Wednesday

After returning from pizza at Grimaldi’s, I met up with a lot of other younger booksellers at a bar in Brooklyn called Floyd’s—they’ve got a bocce court in the bar. We’ve started a network of the next generation of booksellers so that we can meet one another and provide support for one another. It may sound cheezy, but it’s always nice to brainstorm with other like minded folks about things. The new generation need to learn how to stick together. That’s how the independent bookstores will survive and possibly even thrive.

Thursday

One of the reasons for a bookseller to attend BEA is the day of education that precedes the show floor. I spent most of Thursday attending seminars on topics ranging from Book Clubs to store expansion to the digital revolution in the book world. The American Bookseller Association aka the ABA sponsors all of this education and I usually come away with some good ideas for the future. I woke up early and spent all day learning until I decided that I should take advantage of the nearby promenade in Brooklyn and go for a long run. It was energizing, energizing enough for the long night of cocktail parties and hanging out with other booksellers and bloggers.

We had what’s becoming our annual Litblog Co-op (LBC) party on Thursday night. Fun was had by all I hope. I met lots and lots of people, from publishing, authors, bloggers, and other booksellers. If I didn’t get a chance to meet you, I’m sorry. It was so crowded at Kettle of Fish! Pinky has some photos. After a few hours, I went with some booksellers, Chris Morrow from Northshire Books, Neal Strandberg and Heather Duncan, both from Tattered Cover, Amanda and myself to a nearby tapas place. The name escapes me, but I remember it being good. We also ran into Liz Steffey, a former Harvard Book Store employee and favorite who is working for a publisher out in Western Massachusetts. Finally, we cabbed it back to Brooklyn for a few hours of shut eye.