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Anderson’s Bookshops Set to Open Branch in La Grange

The weekend of August 1 will mark the grand opening of Anderson’s Bookshops’ newest location, at 26 S. La Grange Road in La Grange, Illinois, Anderson’s Candy Purdom wrote in a column for the Chicago Tribune. Anderson’s currently operates bookstores in Downers Grove and Naperville, as well as a gift shop in Naperville and a school book fair division.

“We are thrilled and excited about joining the wonderful community of La Grange,” Purdom said. “La Grange is a strong, vibrant, and creative community that deserves a great bookshop.”

Local media and village officials, plus a costumed Cat in the Hat, will be at the ribbon cutting. Activities to follow throughout the weekend include a children’s story time, author readings for adults, book trivia games, glitter tattoos, door prizes, giveaways, and refreshments. Free Anderson’s Bookshops memberships will be awarded to the first 25 people in line on Saturday morning.

“The weekend festivities will include something for everyone. Please join us and see what the excitement is all about when a family-owned, nationally acclaimed independent bookshop comes to town!” wrote Purdom.

New Bookstore Fills Niche in Cody, Wyoming

On July 9, Legends Bookstore opened in Cody, Wyoming, under the ownership of Teresa Muhic.

Muhic retired from her previous job a few years ago in the hopes of owning her own business one day, and, with the closing of the Cody Newsstand last summer, she found her opportunity.

“We’re the only true bookstore within about 60 miles,” Muhic told Cody Enterprise. “I think we fill a need in the larger Big Horn Basin community.”

The bookstore offers a large selection of children’s books, as well as titles from local and national authors. Muhic plans to open a coffee bar within the store on or around August 1.

“My goal is to provide a place for information and a place for leisure and enjoyment and a place for ideas,” she explained, “more of a destination, not just a shop. Find a chair and plop yourself and just while away some time.”

Rizzoli to Reopen Flagship Store This Weekend

Rizzoli Bookstore, which was forced out of its iconic location on 57th street in Manhattan last year when its landlords decided to demolish the building, will open a new flagship store on July 27, 2015, on the ground floor of the historic St. James Building, at 1133 Broadway.

The 5,000-square-foot storefront will be decorated with fixtures preserved from its prior location, including hardwood bookcases and elaborate chandeliers. The new venue boasts 18-foot ceilings, a skylight, and wallpaper specially designed for the store.

“For more than 50 years, the Rizzoli bookstore has attracted discerning patrons from around the globe and provided beautifully produced volumes on art, design, interiors, fashion, as well as literature, and important nonfiction books,” said Laura Donnini, CEO of RCS Libri, the book publishing division of RCS MediaGroup, Rizzoli’s parent company. “We believe we have found the perfect location for our new flagship bookstore and we look forward to joining this vibrant community of innovative thinkers.”

Island Books Owners Pass the Torch

Nancy and Roger Page, the owners of Island Books in Mercer Island, Washington, have sold their business to Laurie Raisys.

The Pages, who were recently celebrated as Mercer Island Citizens of the Year for 2014 for their many contributions to the community, will stay on at the bookstore as Raisys, the shop’s fourth owner, takes the reins. All of Island Books’ other staff will remain on board as well. “It’s musical chairs, not a curtain call or a revolution,” Roger Page wrote on Island Books’ website.

“Laurie is a longtime Mercer Islander who ha​s the warmth, creativity, integrity, and confidence that the store needs to carry it far into the future,” Roger Page added. “She also has our trust and affection. We have signed on to stay and will be working for her, just trading hats. She will wear the hat decorated with the joys, dreams, and challenges of ownership. Nancy and I will be in bookseller caps, trying to entertain the masses and do right by you.”

Suzy Staubach Reflects on 34 Years at UConn Co-op

Longtime bookseller Suzy Staubach, who is retiring from her post as manager of the UConn Co-op’s General Books Division this month, wrote a piece for UConn Today that recalls her start in the business and the many changes in bookselling over the years.

Staubach noted that her tenure at the bookstore “has been filled with incredible excitement, magical moments, and dramatic change. When I came into the business, the Internet did not exist. Today we live in a world of cloud computing. Yet, throughout this whole time, it has been at its core a people business.”

“For me, it has been a thrill and an honor to be a bookseller and in a position to nourish the literary and cultural life of UConn,” said Staubach. “The UConn Co-op has talented and dedicated booksellers committed to personally serving the University’s literary and cultural life going forward. Undoubtedly there will be changes we cannot imagine, as we could not have imagined the Internet. However, this will always be at its heart, a people business.”