As Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena celebrates its 120th, there was good news for younger bookstores like Russo's, which had closed its retail location in Bakersfield, and opened an office to supplement its online sales. Bookhampton in Mattituck, N.Y., too, turned a corner after asking its customers to buy more hardcovers last May.
The only feminist bookstore in Florida, Wild Iris Books has also found a way to move forward by changing to nonprofit status so it can seek grants. Paris’s Shakespeare and Company continues to thrive in the age of Amazon, according to a story in Vanity Fair. It’s not so well kept secret is the founder George Whitman’s daughter, Sylvie.
Events
Vroman’s Bookstore Marks First 120 Years: The celebration for the Pasadena institution began on tumblr http://vromansbookstore.tumblr.com with postings for Humans of the Bookstore and continues on November 4 with a talk by Vroman’s chair Joel Sheldon and CEO and president Allison Hill. Next up, Vroman’s will break ground for an Author Walk of Fame.
Openings & Closings
Russo’s Books Opens Office in Bakersfield: After closing its retail location in January and moving online www.russosbooks.com, the California bookstore has opened an office, where customers can pick up their orders.
Bookhampton to Reopen for the Holidays: Bookhampton’s two-year-old Mattituck, N.Y., store is closed for remodeling and expected to reopen in time for the holidays despite owner Charline Spector’s plea last spring for customers to buy more hardcovers to keep the store going. http://northforker.com/2014/05/15/bookhampton-makes-a-plea-to-readers/
B&N to Shutter Queens Store: The retailer will close its store on Union Turnpike when its lease expires at the end of the year.
The Book Store in Des Moines Closes Temporarily: The Book Store, which opened in 1961, closed this month while it looks for new digs.
Other News
One Book/One South: The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance chose Lalita Tademy’s Citizen Creek, as the inaugural selection of its book club this month. The book is also a November Indie Next pick.
‘Vanity Fair’ on Shakespeare and Company: Writer Bruce Handy chronicles how the world’s best-known independent, located in Paris, has succeeded in the age of Amazon thanks to founder George Whitman’s daughter, Sylvie.
Hudson Group: Best Books of 2014: The airport retailer offers a list of their favorites in five categories, with
Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See taking the honors as its Book of the Year.
Wild Iris Books to Go Nonprofit: After raising a quarter of the money it needed in an Indiegogo campaign this summer, the Gainesville, Fla.-based bookstore, the only feminist bookstore in the state, is seeking nonprofit status.
Booksellers Benefit From Offering Free & Discounted Shipping: Bookselling This Week shows how three stores—McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Mich.; Hicklebee’s in San Jose; and Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla.—have upped online sales.
