We are having an ongoing discussion at our store among our staff and I am wondering if it is an age thing. Twenty somethings versus fifty somethings. This discussion is very hot among professionals in the industry beginning with the authors, readers, booksellers and publishers on many different levels.
I do email, use a cell phone, leave voice messages and retrieve voice messages, occasionally but rarely shop online. I don’t download books or audio. While the store has a Facebook page I do not. I do read books, magazines, newspapers and listen to audio books that I buy or check out from the library. I love holding the book, turning the pages, collecting my favorites on a bookshelf. When friends come over and see my shelves we have a nice chat about our favorites reads. The rest of my favorites are at the bookstore where I get to talk with customers about favorite books we’ve been reading. Over many years of leading the store bookgroup one of our favorite rituals is going around the circle to share what we’ve been reading lately. We hear about new authors and titles that we’ll check out as soon as possible.
I guess I am in the right profession because I like to “talk” about books with people. I am less than excited to “write” about them. But after selling books for over 18 years one thing is certain I am always learning something new and Blogging is something new for me. Will I keep blogging? We’ll see….
Here’s what I am excited about from the past few months.
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, One of Obama’s recommendations it is a fascinating “fly on the wall” point of view by the skillful use of letters and research to show the dynamics of Lincoln’s cabinet.
So Brave Young and Handsome by Leif Enger, The long awaited second book by the award winning author of Peace Like a River. The main character is a turn of the century (early 1900’s) author fighting writer’s block after a “one hit wonder”. Enger captures the setting of the time period, colorful characters and tells a charming thoughtful story about adults remaining open to the adventures of life.
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson is a great addition to the Scandinavian Noir Genre. Very satisfying suspenseful mystery with a classic investigative reporter type and a young edgy/punky misunderstood highly intelligent teenage woman who is a computer hacker that ends up collaborating with the reporter with his investigation. This is the first of three novels that have been bestsllers in Europe and are now being release in the US by Random House. Unfortunately very slowly! The second book The Girl Who Played with Fire will not be out until the end of July.
Tell us what you’ve read recently that you’ve liked.---Anita Zager
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6 comments:
I think the thing that makes social media--including blogging, newsletters, and Facebook--good for bookstores is that it lets us push information out to interested readers. Rather than having to depend on book reviewers and calendar editors to get the word out about new titles or events, bookstores can do it for themselves.
True, it takes a while to build up a list of subscribers, but I do think that technology can help us establish and maintain relationships with our customers, even when they're not actually in the store.
David E
Magers & Quinn Booksellers
David,
I strongly agree! Especially as newspapers are in flux (at best) with their coverage of literary news and events, we need to find ways to create that awareness and engender those conversations - even if it means shouting to the void for a time.
Is facebook the new town square? Whether it is or not, I am most excited when online conversations inform face to face conversations and vice versa, which I think is happening more as more people become comfortable with different manifestations of social media.
I'm still agnostic about Facebook. Because stores' pages have such limited features, our ability to push out content is not nearly as great as it is for an individual using Facebook. It's good, but probably not as good as the monthly email newsletter.
I'm trying to figure out how to use Facebook to connect our readers to one another.
--David E
I probably come across proselytizing for social media and facebook in particular a little more than I intend!
I think twitter is a very strong tool for helping like-minded folks find and interact with each other because subjects/postings can be quick and can vary greatly in their focus. I don't use it to its full potential, but I'm growing in my appreciation of that potential. Quick postings - quick links - responses and repostings all help the flow of personality and pertinent information.
As far as facebook, we're hammering down a few details but we're hoping to create a review forum with bookclub styled rewards for participation. I think some other stores are meeting with success on that. Also one store had an open house for facebook friends that was very successful - another event we're hoping to hammer down.
The possibilities are limited by your imagination and how well you identify how your audience utilizes the technology/page.
I've considered a mixer for M&Q's Facebook fans. I thought about a coupon offer available only to fans. We've only got 110 friends, last time I looked, so that's still a ways off.
I confess I'm even more skeptical of Twitter than of Facebook. It's so ephemeral. If the recipient is subscribed to more than a few twitterers, it's very difficult to feel sure that your store's content is at the top of their page. I think a lot of tweets go unread.
That said, I've been using our store's wall on our Facebook page as if it were Twitter--just a link with a very short description. FB doesn't offer any click-through stats, so I have no idea how much anyone is using those.
--David E
Dear fellow Stieg Larsson fan,
We’re trying something new for the launch of the second book in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series.
Run your own Stieg Larsson contest on your blog—for which we will provide the prizes (a free copy of The Girl Who Played with Fire, cool temporary dragon tattoos). The first thirty (30) entrants will get first dibs of the translated manuscript of book three. Below you’ll find the complete rules and regulations.
Click here http://knopfdoubleday.com/blogger-contest-stieg-larsson
for contest entry
Visit the Stieg Larsson site http://stieglarsson.net/
for more info
Friend
http://www.facebook.com/salander1Lisbeth on Facebook
Follow
http://twitter.com/aaknopf
us on Twitter
RULES & REGULATIONS
The first 250 bloggers to enter their information (name, blog name, blog URL mailing address, and daytime phone number) will obtain the giveaway material (one (1) copy of The Girl who Played with Fire and a batch of temporary tattoos) to host a sweepstakes on their blog. The first 30 bloggers to enter will also receive (1) copy of the manuscript of the third Stieg Larsson thriller at the time of its in-house release. All applications to participate will have to be received by 11:59 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 15, 2009. U.S. Residents only. Bloggers are solely responsible for the administration of the sweepstakes on their blogs.
Thanks,
The A.A. Knopf Marketing Team
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