A Holiday to Remember

Hello to all of you who are cleaning up the remains of your Christmas. To those who helped make this a solid Christmas season for Cranesbill, many thanks for your support of the local independent bookstore … I assume that whatever the “stuff” you got or gave, the real holiday is not in the stuff, but in the experience of being part of a family.

Meanwhile, we are getting ready for a new year at Cranesbill, with changes that will hopefully make our selections a bit better. But meanwhile, I have to tell you how happy it makes us all to hear people telling us how they value what we do as a staff. We are glad that you noticed that we do take the time to try to help you in the most thorough way possible. We are really sorry that we couldn’t put every book, toy, CD, or DVD you needed in your hands—but we can assure you that we try. In some cases, you told us about it, and we are really grateful for that. But I think in reading Alison Morris’s blog at Publishers Weekly, I found the best description, and so I want to quote her here. She is the children’s book buyer at Wellesley Booksmith in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Read her blog if you love kids’ books. It’s found at www.publishersweekly.com/blog .

“I also enjoy the holiday push because it brings an exhilarating sort of energy to the store that simply doesn't exist during the other months of the year. Because all of our booksellers are working flat-out these days, tending to the needs of customers, wrapping gifts at the speed of light, tag-teaming one another at the cash register, we all feel very much like we're part of a team -- much more so than on our slower days. It's gratifying to feel like we're all working together, and working HARD, to keep the wheels of our beloved machine running, keep people happy, and go home feeling good about what we've done … And just what have we done that's so gratifying? Sent people home with wonderful books!”

We hope that your part in this well-observed scene is appreciated. And we can honestly say that our year-end results are a bit of good news in a year that has been lackluster for most of us. Let’s hope for a better 2008 and we welcome your comments about how we can make our selection, our service, and whatever else you can think of better. And many thanks for believing in us. We look forward to a wonderful 2008.

Safe Toys and Reasonable Measures

Kids need protecting, and stores that sell toys need a good information chain to help in the protection process
It should be a no-brainer to find toys that are trustworthy, but instead this year the whole realm of playthings seems to have settled under a cloud that would put our Michigan winter shade of grey overcast to shame. Anyone who sells toys as I do knows what I mean. While the Consumer Product Safety Commission claims not to need more funding or a more extensive screening program, children are being exposed to things that should not have made it to the shelves in the first place: charming painted toys that threaten kids' health with lead based paints; small plastic dots covered with a toxic coating that emulates the date-rape drug; small pieces that can prove dangerous due to choking.

In fact, in some ways, it seems as though we have returned to a bygone era in which we don't try hard enough to correct for potential harm, even for our youngest and most defenseless consumers. In the early part of the last century, products were not adequately screened and Coke contained cocaine, ladies' “remedies” were often mostly alcohol; and celluloid film caused early movie venues to burn to the ground. Eventually we realized that the problem was to set standards and try seriously to enforce them.

The most vocal critics of this important political intervention (that some would call interference) try to make government regulations seem overbearing. Good luck, moms and dads, with the toxic paint and the choking hazards and the beads that can be lethal if ingested. (And not to put too fine a point on it, Aqua Dots were Australia's Toy of the Year winner in 2007. They were expected to take the U.S. by storm. They showed up in last weekend's Toys 'R' Us advertising circular, written and designed before kids started getting sick.)

So let me reiterate my point of view here and now: kids need protecting, and stores that sell toys need a good information chain to help in the protection process. That is why Cranesbill deals with companies that are interested in maintaining their own testing facilities and that are willing to make this integrity public. Our two main suppliers are Toysmith and Melissa and Doug, and both have gone out of their way to be proactive about safety and standards.

I would never knowingly put a toy into the hands of one of your kids or their friends if I knew it to be dangerous. Following the stories that are out on an almost daily basis now, I have been comforted by the fact that many of the recalls are of toys that we don't really carry-big manufacturers, marketed to consumers of a popular film or TV show, with little play value but lots of glitz. The kind of things found in the Toys'R'Us circular, I guess you could say.

I wouldn't swear to it, but I probably was harmed in childhood by what I didn't know would hurt me: I remember a fondness for chewing pencils that probably has single handedly removed a few million brain cells. Oh yeah, and then there's the red dye #2 cherries, the gas fumes at the old time filling station, the plastic blow-your own-balloon goop that smelled like shellac, the secondhand smoke, burned hot dogs, and on and on.

But that's the very best reason to keep track of what your kids are exposed to. Because if there's no other way to police the toy situation, we have to act. When it comes down to it, I rely on my integrity and that of my suppliers. I hope that the toys that we offer will reflect a persnickety perspective and that you will feel confident about your purchases because we worry about them before you arrive.

What A Bookstore Should Be

I can't quite bring myself to write about Christmas yet. Not that I haven't been rightly accused of blabbing on and on about the end of past years; I have a file of old paper Cranesbill Chronicles somewhere to prove my point. I love what happens in our town, even if I have to admit that it's not always as perfect as it could be.

When I took on the store in 2003, I knew virtually nothing at all about business. But I quickly realized that owning a bookstore is many people's dream. I wake up from that dream daily and realize that however hard I have fought for my own style and vision, the results are far from perfect. Take the stairwell.

The final weeks of getting ready to open the full store in February of 2004 were chaos. Book sections were more like boxed piles of titles we hoped were what they said they were, the drywall was still drying, and little details that had escaped our notice were popping up around us like flying monkeys. As the days moved toward our stated Grand Opening, many things were left undone.

Fast forward to last week. New photos were coming in from Laureen Prophett, whose Graham Henry Design is making beautiful images available on notecards and now as wall art. Who wouldn't want to support a local venture that is gathering steam, even in this shaky moment in time? The guys in the store, wonderful as they are, were not available for painting duty. I can't even remember the decision not to get a finish coat of paint up on the stairwell walls before we opened. But I took down the old show and realized the ugly truth: I needed new paint, and I needed it before Saturday.

So I did what any self-respecting bookstore owner who couldn't afford a painter would do-I dusted off my decades-old painting expertise, and with the help of Laureen's son Graham, got a pretty okay first coat of white where the pictures were slated to hang. The paint was good quality, but this contractor not as good. However, with Graham's assistance and the determination to finish no matter how badly those fumes were getting to me, I managed. (Note to reader: please don't look at the spots on the rug. I did the best I could, okay?)

So the moral of the story may not be what it seems. It's not that you should take up whatever you can't afford to do. I was stubborn and lucky, but the bones and muscles are still aching. It should also be noted that the walls will eventually be properly covered. But the real moral of the story is that it's never as easy to do what you love as the self-help gurus would have you believe. But no matter how scary those flying monkeys may be, you have to keep trying. Come see the photos, but please don't look at the paint job too closely.

Dreaming of Christmas

Maybe it’s because the weather has been so balmy, but it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away, with Christmas following in its footsteps by only a little. Even though I agree with those in the media who have been complaining about the early appearance of holiday wares in retail stores, for the retailers, it’s been Christmas since August. That’s the point at which we start to prognosticate about what you will want us to have for your gift list, for your own preparations, for making a little merriment in your own style. So that’s what we’ve been up to. And there will be a few new items in the store that you will not have seen here before, but I will leave the surprise for another blog. Sometimes, it’s best not to make too much noise until the goods are in hand.

Meanwhile, lest you think that the shop locally banner is not being unfurled with great gusto by local businesses, please join me in strolling along Main and Middle Streets, downtown Chelsea, a destination that my customers from all over the state never fail to comment upon when they come in. I am grateful to those who come here for the Common Grill and/or the Purple Rose Theater who remind me that I have adopted one of the best places on earth as my home.

The New Chelsea Market is our newest resident, and they are making the block a lot more interesting with special events, interesting food choices, and a staff of really nice folks, with the Flintoff family still powering the meat counter and deli, much to the benefit of all concerned. The block is much better for this great cooperative effort between a Chelsea tradition and the new owners, Francisca Fernandez and Kevin Riley, who bring their experiences and a lot of innovation to the mix, along with a staff that makes coming in a lot of fun. (Note to the crew behind the meat counter: it’s great you are still around too.) Their success proves one of my personal opinions about how things work here: the best efforts involve both “Old” and “New” Chelsea, and groups that understand the viewpoints of both sides of that equation. Get to know them better at their website, www.newchelseamarket.com

Next weekend, on Saturday November 10, for Wine, Women and Shopping, another entrepreneur will be in Cranesbill for a few hours, talking to folks and sharing her expertise. Laureen Prophett is my neighbor and friend, who has launched and made a success of her Graham Henry Design. She has created a wonderful line of greeting cards and notes to send to friends and loved ones. Although many of us who knew her thought of Laureen as a teacher, it has been good to watch her grow her business, and really good to see folks are enjoying her work. Laureen will be at Cranesbill from 1 to 5 pm to meet and greet people, talk to people about her business and the process of getting into business as an entrepreneur, and to hand out some tips for photographing your family and friends in the upcoming weeks to document the end of 2007. Her prints, which are a new addition to her line, will hang in our staircase for the holidays. You can find out more by logging on to her website, www.grahamhenrydesign.com

Well, that was a lot more commercial than I had planned on being, but since I have been silent for several weeks, the catching up has taken priority over some of my other loftier ideals. No clichés for me today: just an invitation to find out what we’ve been up to…

Wining, Traveling, Reading

On October 18, Cranesbill Books hosts an event that is really special. Never mind that the 16th is our 4th anniversary of opening the new store at 108 East Middle Street, although there will be some joy on my part that this milestone has been reached. The occasion is the publication of From the Vine: Exploring Michigan Wineries, a new book that is co-authored by Chelsea author Sharon Kegerreis and Lorri Hathaway of nearby East Lansing.

The evening will be a bit glitzy, with tastes of four Michigan wines and a bit of food to complement them. The authors will be in attendance to sign books, and we hope that everyone will find a new vintage that can be found within our state. Because of strict laws about this type of event, we can’t admit those too young to legally imbibe, and yes, we will check.

Yes, I do admit, I have the occasional glass of wine. For a person of a certain age, the heart healthy benefits seem to make this a no-brainer. Otherwise, I’m not much of a drinker. But as a college kid of legal drinking age, I was an enthusiast, scooping up bottle after $5 bottle of imported German wines with alluring names like Piesporter and Liebfraumilch, and the occasional bottle of a Portuguese wine called Mateus, which seems to have vanished from the face of the earth, along with Annie Green Springs and Boone Farm. But my first experience with Michigan wine came much later, when I was a freelancer in 1980 for the Detroit News, assigned to visit PawPaw, Michigan to write a story about Michigan’s fledgling wine industry. In a box in my attic somewhere, I have the clippings from the story that the News eventually published.

Suffice it to say that since then, the Michigan wine industry has grown exponentially. Who could have known that a quarter of a century later there would be enough places to visit and vintages to sample that the new book features four separate touring routes through our state, with vintages that compete internationally.

As luck would have it, I am also somewhat familiar with the wine country in the Grand Traverse region, and know that for one trip up north, you can visit many tasting rooms in some of the most beautiful landscape on earth. The whole area could be the perfect getaway for an ideal combination of great views, fancy to funky cuisine, and many chances to get close to nature. Or, you could create your personal version of the movie Sideways, perhaps minus the obnoxious friend. As long as there was a designated driver, who would know what the heck you were up to? But let me state clearly that the roads up there are tricky and no one should think that I’m suggesting you drink and drive anywhere. I wouldn’t, and I am far too familiar with most of the roads, even the gravel ones and a two-track or two, to be so stupid.

We are lucky to have authors with such expertise in our little neck of Washtenaw County. Please join us in greeting them and their fine book next Thursday, October 18th from 6:30 to 9 pm. From the Vine has really got the same combination of beauty and substance as the Mitten State, despite hard times and a bit of a morale problem.

When Booksellers Converge

The week that has passed since I returned from the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association has flown by. Now trade shows are usually of greatest interest to those in the profession being served; the jargon in any profession can be off-putting; what passes for hilarious humor can more often than not fall flat among the “civilian” population. And what could be more expected from a large group of book nerds milling about, talking to publishers, trying to pick up on next winter’s soon-to-be phenomenal novels and authors? Of course, if you are as nutty about books as most booksellers are, then the scenario becomes quite thrilling. At each meal, either a well-received author, a publisher’s representative, or even a legendary bookseller makes the hotel’s rubber chicken entrée seem like the meal of a lifetime.

So over the three days of the GLBA meeting, I met some very interesting folks:

• Dorothea Benton Frank, speaking about how she finds characters and stories, including some really great material on what life’s like for a Southern woman living in New Jersey.
• Chris Crutcher, whose teen novels reflect his years working with kids and families, who told the story of the young girl who had most affected him with her miraculous spirit, which in turn inspired his new novel about a high school senior who learns that he only has one year to live.
• Nancy Horan, author of the bestseller Loving Frank, who explained how her study of Frank Lloyd Wright’s mistress led her to pursue the question of how a woman leaves children behind to follow her heart.
• Sherman Alexie, whose adult novels about Native American life have been widely praised, giving insight into his own thought about identity and his new teen novel, which is partly autobiographical.
• Simms Taback, explaining that a long career in graphic design led him to writing and illustrating picture books, with the same meticulous process that results in colorful drawings and carefully written text, for which he has won praise and at least one big award.
• Ann Martin, author of the series The Babysitter’s Club that was a mainstay of my daughter’s grade school years, talking about how her success was the result of a childhood in which she was encouraged to use as many materials and methods as possible to develop her own imaginative life and creativity.
• Elizabeth Berg, whose new novel is about the homefront in Chicago during World War II, talking about time traveling back to the 1940s, trying to summon that world in order to create her characters and story.

None of this might have interested another professional group’s members, but I hope that you will take my word for it that hearing from these writers made me remember why selling books is part calling and part profession.

Playing Smart

This is about the time of year when, one year ago, the Cranesbill Books toy department was launched. We were working on instinct and sheer nerve,
trying to provide things that parents and kids would love. This led us to a conversation about what we did not want to stock: expensive toys with little redeeming value, guns, and toys that could pose some difficulties in staying in stock. Over the year, we have seen how we did, and our marks are pretty good

In a previous blog, I told you that Webkinz would be coming to Cranesbill. After meeting with the manufacturer’s representative, we decided that the Webkinz, while certainly popular, were not a good fit with our space, even if they were inciting riots elsewhere, We also were concerned that even though the little animal figures were compelling, the problems very much concerned us. As I traveled around this summer, talking to other bookstore owners, I realized that the equation might not turn out as well as we had hoped. Webkinz are still available in many places, including Dayspring Gifts in Chelsea, and I apologize to anyone who had expected them to be in our possession by now.

We are getting ready to have what we hope will be a great Christmas, and here are some of the things we have in store already or that are coming soon:

Toddler toys are always about giving young children their first practice at skills they need to master for kindergarten. Those that train hand-eye coordination include lacing shoes, peg pounding toys, simple puzzles, build a buddy sets, and art supplies designed for little hands. For mental development, we have word cards, games like Ravensburger’s Mix and Match and First Nature Game, Gamewright’s Feed the Kitty, and magnetic letter and number sets, to be used on the fridge or on a plastic magnetic board. Bathtime toys include floating boats, bath squirters, crayons and even plastic books that can withstand the bath without getting waterlogged. For babies, too, we have a sealed water mat that allows them to push submerged items around in an underwater world. Finally, we are continuing to stock a few soft toys for babies, although stuffed animals are not our bestsellers. And a few young children will enjoy the large cars designed to please the youngest vehicle enthusiasts.

School aged children certainly have a lot to learn, but as any child development specialist, or for that matter any parent, will tell you, play is the best way to accomplish learning. Art materials are always a good way to encourage creativity and individual expression, and here we have you well covered.

There are many new kits by Alex, Bead Shop, Melissa and Doug, and 4M that allow both boys and girls to experience the reward of completing a project that they can keep. We have brought back the learning games, such as Number Race, Pizza Fraction Fun, and Silly Story Laboratory. There are also new kits to build wooden toys for boys: fire engines, jet fighter planes, tractors, and so forth. We have games that promote learning without being directly related to skills: Gamewright and Ravensburger make excellent card games; Ravensburger’s Enchanted Forest and Rivers, Roads and Railroads are the kind of board game that your kids will want to hold onto for their own kids.

There are some excellent pretend boxes for all ages, including Pretend and Play Supermarket, Design and Drill, Car Designer, Costume Designer, and Cartoonist. Once again, we have wonderful cooking sets from Toysmith, and boxes for Movie Star Magic, Mermaid Treasures, and Beads. Those who enjoy fabric arts can take advantage of Knot A Quilt and Knot a Poncho sets. Anyone who has worked with polymer clay will know Sculpey, a mainstay in my parenting experience that is available in small color sets, and that will be stocked in small squares in many colors for the coming holidays. Origami books, kits, and papers

Science stuff is here in the form of kits to experiment with that are centered on making items, demonstrating aspects of scientific inquiry, mining gold and crystals out of provided materials, and learning about forces like magnetism, weather, ecological phenomena, and even things like forensics, fingerprints, and secret codes.

At some point in elementary school, kids are ready to join in family games, and we have a selection on hand. Out of the Box makes Apples to Apples, and we have both the adult version and the expansion sets for it, as well as the Apples to Plles Junior 9+. There is Blokus, a strategy game, as well as No Stress Chess, that helps beginners to develop strategy in an easy format. An intriguing new form of Scrabble has a raised grid to keep letters in place and a built-in turntable to facilitate multiple players. We also have the Thinkfun solo games of Rush Hour, Tipover, and Rush Hour Railroad, with demostration sets left out for kids to enjoy in the store.

The final category of toys is probably an offshoot of Harry Potter, that is, toys that enable children to perform magic and to experience other fantastic worlds.
We have two sizes of Melissa and Doug Magic sets, plus some individual tricks for those who are not just starting out but who want to expand their repertory of performance. There are wandmaking kits in the form of a book that is also a kit. There are Pirate Chests to be decorated. We have large plastic sticker sets (like Colorforms) in both castle and pirate formats. There is the game of Dragonology, which is a companion to the Dragonology book that has been very popular with customers of all ages.

If there are any toys that you have knowledge of that we should consider stocking, please call the store and request them. We will be listening and hoping that you will find our selection good enough to skip a trip to Ann Arbor.

Chick Lit, or How Fiction Fits Us

The point of writing about a type of fiction is usually to define a category, but if that’s what you expect to read here, you will be disappointed. Chick Lit is one of those slippery categories: you could argue that it’s just a recent phenomenon, that relates only to younger women of the nineties and the first decade of the 21st century. But having read authors writing about women’s lives from the earliest periods of literature (Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders comes to mind, along with the Brontes and Jane Austen) I would say that the term is both a commercial category: it’s worth noting the similar girly designs on the covers and the graphic content of the stories. In my mind it is also a general all-purpose term: reading aimed at women. What I have been reading lately is an extension of the reading that I did as a much younger woman, but the types of stories have changed as much as my life is different from my mother’s.

The type of Chick Lit that gets all the hype is mostly recent, and most of the women reflect real lives that I see around me. But my taste runs to fewer wedding dramas and fashion victims and more to serious considerations of women in changing circumstances. For example, Diane Hammond’s Going To Bend is a wonderful story about two women who run a small soup business while dealing with the ordinary things that fill women’s lives in 2007: divorce, dating, surviving and overcoming financial obstacles, and making places for themselves in the life of a small town. Chelsea author Laura Kasischke’s Be Mine takes on the topic of a woman given the freedom to act at will, who discovers the perils of intimacy both with spouse and friends, with a plot that brings you to an unexpected finish. I like Kasischke’s novel much better than Katrina Kittle’s The Kindness of Strangers, which covers similar ground but with less subtlety and more need for accepting its grim view of parenting and female friendship. Another novel that uncovers the pitfalls of living in a world where marriages fall apart and kids are damaged is Ayelet Waldman’s Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, a story told by a woman who is having a hard time adjusting to stepmothering and ultimately sees her own missteps very clearly as she tries to rectify the problems of the past and make a good bond with her stepson. While none of these authors might wish to be assigned the Chick Lit tiara, these books bring readers into the minds of women who are perhaps a bit older, who have gotten beyond the rituals of younger years and who know what they know about romance, child rearing, and the vicissitudes of friendship.

Another category of Chick Lit covers female angst using broad humor to seduce the world-weary reader. For example, Kris Radish’s hilarious book, Annie Freedman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral, takes a group of women who have been called together by the death of a friend. Lost to them now, Annie has arranged a trip to various places that she found significant and plots that they will become a gang that fills the void left by her with a celebration of all the stages of a woman’s life. It’s a wonderful read that is cheerful, and reminds us of the joy of women friends, despite the obvious loss and grief they share. Radish was introduced to me by my pal Ilah, and I’m glad she brought it to my attention. I plan to read her other novels on the basis of AFFTF. Another wonderful read is Melanie Lynne Hauser’s Confessions of A Super Mom, whose heroine Birdie shuffles along the divorce trail while dealing with life’s troubles with an impressive inventory of superpowers that would make any mother smile appreciatively. Finally, though the characters of Martina Lewycka’s A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian are British, the sisters who are trying to keep their father, an author who is writing the book of the title, while falling prey to a Ukranian woman whose character is, well, questionable. This is a great read for anyone who has reached the stage in life where parents are more like children, and children have to become parents to their elders.

Another sub-category of women’s books is historical fiction, and there are many examples, too many for discussion here, though the novels of Phillipa Gregory, Ellen Cooney, and others seem to fit a particular kind of reader. I will address them in time, but for now, lets just say that some historical accounts seem particularly designed for women. Then there is the cozy mystery, more like chick lit in that its particulars seem addressed to female sensibilities, with practitioners like Janet Evanovich, Rita Mae Brown, and many others.

One final note: those customers who have been at Cranesbill have noticed that for about the last year, current chick books have been located with the romance novels apart from the other literary fiction. Sometimes this dividing gets a bit murky. Undaunted, this continues as a conscious effort on my part to make a section where women’s stories could be corralled in one set of shelves. I have emphatically moved books that I felt belonged with a adult woman-friendly type of storytelling. Now you may think of romances as bodice rippers, featuring fabulously handsome heroes who are pursued and pursuing. And here’s where the “fiction fits us” part comes in: women read everything these days, and there is no intent on my part to suggest that we should prioritize serious fiction and let go of that other embarrassing stuff. What stories do is to pull us in and get us to become a part of the story world. What unites reading writing by women is a point of view that comes with the territory.

The value, as always with reading, is sensing the familiar and learning more about human beings, who are fallible and crazy at times, but for whom we develop an affection because of all that.

Technoklutzia

About ten days ago I started this general introduction to my first-ever blog entry. I pretty much captured my feelings at the time, but in my haste to put it up on our website, the phantom of AOL whooshed by and in no time at all, my words were washed out to sea, or lost in the internet zone, and I sat here at my desk, dazzled by the total evaporation of my efforts, perhaps thinking to myself that I was too distracted to remember to save the file. So my first blogging experiences are centered around the fear that my technoklutzia has already been exposed. (That is if you have never seen me on a bad day at the register…)It’s true—I’m a hapless victim of my own dense behavior when writing or operating computers. And I promise that I have saved this first paragraph, because another wipeout would send me around the bend.

The Harry Potter farewell party on the night of July 20 was easily the most fun we at Cranesbill have ever had. Since the group of mourners was very multi-generational— from elementary schoolkids to highschoolers and college kids {the latter who were literally were the same age as Rowling’s character). Rounded out with notable grownups and a number of persons of interesting garb and goodwill, the party was not flashy, but the folks assembled had a great time, and most even took at least one quiz.

Thanks to Don Krause for the great photos and costume judging. Also thanks to Mary Onorato and Don Finkel for helping with the contest judging. Many thanks to Cleary’s for providing the Butter Beer. Downtown Chelsea was like a ritzy Detroit suburb that evening, as partying took place at our place and at the McKune Memorial Library. It was terrific to see a whole bunch of people so excited about a plain old book. The celebration brought to mind memories of every time I finished a series by a favorite author. The ones I liked most were The Borrowers by Mary Norton and Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.

So there should be a clever review of the new book here, but I am not in league with any spoilers, and I think you can trust Ms. Rowling by now to tell you a tale that you will appreciate and remember. In any case, it’s a more complicated end than you may expect and I hope that we will be able to discuss at some point, but in deference to those who’ve not read it, I prefer to wait.

The store has two more visitors for Sounds and Sights on two Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30pm…on August 16, author Evelyn Johnson will talk and sign her book, Old Barns of Mission Peninsula and Their Stories. On August 30, after the Chelsea Fair and before the start of school, author Joe Borri will be signing Eight Dogs Named Jack, a set of stories that would rival the Sopranos, set in Michigan.

Take care, and please send us any comments or questions to: contact@cranesbillbooks.com

Book Expo

Each year, at the very end of May, flocks of booksellers fly toward a common point on their horizons to attend Book Expo America. As the annual gathering of independent bookstores around the country, BEA brings together book publishers, toy manufacturers, buyers and owners of retail stores like ours, and authors who have become celebrities for bookworms like us. This year, in New York City, both store manager Jeremy Montange and I found ourselves pacing miles of exhibitions, attending workshops on retail management, picking up new ideas from other stores, and thinking about what we wanted to improve about the store. A few weeks later, I find myself still going through the tall pile of catalogs I collected there, thinking about what can be actually put into action and what goes on the wish list for later on.

New Series for Kids
The series craze seems to be continuing, and the problem is weeding out the just okay from the substantial. Two things caught our eyes: first, the American Girls series has become more of a toy and clothing based enterprise. Not surprising since Pleasant Company was bought by Mattel. When it first started in 1986, I thought that the books were the best thing about the whole line; now, while we still stock the books, we are looking for other girl-friendly series to fill the gap. One series in particular is the Beacon Hill Girls, and they not only have great stories and interesting characters, their other non-book items are fewer and more centered on socializing and reading. They will be in the store within weeks. We are interested in your suggestions as well.We are also checking out other series books to see which of the many offerings is worthy of your interest.

Webkinz
At this point, having placed an order for Webkinz in April, we have been told that we are on hold because demand exceeds manufacturing capacity. This is not a situation that we have any control over, and so we will keep you posted.

Sounds and Sights on Thursday Nights
Chelsea's downtown music fest, is on again for the next ten weeks, through August 30. Baseball lovers should be interested in our next author signing on July 12. Author Tom Stanton will be in the store to sign his new book Ty and the Babe, a history of the friendship between Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth. Stanton feels that Cobb should get his image, as created by many baseball historians, upgraded for reasons that the new book explains. Also at Cranesbill you can take a horse and buggy ride through Chelsea's village area with local historian George Till.

News on Harry Potter Night
Yes, both the library and the bookstore are having HP and the Deathly Hallows parties, and ours will be at the same time, with some refreshments, some characters from the series, a costume contest, and of course, the distribution of the novels starting at 12:01 on July 21, in other words, at midnight. Come dressed for the fun and we will have the best time putting the much-loved series to bed. It is deathless prose-- immortality is guaranteed, so let's not have any Lemony Snicket antics about the end.

Jan's Current Reads
Present reading includes Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, a wonderful fiction that many others have enjoyed--I'm just behind, as usual. I'm also reading Seasons of the Emma Lee, written by Michael Lindley, who will be in Chelsea on July 28 to speak and sign. I've been perusing The Four-Day Win by Martha Beck, a really wonderful columnist for Oprah (the magazine) who says if you can stop eating junk for four days, you can make your diet stick. Tune in next week for more details.