The latest subject of Bookselling This Week's "What's in a Name?" series is the Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, Mass., which opened last March. Regarding the bookshop's name, owner Paul Swydan said, "It's not a thoroughly entertaining story. As I was researching names, I came to the conclusion that there are three types of bookstore names: geography-based (Main Street Books), puns/literary names (The Poisoned Pen), and other. I like being in the 'other' camp, so that led me to think a little outside of the box. I like unicorns, and they've become more ubiquitous. Basketball players like Kristaps Porziņģis are routinely called unicorns now, and food is called unicorn food, so the word has lost the fantasy-tinged overtones it used to have. But 'The Unicorn Bookstore' didn't sound right to me; it needed another word. And my favorite color is silver, so there you go! Kind of long-winded. My cousin who's a publicist keeps telling me I need to invent a better backstory, but that wouldn't be the truth."
