"I carry new books." "Really?"

Well, let's see here.

I've gone downtown nearly everyday for nearly 30 years, and I don't think I have ONCE been bothered by cigarette smoke.

A ban is totally unnecessary and will only add to downtown Bend's aura of elitism.

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This isn't meant to be political.  err... well, yes, kinda, no, no, not political.

Watching Obama on the Daily Show, he's just a lot more fun than Romney.  I shudder at four years of Mr. Square.

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Have gotten two of the critiqued manuscripts back for The Reluctant Wizard.  Sarah was pretty strong in her criticisms, which I asked for; and Jim was candid.  I'm not actually looking closely at what they say until I'm done dealing with this round of I'm Only Human.  Then I'll set it aside and look at the first book, and so on, back and forth, until I think they're ready.

THEN I'll think about how I want to market it.

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Interesting article on Huff Post about how Newsweek didn't so much die as commit suicide.  That magazines have actually been up the last few years, albeit at lower than old levels.

Anyway, that's the same way I feel about books.  Borders didn't so much as die as commit suicide.  Barnes and Noble slit their wrists and will slowly bleed out.

Hell, the publishers started committing hari kari before their enemies even landed on the island.

Bookstores have been folding blaming e-books, when it really was damage from the big stores and Amazon, but most especially their own bad business decisions; not changing with the times, or making the wrong changes (i.e. going away from books and into the coffee business, or the 3rd space business, or whatever....)  Carrying a sufficient inventory of good books should keep a bookstore open, in my opinion.

These stores didn't so much die as commit suicide.

So I call Hooey.   Books ain't going anywhere.

Linda had a brief downturn at the peak of the e-book hype, but has since come back.  My store has seen mostly increases since if first put new books in -- despite almost no locals being aware that I carry new and used books.

I was talking to two downtown store owners, one who is right across the street, and in the course of the conversation I mention I carry new and used books.

They both express surprise.

I point to my store window and say,  "See I have J.K. Rowlings, and The Cloud Atlas, and The Hobbit right there in the window."

So we talk about other things for awhile.

Later in the conversation, I'm mentioning "new" books and they both express surprise that I carry "new" books, despite the earlier words.

Sigh.

I depend on word of mouth, but most especially on walk-in traffic by visitors -- who don't have preconceptions and see books and automatically credit me for being a bookstore.

Nothing is harder to break than preconceptions.