Oops!!

Wow - it's been so long since I blogged that I don't even know where to start with this!

I guess the best thing to do would be to say ~ so sorry ~ for not being better about staying in touch with all of you! But you know how it is... you put your head down to work one Tuesday and when you look up its four months later!

So, I suppose a quick update is in order. For those of you who have been hanging around with us for awhile... Ronda (our store manager of 6 years) left us. We miss her - she was so organized and very protective of the books! But our lives change and we move on... Eventually the perfect person to replace her will wander through, but in the meantime we've been floating along on our own.

I've been running all over the country (as usual) buying up all the best books for all of you. I had to take a little break in September to have my old lady hip fixed. But it went very well and I  have my groove back, which is good for you guys cause now I can buy books twice as fast! (zip! zip!)

We've made a few changes here in the store - nothing major - just a little house cleaning, a bit of re-arranging and some shelf additions. Always looking to make things perfect for you! We've expanded the movie section which everyone seems to really love - and we added the video games this year as well - also a very popular addition.

If you haven't visited in awhile or checked out the website in over a month you might want to take a peek or drop in - - I'm just saying.... you don't want to miss anything fabulous do you?

Circus Mode!

It's May!! You probably already knew that. But what you may not know  is that its Circus month for us! Every year near the end of May we make the trek to Hershey, PA to see Ringling Brothers. I'm so excited about this year, there are nine of us going this time - I had to rent a van! We've got Celebrity Seating - this means that we get to sit front row center, get our own personal clown ~ and...... we get to be IN the circus!! Does it get any better then that??

Heck no.

So, to get myself into the proper frame of mind to go to the Greatest Show on Earth I've been reading circus books. My favorite so far has to be Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants - if you haven't read this one yet, don't pass it up! It's a wonderful book - the ending is exactly what I wished for!

I also read Bruce Feilers Under the Big Top - his memoir of a season he spent with the circus and Modoc by Ralph Helfer - the true story of the greatest elephant that ever lived. I loved all of these... and if you're not lucky enough to be going to the circus you should at least enjoy some great circus titles!

Swamped!

Where does the time go? Seems like I look at the calendar and it's the first of the month - then somehow its the 20th.

Things are hopping at the store right now - we had our children's book fair - it was a smashing success! Thanks to everyone who came, browsed and bought. I'll definitely have to do that again.

We're now running like mad to all the spring book events and then spending every waking moment getting the books into the database and on the shelves as quickly as possible. There have been some great finds this month - a ton of great quilting books, about 1500 mysteries, more then 2000 romances, the children's section has been completely re-worked and is stuffed with great books, the inspirational fiction shelves are literally overloaded with with some of the best picks we've had in a loooong time, I even managed to get a great deal on some audio books - nice new ones!!

So, take a little time out of your hectic spring schedule - plan your summer vacation, projects etc... and stop by and see us!

Bigger ~ Better ~ More!

Spring is finally here! I love warm weather, it makes me want to start new projects. Right now is a great time to start new projects because we had a bit of a flood at the store last week during the three day rain event.

So, our new store will be even newer! We've had new plumbing done this week, we're expecting the construction and carpet crews first of the week. As soon as they finish, we'll start to set up for the Childrens Book Fair which will be April 1,2 &3 during regular store hours. There will be hundreds of new books at 50% or more off cover, as well as used books in great shape at our usual great prices. Mark your calendar, bring a friend or two and plan to stop in for a fun event!

The other fun news.... we're adding new shelving up front - and on that shelving will be our new Video Game section - we've got almost 700 games to get things rolling! Another good reason to stop by don't you think?

See ya soon!

Judy

Our Shared Space

We're sharing our store with some interesting businesses this month.

The Sheridan School Mountain Campus is hosting an open house this month at their amazing camp near Rileyville, VA off about 5 miles from Luray. The camp is 130 acres of woods, mountains, water, adventure and serious fun. If you're planning on sending your kids to summer camp this year, don't miss out on the opportunity to check out Sheridan. Next time you're in the store pick-up their brochure at the front counter. Your kids will love you for it! (can you picture a 500ft zip line?)

Our Meet the Locals guest for March is Hands to Create ~ a bead and pottery business owned by Tammy Coffman, located on Main St in Front Royal. Tammy's shop is full of beautiful, colorful beads and ceramic supplies. She does classes, camps and workshops as well as hosting all manner of parties. Stop in to see some of her work and pick up information about upcoming events.

April is shaping up to be a busy month at the store - we're planning a children's bookfair for April 1,2 &3 - there will hundreds of new and nearly new childrens and young adult books. Plan now to stop in - and watch your email for updates!

Book Clubs

     Get ready! In the next couple days we'll be sending out this years Book Club suggestion list.
The list will cover ideas for book club reads for all ages and genres.

     You still have time to help put the list together! If you've read anything recently that you think would make for some lively discussion - send it along to me! It doesn't have to be a new book, it just has to be a book that you you've probably already told friends about, or had discussions about. You can send your suggestions by simply posting a reply to this Blog below.

     While we're on the subject of Book Clubs.... if you belong to one  and would like to advertise for more members, send us the info - when you meet, where, what you're reading, etc.... and we'll be happy to post the info at the store and in our newsletter!

     Thanks in advance for your help!

Judy

 

When I Wasn't Looking - I Got Old!

On the 17th of February my son whacked into a milestone, he's 29 years old. We did what families do for such events - everyone came to dinner, ate too much, sang the happy birthday song, teased him about getting old and had a generally cheerful time.

At some point, it occurred to me that if he's old at 29 ~ which is what everyone kept saying ~ what the heck does that make me?? I hit one of those milestones myself this past September - only problem is, my milestone is quite a bit further along (yes, I'm actually 50!), so I suppose that makes me ancient?

Funny, I don't feel 'old', at least not most of the time. I'm rather enjoying my current age - my kids are mostly grown, I have a wonderful business, free time to spend as I wish, hobbies I enjoy and good health. If this is how it feels to get 'old' then I'm glad I finally got here and I hope the rest of you get to be 'old' too!!

Cheers for us old folks! - Judy

The Woes of Snow - with a Bassett

Unless you live in a cave you've probably heard about the snow we had this weekend. Here in my little town in Virginia it measured about 20" - a ton by anyones standards, except maybe Alaska. We've had a truckload of snow this winter, which normally I don't mind too much. I get more reading done, catch up on chores and projects that I don't normally have time for, that sort of thing.

The worst thing about 20" of snow is that we own a 14" dog. Lucy, our bassett hound, is over 3.5 feet long measured nose to tail but only stands a little over 14" at the top of her back. She weighs about 65 lbs - we consider her to be the platypus of dogs.

She loves the snow - mostly, she loves to eat snow, but snow romping is very high on her list of fun stuff to do. Yesterday morning when we went to look for our cars and driveway, of course Lucy had to 'go' too. It quickly became obvious that Lucy was going to have an issue finding a suitable spot. Within seconds she had completely disappeared, she tried hard to eat her way out but to no avail! So, in addition to shoveling out two cars, 60 ft of driveway, sidewalks and a path to the trash cans we had to shovel out a poo room for the dog! While she whined and bayed instructions and demanded that we hurry!

For those of you who live in the northern climes - you must deal with this every winter - is there an easy solution? are you all up there digging out poo rooms? how do you find your short dogs in over 12" of snow? Send us your winter 'poo' solutions and we'll send you a $5.00 gift card for the store!

I'm going back to reading my book now.

We are Booksellers ~ Oh, the Power!

We sell escapes to great places, far away lands, exotic locales.
We sell encouragement, advice, wisdom, help and instructions.
We sell happiness, laughter, good times and good feelings.
We sell introspection, spirituality, philosophy and visits with God.
We sell death & dismemberment, murder & mayhem, horror & monsters.
We sell space exploration, time travel, aliens and new worlds.
We sell history made and in the making, war and triumph.
We sell romance, love and courtship - human and alien.
We sell thrills, chills and excitement for young and old alike.
We sell what you're looking for.


Visit us - you won't be sorry!

What?! No, we're NOT Barnes & Nobel!

One of our customers asked me if I wanted to be like Barnes & Nobel - I think I might have been insulted. Something I learned a long time ago - don't go where you're not wanted! I have no desire to be one of the 'big box' stores.

What I do want, and have been striving to attain for the last fourteen years is to be exactly what people want in a used bookstore! I think I have it a pretty good idea of what you guys are looking for -

This                                                                                                                            Not this

I'm feeling like we're pretty close to having what you want *big grin!* -- If you need\want anything else you'll let us know, right?

We Love January!

     January at the bookstore is a great month - all the people who got gift cards for Christmas come in to collect their loot. People buying stuff with someone else's money is truly a fun thing to watch!

     January is also our time to make changes to the store - we go through the inventory - clear out the old stuff, rearrange the stuff that needs more (or less!) space, add new stuff and generally check the lay out. I love this part of the job because it makes everything seem new again.

     The other good thing about January, it's when I start to look for new authors to read. I don't want to get stuck in a Reading Rut ~ only reading one or two authors that I love and waiting in frustration for their next book to come out. I read reviews, talk to the customers, listen to the book channel on my XM radio in the car and visit all the bookstores. The goal is to find at least five new authors - these can be authors who have been around a long time or the newbies on the bookshelves.

     So far this year's list is shaping up pretty well -- 

Jenna Blum ~ Those Who Save Us
John Hart ~ The Last Child
David Liss ~  several titles of historical mysteries (I can't wait!)
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg ~ legal thrillers that I love!
Jasper Fforde ~ The Eyre Affair (and other really crazy literary mysteries)
Belva Plain ~ I know, been around forever -- but I've only read one!
Stephanie Laurens ~ historical romances with humor & hunky guys (whew!)

That's a good start don't you think? If anyone has any great ideas or suggestions to add to the list - reply to this post - you should share!

Cheers!

Judy