Ephemera Lives !

In Bookstore 101, I talk about ephemera being an interesting adjunct to a bookstore's regular stock, but what is it ?  Simply stated, it's paper goods other than books, and includes brochures, maps, monographs, catalogs, and just about any other printed material that you choose to label as "ephemera," since it's your house, and your rules. 

What a Weekend !

My esteemed colleague, Myrna Donato, also known as Amber Unicorn Books, and I had the great pleasure of participating in the culinary activities of Vegas Valley Book Festival ( vegasvalleybooksfestival.org ).  In one of last week's posts, I mentioned the Publishers Weekly website, and sure enough, this morning the followin article showed up in my e-mail on the best twenty-five cookbooks of 2010:

The Printed Book Is DEAD ! Or, is it ?

You can also subscribe to this interesting site. Thanks to Myrna Donato, Amber Unicorn Books, Las Vegas, Nevada, for pointing me towards this article. 

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20101101/45015-how-e-book-sales-compare-to-print--so-far.html

Know Anybody Named Chapman?

Other than Johnny Appleseed, ne  John Chapman, anyone named Chapman was probably a bookseller of “penny histories,” or “chapbooks” which were the most-printed books in England during the 18th Century !

Another Mostly Worthwhile Site for Book Topics

You can even subscribe for yourself. Enjoy !

Who do You Want to to Be Like ?

There is a huge difference between being a bookseller and being a Bookman - a term that applies equally to men and women. For example, most Internet book dealers are book sellers, dealing in a commodity, not the invaluable resource book truly are. That’s why customers quite often do not get the book they ordered on-line: they usually get a book in lesser condition, or a book that is not the listed edition, or a book that’s completely different from the one they purchased.

Professional Reading - Gasp - NOT in a Book

There are many resources for both the neophyte bookseller and the professional bookman. For a Luddite like me, it's hard to recommend internet resources, but not anywhere near as hard as it was 20 years ago. One of the better sites is in the link below. The content is not always stellar, but there usually is at least one article worth reading and absorbing, plus you can get your own e-mail subscription.  Enjoy, at least, the article on Better World
Books !

http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/aemonthly/aemonthly1.asp