So don't miss out on the opportunity to advertise in this year's Winter Catalog, reaching 307,000 consumers, 1,600 booksellers, with 33,000 website visits and 3,838 Facebook hits.

Readers Rejoice! Absolutely Fiction Books

to Fill the Void Left when Waldenbooks Closed

 

Becky and Jay Jackson [held] a soft opening for their bookstore, Absolutely Fiction Books, in Lufkin, Texas [on July 1, 2016].

 

Becky, who retired from Al Meyer Ford, and Jay, who works for the City of Lufkin, both share a love of books. "We actually met when I worked at Waldenbooks in the mall and have been married 34 years since," Becky said. "So we definitely share a love of books, and this is something we have talked about doing over the years. With Waldenbooks going out of business five years ago, it's left a void. People have to travel an hour and a half to two hours to go get books. There are plenty of used books going around Angelina County." Becky said the store will have a wide array of fiction and nonfiction books, along with free coffee for customers. "We will have regional cookbooks displayed and will be selling adult and children T-shirts with literary themes," Becky said. "So they will have the name of the book, a picture used in the original artwork and then the author's name, like 'Maltese Falcon,' 'A Wrinkle in Time,' 'The Raven.' Then for children's T-shirts we will have titles like 'Madeline,' 'Curious George,' 'Where the Wild Things Are.'" There will also be a children's area with children's Storytime, which will be held either once a week or once a month. "Also, I had thought about doing one in English and one in Spanish, so that we could incorporate the entire community," Becky said, "because this is going to be a bookstore for everyone. Everybody is welcome."

 

As of Tuesday, July 5, hours [subject to change] will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

-Stephanie Stevens, The Lufkin News, June 1, 2016

Usually, if I visit two bookstores in one day it may involve complicated travel and/or other various logistical challenges.

 

Second Story Books is aptly named for its location on the 2nd floor of a historic building in downtown Laramie. KK [Karen Voigt], the co-owner along with her sister, told me that at one time this 2nd floor space was a dance hall. The dance hall was surrounded by numerous small rooms which explains the store's history as a hotel and a brothel. Those side rooms are now all part of the bookstore and they house different genres and items like westerns, cards and gifts, or bargain books. Second Story offers all new books and numerous sidelines. As with many other indies, the sidelines are an important part of the revenue. Greeting cards, journals, t-shirts, and lots of stuff for kids highlight the sidelines you'll find here.

 

There are lots of table displays throughout, all creatively done. Every display made it very easy to browse the books. It was also nice that there were lots of comfortable chairs to sit down in and spend time with a book. Another nice perk here is that they offer a free book with the purchase of a book. A great incentive to buy a book!

 

I had a wonderful time talking to KK and we shared lots of book ideas. She told me that they don't have many author events but they do have book clubs that meet in the store, always a great way to bring people in. And like their next door neighbor, Night Heron Books & Coffeehouse, free parking right on the street.

 

If you're in Laramie and haven't visited this "institution," it's time. Go to an indie and buy a book. Bonsoir.

See photos of Second Story Books from Indie Bob's Blogspot here.

I just wanted to give you a heads up about something I have been dealing with these past couple of months that may extend to other bookstores and certainly to small businesses.