Bookseller Gives Michigan Community a New Song

Downtown Howell, Michigan, is about to have something new to sing about. Opening officially on September 15 is a 3,000-square-foot general bookstore named Aria Booksellers, complete with a Patagonian conure, a tropical American parrot whose name is Mozart.

Mary Ellen Ahmad (nee Swallow) is the bird lover, patron of the arts, and the first independent bookseller in town since 1980. Ahmad told BTW that 20 years ago Howell wasn't large enough to support a bookstore. Now, with a county population of 160,000, the town, located midway between Lansing and Ann Arbor, is ready for one. "This is an historic Victorian town that is in a renovating stage … it's revising itself."

Ahmad is on the board of the Howell Opera House, which is currently undergoing a major renovation, and she is active with Community Theatre of Howell. With a degree in fashion retailing; varied business experience; six years of teaching in elementary school; and a house filled with her husband, Jay, three young children, and assorted pets, Ahmad believed the time was ripe for an entrée into bookselling.

Aria already has a BookSense.com site, www.ariabooksellers.com, enabling customers to become acquainted with the store and to order books before the actual store opening.

Ahmad said she has found Book Sense a great tool in building inventory, "The Book Sense 76 lists have really helped in stocking the store. I've enjoyed reading the suggested books as I've done the research for the store."

Aria Booksellers will open its doors for a pre-opening sale beginning August 20, to coincide with the Howell Melon Festival. The annual event, celebrating the special variety of muskmelon that grows abundantly in the area, includes a two-hour parade down Main Street, directly in front of the new bookstore.

Ahmad credits Donna Paz and the booksellers school, organized in conjunction with ABA, with preparing her for what's in store. "Donna's program is awesome. She has been a tremendous help. She is my consultant and recommended the architect who designed the store from A to Z." [The next program, "Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials," will take place in Portland, Oregon, on September 9 - 15, in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association convention and trade show, held September 13 - 15. For more information or to register visit www.pazbookbiz.com or call (800) 260-8605.]