Kids These Days don't spend enough time outside. They're overbooked with piano lessons, baseball practice, church groups, and video games. Maybe that's true for lots of kids, but I happen to know several awesome children who still explore their yards and play pretend.

At the SIBA trade show a few weeks back, I attended an author luncheon. While I ate a lunch of boiled vegetables smothered in 2" of cheese, I listened to some formidable authors speak about their work and read excerpts of their writing. Though all four authors' books sounded intriguing, I could tell immediately that Silas House's Eli the Good would mean something special to me. House spoke of the ways in which he revered the environment around him as a child, of the ways in which he felt he communicated with the trees and nature in a way that most children do not these days. This was the kind of kid I was, scrambling up the magnolia tree in our front yard so I could stare at the patterns in the bark and maybe even read my latest Sweet Valley Twins installment. I thought nothing of spending hours on end outside, peeing in the woods when I needed to rather than having to go back indoors.

In Eli the Good, we meet a quiet, introspective boy (Eli) who's slowly waking up to the idea that the romanticized view he had of his life might not be entirely accurate. His best friend is the vivacious Edie, a girl who lives next door and who's tougher than any of the boys in the neighborhood (but who, of course, has some soft spots, too). Eli's marked with a fierce love for his family, even when he can't firmly grasp why his dad gets so violent and why his mom always sticks up for him, what his beloved Aunt Nell and protective older sister Josie are whispering about in the dark. As the story moves along, we watch Eli grow more mature, opening himself up to some of the profund sadness, beauty, and pleasure of the world. Like many gifted children, Eli seems hypersensitive to sensory experiences and emotional interactions with people, even when he's not quite able to verbalize what he's feeling. Silas House is adept at his characterizations, especially as he shows us Eli growing less sheltered but more mature by the day.

In the midst of Eli's love affair with trees and the outdoors, we have the oft violent presence of his Vietnam War veteran father, who is struggling with post traumatic stress disorder and can't quite figure out how to get help--or if he wants to get help at all. I learned a lot about the effects of war on family life by reading Eli the Good; in fact, the war itself is an ominous, forever-lurking character in the book, always waiting around the corner to pounce on an otherwise peaceful moment. Eli lives with the pressure of dealing with the war every day, never knowing when it will thunder down and disrupt the peace he's trying so hard to cultivate. I imagine that veterans and their kids might do well to read this book.

All that being said, Eli the Good is neither a scary book about an abused family nor an idyllic description of growing up a weird, woodsy kid. Eli's age and intelligence are clear to the reader; he's never imbued with an overly mature point of view (as many "kids" in young adult literature tend to be, thereby giving away the fact that the writer is, in fact, old and wise, looking back on his or her life).

Silas House speaks at SIBA trade show

I really encourage you to buy a copy of Eli the Good to read it for yourself. I also encourage you to try to win an advanced readers copy of the book that I have to give away, courtesy of Candlewick Press. To enter this contest, please use the comments field below to share what book reminds you of your childhood. Is it a book you read as a child? One you read as an adult that reminded you of your childhood, as Eli the Good did with me? If you feel uncomfortable leaving your full name in the comments field, please just make an anonymous comment and then email me to let me know which entry was yours.

Congratulations to Barbara, who's won a copy of the book! Barbara, please email me at avid[dot]athens[at]gmail[dot]com with your mailing address so I can get the book out to you.

more press for Avid + social media tools

2009-10-06T12:22:00.001-04:00

A few days ago, industry publication Shelf Awareness included an article on the SIBA (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) show and featured yours truly! My mom and I had attended a panel on social media and bookselling, and it turned out that this blog (yes, the one you're reading now) and accompanying Twitter account were shown as examples of how to get word out about your business.

Longtime bookseller and writer Robert Gray was kind enough to contact me after the panel to ask me more about how I use social media tools to communicate with friends, other booksellers, and prospective customers. If you have a couple of minutes, go ahead and read his October first article.

FREE TICKETS TO JUNIE B. JONES!

2009-10-06T01:02:00.000-04:00

That's right, folks. The Classic Center was kind enough to give me some tickets to this coming Thursday's Junie B. Jones event, and I have two up for grabs.

To win, follow me on Twitter and re-Tweet (RT) my message about the Junie B. Jones giveaway!

Junie B. Jones next week (great kids' event in Athens)

2009-09-30T09:41:00.002-04:00

The ever-busy folks at the Classic Center scored a really great show for next week: staggeringly popular kids' book character Junie B. Jones will be dropping by for two shows on October 8. Shows are at 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM.

Interested in scoring 15 or more tickets, or know of a school group that wants to attend? Check out the Classic Center's group discounts and perks page, or email group sales coordinator Megan Mauldin.

Have fun!

brief book review & GIVEAWAY: Rhodi Hawk's A TWISTED LADDER

2009-09-29T21:46:00.003-04:00

This past weekend at SIBA, I listened to author Rhodi Hawk discuss her debut novel, A Twisted Ladder. Of the 40+ books I acquired at SIBA, this is the first one I picked up to read once I got home, and that's mainly because it sounded like nothing I'd read before. Hawk's 540-page book is by turns mesmerizing and eerie and thought-provoking. I suspect its haunting, lyrical questions about relationships, identity, and the power of the mind will linger.

Here's the description from the back of the book:

Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father's schizophrenia. She always felt that if she could unravel the disease's origins, she could cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. When Marc takes his own life, Madeleine embarks on a shocking journey into her family's history--fraught with dark secrets, conjured demons, and a powerful relative who puts Madeleine's own life and property in peril. The only way she can save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.

The imagery in A Twisted Ladder conjures realistic snapshopts of the bayou, both antebellum and prohibition-era Louisiana, and post-Katrina New Orleans. I'm not an Anne Rice fan, but I hear she's an influence on Hawk's writing (and other reviewers claim that Rice fans will be Hawk fans).

I recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers, well-written scifi, magic realism, and Southern gothicism. People who are interested in the human brain and its mysterious functioning will also have a great adventure with A Twisted Ladder.

Want to win an autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder? In the comments field below, tell us about one book you chose to read because it sounded quite different from what you usually read or because you wanted to explore outside your reading boundaries. How did you experience reading outside your comfort zone? Winner will be randomly chosen and notified Wednesday, October 7.

UPDATE: Thanks to the four folks who gave interesting and intricate answers to my question! I used a random number generator to determine the winner. Congratulations to Katie B.! Katie, I'll contact you personally to get your mailing address. Hope you enjoy this autographed copy of A Twisted Ladder.

(Thanks to Rhodi Hawk and her publishers for giving me a free copy at SIBA two weeks ago.)

New books & new friends at SIBA

2009-09-27T21:07:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I ventured to Greenville, SC for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) trade show. Originally I'd planned on driving up super-early one morning only to return the same day--this would save me from spending hotel money but would also mean having to just pick one of several fun days to attend. Turns out my fairy godmother (read: very real biological mother) decided to come with me AND throw in dough for the hotel. Score!

My mom's love of reading is probably the most predominant factor contributing to my complete and utter bookwormdom. She has been a voracious reader since she was a young girl, and she holds degrees in English and book club management. (So I'm inventing a second degree here--but hey, she's deserving of the title if anyone is.) As I've changed my job plans frequently since graduating from college in 2002, it stands to reason that my parents might not be entirely ready to jump in full-force behind these bookstore plans. But now that I've been planning Avid for two years and show no signs of slowing, I think they're beginning to understand that this is it. This is for real. So having my mom at SIBA with me was pretty great--she got to meet some of my real-life and virtual-life friends and got to pick up lots of ARCs (advanced reading copies), which is a thrill for any reader.

Janet, Mary Carol, & Marsha Wood

Robb Soriano

Among the real-life friends I got to reunite with were Marsha Wood and Robb Soriano from Ingram Book Company; Jef Blocker and Jeff McCord from Bound to Be Read Books; Charley Greiner from Baker & Taylor; and Laura and Anne Devault (sisters from Charlottesville, VA whom I met at the Paz & Associates training).

There were several people whom I've emailed or tweeted with whose faces I'd never really seen. I'm happy to report that all were just as nice in person as they seem to be online. These folks included writers Laurel Snyder and Donny Seagraves as well as SIBA gurus Nicki Leone, Elton Porter, and Wanda Jewell. Of course it was lovely to finally meet online book industry folks in person: Rich Rennicks and Caroline Green of Malaprop's, Michael Hill (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Bob Gray (Shelf Awareness), and more.

Robert Jackson Bennett & Rhodi Hawk

Mary Carol, Janet, & author Batt Humphreys

A few weeks before SIBA, I looked through the day-to-day schedule of the show and recognized very few author names. Attending two Book Expo America shows taught me a valuable lesson, though: not having heard of many names on the program is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it's a thrill to walk into a trade show on a Thursday with a program chock full of strangers' names and leave on Saturday having met (and acquired signed books of) many of those authors. Now I'm thrilled to have a staggering new collection of books I can't wait to read. Some books I'm most excited about include those of authors that appeared at two panels I attended: the "Got Us Shaking in our Boots Author Panel" and the "Writing the South" panel. I'm not a big thriller/suspense reader, but when I met the gracious and funny Robert Jackson Bennett at a mixer hosted by Fiction Addiction, I decided to support him by attending the panel he'd be taking part in. And am I glad I did--it turns out I am interested in suspenseful, scary books (at least the ones presented by this collection of authors).

Jenny and her mom, author Donny Seagraves

chef/author Ted Lee and author Laurel Snyder

Mary Carol with Jeff & Jeff of Bound to Be Read Books

Now if only I could freeze time and spend the next couple of months reading the 40+ books I acquired in the last few weeks. Sigh.

What new (or new to you) books are you excited about reading?

Avid Bookshop survey 2

2009-09-20T22:59:00.000-04:00

Avid survey #2 is up! Please take 3-5 minutes to let us know what YOUR dream bookstore is like. We'll do our best to make sure Avid is a place you'll love. (And please share with Athens friends via email or FB if you're so inclined.)

learning a lot & making connections at booksellers school!

2009-09-15T16:57:00.002-04:00

Hello and greetings from Fernandina Beach, where it's overcast and breezy and I can *just* see the Atlantic beyond the condos across the street. We're two days into the Paz & Associates workshop (Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials) and I'm completely energized and excited by all the work we students have accomplished and all the great ideas I've had (or have stolen from other people in class).

One thing I keep hearing over and over is that it's a good thing that it's taken me a little longer than originally anticipated to open the store. In the last two years, I've accomplished a lot in the name of Avid Bookshop and feel so much less daunted by the idea of opening the store. Now I actually know what I'm getting into (which, in all honesty, I didn't quite get or want to get in the early days of planning when I was more dreamy and less realistic). Much of the advice given revolves around booksellers' need to create and foster real relationships within the community, the need to get feedback from customers and find out how exactly the community will support an independent bookstore. I feel spoiled and glowy when I think about how excited many Athenians are to have Avid coming to town next year. There are many more marketing opportunities and connections to be made, but, all in all, we've got a head start on a lot of things. I'm happy to report that in Athens fits the description as an ideal town to open a new bookstore in (more details on that later).

What do you want to get from Avid's presence in Athens? What sort of environment do you seek, and what sort of books would you like to buy there? A more formal, specific survey will be coming soon, but for now please feel free to toss around some ideas and let me know what you hope to find at Avid Bookshop.

You can buy ebooks from your indie!

2009-09-11T10:22:00.000-04:00

Over the past several months, I've had many (many!) talks about the book industry with novices and experts alike. When I tell people I'm opening an independent bookstore, even the most excited approach the topic of ebooks with hesitation. "What about ebooks?" is the vague question I'm often met with, and until recently, I've had to tell people that I'm hoping to sell ebooks but am not quite sure how it'll work.

Now the groundwork for my ebook selling has been laid. According to yesterday's article in the American Booksellers Association (ABA) newsletter, Bookselling This Week, many ABA member stores are already able to sell more than 220,000 ebooks directly from their websites. What thrilling news for independent bookstores and their customers!

By the time Avid opens next year, there will undoubtedly be more changes in the ebook industry, but I suspect that the ABA will keep up with them and ensure that member booksellers (like me) will be able to offer customers the chance to buy ebooks directly from their local bookshop.

(image of Sony eReader from http://theguybrarian.files.wordpress.com)

Extra, extra, read all about it!

2009-09-09T15:49:00.001-04:00

Katherine Shell at Athens's own Flagpole magazine (our wonderful alt-weekly) has written a piece about Avid Bookshop! She discusses my soon-to-be bookstore as well as Jackson Street Books, a used shop that's been going strong for 25 years. Read the article here and let me know what you think!

Book Recommendation: NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro

2009-09-09T13:38:00.002-04:00

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'm stunned. This book seemed to slowly envelop me like fog--I began it quickly, really enjoying the story and going through it fast, thinking I liked the concept but didn't really feel invested in the characters. I soon realized that even my non-book time was dipped in this feeling of foreboding and wonder. Ishiguro was masterful at pulling me in: by the time I was halfway through, I looked up to realize how emotionally involved I was with the story. As I got closer to the end, the discomfiting sense of dread grew increasingly powerful, leaving me with a heavy feeling on my chest. I closed the book just minutes ago and can't think of immediately opening another novel as I usually do. I've too much thinking to do.

Never Let Me Go will stay with me for a long time. It's disturbing and beautiful and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

(For a synopsis of the book and to find a nearby indie bookstore carrying it, go here.)

View all my reviews >>

Booksellers School next week!

2009-09-09T10:15:00.001-04:00

Let's face it: I'm one of those people who loves school. I love teachers and projects and homework and scribbling in those little blue exam books. Shopping for new office supplies is one of my favorite activities, and my desk drawers, all full of pencils, pens, cutesy erasers, markers, crayons, and notebooks, show it.

I'm not planning on returning to traditional school, but who knows--maybe in 20 years I'll change my mind. At this point, I have enough Avid-related homework to last me the next couple of decades. Every day there's something I could be doing--talking to other booksellers, working on the business plan, attending conferences, learning about software, meeting with my real estate agent, talking with potential partners, creating marketing plans, you name it.

The newest project I'm undertaking? Paz & Associates Booksellers School in Fernandina Beach, FL. I've been acquainted with Mark Kaufman at the company for over a year now and have been really impressed with how open, helpful, and resourceful he is. At first I decided to skip the five-day workshop ("Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials"), opting instead to purchase Paz & Associate's book instead. And while I've learned a lot in my three or four readings of this huge volume, I'm frequently told by fellow booksellers that nothing beats the in-person workshop. I kept trying to peek underneath the surface, trying to see if there was any subtext to people's compliments, trying to figure out what the catch was--were all these booksellers really as enamored of Paz & Associates as they'd seemed?

Yep. As of a few months ago, I still hadn't heard a negative thing about the company's training sessions, so I bit the bullet and signed up for the workshop. And my nerdy student self could not be more excited. Yes, some of the information we encounter during the workshop will be familiar to me already, but this is a positive thing: I want to get to where lots of this stuff is second nature, so it stands to reason that I need to know it really, really well.

This student is excited about getting school supplies ready and heading down to Florida for the workshop. There I'll meet other prospective booksellers (it's true that I'm not the only crazy one--lots of indie bookstores have been popping up over the last few years and they keep on comin'!) and spend five days in my own little book world.

Declaration of Indiebound

2009-08-24T12:52:00.003-04:00

Some of you have heard of IndieBound before, but still more of you have not. IndieBound is a program launched in 2008 to help bring together independent businesses and those who love them: bookstores, readers, independent business alliances, locally-owned shops, etc., etc. It has been met with great success, and Avid Bookshop will be proud to post the Declaration of IndieBound as well as the well-crafted IndieBound signs in the store.

This is of particular interest to me, as I'm the newly-appointed secretary of the yet-to-be-named Buy Local Athens program that is being launched. I'm really interested in sustainability and shopping local first, so IndieBound is right up my alley.

Take a look at the website to see if you can find any favorite IndieBound shops near you! Joining IndieBound as an individual is a fun way to explore independent shops you might never have heard of before.

In the meantime, watch the video below to watch some well-known (at least in our world!) indie booksellers reading the Declaration of IndieBound aloud.

a great podcast for lovers of literature & storytelling...

2009-08-23T21:07:00.003-04:00

I wrote this for my personal blog six months ago but thought it'd be of particular interest to readers of the Avid blog.

Are there any English majors out there? Anyone who wanted to take more English classes but decided to pursue some other interests instead? You might want to keep reading to find out what podcast I'm going to recommend and why. I promise it's good--you should stay tuned.

As someone with an undergraduate degree in English and American literature, I can recall many, many hours of discussion-based literature classes during which pompous classmates dismissed others' theories and claimed their interpretations were the "right" ones. Luckily, far more prevalent are the memories of having one "aha!" moment after another during class discussions, grateful for others' insights that led me to understanding the story, poem, or essay more deeply. Despite my initial discomfort with revealing to others what I saw in the patterns and prose of fiction, I eventually opened up with the knowledge that almost any self-proclaimed theory about literature can be argued as long as you have some evidence and well-picked quotes to support it. Work may be created by the author with one particular goal in mind, but his readers will walk away from the piece with a variety of insights the author may not have intended--and each reader may have a completely unique interpretation.

Other than a few informal meetings of our local fledgling book club, I haven't much talked about literature in a critical sense since I graduated from NYU in 2002. I read voraciously and definitely reflect on my reading, but I don't go out of my way to push myself to understand a novel more deeply or try to see someone else's point of view. I read and reflect alone, then put the book back on the shelf. I hadn't realized I missed the push and pull of roundtable literature discussions, hadn't known that I'd missed the part of myself that could pull all-nighters writing twenty-page papers about my particular take on a poem.

Until now. On a whim, I downloaded a few episodes of The New Yorker's Fiction Podcast. I bundled up for a walk a couple weeks back and pressed play on my iPod and was whisked into a wonderful, beautiful story. I can't remember what episode I listened to that day, but I can remember smiling as I walked down the streets of Athens. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! I feel as if I'm in one of my English classes with a really good teacher and no obnoxious, holier-than-thou classmates!" You see, the show not only features the stories themselves--it comes complete with a brief discussion before and after the story is read. One famous author picks any story he wants that has been published in The New Yorker. The guest author reads this story he admires and then discusses the ins and outs of the work with the magazine's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, who has a really pleasant voice (unlike the voices I've stumbled across on several less-established podcasts). I did a quick Google search for her so I could link to her name and came across a really great article from The New York Times--click on her name and read it, if you'd like. Sounds like a cool woman in the NYT article.

And she sounds like a cool woman in her recorded life on this podcast. She isn't abrasive, judgmental, or dismissive when it comes to guest authors' interpretations of the work they choose to read. She retains the wide-eyed wonder (overused phrase--sorry--but it seems to ring true here) of a girl who's still in love with reading, who's still amazed at all the tricks of language and tone. Deborah and the guest author talk about whatever has moved them in the story, about the author's language and motivation, about his/her diction and use of imagery. I've listened to about ten of the episodes so far, and no one has annoyed me. The stories are always great, and the intimate conversation that follows really does shine light on the story.

Have you never ventured into literary criticism but wanted to know what intellectual bibliophiles had to say about so-called "good" fiction? Did you take one (or twenty) literature classes in college and then go cold turkey, not having another literary discussion after age 22? Are you an avid reader who thinks she immediately knows all there is to know about a piece of writing? Are you curious to know why I love this show so much? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I have an answer: this is the podcast for you.

Let me know what you think of it.

What do YOU love most about bookstores?

2009-08-21T20:57:00.003-04:00

What are some of your favorite things about bookstores? What do independents have that chains don't have? What do non-indie chains have that indies lack? (Don't be afraid to talk about the glorious wide aisles at Barnes & Noble--though I may not shop there nowadays, I certainly have spent my weight in gold there!)

Do you have a very favorite bookshop? Any treasured bookstore, past or present, that felt like home? Please share your stories here and let us over here at Avid find out what you value most in a bookstore shopping experience. We'll be using your feedback to help create our store--it is, after all, for the neighborhood and community, and finding out what you want will help us make Avid Bookshop a success.

exciting things afoot!

2009-08-21T20:54:00.002-04:00

Well, kids, there's a lot going on but I'm not at liberty to tell you much about it at this point. I feel like a little kid who's just been told a bunch of amazing secrets but was sworn to secrecy. Granted, the updates we've had over here at Avid HQ aren't earth-shattering, but when your lifelong dream is progressing even more excitingly and smoothly than you'd dreamt, you certainly are apt to jump up and down and want to give the scoop to every passerby.

BUT. But. I shall remain mum until I know for sure what's what and what the next step in the plan is. Rest assured I'll keep you updated as soon as it's proper for me to do so.

Avid's first official news story!

2009-07-22T20:10:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Karen Schechner of the American Booksellers Association (ABA) asked if she could write an article about Avid Bookshop for the ABA's weekly newsletter, Bookselling This Week. This was particularly exciting: though BTW often features stories on new booksellers, the article on the as-yet unopened indie bookstore is rare. Check out the article here and let me know what you think!

Avid Bookshop survey 1

2009-07-12T22:36:00.001-04:00

Hello there! We're glad you found us. We have been planning our bookstore for many months and know you're in for a treat. Avid Bookshop will be a general interest bookstore in Athens, Georgia. We'll sell new and used books as well as an eclectic variety of cards, crafts, artwork, and gifts. A dedicated percentage of non-book items will be made by local artisans.

Avid will also host lots of community events, including author readings, children's story times, debates, cook-offs, etc. We plan on being a community center focused on literacy, learning, and discussion.

Filling out this one-page initial survey will help us know who out there might be ready and willing to lend us a hand to make this dream a reality.

Soon we'll be contacting you to ask what you want from Avid Bookshop, YOUR neighborhood bookstore.

Thanks so much for your help!