What's curious about Nevada, said Las Vegas native Christine Kelly, co-owner of Sundance Bookstore in Reno, is that until recently it was the fastest growing state for almost 20 years—enjoying an influx of hotel and casino workers as well as retirees—but that hasn't translated into soaring book sales. Still, the state is still home to many chain bookstores and a number of thriving independents. Sundance, for example, is entering its 23rd year, and two new independent stores have opened in Las Vegas in the past five years.

In southern Nevada, where most of the population is nestled in the Las Vegas valley, the region's origins and economic base spring, of course, from the gambling industry. Vegas is also a convention-driven city; the city draws about 300,000 visitors a weekend. Northern Nevada, which includes the state's other metropolitan area, Reno, as well as capital Carson City, has a more dispersed population and more ranching and farming. Mining, which drove the state's economy for many years, still flourishes in the rural middle.

Penguin rep Tom Benton, who's covered southern Nevada for 10 years, said the region has been chain territory throughout his tenure. There are presently four B&Ns, two B. Dalton stores, five Borders stores and two Borders Express stores in the Las Vegas area.

Kelly doesn't accept the chain-driven description. When B&N opened in Reno about 15 years ago, Sundance experienced a slight dip in sales, but then recovered; the same thing happened the following year when Borders opened and B&N expanded. But both stores are located across town, so there's little overlap in clientele; in that sense, geography is an advantage. Sundance is located in a strip mall near the university and the interstate, so access is easy and there's plenty of parking in front of the store.

Kelly says the chains and the Internet have made the store a much leaner business; Amazon has a warehouse in Reno, so it's a big employer in town, and that certainly heightens local awareness of the brand. Nevertheless, Sundance has managed to maintain its bottom line, and has even started carrying CDs in the past year, as a local independent music store closed recently.

In Las Vegas, where a new children's independent called the Neverending Story opened last year and is off to a strong start, perhaps the most unusual success story is that of the Reading Room, an independent store in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino opened through the efforts of former Mandalay Group president Glenn Schaeffer, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and founder of an organization that fights literary censorship.

Reading Room manager Debra Belcoff described the almost four-year-old Reading Room as “sort of a well-kept secret—you don't happen upon it.” Eighty-five percent of the store's customers are tourists and guests, and the Reading Room tailors inventory accordingly. Belcoff said many visitors “want to know about this strange place,” so the store has developed a huge regional selection, now a bestselling category. It also carries a lot of paperbacks, understanding it's hard to lug home a suitcase heavy with hardcovers.

The store lists events on the hotel and casino Web site, and also benefits from advertising on huge computerized Mandalay billboard screens on the freeway and the Strip. Located inside among restaurants and slot machines, the 1,100-sq.-ft. store benefits from that foot traffic, and there's a huge area outside the store for author events. Recent visitors include the Orange County Choppers, Janet Evanovich and Mary Higgins Clark. And some people even check the hotel's Web site and plan trips to Vegas around store events, Belcoff said. This being the Strip, the business keeps long hours—the Reading Room is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Bookselling Health Index
Household Income: $45,395

Population: 2,335,000

Independent Bookstores: 18

Chain Bookstores: 17

Total Bookstores: 35

Big-box Stores: 60

Total Stores: 95

Stores per Capita: 1 per 24,579

Per Capita Rank: 33