Around Indies
Printer-friendly versionbreathe books’ Weis-Bohlen Ready to Turn the Page
Susan Weis-Bohlen announced this week that she is putting breathe bookstore café up for sale so that she can devote her energies to her Ayurvedic clients, lead workshops, organize events, teach cooking and meditation, and lecture around the region. She will be working out of her new home in Reisterstown, Maryland, and is looking for a buyer for breathe bookstore café, which is located in a historic house in Hampden. Weis-Bohlen noted in an e-mail to customers that her lease can be assumed at any time, and the café features a brand-new kitchen.
When the café opened in summer 2013, the Baltimore Sun said that it gave “Baltimoreans even more reason to visit the much-loved bookshop.” But the café, added to give a little boost to the book business, was so successful that the business turned into a café with some books, said Weis-Bohlen.
Oxford Exchange to Feature Rizzoli “Studio” Site
Tampa, Florida’s Oxford Exchange bookshop, which caters to readers for whom books are treasured objects, will soon devote half its floor space to high-end books from Rizzoli International Publications, according to the Tampa Tribune.
The Oxford Exchange partnership is the latest in Rizzoli’s “Studio” site branding program, which creates dedicated Rizzoli sections in independent bookstores and upscale lifestyle retailers. In 2011, South Florida’s Books & Books was among the first stores to test the program. The Oxford Exchange will manage the space, employ the workers, and handle inventory; Rizzoli will make a broad range of their titles available and will give the store favored status for author visits and cocktail receptions, the paper said.
“These are beautiful books not just to keep in your library, but to put on your coffee table, almost as a statement of who you are,” Jess English, director of retail for the Oxford Exchange, told the Tribune. “The retail world has become a place where everyone is experimenting, and you just have to play off that, or you’ll go the way of so many bookstores that closed down.
Florida Stores Plan Bookstore Day
Independent and used bookstores are planning to take part in the first celebration of Florida Bookstore Day on November 15. The event is sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair with support from Awesome Tampa Bay. Tiffany Razzano, a Tampa Bay resident who runs the creative group Wordier than Thou, told 83 Degrees that she came up with the idea after seeing a poster for Record Store Day and then learning of California Bookstore Day. News of the event spread to other cities in Florida through social media.
To date, stores planning to take part include Inkwood Books, Mojo Books and Music, Old Tampa Book Company, and Oxford Exchange in Tampa; Standup Librarians, Wilson’s Book World, and Wings Bookstore in St. Petersburg; Book Bank in Largo; and Back in the Day Books in Dunedin.
Razzano said her goal is to showcase local bookstores and the writing community. “People won’t even know they’re at a literary event. Expect a day of book releases and author signings, open mics and workshops on literary topics.” An after party will be held at the Venture Compound in St. Petersburg, where there will be food carts and raffles.
Weller Book Works Celebrates 85 Years of Bookselling
Salt Lake City’s Weller Book Works will commemorate the Weller family’s 85 years in the book business on Saturday, August 23, with an open house. The festivities will start at 2:00 p.m. with longtime customer and friend John Keahey reading from his most recent book, Hidden Tuscany: Discovering Art, Culture, and Memories in a Well Known Region’s Hidden Places (Thomas Dunne Books).
The open house, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., will feature music, food, and prizes, as well as a welcome from store owners Tony and Catherine Weller. In addition, Weller Book Works will give followers of their Facebook page a chance to win an $85 gift certificate.
Strand Launches Signed First Editions Subscriptions
New York City’s Strand Bookstore is starting a Signed First Editions Subscription service that will build on the expansion of the store’s frontlist inventory. Subscribers to each program can choose to receive five or 10 books per year, and books will be sent every four to six weeks. The program will cover three specific genres: Adult First Editions, Young Adult First Editions, and Art/Photography First Editions. The cost of each subscription varies.
“In recent years, we’ve experienced strong growth in frontlist sales and we’re confident that our first editions club will provide our customers with books of merit that will add lasting value to their personal libraries,” said Carson Moss, the store’s frontlist book buyer.
Strand’s inaugural Adult First Editions selection is Colm Toibin’s Nora Webster (Scribner); the Young Adult selection is Marie Lu’s The Young Elites (Putnam Juvenile).
Carmichael’s Kids Opens
Carmichael’s, the oldest running independent bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky, celebrated the grand opening of its newest location, Carmichael’s Kids, with a block party on August 10. There were games, activities, treats, and performances from Raptor Rehab of Kentucky and The Comfy Cow at the event, which was free to the public.
The dedicated children’s bookstore is located on Bardstown Road, adjacent to one of Carmichael’s two other locations. The store, which offers toys and games as well as books, will host literary events, such as story times and special author visits, throughout the year.
“We’ve wanted to open a store devoted to children’s books for some time now, but the right opportunity hadn’t come along,” Carmichael’s Kids manager Kelly Estep told Louisville.com. “With a space becoming available virtually next door to our Bardstown Road store, we knew it was time to make this idea a reality.”