Boulder Book Store's "microdistribution" strategy for marketing POD/consignment books was explored by Nieman Journalism Lab, which noted that the Colorado indie bookseller charges consignment authors on a tiered fee structure: "$25 simply to stock a book (five copies at a time, replenished as needed by the author for no additional fee); $75 to feature a book for at least two weeks in the 'Recommended' section; and $125 to, in addition to everything else, mention the book in the store's e-mail newsletter, feature it on the Local Favorites page of the store’s website for at least 60 days, and enable people to buy it online for the time it’s stocked in the store. And for $255--essentially, the platinum package--the store will throw in an in-store reading and book-signing event."
"Most people will come in at one of the higher fee amounts. That surprised us," said Arsen Kashkashian, head buyer, who added that writers have generally been enthusiastic about the opportunity, telling him, "I want the marketing, I want the exposure. I worked so hard on this project, and you guys are the only ones who could help me with it."
Nieman Journalism Lab also noted that in "publishing's increasingly DIY world, though, the Boulder model--one that charges authors for, essentially, microdistribution of their books--makes increasing sense."
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Amazon has released a beta Kindle for Mac application that allows readers in more than 100 countries access to Kindle's 450,000 books.
Wired magazine was not impressed, describing it as "a bare-bones reader" and suggesting that "Amazon might be happy selling books, and not care about the devices they are read on. But if you carry on like this, Amazon, people will be pushed to buy their readers, and books, elsewhere."
PCWorld contended that "reader software is currently pretty dull. I'm not saying a book reader needs a load of flashy extras, and Amazon's ability to pick up on one device where you left off on another is a great perk, but there's definitely room for creativity. Even the virtual book shelf Apple will use in iBooks for the iPad is a step up from the Kindle software's presentation."
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CNBC's Maria Bartiromo interviewed Barnes & Noble's new CEO William Lynch, who discussed some of the challenges the company faces, including price wars, the economy and an increasingly mobile consumer.
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"Where do Bookstores Fit in an Electronic World?" asked January magazine, noting that "at present, publishers are so concerned about how electronic books are going to impact their own bottom lines, they don't seem to be offering even lip service to their old partners, the indie booksellers. Here's the thing, though: somebody has to do something for the indies, and fast. If we don't look after them now, we'll be crying at their memory. Nobody wants that."
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Los Osos Book Exchange, Los Osos, Calif., will celebrate its 25th anniversary next month. The San Luis Obispo Tribune noted the company slogan of current owners Joan Campbell and Pody Anderson--"Established in 1985, competent by 1997 and trusted since April."--reflects the humorous legacy of former owner George Kastner, who featured a sign ourside that read: "Don't tell my mother I own a bookstore; she thinks I'm in prison."
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A pair of independent bookstores have been conducting successful experiments with online group coupon services. Bookselling this Week reported that Common Good Books, St. Paul, Minn., and Green Apple Books, San Francisco, Calif., used different services (Groupon and Joffer, respectively) with a similar approach: "A deal offering a discount at the bookstore was posted on the sponsoring website and e-mailed to local consumers. The coupon only became valid after a minimum number of people purchased it, and the store and the coupon provider split the revenue."
"I think we will try it again," said Sue Zumberge, manager of Common Good Books, which offered $20 of merchandise for $10 and sold more than 800 coupons. "It worked out really well."
Green Apple offered $25 in store merchandise for $15, selling 105 coupons in the 48 hours the offer was available.
"Our reasoning was that they would generally spend more than $25," said co-owner Pete Mulvihill, who added that almost half of the coupons were redeemed by new customers.
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How does a bookstore's staff pick its book-of-the-month? As this video
shows, at Green Apple Books the
process is just a little bit different as they "choose a brand-new book
for which we're evangelical. We even guarantee the book 100% or your
money back."
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Book Monkey Bookstore & Lounge, Sacramento, Calif., has scheduled an official opening March 25 for the bookshop, followed sometime in May or June by the debut of a wine bar with outdoor seating.
"My two favorite things in the world are to sip port and read a book. I like the idea of our customers being able to sit down and hang out and read a book," said co-owner Kevin Standfield, who "is opening the store as an offshoot of Holt Concannon, his year-old Sacramento company that sells consigned books for individuals and charities, including churches, through Amazon.com. Those books are sold under the online bookseller Book Quest in Sacramento," the Press reported.
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Thalia, the German bookstore chain, is testing three in-store download terminals in one of its stores in Berlin at which customers can load and read e-books and book samples onto their cell phones, according to Buchmarkt. Some 3,000 titles are available for free, including some current books.
Karsten Sturm, business developer for Blackbetty Mobilmedia, Thalia's partner on the project, called the download terminals "book filling stations for the stationary book trade."
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The Netherlands is celebrating its annual Boekenweek (Book Week), but Radio Netherlands Worldwide said "even in other 'normal' weeks, bookshops notch up huge sales, for the Netherlands is a country of avid readers."
"We are doing this now for the 75th time," said Henk Kraima, director of the CPNB, a foundation that promotes Dutch literary works. "The idea originally came from the United States, where it died a slow death. The Netherlands is the only country where it has become such a revered tradition. Writers and publishers in foreign countries look to the Netherlands with jealousy and desire."
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The official opening date for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Fla., will be revealed March 25 on the theme park's website, according to Entertainment Weekly, which added that "full details about the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction will also be shared that day. It's said to use groundbreaking technology and 'a little magic' to create a ride that takes you inside Hogwarts and soaring above the castle grounds."
The
American Booksellers Association's Day of Education, which will take
place Tuesday, May 25, at the Javits Convention Center during BookExpo
America in New York City, includes 15 education sessions, roundtable
discussions and workshops on topics that include "the results of a
brand-new survey of book-buying behavior, the latest on e-books, a
fresh look at alternative business models, and more." The program also
features two sessions for children's booksellers developed by the
Association of Booksellers for Children. The complete sked can be found
at Bookselling this Week, which said the program will continue and build upon "the curriculum begun at February's Winter Institute." 
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On St. Patrick's Day, while a book club at Liberty Bay Books, Poulsbo, Wash., discussed How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill, a local Irish band stopped by and regaled the group. The book club was drinking Irish beer and eating corned beef and cabbage. Suzanne Droppert commented: "How to top this next month?!"
Lori Ann Bloomfield is the author of the novel The Last River Child, which came out in Canada last fall, and was published here by Second Story Press this month. Her short stories have appeared in several magazines in Canada and the US. She writes the 
Favorite book when you were a child: 
Changing our clocks last weekend was just a start. Daylight Saving Time is dial-up. We need Future Saving Time. If we're going to keep pace with the light-speed nature of the book business, we have to sync with the future and move the clocks forward every week, every day, every hour, every minute. 
Fortunately, I was rescued from my temporary time crisis by an e-newsletter from Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Ariz. Gayle Shanks wrote that there are "just too many books, too many loads of laundry, too many e-mails to answer, and not enough time in the day. You all experience this every day as well. Our lives have sped up to what sometimes feels like an unlivable pace. That said, I have taken time to notice that the days are lengthening, that my late ripening oranges are perfect for eating now, that the rains in the past few months have greened the deserts and the sunrises and sunsets that I have managed to see have been spectacular. Oh, to be able to slow down and see the sun each day as it sets and the moon as it rises; to feel like I have time for long conversations with friends. But, I am going to have these things in my life. I am. I am...."