Posts Tagged Indie Spotlight

Indie Spotlight: Parnassus Books, Nashville TN

By on January 30, 2017   /   Book Lists, Fiction, For Kids, Indie Spotlight, Nonfiction  

Ann Patchett, successful award-winning author and passionate promoter of independent bookstores all over the country,

Karen Hayes & Ann Patchett

has joined the growing number of authors who feel strongly about the value of independent bookstores so they open their own, in her case Parnassus Books in Nashville Tennessee (www.parnassusbooks.net), co-founded with publishing veteran Karen Hayes. We’re talking today with Mary Laura Philpott who writes the store’s lively blog “Musings” and has two middle-grade junior booksellers of her own.

Mixed-Up Files: What do you want people to experience at Parnassus? Describe an ideal day in the shop.
Mary Laura: If you look around the store, you can see the experience that Ann Patchett and Karen Hayes, our owners, have in mind. It’s open and light and clean, but with plenty of interesting nooks and corners, and lots of comfy seating. There’s usually a shop dog or two lounging around, hoping for a reader to snuggle with. And depending on the day, we might set up chairs in front of our stage for a visiting author to come read and sign books. It’s meant to be more than just a store — a real hub for lovers of the written word of all ages.

MUF:With your owners’ experience in the publishing business, your store collection must be well curated. Do you and your community have some special areas of interest?
Mary Laura: You’re right — curation is key, especially for a small store where there’s no room for filler. Our owners and buyers have gotten to know what local audience is interested in. Of course, new fiction and nonfiction are always popular. Nashville’s full of voracious readers, so customers tend to be aware of the latest literary buzz and come in looking for new titles they’ve read about. Not surprisingly, we have a well-stocked music section. And with the expansion of our shop in 2016, we were able to add not only more elbow room for browsing in all our sections, but also more space for children’s and YA titles.

MUF: How do you help kids select books? We’d like to know what titles, old or new, fiction or nonfiction, you find yourself recommending most often these days to readers aged 8-12.
Mary Laura: Great question! Our manager of books for young readers is Stephanie Appell, who has a masters degree in library science with a focus on youth services and is a former teen librarian. She also just might be the most enthusiastic champion of children’s literature and YA literature I’ve ever met. She regularly meets with publishers to discuss what they’ve got coming up, but she also does a lot of her own research, via trade publications and blogs, to stay on top of the best and brightest new titles. All of our children’s booksellers are great at reading ahead so they can recommend the best new reads the minute the books come out.
You can follow along with our staff picks on Musing, our online magazine. Every month, there are some picks especially for young readers, chosen by our children’s booksellers as well as our junior booksellers — a few kids ranging from elementary to high school who help us out on weekends and holidays. (Two of them are my own kids, and they love choosing their staff picks!) https://parnassusmusing.net/category/staff-picks/

[Looking over these staff picks, we found lots of new or somehow overlooked titles to add to our teetering pile of books-to-read.  Fiction:  Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin, The Land of Forgotten Girls by Erin Entrada Kelly, Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LeFleur,  The Girl Who Could Fly and The Boy Who Knew Everything by Victoria Foster, and Awkward  by Svetlana Chmkova.   Nonfiction: The Courage to Soar by Simone Biles, Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska,  and March by John Lewis.]

MUF: Any events or activities coming up that would be of special interest to middle-graders?
Mary Laura: Yes! We are so excited about the launch of Andrew Maraniss’s Strong Inside: The True Story of How Perry Wallace Broke College Basketball’s Color Line. This is a middle grade adaptation of Andrew’s New York Times bestselling book of the same title, and it’s an incredible true story of courage and perseverance. Andrew is going to discuss the book with fellow New York Times bestselling author Ruta Sepetys at Parnassus on February 9th. You can check our online calendar for more upcoming events at http://www.parnassusbooks.net/event.

MUF: Many independent bookstores have store pets, but Parnassus has several wonderfully named dogs (Sparkman Vandevender or Sparky, Opie Breman, Belle Rock, Bear Gardner, Mary Todd Lincoln Coffman, and Eleanor Roosevelt Philpott), who not only greet customers but actually perform same-day delivery service?
Mary Laura: Ha! Yes, that was their April Fool’s Day joke on us all last year. (https://parnassusmusing.net/2016/04/01/announcing-our-new-service-parnassus-on-paws/) Wouldn’t it be hilarious if the dogs could drive and they just showed up at people’s doorsteps? They actually serve a variety of functions in the store, from offering wet-nosed greetings to acting as furry footstools to snuggling anyone who looks like they need a little love. They also have their own blog, “Shop Dog Diaries,” where they share their bookstore adventures. (https://parnassusmusing.net/category/shop-dog-diaries/)

MUF:For those of us who can’t visit and enjoy Parnassus soon, tell us what we can experience online.
Mary Laura: If you can’t be here in person, make sure you’re subscribed to Musing — it’s almost as good as visiting the store. You’ll get lots of exclusive, free bookish content delivered right to your inbox: author interviews, reading lists, staff reviews of new books, Ann’s blog, the shop dogs’ blog, and more. (www.ParnassusMusing.com) You can also shop directly from our store website, www.ParnassusBooks.net, and we’ll ship your books to you. One other thing far-away readers need to know about is our subscription programs. (http://www.parnassusbooks.net/first-edition-clubs) There are two, actually: the First Editions Club (a signed, hardcover, new adult book every month) and ParnassusNext (a new, signed YA book every month). And if you’re on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, you can interact with us every day!

MUF: If a family visits your shop from out of town, would there be family-friendly places in the neighborhood where they could get a snack or meal? And if they can stay a little longer, are there some unique sites or activities nearby they shouldn’t miss?
Mary Laura: Oh, Nashville is such a family-friendly town. Depending on the weather, there are lots of places right in the middle of the city to hike and enjoy the outdoors (check out Radnor Lake and Warner Parks). The Parthenon is pretty cool, as are the Nashville Zoo and Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. If you’re into science, the Adventure Science Center is worth checking out. There are some family-friendly activities at Opryland as well. As for food, well, we could go on forever . . . Andy Brennan, our store manager, strongly believes Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint is the best in town. There are several spots right here in our shopping center, too, including Fox’s Donut Den right around the corner. Donuts and books, does it get better than that?

MUF:  Amen!  Thanks for telling us about Parnassus Books.  Readers, have you visited this delightful shop?  If not, wouldn’t you love to go there?

Sue Cowing is the author of the puppet-and-boy novel, You Will Call Me Drog (Carolrhoda 2011, Usborne UK 2012)

Back to Top

Indie Spotlight: Booktenders’ Secret Garden, Doylestown PA

By on October 31, 2016   /   Book Lists, For Librarians, For Parents, For Teachers, For Writers, Indie Spotlight  

booktenders-logoS. C. for Mixed-Up Flies: It’s our pleasure this month to talk with hand selling award winner Ellen Mager, owner of Booktenders’ Secret Garden Children’s Bookstore and Gallery (www.booktendersdoylestown.com).  Recently Nicole Plyer Fisk published a book, The Booktenders’ Secret Garden,
 through Lulu, to honor Ellen and raise funds for “extras” for the shop.

MUF: Ellen, children’s bookstores went through quite a rough patch a few years ago, but Booktenders’ has kept going over thirty years. What’s your secret?
Ellen: I love what I do, hand selling by book talking to kids “of all ages”.  I’m still here because I enjoy it. My customers know, and expect, me to find that perfect book and when I do, that’s the pleasure.booktenders-book-cover

MUF: Describe the atmosphere you have tried to create at Booktenders’. What do you want people to experience when they visit?
Ellen: I want people to have their expectations met, that I will find just what they need and go away with the present and a story about it. I’ve only had Infant to 7th grade since I had to move to a smaller store front. With some exceptions I do not do Young Adult. This limits the arguments of 4th graders who want a YA they have heard about, and I can share with them some of the fabulous Middle Grade authors and their books. A 10-year-old was asked why he loved Hunger Games so much to have read each one 3 times.  His answer was “Where else do you get to see kids killing kids?” When I heard it, it made me ill. A 7th or 8th grader, where that book should be, would not have answered that way.  My customers like that I am conservative and believe that some books can wait.booktenders-ellen

MUF: You carry original art and greeting cards by book illustrators in your store, and you have a gallery to display work by illustrators. Who are some of them? Who are some authors and illustrators who have signed your “Wall of Fame”
Ellen: I have over 200 signatures, messages and/or drawings Robert Sabuda, Marc Brown, Eric Carle, Uri Shulevitz, Don and Audrey Wood, Tomie DePaola, David Shannon, David Small, Paul O. Zelinsky, and so many more and special tiles by Brian Selznick, Jane Dyer, Patricia Polacco to name a few. I have original art work and prints from Ted & Betsy Lewin, Will Hillenbrand, Floyd Cooper, Valerie Gorbachev, Robert and Lisa Papp, John O’Brien, Barbara McClintock, Deborah Kogran Ray, S.D. Schindler, Gene Barretta, Chris Conover, Lee Harper.

booktenders-eye-to-eyeMUF: A small shop needs to be very selective about booktenders-who-wasbooks. How do you decide what titles to carry in your shop?
Ellen: After 33 years, I know many of my customers and their families, I know what I am good at selling, and more than anything, I know what I like, what makes me feel great to share. As I said I believe in giving kids a wide range of authors.  booktenders-peckAs Richard Peck said when a 5th grader asked him what you booketnders-survivalneed to be a good writer, “BE A GOOD READER.”

MUF: As middle-grade authors, we’re curious to know a few books, old or new, fiction or nonfiction, you find yourself recommending most often to ages 8 to 12 these days.booktenders-sis
Ellen: Science.  I absolutely worship Steve Jenkins. The booktenders-floccawonderful information, the fantastic illustrations, glosseries.  I LOVE what I have named “picture novellas” and I can handsell Robert Byrd, Brian Flocca, Peter Sis, and so many more that teach social science and science.  The kids love the Who Was series the Survival Series , by Tracey Ward, and more authors:  booktenders-nerdsMichael Buckley’s Sisters Grimm and Nerds. bookbinders-copernicusTony Abbott’s Copernicus Legacy (I can’t wait to read #4!)Adult writers writing for kids catch the adults eye & the kids really like them): booktenders-chompCarl Hiassen, John Grisham, Michael Scott’s Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel , booktenders-flammel
Richard Peck, Patricia Reilly Giff.booktenders-giff

booktender-buckley

Michael Buckley

booktenders-byrdMUF: What regular activities or upcoming events at Booktenders’ would be of special interest to middle-graders? Ellen: I will be having Michael Buckley in five schools as well as a session here the last wee
k in November (He’s like the Pied Piper to readers!)

MUF: If a family visited your store from out of town, would there be family-friendly places in the neighborhood where they could get a meal or a snack, and are there other unique sights or activities nearby that they shouldn’t miss?
Ellen: The Mercer Museum, Henry Mercer’s Homestead –Fonthill, and my favorite, the Moravian Tile Works –amazing. Bucks County is full of Historic Landmarks such as Pearl Buck’s Homestead, Washington Crossing.  Family, younger fun? Kids’ Castle. There are many restaurants right in downtown of many different food choices and prices.

MUF:  Thanks, Ellen, for telling sharing your thoughts about your shop and for adding some must-read titles to our lists.  Readers, have you visited  Secret Garden?  Next time you’re in the Philadelphia, be sure to drop in and pick up a new favorite book!

Sue Cowing is author of the middle-grade puppet-and-boy novel You Will Call Me Drog (Carllrhoda 2011, Usborne UK 2012).

Back to Top

Indie Spotlight: Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville NC

By on June 29, 2016   /   Book Lists, Indie Spotlight  

malaprop's logo #2Independent bookstores are undoubtedly one of the most hopeful things  going for writers and readers today.  With special pleasure this month we feature Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe (www.malaprops.com) which spoke up and pushed back pushed back in North Carolina this spring.  We are talking today with General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett.malaprop's front #1
MUF: During the recent controversy over gender laws in your state, you appealed to authors and businesses not to boycott bookstores as part of their protest. Was the response encouraging? What role do you think bookstores like Malaprops can play in shaping independent and inclusive outlooks, particularly in the young?
Linda-Marie:After our open letters to authors, published in Shelf Awareness, in which we urged authors not to boycott us, we received very encouraging and supportive letters and phone calls from authors, publishers and other booksellers. Independent bookstores like Malaprop’s Malaprop's Thanksare often the only space in communities where controversial ideas are discussed. Independent bookstores are guardians of freedom of expression. We host authors and carry books that nurture inclusivity and awareness of different ways of being in the world.

MUF: Describe the atmosphere you have created in your shop.   What do you want people, especially young people, to experience when they visit? malaprop's interior #2
Linda-Marie: We hope most to be welcoming, inspiring and safe. We want to be a place where people relax when they enter our doors, find their next great read, laugh at some of our silly gift items, and engage with our booksellers and learn something new. We love our young readers and encourage them to find books that open their minds and their hearts and spark imagination.

MUF: What’s a good day at Malaprops?
Linda-Marie: Every day is a good day, but the best day for me is when I have a conversation with a customer malaprop's languagesand learn something from them that I can apply in my own life. I love when matching readers with books that might change their lives, or at the very least, bring a smile and a lightness to their hearts.

MUF: Malaprop’s is a relatively small shop. How do you decide what titles to carry and feature at your store?
Linda-Marie: We are not small for an independent bookstore, but we are very selective about what we bring in. We purchase based on what our customers have loved in the past, what we see being favorably reviewed in media we respect, and according to our tastes, too. We carry all of the favorite books of our staff. We also look for those special books that readers won’t find anywhere else. We like to surprise and delight our customers.Malaprop's Mr. PuffballMalaprop's League of Seven

MUF: As middle -grade authors, we’d love to know what titles, old and new, fiction and nonfiction, you find yourself recommending to ages 8-12 these days? Linda-Marie: I love Mr. Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars by Constance Lombardo, and The League of Seven by Alan Gratz. Lombardo and Gratz are local authors whose reads have a lot of heart, humor, and imagination. Lombardo illustrated Mr. Puffball and her drawings are hilarious!

MUF: Does Malaprop’s have any activities or events coming up in July or August that would be of particular interest to middle-graders? Malaprop's Harry potter
Linda-Marie: Our big event will be the Harry Potter midnight release party. Too much fun!

MUF: If a family from out of town came to visit your store, would there be family-friendly places in the neighborhood where they could have lunch or snacks after shopping?
Linda-Marie: We are fortunate to be surrounded by family friendly restaurants. Great places to eat are Early Girl, Laughing Seed, Tupelo Honey, and Loretta’s.Malaprop's interior #1

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for talking with us, Linda-Marie.  Readers, have you been  to Malaprop’s or think you’d like to visit?  Please add your comments.

Sue Cowing is the author of the middle-grade puppet-and-boy novel, You Will Call Me Drog (Carolrhoda 2011, Usborne UK 2012)

Back to Top