About Bookstores

In 1989, the Russo family -- Kathleen and Tony and their children Michael, Anna-Marie, Patricia, and John -- started their bookselling careers by buying the Book Mark, a Bakersfield used-book store, which they discovered through a classified ad. "I don't want to say it was a lark, but we thought we'd enjoy it. And we've had a good time ever since," Michael Russo said recently.

Mrs. Nelson's Toy & Book Shop in La Verne, California, is the winner of the Book Sense Curious George contest, sponsored by George's publisher, Houghton Mifflin. Booksellers who participated in the promotion, which ran from mid-December to March 1, 2006, were eligible for the random drawing for the prize. Using the Curious George-wrapped disposable camera, which was sent to booksellers in a special Yellow Box mailing in early December, Mrs. Nelson's captured scenes at the 21-year-old store during its special George-driven events.

The Second Annual Palm Springs Book Festival on April 22 is the work of Chris Johnson, owner of the three-year-old Peppertree Bookstore in Palm Springs. The California village's first successful book festival organized by Peppertree debuted in 2005. This year's plans include more activities, particularly for children, more authors, and substantial sponsorship by local media, developers, and others. Anne Rice, Tab Hunter, Sen.

Keri Holmes moved from Winterset, Iowa, and opened The Kaleidoscope in Hampton on March 1, 2006, for a number of good reasons: She thought that residents having to drive over two hours for a good selection of books was unfair; she had observed what a successful independent bookstore entailed, as well as what it meant to the citizens of Winterset; and her sister and niece, business owners in Hampton, were nagging her to join them.

Bookstores often inspire writers, but how often does one return the favor and pen a poem especially for the store? Looking Glass Bookstore, a 30-year-old store in downtown Portland, Oregon, served as the muse for award-winning poet Derek Sheffield, whose "In the Glass, Looking" adorns the store's bookmark.

Last week, at a public hearing in Durham, North Carolina, representatives of Duke University reported that, as part of a campus redevelopment project, the school has plans to open a new bookstore in an easily accessible area of the campus, only a quarter mile from The Regulator Bookshop.

In the last 15 years, Neal Coonerty, owner of California's Bookshop Santa Cruz, has learned much about the "mechanics of governance," as he put it. In addition to his service as a director on the American Booksellers Association's Board and two terms as president, Coonerty was a Santa Cruz city councilman from 1990 to 1994 and the city's mayor in 1993.

On March 16, in front of the Brown Bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island, the Save the Bookstore Foundation held a rally in support of keeping the store independent. Approximately 150 people attended the event, which featured four speakers, Robert Coover, a novelist and Brown professor; Karen McAninch of United Service and Allied Workers; Jonna Iacono, president of the Graduate Student Council; and Sian Roberts, co-chair of the Save the Bookstore Foundation.

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, has won the 14th annual Bookseller of the Year Award from Publishers Weekly. The bookstore celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and is owned by Ed and Barbara Morrow.

The Book Shelf in the southeastern Minnesota town of Winona has been open since August 2002, when Chris Livingston started the store with his wife, Mari.

Before relocating to Winona from Seattle, Livingston was the regional manager of 12 electronics stores, the largest of which was 52,000 square feet. Now master of Book Shelf's single 3,000-square-foot space, he is fulfilling his long-held desire to operate a small-town bookstore.

Watermark Books in Wichita, Kansas, is nearing the 30-year milestone, but remains brimming with youthful enthusiasm. Founded in 1977, the store has relocated twice, once in the early 1990s, and 10 years ago, when it also added a café. The 5,000-square-foot store now anchors the oldest strip mall in Kansas, Lincoln Heights Village, which features many locally owned stores.

About a dozen people turned out for the debut screening/meeting of the Hamilton Book and Movie Club founded by Rob Stahl, general book manager of the Colgate Bookstore, in Hamilton, New York. The club is hosted by the Colgate Bookstore and the Hamilton Movie Theater, located across the street from the bookstore. Both businesses are owned by Colgate University.

Last week, a group of California residents who filed a petition protesting the impending move of the 10-year-old Greenbrae Barnes & Noble to the Corte Madera Town Center, a block away from Book Passage, were rebuffed by the town council and mayor, as reported by Marin Independent Journal (MIJ).