We have been so busy with the store that we've neglected to actually post anything about it.  So much has happened and there have been so many things to share, but we're woefully behind.

Since I haven't posted anything, let me share some posts from Lelia, one of our amazing staff members. I could only hope to be so clever and interesting. All of Lelia's pieces appeared on The Huffington Post: the blog

Adventures of a First Time BEA Attendee- Lelia ventures into the insanity of BookExpo America
 Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo: Prepare to Be Seized by This Book
My Twelve-Year Love Affair With Survivor: Keeping the Excitement Alive After More Than a Decade Together - ok, it's not about a book, but fantastic

Top 10 Books Sold in September 2012:

1. Richard's Poor Almanac: 12 Months of Misinformation in Handy Cartoon Form by Richard Thompson
2. Call of Sedona: Journey of the Heart by Ilchi Lee
3. Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger
4. Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
5. Suffering Succotash: A Picky Eater's Quest to understand Why We Hate the Foods We Hate by Stephanie Lucianovic
6. Hemingway's Girl by Erika Robuck
7. Ten Girls to Watch by Charity Shumway
8. Drama by Raina Telgemeier
9. Telegraph Avenue: A Novel by Michael Chabon
10. Simple Thing by Kathleen McCleary

Our Top Books for March

Some favorites kept their place on their list while new ones were added.  I included a separate list for our events at the store since those dominate our top sales. 

Not surprisingly, the Hunger Games trilogy was strongly represented in our top sales.
** also a top seller February

Top Books Sold in March 2012 (non-event)

1.  Hunger Games**

2.  Catching Fire - Hunger Games Book 2

3.  Epic : The Story God Is Telling

4.  Tiger's Wife**

5.  Weird Sisters**

6.  Shadow Of The Wind

7.  House at Tyneford**

8.  F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers**

9.  Wife of the Gods

10.  Mockingjay - Hunger Games Book 3

11. Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Nove

12..  Pandemonium

13.  Oxford Picture Dictionary

14.  Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World

15.  Heroine's Bookshelf

                                                                                                                                              

Top Books Sold in March 2012 at Events

1. Taker

2. I Don't Want to Be a Pea

3. The Clutter Book : When You Can't Let Go

4.  The Story of Beautiful Girl

5.  Playing With Fire : Pakistan at War with Itself

6.  Greatest Show : Stories

7.  School of Night

8.  Emily and Carlo

9.  Born Wicked                    

10. Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash ( Zapato Power #04 )

11.  Abigail Adams               

12.  Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off (1)

13.  Right Here I See My Own Books

14.  The Girl Next Door

15.  Great Wall of Lucy Wu

I Am A Blog Cheater

Yes, that's pretty much true.  Much of what I post is straight information or reviews by friends. While I put my stamp on it, I don't put too much that's personal out there. 

A number of people have suggested I post about getting the store off the ground.  Before the store was open, I was too frustrated. The first year of the store, I was too crazed.  Now that we're moving into year 2, I'm still crazed, but know that it will continue that way for the foreseeable future, so here are some initial comments...

• Lost count of the number of people who've told me it's their dream to open a bookstore.
• Also lost count of the number of people (generally well-meaning) who wonder how a bookstore will make in the ebook/Amazon era.  (Please don't say this -- we're tired of hearing it)
• You meet the most amazing people in bookstores -- I've also lost count of how many people I've met that I so enjoy talking with -- who make me smile just by walking into the store.
• Humbled at least 10x a day when someone asks me about a book that I haven't read yet.
• Often in awe of my staff who are so friendly, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in people and books.
• Love listening to authors talk.
• Learned that Ron Charles is a rock star in our store.
• You will never have enough money or book stands.

Our Top Books for February

Our top 20 for February does not match the traditional top 20 and we're glad of that! Our customers have great taste.

1) F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers - laugh out loud funny
2) Weird Sisters - now out in paperback - one of our favorites!
3) Tiger's Wife
4) Fault in Our Stars - a store favorite

5) March
6) Hunger Games - are you reading for the movie???

7) Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
8) Dead End in Norvelt
9) To Bless the Space Between Us : A Book of Blessings
10) Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey : The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle - all Downton Abbey books are flying off the shelve

11) Preacher - now out in paperback - love this book
12) Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith
13) I'm Dirty! - a go-to picture book
14) Cartoon Guide to Calculus - surprise hit
15) Inside Out and Back Again
16) Monster's Ring : A Magic Shop Book
17) Cutting for Stone
18) Goodnight iPad
19) House at Tyneford
20) Warmth of Other Suns

2011 Favorites (that I wouldn't have found except for the store)

While everyone was putting together their 2011 favorites, mine kept getting shot down (Lelia) because most of them weren't released in 2011.  My point was, that I READ them in 2011.

As I wrote down books that I loved reading, it occurred to me that I would never have found these books or even heard about them (except for Just Kids) without seeing them in the store or hearing about them from publisher reps, co-workers and/or customers.

That, my friends, is the power of a bookstore.

So here's my "I read it in 2011 and loved it" list (in no specific order):

Just Kids by Patti Smith - title captures it perfectly: Patti Smith and Robert Malpplethorpe becoming true soul mates, living in near poverty, before they had any idea what creative directions their lives would take...they were just kids.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - "Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing."  Love becomes illegal, something to be feared and avoided at all costs.  All the love poems and songs we know become examples of the dangerousness of love.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher - this is a hard one to describe, but it's absolutely fantastic.  A strange "treasure" hunt traces the last days of a girl who...well, you'll have to read it. 

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - Whenever I hear one of our staff (or me) describe it, I expect parents to run screaming from the store.  Dystopia, kids having to kill other kids, war, death...yup, parents do not want to buy books like that.  Too bad, this is fantastic and will keep you up reading all night long.

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan - I resisted reading this because it won pretty much every award possible in 2010 and didn't need me to promote it.  Then I saw that it was about punk rock and included a powerpoint presentation (how do you work that into a book??).  Absolutely loved it, but not every one does. You must be zen while reading and not worry that you don't always know what's going on and who's talking.

International mysteries - I have always loved mysteries, but have learned about so many varied writers from all over the world from our customers or just seeing the books come in.  Just dipping my toe in, but have really enjoyed:  Camilla Lackberg (Sweden), James Thompson (Finland), Arnaldur Indridason (Iceland), Fred Vargas (France), Andrea Camilleri (Sicily), and more.  What I really love is talking with our customers about int'l mystery writers because they enjoy them as passionately as I do.

So there's my list - can't wait to see what comes into the store next!

Don't Kill the Birthday Girl (the title allow caught my attention)

When I saw this book, I knew immediately who would be first on the list to read it - my sister Teresa whose list of allergies seems to grow every month.  While all in my family are allergic to one thing or another, Teresa is at a whole different level and handles it with grace, much (it sounds) like Sandra Beasley.
...btw, the chocolate-pumpkin “cheesefake”at Thanksgiving was good.

Having celebrated my own birthday a little over a month ago (and enduring over 30 food allergies and sensitivities), I had to read poet Sandra Beasley’s autobiography, Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from and Allergic Life. Birthdays can be difficult when you can’t eat dairy, eggs, and soy and when you start throwing in beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamia, pistachios, cashews, swordfish, and mustard, day-to-day living can be a tightrope. Sandra tackles the subject with a “that’s life” attitude, detailing serious allergic reactions that derailed family plans, adventures in eating out with friends, and the various food substitutions her mother tried over the years.  

I can relate to the experience of going somewhere and having to quiz the parent, friend, waiter, hostess, chef, cook, etc. with the eternal questions, “what’s that and what’s in it?” We follow her through childhood (she was initially diagnosed when she was a toddler), high school, college, and up to her current professional life. Along the way, she learned what happens when you aren’t careful at parties or special events (e.g., a wedding in Italy); what treatments and allergy medications have (or have not) worked and the “Russian Roulette” attitude that many have towards their allergies and treatments (e.g., what happens if you take six Benadryl at a time); how the restaurant industry avoided dealing with but is beginning to accept (sort of) their allergic customers; how to be a food critic and provide a credible restaurant review, and how the patience, understanding, and helpfulness of her circle of family and friends have helped her survive. When she takes a cooking class with her boyfriend, she gets a messy crash course in navigating her way through a recipe and in being able to find people that can live with her allergies, too.

While much of the book focuses on her allergy-afflicted adventures, Sandra also discusses her education about allergies – what they are, what causes them, how they have been and are currently being treated, why people with the same diagnosis have different reactions (or seemingly none at all), and what is the future of testing, diagnosis, and treatment. She reads about clinical trials, talks with parents of newly diagnosed children, and attends industry conferences to find out what’s new on the allergy front and what is actually working. And she, like me, has discovered that living with allergies endows you with an obsessive-compulsive need to stay in control and an opportunity to keep discovering what’s important in life. After all, would you ever try to learn how to make gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free chocolate-pumpkin “cheesefake”? (I’m made it for Thanksgiving – ask Eileen how it was.)