Indie Bookstore Tour: Connecticut Chapter

We headed to the Mecca of indie bookstores: RJ Julia's!

RJ Julia is legendary for their author events and staff picks. The store is huge, with 2 floors and numerous rooms. Housed in the same building is a small coffee shop, where you can nourish your body while nourishing your mind! The stock was simply amazing; neatly organized book upon book fill the shelves, which climb to the ceiling.

Staff picks are scattered throughout each genre. Hand-written and signed by each person, these selections lend a personal touch to the shop. Lining the wall, there are autographed pictures of the authors that have visited. The lineup, in keeping with the store's reputation, was quite impressive!

Professionally printed flyers advertise book clubs and upcoming author events. The store was crammed with customers, and the atmosphere was one of pleasant comraderie between the workers and visitors.


Here is a sample of the staff picks.

We had a delicious lunch in Guilford. Here's the view from our table. You can pick up a book at RJ Julia's, grab lunch at Guilford Mooring where the fresh seafood selection is to die for, and then head to the beach!

Visit RJ Julia's website: http://www.rjjulia.com/

Visit Guilford Mooring's website: http://www.guilfordmooring.com/

Indie Bookstore Tour: NYC Chapter, Pt. II

While we were in the city for the BEA, we happened to stumble across an indie book nook! 192 Books was a lovely little shop. 192 is a one-room establishment, with a glass front to the store, so that the lighting is beautiful!

This is a relatively young shop which was opened in 2003. We were very pleased to have happened upon it, en route to the Empire Diner, which if you happen to be in Chelsea is definitely worth stopping by! Their avocado chili and turkey club are particularly delicious, as are the milkshakes.

Visit 192 Books' website: http://www.192books.com/
Visit here for info on Empire Diner: http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/empire-diner/

BEA Pt. II

BookExpo of America ... how to describe it?? On Thursday, we went and attended classes that were offered to booksellers. People from all across the country and international visitors congregated in Manhattan for the conference. We dropped in on 4 different sessions. The two we found most helpful were the one on social media, and the one for creating a community center in your store.
We have a slew of great ideas for ways to make The Book Cove even better.... keep reading our blog, we will keep posting!

BEA Pt. I

Day One: Here we go! There is our destination, the Jacob Javits Center.

Journey to Javits

The BookExpo of America is tomorrow!! We are eagerly anticipating the chance to meet authors, fellow booksellers, publicists, and sales reps. We'll be posting pictures, stay tuned!

Gift Card Giveaway: Part II

We are updating the guidelines for the gift card giveaway: All you have to do is leave a comment, indicating your desire to win a $10 gift card to the Book Cove. You can comment on any of our posts. We are also extending the deadline through the month of May. A winner will be selected at random on June 1st, 2009. You can comment as many times as you would like; be sure to include some way for us to identify you as the recipient. We will announce who the winner is on the blog, so check back again soon!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Lizzie, who is the winner of our $10 gift card giveaway. Many thanks to everyone who participated. Check back soon for our next giveaway!

Finale for the Month of May

Actress and New York Times-bestselling author Isabel Gillies came to the Cove this past weekend. We all loved her! Plus, we got to ask her several questions, including the most pressing one: Will there be a sequel? We had our fingers crossed... and the answer is yes! Isabel joked that she will go on writing books until people get sick of them, and she is already writing another memoir, due to be completed this summer.

Isabel was our final author for the month of May. We have already blogged about how packed June will be; look for more information to be posted soon!

Stationery Show

The Covies paid a visit yesterday to the Jacob Javits Center! The Stationery Show was in town. We found many wonderful vendors, and purchased some great sidelines for the Cove. Journals, puzzles, cards, bookmarks, and more are all soon to be here!

Gift shows give us the opportunity to generate new ideas, speak with other retailers, and find ways to improve our shop. In a couple weeks, we will be heading down to NYC for the BEA. The BookExpo of America is a huge event, with vendors, classes, and famous guest speakers. Kicking off the event will be Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, who will play no doubt to a full house!

Image via http://www.visitingdc.com/new-york/jacob-javits-center-address.asp

Up and Coming

Our schedule is crammed to capacity over the next couple of weeks, with a slew of authors coming to visit! On Sunday May 17th (less than a week away!) Isabel Gillies will be here at 1 pm. What can we say about her book that has not already been said? Happens Every Day debuted on the NYT-bestseller list in the Top 10, and has been on the list for more than 4 weeks. It has been featured, well, everywhere! This moving memoir tells the story of how Isabel's husband abruptly left her and their two young children, and has been reviewed in Oprah's "O" Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Parenting Magazine, Elle, Glamour, Entertainment Weekly, and People, among many other outlets. Isabel was interviewed on
the Today Show about her book, and Starbucks chose it as their Read of the Month. Several of our staff members have read and loved this book, as have quite a few customers.
Isabel has led a fascinating life, appearing on the cover of Seventeen Magazine as a teenager, briefy dating Mick Jagger, having a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU, and having (both) her marriages written up in the New York Times. Happens Every Day is a very real, vivid chapter of Isabel's life, which she tells to the reader with spunk and courage. Isabel's signing will wrap up our authors for the month of May.
In June, we have almost a dozen writers coming. Saturday June 6th, we have Jayanti Tamm coming, whose memoir, Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult, was written up in Forbes magazine and given a 4 out of 4 star review in People. The same day, we have Gail Graham coming, who has had no less than 4 of her novels chosen to be featured as New York Times Book Recommendations. Then on Sunday, June 7th, at 2 pm, Allen Barra will appear to discuss his biography of Yogi Berra, Eternal Yankee. On Saturday June 13th, there will be a huge Hudson Celebration taking place, with 5 authors participating. To see more about the other authors coming next month, visit our website. http://www.pawlingbookcove.com/

Signing Success Streak Continues!

Olivia reads from Life List.
Evelyn speaks about Murder Takes the Cake.
Questions & Answers.







And the signing!

We were very pleased to host Olivia Gentile and Evelyn David today. Both ladies were wonderful speakers, and the audience was captivated by their talks and readings. A lively discussion concluded the event, with lots of people asking questions and sharing feedback!
The Book Cove has been very fortunate with all of our authors; they are gracious, entertaining, warm, and personable. Many thanks to Evelyn and Olivia for coming, and thank you to the audience members as well.

Indie Bookstore Tour: NYC Chapter

Coming to a city near you...We're on tour!

We are visiting our fellow independent bookstores. We began this week in New York City with three very renowned shops.

We started out at Rizzoli. Located on the westside of Manhattan, Rizzoli was unquestionably one of the most beautiful bookstore we've been to. Three stories high, Rizzoli offers a wide array of coffee table books, with a concentration in art, as well as an impressive assortment of foreign books, music, and magazines. In business for over 40 years, Rizzoli clearly has a loyal clientele-and with such an exquisite store and stock, how could they not?

Our second stop: Shakespeare & Co. Their stock was incredible, with books upon books, and ladders reaching up to even more books. If one were looking for a bestselling title that is out of stock seemingly everywhere, Shakespeare & Co. would be the place to look. With shelves stretching to the ceiling, chances are they will have it!

Next up: The Strand. The legendary "18 mile" bookstore did not disappoint! It was a mob scene, with people milling around outside and an even bigger crowd indoors. The classics section was astounding, with delicately bound copies at very reasonable prices. The Strand has a range of prices and subjects. A hardback, bound copy of Hardy's Tess, for example, was a mere $6.95. Outside, there are stacks of $1 books. Inside, you can sell your used books or peruse each section. All of the subjects are incredibly in-depth, filled with new books as well as rare and out of print titles. Quite rare books are available upon request; flyers throughout the space advetise unique and costly tomes.

Every shop we visited was characterized by knowledgeable and friendly salespeople. There was only one bookstore we passed and didn't go into: Barnes & Noble. All the same, a bookstore is a bookstore, and everybody is struggling in this challenging economy.

Independent bookstores are an endangered species. We appreciate your support...and we hope you will follow us on our tour!

Visit Rizzoli's website: http://www.rizzoliusa.com/

Visit Shakespeare & Co.'s website: http://www.shakeandco.com/

Visit The Strand's website: http://www.strandbooks.com/

Gift Card Giveaway

Here's the deal! We would like to give someone a $10 gift card to our store. That someone could be you! It's pretty simple: leave a comment on this post, telling us why you enjoy coming to The Book Cove.

The guidelines: You may post as many comments as you would like. A winner will be chosen at random. Include your name in the comment; the name you post will be called for the prize.

To leave a comment, click on this link: http://bookcovebulletin.blogspot.com/2009/05/post-comment-collect-prize.html#comments
You can post under "Anonymous" (no need to have an account on the site). The lucky recipient will be announced on May 25th. We will post it on here. Comment now and check back again soon!

A Signing Success

Today was the big day! Louise Shaffer and Jo Maeder came Coveside. Both ladies were incredibly lovely, warm, and witty. Louise spoke first; she talked about her life, including her acting career, which was cut short just a few months after her win at the Emmys. Louise was advised to take some time off for what the industry calls "knee surgery." Replace the word "knee" with the word "plastic," and you know where that was going! When Louise declined, she was let go from Ryan's Hope.
Looking at her today, seeing how comfortable she is in her own skin, was so inspirational!

Jo also gave a great talk, and did a laugh-out-loud funny reading from her memoir. One particularly memorable line was, "Family-the other F word!" Jo moved the audience by speaking about how she reacquainted herself with "Mama Jo," and how she discovered a whole other side to her "hoarding," "doll-collecting," "hours late" mother!

Jo and Louise were our first May authors. May 9th, Oliva Gentile and Evelyn David will be coming at 1 pm. One a mystery writer and the other a biographer, they promise to be a great pair. We hope to see you!

Many thanks to Jo and Louise for joining us.

We hope to see both of them again!

Also, thank you to the great audience-we hope you will come back for future events.

Lady Louise

I'm a Bronx girl, until I was married, and then moved to Mt. Vernon. I slowly migrated to Pawling. My husband and I have been married for 52 years, and have 5 wonderful children, and 8 grandchildren. I have enjoyed working for the last 10 years at The Book Cove, greeting our very friendly customers.

Best line: Bubba-la!

Most scandalous line: So, you live alone?

My motto for the store: Laugh heartily every day. Of course not all day long, they'll put you away!

Nickname: Lefty (It's the handwriting...and the filing)