A Bookstore Odyssey

On Monday, February 9, ABA Communications Manager Kristen Gilligan and BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos set out on a weeklong tour of East Coast bookstores. Here's a report on their adventures to date.

By Len Vlahos

Day 1 -- February 9

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a five-day trip
Leaving from this tropic port,
Aboard this tiny ship

The mate was a mighty driving gal,
The dotcommer brave and sure
Two passengers drove off that day
On a thirteen bookstore tour
A thirteen bookstore tour…

Maybe I should be worried. I'm embarking on a five-day "tour" with a Gilligan. And not just any Gilligan, but a Gilligan who, in the past year, has had her share of mishaps. I am, of course, speaking of ABA's manager of communications, Kristen Gilligan.

Kristen and I are leaving South Florida, where we've been attending the ABA Board meeting, beginning an odyssey that will take us through 10 states and the District of Columbia, across nearly 1,500 miles, and to some 13 bookstores.

The genesis of the tour is Kristen's new car. Her exhaustive search for a 1998 Toyota 4Runner ended in Ft. Lauderdale -- the right car at the right price with the right mileage. The only problem is it was half a continent away. Kristen asked if I would help her drive the car home and sweetened the deal by suggesting we visit bookstores along the way. After some consultation with our employers (who loved the idea) and quite a bit of planning, Bookstore Odyssey 2004 was born.

(Before leaving we decide that Kristen will be our official photographer, and I the diarist. While these are my words, the story is ours together.)

ABA staff outside the Levenger offices are (l. to r.) Jill Perlstein, Oren Teicher, Kristen Gilligan, Len Vlahos, and Avin Mark Domnitz.

Mile 0. Our first stop, or really, the last meeting in a week full of meetings, is with the fine folks at Levenger in Delray Beach, Florida. If you're not familiar with Levenger, they sell high quality book, reading, and writing-related products. Everything from pens to bookcases, dictionary stands to office chairs. Along with Avin Mark Domnitz (ABA's CEO), Oren Teicher (COO), Jill Perlstein (marketing director), and Mitchell Kaplan (ABA vice president and owner of Books & Books in Coral Gables and Miami Beach), we meet with Levenger President Steve Leveen and his very talented staff to discuss the growing marketing partnership between our two organizations. Our existing online affiliate relationship, a proposed in-store affiliate relationship, and joint BEA activities are all on the agenda. After concluding very fruitful discussions (look for more info on the ABA/Levenger relationship in future issues of BTW) and a tour of the Levenger store, we're ready to get on our way.

But before we even pull out of the parking lot, Kristen discovers that one of the windshield wipers on her new car is broken. Some MacGyver-like ingenuity, tweezers and paper clip later, and finally, the journey begins.

The light rain stops as the palm trees become palmettos and the outside temperature dips from the low 70s to the low 50s in the late afternoon. We're almost all the way to our first official stop -- The Book Mark in Atlantic Beach (Jacksonville, Florida) -- when we notice that three of our four tires are low on air, one of them so much so that we proclaim it flat. After some panicked inflating, and with this our second automotive problem in only our first few hours on the road, I suggest that perhaps we name Kristen's new car "The Minnow." I don't get the guffaw I'm expecting, so I let the matter rest. (Though, to be honest, this car does still need a name. If you think of a good one, send an e-mail to [email protected] and put "CAR NAME" in the subject line.)

The Book Mark owners, Rona and Buford Brinlee, in front of their store. Below is The Book Mark's Book Sense 76 display, just inside the front door.

Finally, at 6:00 p.m. we make it to The Book Mark, where Rona and Buford Brinlee, the owners, warmly greet us. Just a block from the beach, the store itself is on an inviting main street, with a truly independent flavor. The front of the store is nicely lit and well merchandised, beginning with the beautiful Book Sense 76 display just inside the front door. As you walk through the store, several small rooms spill off a long hallway lined with bookcases, giving one the feeling of being in someone's house: One room for art and giftbooks, one for kids' books, and one for spirituality.

After a tour of the store, we have dinner with the Brinlees at Ragtime, the Brew Pub next door. The topics range from Book Sense Gift Cards to publisher invoices and everything in between. We're delighted to hear that that Brinlees not only remember the short-lived "Book and Rose Day," but also still celebrate it every April 23rd with roses for their customers.

We reluctantly leave Atlantic Beach and head for our way station for the evening: Savannah, Georgia. The Gilligan theme continues when we find that our hotel has had a watermain break, leaving us to drive aimlessly until finally, at nearly 11:30 p.m., we find a couple of clean rooms for the night.

Kristen, with a copy of Cursed by a Happy Childhood, the new title by our old friend Carl Lennertz (Harmony Books), and me with Hitting the Jackpot by Brett D. Fromson (Atlantic Monthly Press), bid each other a good night, retire to our rooms, and mentally prepare for another day on the road. We can only hope that tomorrow we won't be quoting from Lost in Space.

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Day 2 -- February 10
Nothing Could Be Finer (or is it Fina?)…

Mile 451. After five days of meetings in poorly ventilated and over air-conditioned rooms in Miami, and one long day on the road, my respiratory system seems to be in some distress. What started as a scratchy throat seems to be evolving into laryngitis and a bronchial infection.

But things aren't so bad when we set off from Savannah on Tuesday morning. The only excitement en route to Columbia is the discovery that three of our four tires have again lost air. It seems almost impossible that all of Kristen's new tires (and though the car is used, the tires are new) have leaks. So we again find ourselves one of those 50 cent air pumps -- this time in Bowan, South Carolina -- and start inflating.

It's about 11:30 a.m. when we get to the Happy Bookseller in Columbia. The sun is shining and the temperature is near 60. From both outside and in, the store is much bigger than we expected. Owner Andy Graves tells us that when he started working there in the early '90s, the Happy Bookseller was the largest store in the state of South Carolina. Since the massive expansion of the big box corporate retailers, it's now not even the largest in Columbia.

The Book Sense 76 display at the Happy Bookseller in Columbia, South Carolina. Owner Andy Graves and his wife, Carrie, pose in front of the store (below).

But size isn't everything. The 6,000-square-foot store is meticulously merchandised with a lovingly crafted selection of books. Staff picks, discounted bestsellers, and tables of new fiction and nonfiction greet us as we walk in. As we continue through, we pass the prominently featured Book Sense 76 display.

Our conversation with Andy covers a variety of topics, notably his eagerness to implement Book Sense Gift Cards, and his own thoughts about the ongoing debate over the Book Sense 76 redesign.

After asking Andy and his wife, Carrie, to pose for a picture in front of the store, we call on our good friend Wanda Jewell, executive director of the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA).

We take Wanda up on her invitation for lunch, but that is only the beginning of her Southern hospitality. Concerned about our deflating tires, Wanda finds us a Toyota dealer who quickly diagnoses the problem: bad tire stems. The dealer needs about an hour to fix the problem, so Wanda takes us on a driving tour of Columbia.

We finish up at Wanda's office and are treated to a demonstration of SEBA's online virtual tradeshow. A tool for SEBA members only, Kristen and I are blown away by the product. A streaming video of every educational session from the last two years is available for viewing -- and it works great, even on a dial-up connection. Moreover, handouts from each session are available for downloading, and every exhibitor who so desires can set up a virtual tour of his or her booth. As if this isn't enough, SEBA maintains an online database of bookstore events in the region for consumers. We leave excited with ideas for ABA.

Wanda drops us off back at the dealer where we effusively thank her again for interrupting her busy day and taking us under her wing. The car now repaired (and the bill only $53!), we hit the road for the long drive to Franklin, North Carolina.

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Day 3 -- February 11
Cold Mountains

Mile 841. My voice is totally shot. The only noise I can make with any success is a hacking cough, and if I try to talk, I sound vaguely like Peter Brady hitting puberty. Only it's not cute and it's not funny. All this makes visiting four stores sprawled over 100 miles seem like a daunting task.

Books Unlimited in Franklin, North Carolina

But by the time we're five minutes into our first meeting, I'm talking without cease. Happily, Kristen's presence helps keep things on track, and we spend more time listening than talking during our meeting with Suzanne Harouff, the new-ish owner of Books Unlimited in downtown Franklin, North Carolina.

Not currently an ABA member, Books Unlimited is really two stores in one: new books sold on the left and used on the right. Suzanne and Donna -- the former owner who sold the store to Suzanne just eight months ago -- are busy with customers for much of our visit, but still manage to spend some quality time talking with us about life and retail in Franklin. (We even learn that Franklin is the gem capital of the world, with an active ruby mine nearby.)

Emily Dickinson and Yoda, the two very customer-friendly cats, drape themselves on the counter and even for a while on top of the POS computer monitor (photo left). The gestalt at Books Unlimited couldn't be more in tune with what ABA and Book Sense represent, and we leave hopeful that we'll soon welcome the store back into the fold.

The next stop in our hectic day is the City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Almost as if it were planned, we walk in while the owner, Joyce Moore, is redeeming a Book Sense gift card.

City Lights Bookstore owner Joyce Moore redeems a Book Sense gift card. City Lights (below) is in Sylva, North Carolina.

After we get a tour of the store -- it's easy to get lost in the many inviting nooks and crannies full of great books -- Joyce, and her full-time employees Chris and Jennifer, spend a pleasant hour discussing Book Sense, the ABA, and local bookselling with us. (Miss Kitty, the venerable store cat, sits on Kristen's lap throughout the conversation.) A discussion of ABA's efforts to fight the Patriot Act leads to our favorite quote of the day, from Joyce: "If the store has something to offend everyone, we're doing our job right."

We are amazed to learn that City Lights has a mailing list of 9,000 people and an e-mail list of 1,900 in a county of only 30,000! The staff is currently trying to mobilize the community to help keep a branch of the library located in downtown Sylva. (The local community college is trying to get it moved to the campus three miles from downtown.) If I were a gambling man (and hey, I am!), I'd bet on City Lights in this struggle.

We answer questions about BookSense.com and gift cards -- both programs that are happy to claim City Lights as active participants -- snag two chocolate chip cookies from the café downstairs and are back in the 4Runner.

Waynesville Book Company in Waynesville, North Carolina

Half an hour up the road we arrive at the Waynesville Book Company. Like many of the towns in this part of the world, Waynesville's main street is lined with independently owned businesses, all teeming with character. The Waynesville Book Company is a perfect fit.

This is a particularly happy visit, as after a conversation with Kristen just last week, owner Kent Stewart joined ABA. And, for the second time today, we're greeted with a transaction that is strangely appropriate. This time, rather than gift cards, the customer talking with Kent is special ordering a book. Only, for fear of the federal government wanting to know what he's reading, the customer will only give an alias when placing the order. He will not give a real name or phone number. Kent, showing the true colors of independent booksellers everywhere, respects the man's privacy, and agrees to wait for him to return the following week to check on the order in person. We, of course, tell Kent about ABA's activities regarding the Patriot Act.

Our time with Kent was fascinating. We learned a lot about local history and geography, including the Cold Mountain, which is only eight miles away. Kent has created a fascinating guide to Cold Mountain, which is marketed with the various editions of Charles Frazier's wildly successful book, right at the front of the store. In fact, his entire collection of local interest titles is staggering.

Letting Kent get back to his customers (those with real names and those without), we reluctantly leave the rural mountain towns and head for Asheville, the urban center of western North Carolina. But there's no reluctance in our visit to Malaprop's Bookstore.

Malaprop's Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina

A beehive of activity, Malaprop's is located on a well-traveled street in downtown Asheville. Customers wander from the bookstore to the café -- all in one space -- and back again. I'm personally drawn to the staff picks section, where each member of the staff has some part, or all, of a shelf.

Emoke B'Racz, Linda Barrett Knopp, and their employees Steve and Alsace spend time with us. They're most proud of, and we're most impressed by, their commitment to collecting customer signatures to fight the Patriot Act. They've already gone through a number of petition pads and are ready for more. (Sensing a theme for today? If you're not familiar with ABA's role in the campaign to amend the Patriot Act, click here.) We also discussed both BookSense.com and gift cards, programs with which Malaprop's is having real success.

Having visited our last store for the day, we're heading to Greensboro for the night in anticipation of our meeting at The Living Room tomorrow morning.

…to be continued….