Independence Day

Ten years ago, when I opened The Open Book, the American Booksellers Association was in the process of launching its Booksense program. This program was developed to give independent booksellers buying power, lobbying power and a presence in a world where chain bookstores seemed to be taking over. This year, the ABA announced the creation of "Indie Bound", a new program designed to promote independent businesses of all kinds, with a focus on your local independent bookstore, of course.

In educating myself about this new program, I began to think about what it means to own an independent bookstore. Several years ago I wrote an essay on this subject for a regional booksellers association conference. I thought I might include a bit of the essay in this blog.

An independent bookseller at her best is a little beam of humanity in a crazy boxstore world. I will remember that your grandchild reads well above his level, that you cannot read the tiny print on mass market books anymore, that you love a cozy mystery, that you only read “good” books, that you are sad, tired, over-worked, in love or in need of a hearty belly laugh.

An independent bookseller knows that she will probably never make the Fortune 500, but she also knows that wealth takes many forms. As an independent bookseller, I am rich in friends, “adopted” children, and, of course, books. I am rich in life altering encounters with people who have brought me laughter and offered me wisdom and trusted me with their stories.

An independent bookseller is important in a world where forms must be filled out and customers are assigned a number. An independent bookseller is likely to write an order on the back of a lunch bag or drop a book off at the customer’s house on the way home from work. Acknowledging the individuality and humanity of our customers, we fight against the grey automation of the retail world. When you come into an independent bookstore, you come into a world that reflects the personality, beliefs, and aesthetics of one or two people, not a faceless corporation.

At the end of a long day, I am so proud to be an independent bookseller. I feel that my work makes the world a better place, if only in an small way. I feel that I give value for the money spent in my store. I feel that people are better for spending their time in my store. I feel that the work I do is important. Finally, every day I am reminded that I am one of the luckiest people I know because I am able to do work I truly love.

So, even though it is a little early, happy Independence Day. And I hope you remember to patronize your local independent businesses this summer. Now go read a good book!

Here's To All The Dads!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I know that my dad is reading this from the other side of the country, and while I am grateful that this computer makes communication easier, I certainly wish I was not so far away.

Have you ever noticed how "bad dads" abound in literature? Read anything by Pat Conroy or Augusten Burroughs and you will be grateful that you were not part of their families. But where are the "good dads"? Well I have found a few in fiction and non-fiction and in honor of Father's Day, here is a list of recommended books with kind, caring, loving and sometimes, funny, fathers.

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth. I admit that the father in this is a little bombastic but he has a good heart, is hilariously clueless and loves his many children.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf. The McPheron brothers fall into the role of father to an unwed teen mother and Tom struggles to care for his two young boys after their mother leaves them.

Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. This one is pretty quirky. But despite his over involvement with death, Charlie is a loving and protective father to his daughter, Sophie.

Daddy Needs A Drink by Robert Wilder. This is a funny group of essays by a high school teacher learning the perils of being "Mr. Mom".

The Way Home by Henry Dunow. I am not very interested in baseball but this story of a man coaching his son's little league team was a touching look at the evolving relationship between a father and a son.

One father that I have great admiration for is Randy Pausch. Though dying of pancreatic cancer, he has made an effort to leave a legacy of wisdom for his children. If you have not seen the film about his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, I have included a link to it. There is also a book called The Last Lecture which expands on the video. Dr. Pausch has an fresh way of looking at the world and appears to savor the life he has yet to live without seeking self-pity or being maudlin.

So, on Father's Day, if you are lucky enough to have your father around, give him a hug, or a call, or a cookie or a really expensive sports car, if you have the pocket change. And then, go read.....

We're Having A Heat Wave

It is HOT here in Long Island. The summer came flying in over the weekend with high heat, higher humidity and thunderstorms that brought trees down and left us without power. Last night I sat on my couch which was all wet from the rain (forgot to close the windows) and read the latest Lee Child with a flashlight and candles for light.

Jack Reacher is such a great character. I have run into very few people who do not like the Lee Child books. There are lots of reviews out there that try to explain why an ex-army drifter who travels around carrying only a toothbrush, an expired driver's license and an ATM card is so popular with both men and women readers. All I know is that I would be happy to read the whole book with a flashlight tucked under my chin.

So, now that the power is back on. I am going to go sit in front of the air conditioner and savor the last twenty pages.

A Little Bit of Magic

For someone who is supposed to be a grown-up, I love Harry Potter way too much. I revel in a world where people can fly on brooms and turn chocolate into toads and hatch baby dragons. In a pathetic attempt to justify my love of all magical fiction, I am giving you a list of "adult" (read, serious and legitimate) fiction that has either a little bit or a lot of magic between the pages.

I just finished Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I fell for the characters in this book in a second. But I really want an apple tree in my backyard that throws apples at people to get attention. I cannot wait to read her new book, The Sugar Queen.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez also has a tree, but this tree sees much sorrow in the many years it gives it shade to the Buendia family. This family story is full of premonitions and mysteries, and is told in a way that leaves you wondering what is imagined and what is real.

One of my favorite books is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The love story of Henry and Clare is challenged by Henry's disturbing condition that occasionally sends him forward or backward in time. Once you have made the leap of imagination, the journey that this special couple takes will stay with you for a very long time.

Elizabeth Kostova spent many years researching and writing her novel, The Historian. Vampires, history and international setting combine in a haunting tale of the quest to find Vlad the Impaler.

A few summers ago, Alice Hoffman came to The Open Book when she was visiting friends in the area. I am afraid that the bookstore employees (and the owner) behaved like the rabid fans that we are and terrified the poor woman. Ms. Hoffman graciously signed books and left, looking relieved to get away. All of Alice Hoffman's books have a bit of magic, and one of my favorites is The Ice Queen. Ice, fire and water as metaphors, fairy tale references and love and passion are combined in a dark, beautiful story.

So, it is summer and what better time to indulge in the desire to experience worlds where things are a little out of the ordinary? If you want the ultimate fantasy experience, I highly recommend that you read all seven volumes of Harry Potter while eating Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and drinking butterbeer!

Finding the Missing Pieces

I have always loved puzzles. I like jigsaws, crosswords, acrostics, and wordfinds. I think this love of puzzles explains my love of mystery books. I like all kinds of mysteries, from Agatha Christie to James Lee Burke. I like the cozy mysteries and police procedurals and legal thrillers and historical mysteries and even those crazy cat mysteries. (You would be amazed how many cat mysteries are out in the world!). I am working on a project for my job at the library that involves a compilation of mystery titles for summer reading and I thought I would tell you about some of my favorite mysteries.

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers - Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey have to be the most elegant detectives on earth.

Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz - Izzy Spellman and her dysfunctional family will keep you laughing while trying to solve the mystery.

A Tan and Sandy Silence by John D. MacDonald - Before Magnum P.I. , there was Travis McGee. McGee is cooler than can be imagined as he solves mysteries from his Florida houseboat, "The Busted Flush".

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters - I love the Amelia Peabody series. You can learn a little about archaeology's early days and enjoy the exotic locales. Amelia is stubborn and funny and destined to find trouble.

Bookman's Wake by John Dunning - Cliff Janeway, the detective turned rare book dealer, goes in search of a rare volume of Poe's The Raven.

In addition, anything written by Lee Child, John Lescroart, Jason Pinter, Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, Elizabeth George, P.D. James, Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben and Donna Leon will lead you into hours of intrigue and mystery.

I just started reading Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. Both Elizabeth and Beth from the library said that I would not be able to put it down. Lehane writes really well and captures the gritty, dangerous world that his characters inhabit.

And if you are intrigued by puzzles, I think that this movie, created by Christian Nilsson, an Open Book employee and aspiring filmaker, is something you will really like.

Some Books You Should Know

"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eye down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. . . . Every book you see here has been somebody's best friend." Carlos Ruiz Zafon in Shadow of the Wind


Have you read Shadow of the Wind yet? It is an eerie, beautiful, dark, romantic book. There are parallel love stories and a Cemetery of Forgotten Books and a mysterious author. All of this takes place in the almost Gothic city of Barcelona in the years following World War II.


One of my greatest pleasures as both a bookseller and a librarian is to introduce readers to authors and books that I know they will love. Connecting readers with books sometimes requires a bit of detective work. What do you like to read? What do you love about that character? Why did you hate that book? Simple or complicated? Funny or sad? Scary or sweet? Whatever your answers, there is a book for you. Here are some books you may not have read yet, but I hope you will give them a try:


The Henry Parker series by Jason Pinter. The Mark and The Guilty are available now. The Stolen is due in August. This series of books involves a young protagonist who gets involved in a variety of situations which leave your heart racing. I like the details of Henry's life and the fact that he is a young, fallible man who tries to do the right thing.


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This novel is funny and touching and contains a bit of mystery. I like that it is written as a series of letters. I did not know anything about the occupation of Guernsey during World War II and the hardships endured by the residents and this novel fills in my historical blanks about that subject. The very unusual book club that is formed during this time consists of characters that are so well drawn that you feel that you know them.


A Monk Jumped Over a Wall by Jay Nussbaum. What at first seems to be a legal thriller quickly heads in another direction, as the hero falls victim to his own compassion. This novel makes you think about the consequences of living up to other's expectations. J.J. Spencer takes a journey that leads to a rethinking of his life and values. The story moves quickly and the turns it takes will surprise you.


Norma Ever After by Nancy Baxter. OK, this really is a bit of a "girly" book. But who can resist a love story that takes place on the Orkney Islands and includes puffins? If you are in the mood for Atlas Shrugged, this is not going to satisfy you, but if you want a lovely little read....this is it.

I Love Libraries

When I was a little girl, going to the library was an adventure. There were all those books with the crackling plastic covers and the stories hidden inside of them. Sometimes you could tell from the picture on the front what the story would be about. Sometimes, you had to wait and be surprised. I wanted to read every book in the library by the time I grew up. It was an exquisite torture to have to pick just six books.

In college, the top floor of the UCSB library was a quiet sanctuary to read and study and nap. When I could not study for one more minute, I would explore the stacks, pulling out oddly titled books. From my scarred wooden carel, I would look out the window and watch the sun setting.

I may be one of the very few people who, when living in Aspen, spent her days off in the Aspen Library. It was comfortable and almost suburban. It was as far away as you might get from the tourists in their fur coats and cowboy hats. The books were often outdated and a little worn, but it was cozy and familiar, in the way that libraries are. You could not mistake the purpose of that building, no matter where it was situated. In every place that I have lived (California, Colorado, Iowa, Boston, Nantucket, or New York....it is a long list), I have sought out the public library, grand or small, and made it a place that was somehow my own.

And now I am a librarian. Although I still sell books, I also lend them as well. I help people with research and talk to them about great books to read. I help with computers and copiers and microfilm. I find that I am fitting happily into this new role. It may be because a library, any library, feels like home to me and I have finally settled in as a resident.