The Flying Pig Bookstore

The weekend began at the Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vt., with Friday night festivities that "set the holiday mood," said owner Josie Leavitt. The lighting of the town Christmas tree took place on the village green, and afterwards revelers--perhaps enticed by pleasant weather--shopped at the Flying Pig and other stores that had stayed open late.

Sales have increased over the last week since customers received the Flying Pig's newsletter. This year, in addition to a snail mailing, a version was sent to the e-mail list. The 16-page, full-color newsletter, which is also given out in the store, is causing a stir. "Everyone is coming in with items circled in the newsletter," Leavitt said.

All 150 books featured in the newsletter are discounted 20%-25%. "It's important to have some discounted items because people are definitely looking for some sort of savings in every store now. It's become expected," said Leavitt, who noted that adult hardcover titles at the Flying Pig are usually discounted 25%.

Popular selections over the last week included a heavy concentration of nonfiction titles, among them Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Greatest Trips, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, The Rejection Collection Vol. 2: The Cream of the Crap and The Dangerous Book for Dogs: A Parody by Rex and Sparky. "Nonfiction is a safer bet during the holidays," commented Leavitt, "because you need to know the recipients less well than you do for fiction."

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia is still selling strong. "I don't think it's book groups anymore," said Leavitt of the continuing popularity of the memoir. "People seem to be getting it for friends who they think haven't read it and would really enjoy it."

New customers have recently been making their way to the Flying Pig, something Leavitt attributes to an increasing awareness of shop local campaigns. "People I haven't seen before are making a point of letting us know they're choosing to shop at an independent bookstore," she noted. "I'm noticing that more this year than I ever have."

Shelburne parents have additional incentive to shop local. At an arts center located on the town green, children are entertained with craft projects while mom and dad stock up on gifts. The Flying Pig and other area retailers sponsor the annual program. Said Leavitt, "It's a win-win for everybody."

The Yellow Book Road

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! continues to be a favorite at the Yellow Book Road in La Mesa, Calif., remaining in the top five sellers for what owner Kristin Baranski noted was a solid week of sales. Dr. Seuss' curmudgeon shared the spotlight with Barbara Robinson's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Gary Soto's Too Many Tamales and First Snow in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy by Carl R. Sams and Jean Stoick.

Rounding out the top sellers was Kwanzaa, a title in the Rookie Read-About Holidays series. "We've had a lot of requests this season for Kwanzaa books," said Yellow Book Road owner Kristin Baranski, who noted that Hanukkah titles also sold well this past week. Hanukkah begins today.

Chanukah Bugs: A Pop-up Celebration by David A. Carter will be read at the store's story time session this Friday. No matter how hectic the holiday season gets, Yellow Book Road continues hosting its bi-weekly story times on Friday and Saturday mornings. The events bring in foot traffic but more important, said Baranski, "We want to encourage reading and the love of reading in our younger audience. Story time allows us to do that."

Some of those young readers will likely be receiving a title or two promoted in the store's display of holiday tomes, which are discounted 25%. Located near the front entrance, the display features about 100 titles--with a total of 250 books. Among them are John McCutcheon's Christmas in the Trenches, Froggy's Best Christmas by Jonathan London, The Night Before Christmas illustrated by Jan Brett and The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers. "We love holiday books," Baranski said, "and we want our customers to have a broad choice."

Murder by the Book

Readers clamoring for Sue Grafton's T Is for Trespass (on sale today) will be able to buy a copy bright and early this morning at Murder by the Book in Houston, Tex. The store is opening at 8 a.m., two hours earlier than usual, to accommodate customers who plan attend the mystery scribe's signing on Thursday evening and want to be at the head of the line. A numbered ticket is given away with each purchase.

Judging by the initial enthusiasm and number of pre-orders--many customers are asking for books to be inscribed with the names of gift recipients--Murder by the Book manager McKenna Jordan expects T Is for Trespass to be among the store's top holiday sellers. And it's likely Grafton's appearance will put the store on track to have another stellar week. "We had a great Black Friday weekend, but this past Saturday was even busier. Sales were fabulous," said Jordan, who had anticipated an average day after an author event was cancelled. "We were really encouraged by that."

Although some shoppers were stocking up on winter reading selections for themselves, others were in search of gifts. Among Jordan's handselling favorites are Cara Black's mysteries set in Paris, starring detective Aimée Leduc. She read the first book in the series, Murder in the Marais, several months ago, and the store has since sold some 300 copies of the title. "They're incredibly well written and atmospheric," noted Jordan. Books set in foreign locales do well all year round at the store and seem to appeal as gift choices too. Jordan also recommends Kerry Greenwood's titles set in 1920s Australia.

The book that earned Jordan's pick as Best of the Year--featured on a display at the front of the store with other staff picks--is The Song Is You by Megan Abbott, a noirish novel that takes place in Hollywood in 1951 and will appeal to those who like James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia. Last year Jordan's nod for Best Debut was Abbott's Die a Little.

Even classic movie buffs aren't left of the mix at Murder by the Book. For fans of the Grace Kelly-Cary Grant film To Catch a Thief, Jordan recommends Marne Davis Kellogg's Brilliant, which features a former female jewel thief and is the first in a series. The title is scheduled to go out of print, noted Jordan, although she expects to have enough copies of the caper to last through the holiday season.

This past weekend, a customer asking for suggestions on what to give a mystery reader who lives in San Francisco and likes chess was sold two titles: Mark Coggins' The Immortal Game and The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis. "We get requests for recommendations all day long," said Jordan, "which is really fun. We get creative, and we find things we hope people are going to like."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt