September Dear Reader
Dear Reader,
I have been catching up with Booksellers across the country. With the
exception of a couple unfortunate outliers and some outstanding lucky
ones, the general consensus is that Bookstores are 'hangin in there'. It
was heartening to hear stories from all over the country of communities
bolstering support for all their local shops and especially for their
bookstores. Many of you have heard me say this before, but I know full
well that no one has built a sustainable business on guilting their
customers (not that that's going to stop me from trying) to buy their
services and products - rather, sustainable businesses succeed by
delivering value to their customers. We continue to work hard to deliver
unique products, fascinating workshops, dynamic authors, innovative
events, and smart books that you can't find just anywhere. There's
plenty of the above this month.
In this newsletter:
Signed First Editions
Sempre Susan
Ebooks
Quiz
I Don't Know How She Does It
With books becoming available in a zillion different formats and
downloadable by book, chapter or word - the magic of a signed first
edition (and value) becomes even more magical (and valuable). The RJ
Julia Literary Society combed through hundreds of titles in search of
the up-and-coming hidden gems and future award winners to pick the first
selection. We can't tell you what the first book will be, but we can
tell you its one of my favorite authors and the publisher for the
first book is allowing us to bind in our own customized page to the
beginning of the book for the author to sign. Sign up now or give us a call for more info. We have limited this special book to 100 copies- don't miss out!
I have written about how much I enjoyed Sempre Susan: a memoir of Susan Sontag
and how reading it made me want to read many of the books mentioned.
This notion inspired a workshop and we have been working on finalizing
the details for this exciting series with Sigrid Nunez, the talented
author and close acquaintance of Susan Sontag's. This will be a four
part workshop beginning on October 26 and I think this is going to be
interesting, fun, and enriching for all who attend.
I read dozens and dozens of articles about everything being done online
(I'll be convinced when I can get my car washed online), but everyone
seems in agreement that our need to connect with people isn't going
anywhere (and I don't just mean friending them on facebook). We have
the incredible opportunity to connect in an environment surrounded by
books with a famous fabulous author. For me this is as good as it gets-
I'm assuming it is for you too. Click through for details on what we will be reading. Space is limited to 25 attendees so don't wait.
We are still getting lots of questions about eBooks, so we just wanted to
take a minute to make sure you know, you can get eBooks right here at
rjjulia.com! We sell Google eBooks, which means they are compatible with
almost every device (expect the Kindle because Amazon has set up
exclusive restrictions on Kindle eBooks). And, the best news, the vast
majority of eBooks are the same price from us as they are from anyone
else! The top publishers have set the pricing for eBooks so that every
retailer sells them for the same price (now they figure this out!) So
you can still use us to get a suggestion for your next great read and
then download the book from us. Click here to search EBooks.
Just the Right Book has developed a fun quiz to help give suggestions for
just the right book for you. Over 5,000 people have taken the first quiz
and loved it! We are continually adding new books to our quiz. This is a
perfect way to take advantage of our bookselling expertise if you don't
have time to call us or come in. Let us suggest a book you might like
and you can buy just one or sign up for Just the Right Book and get one
book free and then we can pick and send the right book to you every
month. Whether you're in the mood for a
cozy-rainy-day-curl-up-on-the-couch-romance or an
action-packed-will-keep-you-up-all-night-because-you-can't-put-it-down-mystery,
we can help find the right book to match your mood. Take the quiz here!
We all need reasons to laugh; I Don't Know How She Does It is
one of the funniest books around. I chuckled and laughed out loud
throughout the entire book. Allison Pearson has a smart sense of humor
and has that unique ability to make fun of herself and us without making
you feel judged; instead her mocking makes you feel comforted and
amused. They have now made this book into a movie, so be sure to read it
before you see Sarah Jessica Parker in action.
See you in the store,
Roxanne
P.S.
One of my favorite ways to mark the seasons' change is by seeing
Stephanie's latest window display masterpiece. Although she is
technically my assistant, in reality (for those of you who wonder why I
don't get back to your emails more quickly) she is a fantastic
merchandiser. She has been doing our front window display and her latest
Back to School themed window as been literally stopping traffic. What I
love about her displays is that there are tons of wonderful little
details to discover and that they are so evocative - the back to school
window really does make you feel like you've got a pack of freshly
sharpened pencils in your backpack and a collection of crisp new
notebooks!
P.P.S. I'm out of space and time in this email, but not out of book suggestions. I'll email next week with my latest reading.
