Do you attend bookstore readings? I am fortunate to live in Portland, Oregon, home to many bookstores, including the venerable Powell’s Books. I could probably go to a bookstore reading on a daily basis, and I often read through the listings in the local paper with great interest. The truth, though, is that I rarely go to bookstore readings. I never gave it much thought other than to attribute it to laziness, but then I saw this article, “The Dreaded Question: What is a ‘Reading’?” in the Huffington Post. The piece is by bookstore owner Alex Green, who talks about how the label “reading” is not quite accurate. He writes that “many of us are reluctant to attend a reading because we don’t know what one is, and we become afraid that something egregiously uncomfortable, or boring, is going to happen.” Green then goes on to explain that readings, at least at his bookstore, are engaging and lively discussions.

Green’s article made me question why I don’t attend more bookstore readings, and I think he is right—I think they are going to be kind of boring. I fully expect the author to read a chapter or two from a book, and thanks, but I can do that on my own at home. I would rather know about the author’s writing process or reasons for writing a particular book, or maybe I want to know the author’s favorite flavor of ice cream. If Green is correct that “readings” are actually conversations between authors and readers, then I could get on board, but really, it’s hard to know what to really expect. So, what do you think of bookstore readings? Do you attend? Look forward to them? What do you like about readings?

*The photo is from the last “reading” I attended. It was at Powell’s Books for my friend Amy Karol, author of Bend the Rules Sewing and Bend the Rules with Fabric. At the “reading” she displayed and discussed some of projects in the book, took questions, signed books, and hosted a cakewalk, so no, it wasn’t a typical reading.

Let’s say you’re a small, independent bookseller that unfortunately happens to be down the street from some giant megastore chain that offers deep discounts on the same books you’re trying to sell at full retail price. You’re probably out of luck and better off opening a hot dog stand, right? Well, maybe not. I just read an article about such a case in England.

Linghams is an independent bookstore in Wirral, England, located across the road from mega supermarket and retail chain Tesco. Tesco sells new releases at steeply discounted prices, and Linghams’ sales were negatively impacted by the competition. After reading an article about Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy in which Leahy indicated he felt bad about wiping out small businesses, Linghams manager Eleanor Davies contacted Leahy. Davies explained how the discounted books were affecting sales at Linghams but also noted that Linghams was a specialty bookseller and thus offered a different service than Tesco. Leahy suggested that Tesco could send customers over to Linghams if they were unable to find the desired books at Tesco. Guess what? It worked! The Tesco near Linghams began displaying signs pointing customers to visit Linghams if they needed a broader or more specialized book selection.

It’s nice that the voice of the independent bookseller was heard, but this will probably not become a trend. Still, it can’t hurt to ask, since if you don’t ask, the answer is always “no.”

In conjunction with the Books = Gifts campaign, Random House compiled a Personal Shopper Kit for bookstores. More than 200 kits have been sent to booksellers across the country. The kits contain store displays, “Personal Shopper” buttons for employees to wear, and book recommendation materials. The Random House logo doesn’t appear on any of the materials, and the products are designed so they can be used in conjunction with individual store campaigns.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go work on my book wish list . . .

I confess that I am quite fond of Target. I like the company’s commitment to innovative design, whether it’s in fashion or housewares or paper goods. As I make my rounds at Target, I occasionally stop at the book section, but only if I just finished a book and need an immediate replacement. I guess I should linger a bit longer in the books, though, because according to this article in the New York Times, Target is making rock stars out of some relatively unknown writers.

Though Target sells its share of best sellers and mainstream, mass-market choices, it also has its own book club, called Bookmarked Club, and features many new titles, or at least new to the majority of readers. And Target has succeeded in generating impressive sales for many of these books: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay was released in hardback in 2007 and had sold only about 2,000 copies when Target decided to promote the paperback edition as its Bookmarked Club Pick. Target sold 145,000 copies. You can’t really argue with figures like that!

Some other interesting points in the article include the fact that Target’s book selection is really quite small, about 2,500 titles per store. In contrast, bookselling-behemoth Barnes & Noble has about 200,000 titles per store. Target also displays its book offerings in a manner meant to attract buyers: featured titles are set on displays at the ends of aisles, and most books are shelved with the covers facing out (yes, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover).

I was thrilled, then, to see this business card-bookmark hybrid printed by Pinball Publishing. It’s so clever and utilitarian! This particular business card is for a clothing store, but a bookmark business card would be appropriate for a bookstore or publishing house, wouldn’t it?

The sky is the limit when it comes to creative business cards. Maybe a balloon isn’t incredibly practical, but it’s fun and memorable. The rubber band business card, though? Definitely practical and fun! You can find both of these images, as well as a number of other nicely designed business cards, at this site.

I’m sure there are many more interesting ideas out there. How about business cards that double as coasters? Cards with valuable instructions on them? Any ideas out there? Do you have a multipurpose business card?

Here’s another confession: I did very little research on the Kindle before ordering it. I had just heard it was great, that many felt they read more since buying one, that sort of thing. Now, another main reason I bought a Kindle was because I assumed it had a backlight that would allow me to read in bed or in dark rooms. Imagine my surprise when the Kindle arrived, and it had no light! Later I learned this was intentional: the Kindle is supposed to mimic actual paper as closely as possible, plus a backlit screen can cause eye strain. Still, it would be nice to have the option.

My initial impression of the Kindle was, I must admit, a bit more negative than positive. There were some little things I didn’t particularly love about it: the lack of a backlight, the small size of the screen (you can adjust the size of the text, which does help, but it seemed I was turning pages every few seconds), and the inability to adjust the contrast or grayness of the screen (the screen is a wee bit dark for my eyes). It’s a bit of a challenge to buy something sight unseen!

Despite my first reaction, I have grown to appreciate and enjoy my Kindle. I have now read about five books on the device and am fully comfortable with it. I won’t give up actual physical books, but it’s very handy to have the Kindle. The price of $359 is still quite steep, though, and makes it inaccessible to most people. Plus you should really get a case, which will run you an additional $30, but I suppose that is better than dropping the thin sliver of a Kindle and breaking it. If prices come down to around $200, I think we’ll see a lot more Kindle owners.

What do you think about the phenomenon of the Amazon Kindle or of e-book readers in general? Do you have a Kindle? How do you like it?