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

(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.

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

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.

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

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.

a diverse group at our first book club meeting!

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!

(...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.
 

some ideas for spring - please share your feedback!

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.

the grant that almost was...

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.

We're on Facebook!

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

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 

Our first public book sale!

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

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

 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...

Happy 35th Anniversary, Charis Books!

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!

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.

more press for Avid + social media tools

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.

New books & new friends at SIBA

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?

learning a lot & making connections at booksellers school!

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.

Declaration of Indiebound

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.

Avid Bookshop survey 1

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!